Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey?

We always have a lot of left over turkey after Thanksgiving and normally we just use it to make turkey sandwiches for lunch but this year I wanted to use the left overs to make more creative delicious meals. As usual I turned to Pinterest!

Soups:

Turkey Noodle Soup

Creamy Turkey Soup

Bakes:

Baked Penne With Turkey

Broccoli Turkey Bake

Quesadillas:

Turkey And Corn Quesadilla

BBQ Turkey Quesadilla

Pizzas:

Turkey Alfredo Pizza

Left Over Turkey Pizza

Sandwiches:

Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Grilled Cheese

Hot Turkey Sandwich

Pot Pie:

Turkey Pot Pie

Biscuit Topped Turkey Pot Pie

Mmmmm so excited!

Happy Thanksgiving

From my family to yours...

Thanksgiving Day Food Tips

Thanksgiving day is probably one of the hardest days to get through if you are on a diet, its almost impossible to not gorge yourself on all the deliciously unhealthy foods unless you have extreme self control which I totally lack! So just like last month with the Halloween candy, I did a lot of research and found the best tips on how to not totally over do it during Thanksgiving day. This is what I found:

Thanksgiving Day Food Tips

*Skipping breakfast and lunch will lead to overeating when you sit down to eat your Thanksgiving dinner.

*Your body isn't meant to handle 2,000 to 3,000 calories all at once and will store the excess calories as fat so try and keep track of the calories you eat for your Thanksgiving dinner.

*Control your portion size. 

 (keep this picture in mind while plating your food)

*When plating your food start with veggies and/or salad then serve yourself some lean protein. The last thing you should put on your plate is the mashed potatoes, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes ect. There shouldn't be that much room left on your plate for these after the vegetables and protein which will help keep the portion size small.

*Ask your family members to go on a walk with you after you all are done with your Thanksgiving dinner. Also plan a workout with a friend for the morning after. Of course being physical and working out will help burn off some of the extra calories you ate during your Thanksgiving day.

*Remember that the pre Thanksgiving dinner finger foods are not calorie free so make smart decisions and try to avoid the ones that are deep fried and the ones made with a lot of mayo or creamy sauces. If your worried their wont be anything healthy to munch on bring a vegetable platter for everyone to enjoy. These are the finger foods I will be making...click here!

(some serving sizes to remember)

This Over That

*White Meat over Dark Meat 

(Dark meat is about twice as fatty as white meat.)

*Homemade Cranberry Sauce over Jellied Cranberry Sauce 

(Homemade has less sugar then canned.)

*Green Bean Casserole over Stuffing 

(Stuffing is just croutons drenched in fat and loaded with sodium and is even worse if its cooked in the turkey.)

*1/2 Cup Mashed Potatoes With 1/4 Cup Turkey Gravy over Candied Sweet Potatoes With Marshmallow Topping

(Sweet potatoes lose their good nutritional facts once they are covered with marshmallows.)

*Dinner Roll With Butter over Cornbread With Butter

(Cornbread is sweeter, saltier and fatter then regular dinner rolls.)

*Pumpkin Pie With Low Fat Whip over Medium Slice Pecan Pie

(The corn syrup in a pecan pie is what makes it so unhealthy. If your looking for a healthier pumpkin pie recipe click here!)




I know that the holidays can be stressful if you are on a diet but don't let the stress ruin your day! Just remember that Thanksgiving is a day to....

 ....so enjoy yourself and your loved ones!

Thanksgiving Thrifted Twin Threads

I found this outfit on Pinterest and thought it was really cute and comfy and would be perfect to wear for Thanksgiving. So I ran out to some of my local thrift stores to find the pieces I needed...the search was on!

 This outfit is great for the cool fall weather.

If I would of bought all the pieces of this outfit new I would of paid around $275 but since I bought everything thrifted I paid about $30.


(my hair is done in the Three Braided Bun style)

Thanksgiving Fun Festivities & Tasty Themed Treats

In our house on Thanksgiving you will find the guys parked on the couch watching football, the girls in the kitchen cooking and talking about Christmas and the kiddos running around the house trying to find something fun to do to keep them entertained. This year I thought it would be nice to plan a few Thanksgiving themed activities for the kids to do so they wont get bored.

 Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe

Mini Pumpkins in white and orange, masking tape.

 Turkey Bowling

Turkey center pieces and a ball from The Dollar Tree.

 

Throw The Scarecrow

6 scarecrow decoration dolls (3 each) and two buckets from The Dollar Tree.

Pin The Gobbler On The Turkey

Poster board, markers and construction paper.

Note Pads For Coloring & Doodling

*There are also a lot of fun free printable Thanksgiving games online!*
Kaboodle
Moms and Munchkins
Between The Kids
Crayola



Thanksgiving Themed Tasty Treats


Turkey Caramel Apple Dip

Supplies:
Caramel Sauce (I made mine by boiling a can of condensed milk)
Candy Corn
Mini Chocolate Chips
Different Colored Apples
Place a small bowl on a larger plate. Slice the apples. Place the apple slices around the bowl in the shape of a turkey tail. Pour the caramel sauce into the bowl. Top with a candy corn nose and mini chocolate chip eyes.

Chocolate Cookie Acorns

Supplies:
Hershey's Kisses
Mini Chocolate Chips
Black Icing
Golden Mini Oreo's
Squeeze a dot of the frosting onto one side of the Oreo's. Place a Hershey's kiss on top of the icing. Pick up the cookie with the Hershey's kiss attached and squeeze another dot of icing on the other side of the cookie. Place a mini chocolate chip on top of this icing dot.

