iPhone pic of our Thanksgiving table last night!
Hi Friends,
Rather than giving you some information today, I am hoping to get some from you. Would you mind? I promise it will only take a moment of your time, and it’s kind of a fun sociological study…
1. How was your Thanksgiving?
2. What did you eat? Mainly, I am curious if you stayed paleo or revisited the modern diet (mashed potatoes, stuffing with bread, biscuits, pie, etc.)?
3. If you did stray away from Paleo, how did it make you feel? How do you feel now?
4. If you did stay paleo among other non-paleo eaters, did it prompt a nutrition discussion at the dinner table? I know that sometimes avoiding certain tasty-looking foods can cause others to worry… What? No potatoes for you?? Are you feeling okay, honey?? Because you must be just plain nuts to not want those, right? ;) wink, wink…
5. Anything else you want to share!
I’ll go first. Jake and I were fortunate to go to Paleo Mom & Dad’s, and mom cooked up a bunch of really delicious paleo meals for us. Even so, I did eat a few of the diabetic no-no’s and did have some high blood sugar last night and this morning because of it. But, because I didn’t break paleo, I had no other ill side affects… no bloating, no tummy ache, no headache or post-grain grumpiness. So, all in all I’d say that I did okay. Not great, just okay. Could have just stuck to the turkey and roasted veggies, but those darned sweet potatoes make me so weak in the knees…
Okay, your turn – please post comments – no judging here – just wanting to help others learn by sharing a bit! Thank you, in advance.
Happy Eating :) Joey
Sleep Love Eat 
I stayed paleo, and actually found it much easier than I expected.
I ate –
For an appetizer, I had a little caviar on celery
For dinner, I had turkey, green beans, 1/2 sweet potato, butternut squash, turnip, a couple olives, and a scoop of homemade cranberry sauce (which had nothing but cranberry and orange zest in it)
For dessert, I had some pumpkin pie that was just pumpkin puree & spices. No crust, no sweetener.
My plate was full, and I made no remarks about what others eating, and so no one even noticed me eating any differently.
Easy easy!
Everything was so delicious, and I had a great day!
I stayed paleo but took dessert to be polite, as we were at families house, and it was truly disgusting. It was chocolate cake which I am not a big fan of on a normal diet. I was happy to report to myself that I didn’t undo all we have been working towards and didn’t overeat either.
On friday, my husband and I made a complete paleo turkey dinner and it was amazing!! My 6 and 9 yr old loved it! They had seconds:)
We had lots of Paleo and some nonpaleo dishes on the table for the mixed crowd. A friend and I both split half the meal. My recipes were all paleo, hers were as healthy as she could but some sweetners, etc. No mashed potatoes but bread stuffing, pies with crust, homemade rosemary bread. Except the pie and some chocolate fudge my plate remained paleo but still, we all ate too much. Lots of paleo explanation at the dinner table but I get little resistence since I’ve gone through a dramatic weight loss/ health boost since last January and particulalry since going 80-98% paleo last July. And since I’m a great cook and had so many new recipes to share (root mash, ground bison and apple stuffing, proscutti wrapped pears, wild boar roast – all from the web) that there were no true complaints. I love the new flaovors, ingredients and health benefits from paleo and so Thanksgiving was an extra treat!
Our Thanksgiving-
It was my husband and I’s first Thanksgiving together as a married couple and it was beyond interesting.
First off due to snow and snow and ice and slush we were stuck in our house for three days- including Thanksgiving. We had planned to host the Turkey dinner with friends and family but on Wednesday that was cancelled. Our everlasting hope was to get out of the house and to the store for steaks and artichokes for our private (trapped) holiday dinner. But to no avail. Luckly before the storm hit and before we went to Portland on Sunday I had bought some sausages, spaghetti squash and sweet potatoes. We had a bare pantry and fridge due to the holiday and the travel to PDX hence the lack of items.
That was our Thanksgiving paleo dinner: Sausages, Spaghettt Squash and Sweet Potatoe Fries and for dessert JAWS and JAWS 3. It was a triple S and double J dinner. Ha Ha.
This was weirdest holiday yet but was still very paleo while stuck indoors for three days.
Let me tell you grocery shopping was a blast on the 26th! Variety is what I love.
Looking forward to Solistice with my newly paleo parents and our week long celebration of eating clean! Should be tasty.
