The temps are dropping, black clouds circle the skies and x-mas trees are popping up far too early. It’s a time to roll in the autumn leaves, gather loved ones, and eat! Thanksgiving is less than a week away, but it’s not too late to make this usually over indulgent, eat yourself into a coma holiday, a time to thrive.
You’ll be surrounded by processed and unhealthful foods that taunt your normal steadfast willpower. This is a perfect opportunity to pump that discipline muscle and chose a different path for yourself. A path of light body, and clear energized mind.

Instead of waking up at 5am on black Friday in a sugar haze, replace your habits with these healthy holiday THRIVal tactics. We don’t have to just survive; chose to thrive!

New Twists On Traditional Recipes: I spent last weekend at a holiday raw food mini expo put together by Raw Bay Area. The day long event pulled together the top raw food chefs, educators and green vendors for a day of “uncooking” classes. Hundreds of curious vegetarians, vegans and raw foodists came out to learn innovative ways to take a traditional Thanksgiving meal to a healthier, high vibing level. Why cook artery clogging concoctions when there are scrumptious healthy alternative?
Why dump a can of cranberry sauce in a bowl when you could whip one up…

Cranberry Orange Relish

Ingredients

  • 2 cups- fresh cranberries
  • 1/4 cup- raw cane sugar or date paste
  • 2 tsp orange zest
  • 1 orange, peeled and sectioned
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 tsp ground psyllium husk or Mila (chia seed)

Directions

Place the cranberries, raw cane sugar, orange zest, orange segments, and ginger in a food processor and process until the mixture is chopped but still has some texture. Add the ground psyllium, if using and process to incorporate. Chill for at least 30 minuets before serving. Will keep for up to two weeks in fridge. Or how about swapping breadcrumb, butter filled stuffing with delicious, gluten free, and enzyme rich raw….

Almond Stuffing

Ingredients

  • 2 cups-almonds soaked 8-12 hours, drained, and rinsed (about 2 1/2 cups after soaking)
  • 1 apple, cored and chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 tbsp ground golden flax seeds
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp tamari
  • 1/2 sea salt
  • 2 tsp poultry seasoning

Directions

Place the soaked almonds in a food processor and process until crumbly. Add the apple, garlic and onion and pulse briefly to incorporate and chop slightly. Remove the almond mixture to a mixing bowl and add the celery, ground flax, olive oil, tamari, sea salt, and poultry seasoning. Mix well. Crumble the stuffing onto a dehydrator mesh sheet (no teflex needed) and dehydrate at 105 degrees F for 5 hours. Serves 4 and will keep for up to five days in fridge.

Need to bring an appetizer or thank you gift?Try Diana Stobo’s Pumpkin Spiced Party Nut Mix. I spent a few hours getting to know Diana and her SAD diet to raw food story during the raw day event. She is the real deal! A radiant, inspirational, gorgeous mom of three. Beyond her book Get Naked Fast, Diana offers a ton of yummy recipes with vibrant pictures and video on her site. I’ve tried almost all of them!
Raw desserts are even more tasty then the baked variety, provide real whole food nutrition and are super quick to make, leaving you more time to have fun. Bring a warm smile to anyone’s face with a festive raw pumpkin pie
 
Switch Your Food Focus: Inevitably most of us spend the entire Thanksgiving day preparing the feast. We sit, chat, munch on appetizers, and repeat. By the time the bird is ready we waddle over to the table already full. Why do we do this to ourselves? Spend the day moving instead.
If you’re hosting the feast: aim to get most of the dinner prepped early so you can enjoy some time away from food and focus on loved ones and activities. Food is just one aspect of the holiday. Share the load with helping hands so you can all get out of the kitchen quicker.
If you’re not the host: suggest a game of football on the front lawn, a breezy walk with the dogs before dinner, or even a board game. You can easily change the energy and focus of an event by leading by example.
I always try to get my family on the mat with me for some pilates/yoga. We’ll see how much I can inspire them this season! Tough crowd I tell you.

What are your thrival tactics?

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