America's on crack page

**TigerJ** · 11-25-2010, 10:19 AM

So out of curiosity I clicked on the google image recipes. For those who have no idea what I am talking about, if you click 'I'm feeling lucky' on google's main search page then you will see holiday (and often birthday, anniversary etc) icons. So today the 'Google' image is in the rough shape of a Thanksgiving spread and there is a recipe attached to each. I'm using this as a proxy for what is a typical Thanksgiving meal for all the non-primals out there.

Turkey - fine.
Smashed sweet potatoes - would be good, but recipe adds orange juice and brown sugar. Not the worst, but geez they are sweet already.
Roasted brussel sprouts - fine.
Popovers - Mostly white flour with eggs and milk.
Cranberry sauce - Recipe calls for 1 and 3/4 cup of sugar for 12 oz of berries. Seriously!
Pumpkin banana mousse tart - Well this may not be strictly tradition but sugar in crust, 1 cup sugar for 1 15 oz can pumpkin, and more sugar in the topping.

So the turkey and brussel sprouts are fine; then you have sweet potatoes with added sugar and fruit juice, white flour popovers, a cranberry sauce with like 3x as much sugar as berries, then the regular dessert of course loaded with sugar. Really this meal is first part OK (turkey and veggies) then 4 desserts.

It's no wonder 50% of Americans are projected to have diabetes by 2010.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diabete...ry?id=12238602

I'm so thankful for Mark Sisson and this MDA forum, Robb Wolf, Paleo Hacks, the Whole9 duo and all the other paleo bloggers out there! Happy Thanksgiving... just with less sugar.

**naiadknight** · 11-25-2010, 10:26 AM

My family's spread was usually:
Salad
potato casserole (potatos, sour cream, cheese, and some other stuff, no sugar)
Sweet potatos (slice, sprinkled with brown sugar, topped with marshmallows)
garlic smashed potatos (potatos again)
Green beans (no the casserole)
cranberry sauce (OJ, sugar)
Turkey (Occasionally honey glazed, usually not)
Ham (Usually honey glazed)
pumpkin pie
pecan pie
chocolate pie
apple pie
Is it any wonder my kin are all heavyset? We ate like this at every family get together.

**AnneArchy** · 11-25-2010, 10:39 AM

I'm at my parents house for Thanksgiving and there is SUGAR, CARBS and LOW-FAT crap ALL OVER!! My parents saw me lose 30lbs on Atkins years ago and I gained about 10lbs back and lost it this year on the PB, but still have a little ways to go (I'm 5'5" 130lbs). My dad read the PB book because we share a kindle account and shows some interest but hasn't started it. I'm hoping he will, or that he at least cuts out refined carbs and sugar.

My mother is just impossible. I think she last told me she weighs 180-190lbs at about 5'6" and she's 62. I heard that a neighbor of ours shot 2 deer last week on our land and asked him if we could have some venison. I brought home a bag of it and she said "You can't eat all that on your own," and I said, "Well, you and Dad and I can split it." She says, "I am NOT eating that CRAP!" I can't believe she actually called venison CRAP!! What's CRAP is all the junk that she buys because it is on sale but it's horrible food.
A friend of mine offered our family a turkey that he raises on his own farm - free-range antibiotic hormone free... blah blah.. Mom says , "No I'm going get one at the store because it's on sale for $.59/lb. Argh. I want my parents to eat healthier - it doens't even have to be the PB but just something better than what they're eating now. I want my parents to play with their grandkids if me or my sister ever have them but who knows. I'm 28. Perhaps when you are older you just "don't care" and eat what you want. Maybe you think it's too late to improve and possibly extend your life.

**Katie82** · 11-25-2010, 10:42 AM

Thanks for posting this. I was wondering how long to cook my turkey so I clicked on that recipe. It's by Ina Garten, everything I make by her comes out awesome

. Of course I won't be making that other stuff but now I know my turkey will be tasty and I won't overcook it like always, haha.
We're having Turkey, homemade cranberry sauce with less than 1/2 that amount of sugar, mashed potatoes with lotsa butter and cream, honey ginger baby carrots (not much honey) and mashed turnip(or rutabaga) with butter and S+P. Oh, and deviled eggs and shrimp cocktail. Yum! DH made a pudding pie, I might take a bite avoiding the crust, or not

I'm so glad we're not doing the bread and stuffing, and desserts galore. I always hated that yucky stuffed feeling and am looking forward to NEVER doing that to myself again!

**TigerJ** · 11-25-2010, 11:01 AM

Naiad that is epic. Two veggies and turkey; accompanied by 3 starches, ham made to taste like dessert, berries made to taste like dessert, then 4 desserts!

**Dualhammers** · 11-25-2010, 11:12 AM

If this was an everyday occasion I'd agree it is awful, but If I eat like this once a year on thanksgiving, even if I make non-primal meals, I don't see where the problem is.

This year I made the following:

Roasted Turkey with Olive Oil
Au Gratin red potatoes with heavy cream and cheddar cheese
Mashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup (1/2 cup for 5 potatoes) at the request of my guests
Creamed spinach - spinach, heavy cream, and a little corn starch
Pumpkin Pie for dessert (one small pie)

Is it completely primal? Absolutely not. But I am not so afraid of my food as to not allow myself a 20% and not so arrogant as to think that only if I go 100% primal am I living the way I should.

**iniQuity** · 11-25-2010, 11:23 AM

Surely one day won't derail your efforts, but I for one am getting pretty fed up of how accepting everybody wants to be all the time. I don't know, I guess I'm a hard ass, but I'm getting pretty tired of "holiday eating" and people do it so often about anything that isn't even a holiday that it's no wonder people have no discipline. I'm not taking shots here, but I just see it too much "well I was at the bar, I HAD to get a beer and if I get a beer I GOTTA get a burger and I have the burger I GOTTA EAT THE FRIES" sure, okay, that's fine, just don't bitch about it later.

I'm having a 100% hardcore, asshole Paleo, holier than thou thanksgiving meal and I think I'll finish off the night by sniffing my socks before throwing them in the wash, just cuz I'm so damn full of myself.