I want to remember this Thanksgiving for many years to come because it was the best I’ve had in far too long. Why was it so good? Let me explain the reasons:

I got to spend it with my top 3 favorite people in the whole world.

I didn’t have to go anywhere.

I got to do all the cooking and got to make it as healthy as I wanted.

Every Thanksgiving since our marriage seven years ago, we’ve had to spend the day visiting all our different family units. There are Michael’s mom and sister, my Grandma on my mother’s side, and the Gilson’s- my father’s side. If Michael’s dad didn’t live out of state, then there would be him too. Thanks in large part to divorce we have four separate families that don’t really interact or want to interact much.  But this year Michael was too sick to go anywhere and no one wanted to come here to our little apartment, so we got the day all to ourselves.

I wanted to make sure we made an effort to make the day special. That we enjoyed each other. The TV got turned off for the day and the computer got only limited use (mainly because I had to look up a few recipes).

So Cade played with Legos and dad helped a bit. Actually come to think of it mom helped too. Jude occasionally wrecked them and Cade had to start again.

It was fun to watch him get so focused on one thing for so long. That doesn’t happen much with Cade. While the boys played I did all the cooking. Which wasn’t much since it was just the four of us and the boys barely count as one serving. And Michael’s barely eating anything right now.

 

 

 

 

 

On the menu:

HoneyBaked Ham

Nut-stuffed Delicata Squash (home grown)

Mashed Organic Red Potatoes

Chicken Gravy (from scratch)


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that was it for the main course. Pretty easy, pretty simple, pretty healthy and not much chance for gluttony which I think is good. Michael was having a pretty good day Thursday. He decided to try acupuncture to get some relief with the complications he’s been having from colitis. It seemed to really have helped. He did get a little tired though about mid-day, so he got in a nap while Jude was napping and Cade was still playing with Legos.


About 3:30 it was time to eat, so I roused the gang andwe sat down to our meal.

 

 

 

 

 

This was the first Thanksgiving Jude really got to eat anything, since last Thanksgiving he was only three months old. He seemed to enjoy it, but true to his budding toddler ways, he did throw a few fits during dinner. We took it all in stride and at least I got one shot of him while he was still being sweet. And Cade, true to his four year old ways, just acted like a clown and barely sat still. I am very thankful for my precious boys and both the headaches and the joys that they give me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner I got right to work on dessert. Jude spent most of the time crying and trying to get me to pick him up, but I managed. Michael is trying to stay away from some very key things- refined sugar, white flour and milk. The very things most desserts are full of, but I was determined. So I settled on something I found called Baked Cranberry Pudding, but I substituted a few things:

  • I used Whole Wheat flour
  • Instead of sugar I used stevia
  • Oat milk in place of regular milk

To top it off I combined plain Greek yogurt, honey, vanilla and cinnamon to make a sort of healthy alternative to whip cream. The result was not a lightly sweet dessert similar in taste to a cranberry scone. The best part was that the boys loved it and wanted seconds which I didn’t have to hesitate to give. Also to go along with that I made crock pot chai tea with a few substitutions:

  • Honey in place of sugar
  • Oat milk instead of regular milk

All in all I was exceedingly thankful for my Thanksgiving Day. Blessings.

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