Hosting Thanksgiving At My Home – My First Time Wrap-Up!

Thanksgiving has came and went. Whew! This was my first year hosting the Thanksgiving Day holiday at my home. I gotta say that I was probably nervous about the whole situation for the month leading up to it. I know that a lot of work and prep goes into pulling off this festive day. Our feast that we had here was perfect and excellent from start to finish. I was satisfied with how every single element of it came out. No complaints whatsoever here! I hope all of my readers also had a great holiday and enjoyed their big plate of food!

Here is a look at my dinner plate from Thanksgiving! I have a little bit of everything on my plate: roasted turkey, redskin mashed potatoes with French butter, Brussels sprouts, wild rice stuffing with mushrooms and cranberries, White Castle stuffing, Clean Bean (green bean) Casserole, ambrosia, sweet potato casserole, and my favorite~ Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cranberry Sauce! I am hoping to do a recipe post soon for my famous cranberry sauce. I can turn any cranberry-sauce-hater into a lover! So far it has worked with two haters in my family.

Thanksgiving Holiday Platter
Thanksgiving Holiday Platter

Today I will be discussing Thanksgiving and how we pulled it off. I could not have possibly made this day possible without the help and support of my family. My mom, Kathie, was a huge help. She purchased the turkey and a great majority of the food that was served. Money is super tight right now with my family so I was very grateful that she pitched in (big time) to help me create this feast.

My mom bought the 19-pound turkey and an electric roaster to cook the turkey in. I spotted the roaster when we took a trip over the Costco and I thought it would be a great idea to cook the turkey in there so we could free up the oven space for the side dishes that needed to be warmed up. Turned out to be the best idea ever!

My stepmom, Evelyn, was also a huge help. She came over early on Thanksgiving to help my mom and I prep. Evelyn brought over an appetizer and a side dish to pass as well. The appetizer that she brought was unique. They were bacon-wrapped water chestnuts. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Well, they were delicious. These got gobbled up pretty quick. For a side dish, she brought her famous sweet potato casserole. My stepmom was incredibly helpful with the kitchen clean up as well. That helped me tremendously.

 

Prepping for the Thanksgiving holiday

 

Paleo & Vegan (Gluten-Free) Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

The day before Thanksgiving, I did what I could to prep for the big day. The first thing that I did was I created my Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake. This is my favorite fall dessert at the moment. I wanted to get that done early because the cheesecake needs to set for at least six hours. I gave it plenty of time to set by creating it the morning before the holiday. I have a recipe for this paleo/vegan cheesecake on my blog. I did modify the recipe just a tad bit. Obviously, I did something different for the topping. Instead of creating a whipped cream with coconut cream I topped this cheesecake with a ton of walnuts and pecans. I wanted to make it extra nutty. I purchased a can of non-dairy, almond milk whipped cream to top it with. Instead of using the spices individually I used a jar of pumpkin pie spice.

Paleo & Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake topped with walnuts and pecans
Paleo & Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake topped with walnuts and pecans

Paleo cranberry sauce

I also busted out my slow-cooker the day before Thanksgiving to make my paleo cranberry sauce in advance. This is one of those set-it-and-forget-it recipes. I love cranberry sauce and my cranberries have the power to turn cranberry sauce haters into lovers! My husband never eats cranberry sauce. Guess what? This year he did! And I know that he enjoyed it because he helped himself to some for his leftover plate. This cranberry sauce is simple to make. I call it my Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cranberry Sauce! There are many ingredients that go into it but it is very easy to create. There are no refined sugars in this cranberry sauce. I use an entire bottle of pure maple syrup to sweeten it. I also use fresh-squeezed orange juice, orange zest, two ambrosia apples, walnuts, and pecans to create the sauce. The apples are a nice, welcome addition and the nuts give it a great texture. The sauce is heavily seasoned with pumpkin pie spice. I picked up a bottle of the Spice Hunter’s Pumpkin Pie Spice at Nino Salvaggio’s in St Clair Shores. This pumpkin pie spice seemed like a wonderful blend of spices. It worked out well in my Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake too, so the funds I spent on it was a great investment.

