Well, we made it through Halloween! Hope everyone had fun!! (I know I did!)

And, as of today, only three weeks until Thanksgiving! Time to start sharing some recipes and ideas?

My family's traditional dishes are pretty heavy--soda cracker stuffing, broccoli casserole with Ritz & Velveeta, candied yams, etc. I think this year, I'm going to try to cook a veggie feast to go with it, with all my favorite healthy veggie recipes.

I need "healthier" mashed potato recipe... Any suggestions would be appreciated… I have a “Good Ole’ Southern Family” so cauliflower mashed potatoes will not go over well with them.

skinnytaste dot com has a bunch of "healthier" recipes, including holiday ones. There's a mashed potato recipe that uses real potatoes, low fat milk and chicken broth. I've been perusing that site for a while now, and have tried some of the recipes myself. They're hit and miss, but when they hit they're really hit!

Thanks Missy Krissy. I will check this out.

I really like substitution recipes, but my plan makes them quite decadent (yay low carb!) which makes adherence a pleasure. That said, I will allow a serving of a sugary food like sweet potatoes or even a piece of pie, but NO seconds. Given then we usually do this with family that brings most of the food, it makes it trickier than if I could cook it all myself, but it is still very doable. There's plenty of on-plan options for me, but a controlled amount of something else is acceptable. The trick is getting right back on plan immediately afterward, which I've gotten better at over the years

You say Time to Plan for Thanksgiving? Gotta clean up all these pesky empty halloween candy wrappers first. Wonder (urp) where they came from?

I love this website. I've tried several recipes (making one in the crock pot as we speak!) And I've pretty much loved them all. Even my boyfriend and daughter who could eat junk all week and not gain a pound!

I'll be using some of her ideas as far as substitutions for my own holiday cooking. This year we won't have our daughters for Thanksgiving so we'll be celebrating a week earlier. Which means time to start planning my menu! The fact that we're doing this a week earlier AND we'll be on vacation for Thanksgiving instead of stuffing our faces will probably save me several hundred calories AND returning for leftovers all weekend long.