Well I’m still feeling like a turkey full from all my Thanksgiving eats!  Seriously, my mom makes the very best Thanksgiving and we have no problem eating leftovers for several days following.  I’m talking snacks, lunches, dinners, more snacks, and a nosh here and there.  In addition, I went out to dinner Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Thanksgiving!  So today you get: What I Ate on Thanksgiving… weekend.

WIAW WIAT is hosted by the lovely Jenn at Peas & Crayons.

Thursday (Thanksgiving) dinner: My momma’s wonderful cooking at my parents’ beautiful home!  I had this plate times a million.

Not the best picture, but let me add some description: world’s best turkey topped with our friend’s orange cranberry sauce (Jonny literally ate this stuff by the spoonful – it was that good!), rich and creamy mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with roasted marshmallows on top, green bean casserole, cauliflower with a drizzle of truffle oil, and the best stuffing ever.  I brought leftovers home from my parents’ on two different occasions, and both times they didn’t last long.  Oh, not to mention the two additional times I went and ate leftovers at my parents’ house (not counting what was brought home).  Holy moly turkey.

As if we didn’t have enough decadent food at dinner, dessert was another complete display!  I contributed a dessert trifle.

Layers of pound cake, vanilla pudding, hot fudge, heath crumbles, and whip cream.  Oh yes, itz as heavy heavenly as it sounds!

Friday night dinner: My parents and in-laws took Jonny and I out to dinner at Cafe Provencal.  Itz French cuisine with extraordinarily rich and heavy food.  Jonny and I started with the Coquilles St. Jacques – scallops poached in a white wine and cream sauce.  Unpictured, but unbelievable.  For my dinner, I went on the lighter side and ordered a salad with tuna steak.

The vegetables were great, and the tuna steak was not.  It was way too fishy (ew); luckily, I really just wanted the bright and colorful veggies after all the heavy stuff.

Saturday night dinner:  Jessica and I decided we didn’t have enough of each other after the Turkey Trot race, so we went out for dinner, too!

We sipped on a glass of wine while waiting to be seated at Pastaria - a local joint with Italian fare.  I meant to go light here with the food, really I did, but our waiter talked us in to gelato at the end!  How could we resist?

They served water in mason jars which I totally loved!  I ordered a cup of the Roasted Winter Squash Soup and it was so delicious.  I’ve got to try to re-create this at home (recipes, anyone??).  I wish I would have ordered the larger bowl size.  Jessica had the Pistachio Ravioli with pistachio, mint, lemon brown butter, and Grana Padano.  She let me snag a couple bites, and it was just as good as it sounds!  I also ordered the chopped salad sans bacon which was fine, nothing to write home about.

We were stuffed from dinner and had no intention of eating dessert.  Then the waiter commented, “You know, all ten of our gelato flavors are made in-house.”  Say what?  Well, how about you list the flavors.  You know… just for fun.  Before we knew it, we had German chocolate and salted caramel sitting right in front of us.  Salted caramel tasted like cookie dough and was so unbelievably good!  Mmm!

Sunday night dinner:  My in-laws had Jonny and me over for dinner, and decided to order sushi for a lighter meal.  Sushi is always ok with us!

We opted for our usual order of a california roll, spicy tuna roll, and rainbow roll.  See, I told you it was a crazy weekend of eating!  Time to get back to the basics.  No diets, no fasts, just lots of water, veggies, and mostly healthy foods.  As I always say, indulgences are fine as long as they are appreciated and mindful!

Many FitFluential Ambassadors have written great posts recently about eating healthy around the holiday time, have designed some stellar workouts, and shared healthy recipes, so here’s some link love for today:

• Healthy Holiday Eating WITHOUT Over-Thinking - 5 simple mini-goals for healthy holiday eating that anyone can do!
• Work It Out: Kitchen Edition - Itz not a workout at all! Tips to stay on track with tons of clean recipes, too.
• 12 Minute Full Body Plank Workout - I did this one yesterday, and trust me when I tell ya itz an ab-burner!
• Sweet Potato Quinoa Black Bean Burgers with Cranberries - Sound perfect for the holiday time?  I agree.
• Roasted Veggie Tacos - Lighter version of traditional Mexican tacos.
• Clean Eating Thanksgiving - Tons of healthy recipes including stuffing!

Tell me about your Thanksgiving day/week eats!