I know everyone loves Christmas, but Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It’s the one time of year my whole family gets together. And I mean my WHOLE family. My immediately family, as well as all my aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family, gather together at our family farm in Thomasville, GA for a weekend-long celebration of food and fellowship. Our Thanksgivings are more like family reunions. It’s potluck style (everyone brings a covered dish) and you can expect to see anywhere close to 75 people at our Thanksgiving day lunch on Thursday. It’s awesome!
In years past, I’ve looked forward to eating all the creamed corn, mac and cheese, stuffing and sweet potato casserole (just give me all the sides!) my heart desired, but Thanksgiving will look a little different for me this year from a dining perspective. In addition to omitting grains, dairy, artificial sugars and more from my diet, I was recently presented with a new challenge. About a month ago, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes – a condition in which a woman without diabetes develops high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. Basically, because of my pregnancy, my body is taking a little longer to digest carbohydrates which leads to higher levels of blood sugar. The best way to treat this is through proper diet and exercise, and thankfully, everything I’ve learned from Barbara Gray at Food for Life is exactly what I need to be doing. Because I already maintain a low carb and low sugar diet, I haven’t had to change much about my eating habits (I’m just being more conscious of having enough protein with my healthy carbs. Protein helps stabilize carbohydrates so your body can process them better). I also have to prick my finger 4 times a day to make sure my levels are within a healthy range. A little bit of an inconvenience, but it’s also been a new adventure and opportunity to learn about something I never thought I would. I have a whole new appreciation and respect for people who live with diabetes every day.
So, while I may have a bite or two of mac and cheese, I’m still going to opt for the healthier options on Thanksgiving day – like my spinach salad with apples, bacon and roasted butternut squash. This salad is super filling and I love the sweet and salty combo of the apples and bacon. If you’re looking for a healthier side dish to bring to your Thanksgiving meal this week, give this a try. If you are not worried about dairy, some goat cheese would make this extra delicious.
Happy Thanksgiving!
- 12 oz of baby spinach
- 1 large Honeycrisp apple, diced
- 2 cups butternut squash, diced
- ½ small red onion
- 12 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
- ¼ cup dried cranberries (sweetened with juice instead of sugar)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp fresh or dried rosemary
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp fresh or dried rosemary
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- For the salad:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cubed butternut squash in a bowl and toss with olive oil, cinnamon, rosemary and salt and pepper. Spread into an even layer on baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes or until fork tender. Allow to cool before adding to salad.
- In a large salad bowl toss together spinach, apple, squash, red onion, chicken, bacon and dried cranberries.
- For the dressing:
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake until well combined.
- Time saving tip: If your short on time to make the dressing, Garlic Expressions also works great with this salad.
- Optional salad toppings: pecans, pumpkin seeds, goat or feta cheese
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