30 Day Nutrition Challenge: Day 26

Room for dessert?

By this time next week, two things will be happening – you will be officially done with your “30 Day challenge”, and you’ll be celebrating a holiday that centers around A FEAST OF FOOD (oh…and family and giving thanks).

How will you prepare for this epic feast? Will you just show up and eat the same thing that you eat every year? Or will you WOW your family with one of these side dishes?

(Hint: Choose to WOW them. You’ll be happy that you did.)

Collard Greens: Cook  a sliced onion in some butter on the stovetop until the slices turn translucent and start to brown. Add 2 bunches of chopped up collard greens ( leave the thick stems in, just cut off the bottoms that are stems only) and about 1/2 cup of beef broth. Bring the broth to a boil for 5 minutes, then lower the heat and simmer on the stove for 2 hours. Make sure the heat is VERY low.

Acorn Squash: Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and bake it, cut sides down, on a baking sheet in a 400 degre oven for an hour. Flip the halves over, scoop out the insides and enjoy!

Spicy Sweet Potato Chunks: Cut a sweet potato into small squares, coat with olive oil, paprika and chili powder. Cook in a 400 degree oven for an hour, or until the edges of the squares start to turn brown and carmelize.<—Warning, these are addicting. Make a lot to serve the whole family.

Brussels Sprouts: Cut off the end of each sprout and cut them in half lengthwise. Place face down in a buttered saute pan. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes on low to medium heat, or until they start to just brown. Add a few tablespoons of water, cover and cook for another 10 minutes, checking to make sure they aren’t burning. Sprinkle with garlic powder and eat!

Roasted Cauliflower: Cut up the cauliflower into bite sized chunks, throwing out the hard inner core. Place in a baking dish with 6 cloves of minced garlic, and some rosemary or thyme. Bake for 45 minutes, or until all pieces are tender, in a 350 degree oven.

Sausage and Butternut Squash Hash: Remove sausage from the casing, break up into small pieces, and cook all the way through. Add diced onions, bacon crumbles (cooked), diced red and green peppers, and cubed (cooked) butternut squash. Season with a little olive oil and pepper.

Although we don’t condone talking about dietary restrictions at the dinner table ( it just makes everyone feel weird), this is a perfect example of how a glorious meal can be filling, taste great, AND be good for you, too!! Bread? Who needs it?! It just takes up precious room in my stomach that could be filled with goodness from the dishes above.

Make one of these side dishes this weekend as a test to make sure you like the way it tastes, and then make it again on Thanksgiving and serve it to your family.

Don’t hold out on us. We know you have more recipes to add to that list. Post your favorite Thanksgiving dish to the Comments!