Let’s Change Thanksgiving!
This is my favorite holiday of the year! After a lifetime of collecting every known cake pan, they are finally put to use all at once. We’re talking about pumpkin bread molds, mini-pumpkin muffin molds and beehive bundt cake pans, with final products that are frosting-leaf-tip-decorated and powder-sugared. Then, we have the new Paleo recipes to try: fresh cranberry chutney, butternut squash stuffing and apple pie tartlets with pecans and almond flour crust are mouthwatering and healthy alternatives. Finally, the crowning achievement is not the turkey, but the made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls.
Having said all of that, I wonder why we love any food so much? Who needs to eat all of this?! Personally, I do enjoy making big quantities of treats that can be handed out to neighbors during the week before the holiday. But the real reason for this food passion, is the cooking itself. Creating food from scratch for the family is so satisfying! And when you have relatives and friends cooking in the kitchen together, going into your fridge and cabinets, it’s the truest form of community.
While these traditions have lasted through many generations, they could be healthier! We could alter every recipe easily, but I think the most important element is sharing the food with others. We simply do not need a week’s worth of leftovers AFTER consuming four helpings at dinner. As the children get older, it will be important for us to establish new traditions of working to feed those who are unable to provide even a small meal to their family. Building these types of new traditions are difficult, and there will be resistance. Will the whole family get on board to join me?! What I do know is we have already achieved, and know how to continue achieving, a high level of fitness due to dedication, hard work, and building habits. Fundamentally changing Thanksgiving is no different than continuing to build habits to make healthy decisions to improve yourself mentally and physically, every day.
