Trimarni Thanksgiving eats - YUM!

We hope that you had a lovely Thanksgiving and filled your body with love, laughs and lots of yummy food. 

Karel, Campy and I celebrated Thnksgiving with my mom (in her new home just 10 minutes away from me - yay!) and my aunt, uncle and cousin. The Thanksgiving day was not the same without my dad but we made sure to share to not forget the impact he had made on all of our lives. 

For Karel and me, our Thanksgiving started with the TreesGreenville Turkey Day 8K which happened to be our very first event to participate in since moving to Greenville in May.
The event was in downtown Greenville so we woke up at 6am and after our pre-race snack we did a little foam rolling and dynamic warming up and then around 7:20am we ran to the start/finish which was around 1.3 miles away. My morning pre race snack was nothing out of the ordinary as I consume the same ingredients before training. A rice cake, smear of PB, cinnamon, raisins and banana slices. I didn't add any honey this morning. I sipped on a cup of coffee and glass of water and brought a flask of water (5 ounces) with me to carry for the race.
I will be sharing our race recap in another blog but it was a lot of fun to start our morning with other Greenvillians!

The morning started off chilly but then we got warm during the race and then we got cold again. We ran a total of around 7.5 miles or so and when we got home we were both ready for a recovery drink and Epson Salt bath.
My smoothie consisted of:
1 cup milk  + a little water to help mixing
1 chopped celery stick
A few pineapple chunks

1/2 cup frozen berries
Handful kale

Cinnamon/Ginger
1 heaping scoop Whey to Go protein powder (I add my powder last so it mixes smoothly)
Ice

After warming up, I started my cooking/baking for our late afternoon meal. For lunch I had leftover egg salad.

Egg chickpea salad
6 eggs (4 whole, 2 just whites)
Dallop or two greek yogurt
A little horseradish
A spoonful spicy mustard and spoonful olive oil Mayo
3 stalks chopped celery
1 carrot chopped (large)
1/2 can chickpeas
Pepper

1. Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate.

Now on to the baking!

My contribution to the Thanksgiving meal was a dessert and veggie dish.
I couldn't help myself as I was feeling extra happy in the kitchen so I made two desserts. I'm not as passionate about baking as I am cooking (although I AM passionate about eating desserts!) since I love to be creative in the kitchen and not be tied to following recipes. But this was a special day and I made full use of my time in the Trimaarni kitchen. 

Oatmeal apple and walnut crisp
2 cups old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup walnuts (chopped)
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
2 sweet baking apples (ex. honey crisp) chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch baking dish with non stick spray (or use butter).
2. In medium bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, 1/2 of the nuts, raisins, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix well. 

3. In another bowl, whisk eggs and then add the milk and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. 

4. Add milk mixture to oat mixture along with melted butter. 

5. Place apples on bottom of the baking dish. Pour oatmeal/milk mixture over the apples and spread evenly. 

6. Sprinkle remaining nuts on top.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the oats are set and top is golden. 

Kale, onion and corn salad
Kale
Frozen corn
Onions
Garlic
Olive oil
Garlic balsamic

1. In medium skillet, on medium heat, cover bottom with corn (defrosted and soft) and 1 tbsp or so of olive oil. 

2. Add 1/2 onion (chopped or sliced). 

3. Add fresh or jarred garlic to your liking. 

4. Cook corn and onion mixture until onions begin to turn a little brown. 

5. While corn is cooking, use a wok for Kale (or large skillet). Cook kale on low-medium heat in a little olive (I recommend to toss in bowl ahead of time for even coating) and cook until soft. 

6. When kale is soft, add corn mixture in wok and toss with a little balsamic and let cook for a few more minutes. Kale should remain soft, it should not brown. 

Garlic balsamic tempeh
Tempeh

Garlic balsamic

Olive oil
Salt

1. In skillet on medium heat, chopped tempeh.
2. Cook in a little olive oil until slightly brown. 

3. Add balsamic and toss. Tempeh should get a little soft. 

4. Add a pinch of salt. 

Yummm...pomegranate seeds and chocolate. 

Pomegranate Brownie bites
(Without compromising taste or texture, I tried to make these as "healthy" as possible but still be real brownies)

1 4 ounce package baking chocolate
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 pomegranate, seeded (my trick for seeding the pomegranate is to cut it in half and then place each half, seed side down, in a bowl of water. This will help the seeds come out a little easier. Then quarter each half and break with hands. Be careful to not stain your clothes)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a non stick baking pan (8 or 9 inch) with cooking spray. 

2. Melt together butter an chocolate in microwave (or double boiler) for 2 minutes (butter will melt first and may start to crackle after 1 minute but chocolate needs longer). Set aside and let cool. 

3. In another large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. 

4. Add cooled melted chocolate/butter mixture to egg mixture, whisk together. 

5. Stir in flour, mix until combined. Then stir in most of the seeds (save about 1/4 of the seeds for the top). 

6. Pour batter into pan. Sprinkle rest of the seeds on top and lightly press into batter but not too much that you can't see them. 

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Top of brownies should be firm but middle should be very moist. 

8. Cut into small chunks for brownie bites. 

Trimarni tip:
Always drink water with meals. If you like sparkling water, you can sip on sparkling water during your meal to help with digestion and indigestion. A calorie-free, carbonated beverage with no sugar sweeteners or alcohols is also a safe and healthy way to promote fullness while eating.

Make sure your fresh snacks are always handy. If healthy snacks aren't available then you can't eat them. 

This is Karel's cabbage recipe, inspired by his mom. Karel doesn't follow a recipe so he says it turns out a little differently every time. 

Here's a recipe I found that uses the same ingredients (minus the stock, Karel uses water and adds a few pinches of seasoning) as Karel's Czech-inspired recipe. 
Braised cabbage with apple and caraway seeds

We also had stuffing outside the bird. But my mom accidentally added a little seasoning that wasn't vegetarian and she didn't realize it until she checked the package. Oh well, bummer for the vegetarian at the dinner but more for everyone else to enjoy! 

I love my mom's sweet potato dish! This is the only time of the year I will yum over Marshmallows. Did you know there are vegan marshmallows that don't use gelatin?
My mom just cooks the sweet potatoes in a pot of boiling water until soft and the removes the skin. She mashes and then adds a little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Then she puts it in the oven for 20 minutes (220 degrees) and then boils the marshmallows for a few minutes (you must watch the marshmallows and keep the oven door cracked open so you can see them. If you leave it in 10 sec too long you will burn them).

And guess who else got a delicious plate for Thanksgiving? 

Yep, Mr. Campy got his own plate of real food. Lucky doggy!! This is a tradition since we got Campy and this year I captured it all on video. You can check it out on my Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition Facebook page. 

Poor Campy, he didn't even make it up passed 8pm. 

22 years as a lacto-ovo vegetarian and I still love this holiday. I just love creating a meal that taste great when I eat it and makes me feel even better after it is is consumed. 

Karel's plate with turkey, potatoes and roast.

Hopefully you have lots to be thankful for this year and you didn't forget to thank your awesome body on Thanksgiving!