Pilgrim Hats

Supplies:
Devil's Food Cookies
Rolo's
Orange Icing
Reese's Pieces
Squeeze a dot of the orange icing onto the cookies. Place a Rolo onto the orange icing squishing the icing down to make a rim. Squeeze a bit of orange frosting onto the backs of the orange Reese's Pieces then place the frosting side onto the Rolo's.

Hungry For Hunger Games?

My husband is a huge fan of The Hunger Games movie and he is totally beyond excited that Catching Fire is finally in theaters! We have been planning to have a date night this weekend to see the movie for awhile now but to get him even more pumped and ready I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a The Hunger Games movie night! 

I started the night out by making a Hunger Games themed dinner.

 

I wanted all the food I made for dinner to be natural food that some one could raise and grow. I also wanted to cook all the food on a "fire" so I cooked everything on our grill.

I went with an outdoors woodland theme so everything I used to decorate was green, wooden or wooden looking. And of  course I couldn't forget a loaf of bread!

(Thank god the cold snowy weather held out so we could eat our dinner outside.)

I loved the metal bird candle holders which were a random score from Goodwill, they reminded me of Mockingjays and really tied all the decorations together.

 

For dessert we had fresh fruit which we munched on while we watched the movie!

It was a fun night, my husband always likes when I surprise him with a themed meal, and now we are even more excited and so ready to see Catching Fire!

Estes Park (C.I.C)

One of my all time favorite places to visit in Colorado is Estes Park!
Here is why:

The town of Estes is quaint and cute. The shops are fun to mosey around in and the eateries are delicious. 

 One of my husbands favorite restaurants in Estes is Nepal's which has some pretty tasty Indian food. We always get the buffet when we eat there.
Bob and Tony's and Chicago's Best has some amazing Pizza.
One of the best parts of downtown Estes is that there is a sweets shop on almost every corner, the Caramel Crisp is our favorite. 

The wildlife in Estes is amazing! Every time I have visited I have seen herds of elk and deer which is so awesome to see! My husband has even had a fun little adventure with a black bear.

I am obsessed with the Rocky Mountain National Forest! When my family and friends come out to visit  I make sure that a picnic in the Rocky Mountain National Forest is on our list of things to do!
(This picture was taken at the top of Rainbow Curve)

This month have are having a few cool holiday events which I am so excited to go to this year!
November 23rd - Tree Lighting Ceremony
November 29th - Glow Parade

Estes Park

http://www.visitestespark.com/

Also vote for Estes as the Coolest Small Town because it totally is!
 http://www.budgettravel.com/contest/is-your-town-the-coolest,15/

But my very favorite thing to do in Estes Park is explore the Stanley Hotel!

 

The Stanley Hotel is beautiful....and haunted!
(My husband has stories about that as well.)

You can sit on the front patio and take in the amazing view, sit inside by the fire places in the lobby, peek into the other rooms, enjoy the water fall on the back patio, look through the gift shop or explore the basement where the walls are lined with pictures from the movies that were filmed at the hotel. There is also a little cafe that you can hang out in and have a cup of coffee. In the basement is also where you can sign up to go on one of their many tours! The one thing I have not done yet at the Stanley is stay the night, I will though...one day!

  My family and I always end our time in Estes with a drink at the Stanley Hotel's bar! 

Such a great way to end such a fun day!

Stanley Hotel

http://www.stanleyhotel.com/

Healthier Pumpkin Pie

My job on Thanksgiving is to bring the pumpkin pie for dessert...easy enough. But this year pretty much everyone in my family is on a diet so I thought I would find a healthier pumpkin pie recipe to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups Pumpkin Puree

1/2 cup Agave

4 Egg Whites

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1 1/2 cups Almond Milk

Pie Crust

Mix all the ingredients together really well in a mixing bowl.

Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Place the pie into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes.

Mmmmm my favorite!

"Normal" eight slice pie: 2,584 calories (323 per slice)

My eight slice pie: 1,752 calories (219 per slice)

104 calorie difference...that's a lot!

Holiday Hair Guide

I always try and get a bit dressed up for the holidays and actually try to do something with the mop on my head that I like to call my hair. This year I spent a bit of time browsing the Hair & Beauty section of Pinterest for a bit of inspiration. These were a few of my favorites and the how to links!

Up Do's

Pony Tail With A Braid Wrap

(how to)

Triple Braid Bun

(how to) 

Criss Cross Bun

(how to)

Side French Braids With A Bun

(how to)

 Curly Pony Tail With Accessory 

Half Up Do's 

Bow

(how to)

Single French Braid

(how to)

Overlap

 (how to)

Topsy Tail

  (how to)

Medium Length Hair Do's

Hair Tuck In A Head Band

(how to)

Curly Hair With Bang Braid

(how to)

(Special thanks to my bestest friend Erin and her daughter for helping me out with this post! You guys are awesome!)

Non Filling Football Finger Foods

If the guys in your family are anything like they are in mine they are parked on the couch watching football and munching on finger foods like tortilla chips with salsa and cream cheese, french bread chunks dipped in spinach dip and pinwheels before our Thanksgiving dinner. So when we all sit down to eat our massive meal the munch mouths are already pretty full. So this year I have decided to put out some lighter, healthier, smaller portion, somewhat homemade finger foods for everyone to chow down on before dinner.

Fruit

Nuts

Vegetables With Hummus Dip

Black And Green Olives

Mozzarella Cheese With Reduced Fat Wheat Crackers

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Chips

Sweet Potato Chips