Have a Healthy Thanksgiving!

The Holidays are just around the corner but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your health to enjoy the holidays. There are so many ways to take your holiday meal up a notch to make it taste good AND be good for your health! 

Whether you are trying to eat in a more health-conscious way or you deal with health problems that affect your diet, here are a few healthy switches you can make this holiday season from the advice of some of our very own staff!

Betty Ivins- PERSONAL TRAINER- HEALTHY EATING GURU
Betty Ivins is a personal trainer at PEAC and is known for her exceptional healthy eating habits. Not only does she actively keep a bulletin board at PEAC with healthy recipes, we recently did a story on her getting her kitchen renovated and how she continued to eat healthy with no kitchen! 

Betty is excellent at taking making indulgent recipes that are still good for your health. A few examples she sent our way:

Mini Sweet Potato Bites 
Maple Turkey Bacon Wrapped Brussel Sprouts. (Pictured above)

Brittany Thatcher - PEAC marketing assistant - GLUTEN-FREE 
Brittany Thatcher is our marketing assistant here at PEAC and in charge of our social media. She is also a yoga teacher. After going through her pregnancy, she noticed that her body could no longer tolerate gluten. She went gluten free and has never felt better.
 
This holiday season she was most worried about being able to enjoy stuffing and desserts because of her gluten intolerance! After a quick trip to Trader joes she was very happy to see the variety of options they offered. She was able to pick up gluten free brownie mix and through some help from Betty she found two great recipes for an additional gluten free dessert and gluten free stuffing:

​Gluten Free Pumpkin Angel Food Cake 

Easy Gluten Free Stuffing  (pictured below)

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CONNIE CIFELLI- WHOLE FOODS PLANT-BASED DIET 
Connie Cifelli works at our front desk here at PEAC along with being an instructor. After three scares with breast cancer she decided to make some serious lifestyle changes in the name of her health. She switched to a completely plant-based diet sticking solely to whole foods (not processed) and foods without animal products. 
For Thanksgiving, Connie makes a large variety of sides and a Lentil Loaf as her main course. “I make lots of sides that do not include any animal products, that includes dairy and butter etc.  I still cook turkey for Thanksgiving for the members who are not plantbased. For my daughter and myself to replace the turkey, I will make a lentil loaf (meatless meatloaf), a stuffed acorn squash or vegan butternut squash risotto.”

Here is a list of her full thanksgiving meal: 
Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup
Garlic Mashed potatoes 
Stuffing 
Mushroom Gravy
Roasted Butternut Squash brussels sprouts with pecans and cranberries 
Fennel Orange and Pomegranate Salad 
Kale Salad 
Vegan Pumpkin Pie (made with pumpkin, cashews, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice) 
Traditional Pumpkin Pie for the non vegans
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Connie was kind enough to pass along a recipe for a Lentil Loaf. (pictured below)

Whether you are trying to be a little more health-concious or dealing with various health problems that affect your diet, we hope this inspired you to have a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving this year! 

​Happy Thanksgiving from the entire PEAC team.