I stayed mainly paleo for Thanksgiving, much to the confusion of my family. I ate turkey, asparagus, raw veggies, olives, a Hawaiian sweet potato (we’re in Maui for the week!), and some cranberry sauce, which was made with sugar. I skipped the Stove Top, mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls. After dinner, I didn’t feel bloated or achy. It was great! I’ve been eating some treats on vacation, but I’m eager to get back on the paleo wagon once I’m home again. I’m also impressed with my ability to say no to sugar and carb bombs that I would have eaten mindlessly before. I’m thinking a New Year’s Whole30 will be the perfect gift to myself for 2011!
Well I slipped up. I was with relatives I don’t know that well and also their relatives (strangers to me) so I was a bit shy about my needs. The night before T-Day my cousin took us all out to dinner and I got talapia w/ salsa on it but I ate the white whole beans and some of the rice. I felt blotted the next morning and had a headache. We went on a big hike up a mt. that morning then I did a WOD that my gym (Norcal Strength and Conditioning) posted then went into a late afternoon T-Day meal. I passed on the bread, gravy and stuffing but I had the sugar sweet pie for dessert and a glass of wine. My headache continued and I did not sleep very well. Got back on track Fri. and now feel better and no headache. I was so glad to still have worked out and did the T-Day WOD again today. Now to start my Whole30 :-)
I stuck to paleo except for the red wine:( I had Turkey, Veggies, Sweet Potatoes with coconut milk and ginger. For dessert I had Pumpkin bars with unsweetened applesauce and almond flour and walnuts. Everyone at the table loved the sweet potatoes. Nobody added the brown sugar I placed on the table. Yes, a Paleo discussion ensued after people saw that I wasn’t eating green bean casserole. It is quite interesting how people get so intrigued about what others eat and don’t remained focused on their own plate. I heard thinhs like, “Just have a bite” and “You are so fit, why are you eating like that”? I politely answered all questions and throroughly enjoyed my plate full of poultry paleo!
I did OK, I had turkey, green beans, butternut squash and mashed potatoes with butter. The best part was instead of cranberries my aunt served pomegranates! They were great, very tart! They were very similar to a cranberry taste that went well with the meal. On my general diet I am not completely paleo, I still do a little dairy here and there. So I had a slice of cheese for an appetizer.
I went home feeling good, didn’t overeat. My poor non-paleo husband was talked into 3 pieces of pie at 2 relative’s homes we stopped by. He was a hurting unit by the time we got home. He younger than me, so I have hopes he will listen to his body in the next few yrs. I sure had to!
Hi Joey!
Mostly I just wanted to say hi – I’ve been catching up on your blog over the last 2 months or so…it’s informative and lovely as ever! :)
Hopefully you are doing well. My Thanksgiving was wonderful – at my sister-in-laws’ family’s house – filled with good food and friends. The dish I brought was roasted veggies so I knew I would have something low carb and delicious to fill up on if I found myself in the middle of a carby side dish attack. Luckily there was not only a delicious turkey but also a roast to share. It was easy to avoid stuffing and rolls, they’ve never been my favorites, anyhow. My sugars went a little high after a few too many samples of dessert, but overall I did pretty well. I think Thanksgiving is really about the people and the experiences more than anything else, so I’m truly thankful for that!
My household and I have been heading towards Paleo. I’m happy to say we DID it! I don’t know where the ‘thinking about it’ turned into, ‘I’m ready’, but it did! Thanksgiving was actually before it happened, but we were already Zoning and eyeballing. Above was mentioned roast, and you’re right! We had prime rib to choose from as well as turkey, and it was much easier to avoid temptations. Did indulge in homemade gluten free cheesecake. Turning the pumpkin ‘pie’ into a flourless quiche was better than I thought. Honestly, I don’t feel tempted like I thought I would, but we’ll see what happens at Christmas meals to come. I’m ready, bring it on!
~Renee
Hi, Just wanted to say I love your blog! Keep the good stuff coming!
Cara
primroseandpaleo.wordpress.com
Thank you Cara!
I am new to Paleo and your site has been so helpful!! I am sooo glad to hear about the headaches and crankiness after eating carbs is really true. I had my first carb-intake since going Paleo this past weekend, and I felt like garbage a few hours later – headache, lethargic, just overall gross. Can someone explain why? Has my body been fighting this my whole life?
The sensitivity to sugar/grains was likely always there. It was just normal… your “base level.” You just notice the difference now that you’ve cleaned yourself up :) I used to have headaches almost daily and constantly felt the need to nap. Now I suffer zero headaches and have more energy than I know what to do with.