Tomorrow, I am going to be spending a FULL week at Fitness Ridge in St. George, UT. I am excitedly terrified, if that is even a thing (which I think it is because that is what I am feeling)! Emily went a few months ago and after her hearing about her amazing experience I just HAD to sign up! I chose the week before Thanksgiving for a reason—so I would be motivated to keep in check for Thanksgiving Day (my biggest weakness)! After a week of working out for 8+ hours, I won’t want it to all be for nothing! I am 100% on board for keeping Thanksgiving light this year. When I talked to Emily about her experience, she mentioned how GREAT the food was at Fitness Ridge—that it was healthy, and low-carb, but filling! She said her whole time there, she never felt hungry because she was eating the RIGHT things that gave her energy throughout the day. So this got me thinking… does Fitness Ridge do a Thanksgiving dinner? I contacted them directly and found out the answer is YES. I spoke to the executive chef at Fitness Ridge, Sam Baker, and he walked me through everything he will be making for Thanksgiving dinner at Fitness Ridge this year. Check out this low calorie Thanksgiving dinner menu: Roasted Turkey with Lemon Rosemary Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Purple Sweet Potato Puree, Gluten Free Stuffing, Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus AND Pumpkin Crème Brûlée. Doesn’t that sound delicious? Can you believe that ALL of this is only 530 calories?! As soon as I heard this menu, I immediately knew I wanted to make it for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to do one better for you guys and make it all BEFORE hand and give you all the recipes so you could make it too! Chef Sam graciously shared all of these recipes with me and is allowing me to share them with you here on Favorite Family Recipes. Let me just tell you, this Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely delicious and surprisingly filling! I actually felt good after eating it (meaning I didn’t want to lay down on the couch and die from being overstuffed). I was full, but I felt like I could still go out in the back yard and play flag-football. Even hours after eating it, I still wasn’t hungry. Just because meals are low-calorie or low-carb doesn’t mean they aren’t filling. We all completely had our fill without feeling totally ugg-ed out. Win-win!
Now, on to the main event. Below you will find links to each recipe, including the calorie count per serving: Purple Sweet Potato Puree – Serves 4 (serving size ½ cup)2 cups Okinawan (purple) sweet potato, medium diced¼ cup Greek yogurt2 tablespoons butter, unsaltedSalt and Pepper to taste Peel the sweet potatoes, dice them into medium size pieces, and steam until soft. Using a mixer add sweet potato, butter, and yogurt then mix. Add salt and pepper. Mix until smooth. Serve hot. Roasted Asparagus – Serves 416 asparagus spears – Depending on how big they are maybe 5 or 61 tsp grapeseed oil1 T lemon juice, freshly squeezedSalt and Pepper to taste Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Foil a sheet pan, and spray with nonstick spray, In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients and mix well. Then layer out the asparagus so they are not on top of each other. Roast for 15-20 minutes until al dente. Pumpkin Crème Brulee – Serves 71 ¼ cup Greek yogurt¼ cup pumpkin puree1 teaspoon vanilla¼ teaspoon cinnamon1 package Mori Nu vanilla pudding mix3 Tablespoons water½ teaspoon dehydrated cane sugar In a mixing bowl add the first 6 ingredients thoroughly. Then split between 3-ounce ramekins. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Add ½ teaspoon cane sugar to each ramekin. Then torch the sugar to caramelize.