Ingredients Cinnamon, ginger, lemon peel, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, star anise, fennel, black pepper

You can pick up a bottle of this awesome pumpkin spice seasoning on Amazon. I highly recommend using this Spice Hunter blend for all of your fall flavored foods.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cranberry Sauce
Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cranberry Sauce

Continue reading “Hosting Thanksgiving At My Home – My First Time Wrap-Up!”

Paleo Matcha & Chocolate Cheesecake – RECIPE – Gluten-Free

Let it be known that making these cheesecakes are one of my favorite things to do in the Give It A Whirl Girl kitchen. These desserts are rich, flavorful, and actually quite nutritious. They are a much better alternative to regular cheesecake. The basic ingredients in these are fruit (medjool dates) and a variety of different nuts (mostly cashews). I am not going to lie, sometimes I even sneak in a slice for a filling breakfast. This matcha chocolate cheesecake dessert is unique in its flavor. If you are a fan of matcha (green tea) this recipe for a matcha chocolate cheesecake might just be perfect for you. I love everything about this particular one: the crust, the filling, and the chocolate ganache on top. It all marries together harmoniously to make one hell of an awesome cheesecake.

Matcha & Chocolate Vegan Cheesecake
Matcha & Chocolate Cheesecake

This almost-paleo matcha chocolate cheesecake requires several different components to make it all come together. I broke it down into sections for you. I suggest gathering up all of your ingredients first so you can breeze through this recipe with ease.

Continue reading “Paleo Matcha & Chocolate Cheesecake – RECIPE – Gluten-Free”

Take Flight And Start Your Day With A Healthy & Nutritious Thunderbird Bar – REVIEW -Tried It Out Tuesday

I am so happy to be an Ambassador to this great company Thunderbird Bars. Now is the time for me to spread the word about these amazing bars to my readers with this Thunderbird Bar review. I want to let you in on a little secret… these bars are amazeballs! The best thing about them is that they are all natural and made with REAL FOOD ingredients: fruits, nuts, seeds, and spices. If you are vegan, following a paleo diet, and are looking for a no-added-sugar treat, Thunderbird Bars are for you! You have to trust me on this, these bars are an excellent snack and they are especially great while on-the-go and the hunger hits you. I have been eating these for the past month now and I feel the need to spread the word about them.

Thunderbird Bar Pecans + Goji + Pistachio in Eastern Market, Detroit, MI
Thunderbird Bar Pecans + Goji + Pistachio in Eastern Market, Detroit, MI

Thunderbird Bar - What We DO

There are ten flavors available for Thunderbird Bars and every single one of them is delish!

No boring flavors over here! These bars are unlike every other bar I have experienced. As you may already know, I live for the thrill of trying new foods. These flavors do not disappoint one bit and they satisfy my hunger. Their flavor combinations are unique and each and every single one of them delivers a satisfying taste.


Thunderbird Bars Variety Pack
Thunderbird Bars Variety Pack

Want to know my favorite flavor of the ten that are available? I’m going to say it is the Pineapple + Mango + Papaya. I’m always a sucker for anything tropical and I love how all of these flavors blend together.

I have included an image of the bar in a photo below. It might look a bit on the small side but these bars are quite filling. This bar has seven simple ingredients noted on the label: prunes, buckwheat groats, papaya, raisins, mango, pineapple, and Hawaiian black lava salt. No BS here… just pure + simple real food ingredients.

This bar comes in at 145 calories, 30g of carbohydrates, 3g of fiber, and 22g of natural (no-added) sugar.

Thunderbird Bar also stays away from sweeteners. You will not find any real, artificial, honey, syrup, agave or any other variety of sweetener in their bars. There are not many bars that you can come across that promise that.

