Good evening! (Or morning or whenever you read this). Two days down, one to go until Thanksgiving! I’m more happy about the long weekend than the holiday itself, but it’ll be fun having a “big” group at Thanksgiving this year. For the past three years we’ve been anywhere from 3 to 6 people, but this year there will be eight humans and two dogs being all Thankful together. (I guess 8 isn’t that many more than 6, but it feels like it is!)
Do you do big or small Thanksgiving gatherings? Do you “Thanksgiving hop” from different houses? I bet these days between divorces and significant others, that’s what a lot of people do.
This past Sunday I ran 5 miles (slow…but steady)! I want to hit 10 miles by Christmas so I mapped out a schedule from now until then to hopefully get me there. We’ll see how it goes 
After my run (and another 3 miles of walking my dumb love-of-my-life Nina) I decided to make something I’ve read about on blogs and on the Hungry Girl emails (I used to subscribe but I stopped because there wasn’t as much “real food” featured as I would liked): butternut squash fries!
It wasn’t a FAIL per se, but I think I need to try again.
I peeled (which wasn’t as difficult as I was expecting) a medium butternut squash and cut it into fry-like pieces. Then I spread them out on a sheet pan and sprayed them with olive oil from my Misto:
I don’t know why but sometimes the Misto likes to “drizzle” rather than “spray” so my fries were more coated than I would have liked. I think it was less than a teaspoon of oil total, but the extra oil might have been part of the problem.
I baked the fries at 425 for 15 minutes, flipped them and baked for another 15. I sort of winged that part of it, so maybe that was it?
Now, don’t get me wrong. They were GOOD. Just a bit mushy. I had half yesterday and the other half today and they tasted delicious even with no ketchup…but I wouldn’t call them “fry-like.” More “roasted-squash-like” which is, you know, awesome, but not what I was going for.
I’m going to try again though. I made sweet potato fries earlier in the week using nearly the same method and they came out a lot better. Although winter squashes and sweet potatoes are higher in carbs/calories than other veggies, they are chock full of nutrients, not to mention YUMMY, especially this time of year when they are in season.
I had my “fries” with a simple salad of spinach, tomato, balsamic vinegar, and my new obsession: a Costco salmon burger.
Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE these? Probably. For some reason they remind me of the Filet O Fish from McDonald’s and back in the day (WAY back…don’t hate!) I used to love those. Don’t let that turn you off to these though if they have them at your Costco because they are delicious and full of healthy Omega-3s. More sodium than I would like, but so is a lot of other things I’m eating these days.
And on that note…
I kept lunch light (after 8 miles on my feet!) because I really wanted frozen yogurt. So I went out and got some. I know it would have been “better” to have a whole grain or something instead of fro yo…but I’ve been craving it for weeks! Honestly, I feel like I’ve been going a little overboard on the sugar (and sodium) lately, and I’m starting to feel, well, “puffy”…but right now, especially after this summer’s intense diet, I’m working on balance and “progress instead of perfection” (to quote the bootcamp trainer).
I know I’ll have to clean up my eats pretty soon or I’m going to undo all my hard work, but right now I’m working on getting my emotions related to food in check, making sure most of my meals are healthy and I’m staying active, and not worrying too much about the possibly excessive treats. It’s a struggle, I have to say, but I am determined to repair my relationship with food and my own self-image that has been broken and F-ed up (sorry) for so long. And I can tell I’m getting there…slooowly.
Phew! That was a rant. And this was going to be a short post! Who am I kidding….brevity is not my skill set. Thanks for reading if you’re still around
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i have never tried the costco salmon burgers. how are the nutritional stats? lucky for me i get to go to my parents’ every holiday and when i get married it will likely be the same b/c marshall does not spend a lot of time with his fam. i am selfish and love my family time! haha. girl.. loved your rant. i can relate all too well and you know it! it is good that you are aware of the treats and you will keep yourself in check. and on that note, props for going with the craving. if you crave something for a LONG time then you know it is a genuine crave and you should def give in now and then
xoxo
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I used to love the Fillet-O-Fish too! That doesn’t turn me off, I want to go buy some! I can tell you are really doing a fantastic job after your hard core diet. The fries look really good, but maybe you could cook them a little long next time because butternut squash is not as dry as sweet potatoes, so they maky take longer.
Congrats on all of the long runs, that’s awesome, you are a runner now, officially in my opinion.
We just go to my aunt and uncle’s house for Thanksgiving. My aunt is a GREAT cook, but she broke her hip this year and is on bed rest so my family is bringing the food (scary!). We’ll see how it turns out….
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Okay. First. The b-nut squash fries. I like to think that I’ve made them enough that I’ve got it down to a science, so here’s what works for me (although, it’s not fail-proof, some batches just want to be soggy). After I slice them up, I squeeze out every last bit of moisture from the raw fries with paper towel. Then I lightly spray them in oil and salt. And bake at 425-450-ish flipping every 5 minutes. When they sit on the pan for too long, it lets the bottom get soggy, so the constant flipping helps. A little more labour intensive, but hopefully it will work for you!
Ahhh, balance. Honestly, I think it’s a lifetime struggle. Some days or weeks are better or worse than others. It’s always an up and down motion. But I’m totally proud of you for just going for what you were craving!! We need to give into those foods in order to maintain our sanity! But you also can’t deny how awesome a few days of clean eating makes you feel. From what I’ve seen, you’re doing a wonderful job and finally getting to a good place with food and exercise
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I’m right with you on the “rant” part of your post. Balance is hard to find sometimes, but I’m sure working on it!
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maybe if you put them on one a cooling rack in the oven the heat could wrap around it all and produce an extra crisp fry like texture?
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Progress is always what you want to aim for. Never perfection. Just focus on being the best you that you can be, at this moment in time. Love everything about yourself today. You have accomplished a lot since I have been reading your blog. You’re doing great! Balance is hard to find, but you’ll get there. Just remember that you are striving for what works for you. I love Costco’s Salmon Burgers. They are the best!
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I used to love those McDonalds Filet O Fishes too!!!!!! As for the butternut fries….I’ve never tried them either so I can’t share any advice. They look yummy though!
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