Thanksgiving Recap + Coconut Lime Shrimp!

Thanksgiving post comin’ atcha! For Thanksgiving this year, my family and I went to Cape Cod and spent it with some close family friends. My family and I have no real traditions when it comes to Thanksgiving because my immediate family doesn’t live in the US, so we have always spent Thanksgiving in different places, with different people. No matter what, as long as my family is there, it doesn’t matter to me WHERE we go! It turns out that we had so much fun last year spending Thanksgiving with our family friends, we decided to do it again this year!
The table was beautiful! I love that Thanksgiving is a whole day event. We got to their house around 2pm and left around 10 pm. It was a beautiful day! The light from the ocean was shining in right on our table
Cute place tags!
And the mama
My orange zest infused cranberry sauce! It was such a hit!!
The drink/fruit bar
Fresh fruit. If you look closely at the gingerbread men sticking out, they are ninja gingerbread men!
Not one but TWO turkeys!!
We finished watching the Patriots game while enjoying some homemade butternut squash soup made by mama Onefitfoodie. It was simply butternut squash, leeks, spices and vegetable broth! Thats it! it was out of this world delicious. My mom also made a roasted red pepper sauce that had quite a kick to it!
The menu was written on a chalkboard for all to see
My mom made this cornbread stuffing that was incredible! I loved it but I told her last year I want to try sourdoughbread stuffing!
I made sweet potatoes with a crunchy topping by mixing oatmeal, cinnamon, agave and canola oil. It had a granola like texture which was perfect atop the sweet potaoes
Mashed potatoes, 3 types of stuffing, 2 turkeys, roasted root vegetables, salad, green beands
Roasted root vegetables with olive oil and rosemary
The simple salad. What I love is the salad bowl! It is acutally a whole stool, which has a built in bowl on top! It is awesome for saving space on the actual dinner table, but still is the height of the table
I was getting a sneak peak of the pies
Me and my dad waiting for our food with our turkey plates
My plate. I tried a little bit of everything (except mashed potatoes because I have never been too fond of them)
Fresh baked cookie-dough cookies!
Literally fresh baked, we followed instructions and put them in the oven!
Cake batter cookies, cookie-dough cookies and peanut butter cookies!
I tried some of each of the cookies and some fruit. I LOVE cookies! I would take cookies over pie any day! (unless its key lime pie!!)

I ate slow, enjoyed my friends and family and indulged. I didn’t feel an ounce of guilt after because I enjoyed every single bite of everything I ate. I also didn’t have any wine or alcohol (because I simply didn’t want any) and I wanted to thoroughly enjoy the food without it being impaired by alcohol. I had a normal breakfast and somewhat smaller lunch the day of Thanksgiving, I exercised like I normally do and didn’t overdo it (which I see people do at the gym the day before or after a holiday like Thanksgiving) I didn’t leave feeling full or uncomfortable. Life is balance and moderation and whats life without enjoying Thanksgiving with all of the fix-in’s? There is no need to beat yourself up over that bite of pumpkin pie or extra serving of stuffing…ENJOY IT. I promise you that extra bite or extra serving will not change your body. 
——–
Moving past Thanksgiving, with the last thing on my mind being Turkey, I decided to have some Shrimp for dinner. At Whole foods, I spotted coconut oil spray. I have never tried coconut oil, and I don’t know if I would like it so I figured I would get the spray first to see if I like the flavor since coconut oil is quite expensive. I knew I had coconut milk in the cupboard at home, so I thought…coconut…lime…SHRIMP!
I had no idea coconut milk was so thick! It smelled like suntan lotion as soon as I opened it
Meanwhile I washed and chopped some kale for kale chips
I zested one lime and squeezed the juice of it into a small bowl
In the skillet, I sprayed it with coconut oil spray and I placed the (already cooked) shrimp, 1/4 cup of coconut milk, the lime juice and lime zest on top
I let the coconut-lime shrimp flavors all come together and let it simmer for about 7 minutes on medium heat
Oh it was delicious! It reminded me of a carribean vacation! The flavors of coconut and lime work so well together and made for the perfect dinner

Coconut Lime Shrimp (2 servings)
  • 1/2-3/4 lb of cooked shrimp
  • 1/4-1/3 C light coconut milk
  • 1 lime
  • Olive oil or coconut oil spray (for the pan)
Method
  • Wash shrimp and set aside
  • Zest the lime and when done zesting, cut in fours and juice it into a seperate bowl. Set aside
  • Place a small skillet on the stovetop and spray with olive oil or coconut oil
  • Place the shrimp in the the pan
  • After 2 minutes, add in the coconut milk, lime juice and lime zest
  • Let all of the flavors come together and cooked on medium heat for about 7 minutes
  • Place in a bowl and eat immediately! (garnish with some lime zest if serving for company)


Of course the kale chips were amazing and I ate the entire bundle.


Question of the day: What was your favorite part of Thanksgiving?