These bars will give you energy and endurance during your day derived purely from the real food ingredients. I love to start my day with a Thunderbird Bar. It gives me the fuel that I need to conquer the day.

Thunderbird Bar in Detroit, MI - Pineapple + Mango + Papaya
Thunderbird Bar in Detroit, MI – Cashew + Fig + Carrot
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Thunderbird Bar Pineapple + Mango + Papaya
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Thunderbird Bar Pineapple + Mango + Papaya Nutrition Facts
Thunderbird Bar in Detroit, MI - Cashew + Fig + Carrot
Thunderbird Bar in Detroit, MI – Cashew + Fig + Carrot
Thunderbird Bars - Pineapple + Mango + Papaya in Eastern Market, Detroit, MI
Thunderbird Bars – Pineapple + Mango + Papaya in Eastern Market, Detroit, MI
Thunderbird Bars - Cacao + Hemp + Walnut
Thunderbird Bars – Cacao + Hemp + Walnut in Eastern Market, Detroit, MI
Two of the Thunderbird Bars flavors available for children
Two of the Thunderbird Bars flavors available for children

Thunderbird Bars also encourages your little ones to eat healthy and they offer four flavors for kids, also known as Thunderkids.

  • Fruit Punch
  • Apple Pie
  • Peanut Butter & Jelly
  • Chocolate Chip Cookie

I love when a healthy brand of food makes kid-friendly products. I try my best to avoid giving my daughter junk. When I give her a Thunderbird Bar as a snack I feel good about it. Chloe also really does enjoy eating these. They are naturally sweet and satisfy a sweet tooth craving in a more healthy approach. These bars will be a great thing to pack for her daily snack during school when she goes back.

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Thunderbird Bar For Kids in Detroit, MI

Want to learn more about Thunderbird Bars?

Want to try a variety pack of Thunderbird Bars? Find them on Amazon:


 

Learn more about how I got inspired by the cacao in Thunderbird Bars and created a healthy smoothie bow. READ HERE.

Hope you enjoyed this Thunderbird Bar review! What Thunderbird Bar flavor interests you the most? Leave me a comment and let me know which one you will try out first!

Please join my Facebook Group Give It A Whirl Girl so you can participate in the weekly Tried It Out Tuesday challenge.

 


MunchPak.com

Homemade Pizza Night & A Couple Of Smoothies To Wash It Down

Yesterday was an enjoyable day spent with family. We went to the beach, had from-scratch pizzas, and had a couple of smoothies for dessert. It was another full day in the kitchen making things for my family to gobble up.

The day kicked off with my paleo and vegan version of Unicorn French Toast for my family. I promise I will do a recipe post on this in the future. I just need to tweak my recipe a bit. I had an unfortunate situation happen with my loaf of bread when I got it out of the pan. My bread broke into pieces. I was determined not to let it go to waste so I just ended up dipping the chunks of bread into the batter and cooked it up that way. This was my first time ever using candy sprinkles from Mr. Sprinkles. I sure do love the fun bottle that they are contained in. I am, and have always been, down with clowns!

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Unicorn French Toast with Mr. Sprinkles

I had quite an amazing lunch too. I really had a hankering for apples. I don’t know about you but I am ready for fall! I want hoodie weather, apple picking, and Halloween to hurry up and get here soon! For lunch, I tried out a new salad dressing. I used Hilary’s Apple Fennel Dressing. For my salad, I used baby spring mix as a base and topped it with grilled chicken, thin Honeycrisp apple slices, and walnuts. This salad was exactly what I needed yesterday. I think I will be loading up on some apples with my next shopping trip.

After lunch, we packed up the beach bag and got Stormy ready to head out to Metro Beach for a day of fun and relaxation. Chloe and Joe went to the pool and Stormy and I made our way along the lake and got our steps in yesterday. My focus was on fitness because I have been somewhat slacking on meeting my step goal lately.

