It seems like the minute Halloween ends, the Christmas season begins, with the stores in my neighborhood decked out with trees and stockings, and my inbox full of gift guides!
But can we also talk about the other holiday? The one in November that we almost all celebrate?
Here are some of the ways you can make this year’s Thanksgiving healthier and saner.
Use Gimme’s Thanksgiving Recipes
There are several healthy Thanksgiving recipes that we’ve been making since I was born, and my unbiased opinion is that they are not only the healthiest, but also the yummiest.
We’ve published super simple recipes for:
- My dad’s top-secret cranberry sauce, which contains no sugar and secret chia seeds.
- My mom’s favorite maple yams.
- My mom’s famous sprouted stuffing, which is made with sprouted bread.
Enjoy a Hangover-Free Buzz
The holidays are a great time to enjoy some healthy, organic wine. I wrote about what to look for in wine in this post. I am currently most into Maker--their sparkling varieties are pretty low alcohol!
If you don't care about a real buzz, but just want to be festive and get maybe a little relaxation, I am SO into Recess adaptogenic mocktails. The Mule and the Cosmo are the two best holiday flavors.
Cook with Safer Cookware
We’ve just updated our Safe Cookware Guide to help you upgrade to only non-leaching, non-off-gassing items as we enter the biggest cooking season of the year.
My favorites for holiday cooking are this dutch oven, an Always Pan, and some ceramic food storage items. You can see in the photo above that last year we used some Xtrema, some Le Creuset, and some Lodge for items that went from stove/oven to table.
Make Movement a Tradition
I've never participated in a Turkey Trot, but growing up in Vermont, we'd always take a walk up a mountain road after the meal.
- Now that we often host in Brooklyn, we engage in a football game a the playground (or some of us do, anyway).
Get Some Good Stuff to Kick of the Holiday Season
It's already dark and cold here in NYC, and it's only going to get worse. So starting now, I'm going all in on the holidays. Here are a few ideas if you'd like to do the same.
- Our selection of toxin-free scented candles are perfect for autumn and beyond–in cozy scents like Warm Flannel and Pumpkin Pie.
- Hallmark movies are already airing, so any minute now I will begin watching this year's crop. Did you know that there are more than 150 new made-for-TV holiday movies every year?!?!
- If you have littler kids, you need these pajamas. Or get a matching set for the family (on sale right now).
- There are SO many fun advent calendars these days. A few favorites for this year:
- Sarah’s Silk’s nutcracker print. Even though my kids are definitely too old for this, I really want it.
- This wine calendar from Maker is amazing for a teacher or a friend, and it sells out every single year.
- Coral & Tusk's advent calendars are legitimate works of art, and hopefully they'll restock more soon!
- My mom would love this advent calendar for a book-lover, and Wolfie would love this candy one.
- Last year, my MIL gave me this great advent calendar and I tried every tea bag! Here's another amazing tea one from a brand I love.
4. Is anyone taking part in a Winter Arc? I’m debating doing this cleanse before the holidays fully arrive and it all goes entire off the rails, in the best way possible!