It was a very hot day yesterday and thank goodness for the little bit of breeze coming off of the water. Stormy and I had a great time together and I know that Chloe definitely had a blast in the big pool and slide with her daddy.

I must be getting old because yesterday I wore an inspirational shirt and I think that maybe old people do that?? LOL! I am 37 years old and I whine about aging quite a bit. Anyway, I sure do love the shirt. I got it from Nordstrom and it is gray with pink lettering on it. The shirt is by the brand Desert Dreamer.

I feel that the shirt really speaks volumes to me at the moment. It says, find what you love and do that”.  I started this blog up on June 6th so my 2 month anniversary is approaching and let me tell you this~ I absolutely LOVE blogging! I really wish I would have gotten into this years ago when I first set out on my cooking and baking expedition. As many of you know, cooking and baking are hands down my #1 passion in life. I am always in the kitchen and I am always researching ways to better my food and technique.

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After our little day-trip to the beach, it was time for me to crank out dinner for the fam. I will let you in on a little something, my pizza is in high-demand! Joe and Chloe absolutely love my homemade pizzas. They are a lot of work but totally worth the time and effort when I hear ooo’s and ahh’s at the dinner table.

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Just me playing with my balls

I created two pizzas last night. One was made for myself and the other for Joe and Chloe. They prefer a more traditional pizza with pepperoni on it. I have never been a fan of pepperoni but I sure do love to have mushrooms in every single bite of my pizza.

I had a little carton of shiitake mushrooms to work with. I figured I would be better off with some sort of white sauce rather than a tomato sauce. I searched a bit online for a good recipe and came across one from Primal Palate. It was a dairy free sauce that used full-fat coconut milk as the base. Honestly, you would never know the sauce was made with coconut milk! There is not one hint of coconut flavor in that awesome sauce recipe. The recipe also called for some nutritional yeast, which I did add because it lends a taste of cheese to the sauce.

For my pizza I used some grilled chicken pieces and the entire carton of shiitake mushrooms. I sauteed the mushrooms in a bit of olive oil with some Italian seasonings. I have never had a pizza with this type of mushrooms and I am pleased to say that the taste of this pizza was glorious! Every single morsel of that pizza was thoroughly enjoyed by me!

For both pizzas I used the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Crust Mix once again. I used it last week and it produced a phenomenal crust! I am trying to eliminate as much gluten as I can from my diet but Joe and Chloe really don’t want to be on-board with a gluten-free diet. It is like hitting the jackpot when you come up with a gluten-free dinner that can win over anyone.

For dessert I really had a craving for some froyo, it’s been awhile and I’m dying for a heaping cup of it. But we have a bevy of beautiful fruits over here in the Give It A Whirl Girl kitchen so instead of froyo I ended up making a couple of smoothies for me and Chloe to share.

The first smoothie I made had a golden dragonfruit in it, a banana, and a splash of full fat coconut milk. The second smoothie that I made had strawberries, raspberries, a baby banana, splash of coconut milk, and I also used a scoop of acai powder. Hard to say which smoothie won the battle of being best. It was like comparing apples to oranges, they were two completely different drinks.

The weekend isn’t over. Joe’s two days off from work are over though and he had to go in today. Me and the Pearl Girl have an exciting day ahead of us in the kitchen so stayed tuned because you can bet your booty I will be blogging about my day today!

Did you do anything exciting this weekend? What’s cooking in your kitchen that you are proud of? Leave me a comment and let me know because I love reading comments from my beloved readers!

DISCLAIMER: THIS POST CONTAINS AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS. I DO RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION IF ITEMS ARE PURCHASED THROUGH THESE LINKS. ALL OPINIONS STATED HERE ARE MY OWN. ANY COMMISSION I RECEIVE IS USED TO BETTER YOUR BLOG EXPERIENCE HERE.

 

 

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