It’s time for a Thanksgiving Giveaway! We’ve been thinking about what we’re grateful for, and our members top the list. To thank you, we’re giving away four $50 gift cards to The BariatricPal Store!

We’ll be holding a random drawing for the gift cards on Thanksgiving weekend, and we’ll notify you if you’re the winner by Sunday, November 29. That’s just in time for you to go shopping at The BariatricPal Store on Cyber Monday!

What can you get at The BariatricPal Store? Bariatric Vitamins, Protein bars and shakes, Fiber supplements, hot and cold breakfasts, protein chips, Cookies, and other Snacks, instant low-carb meals…Stop by and browse!

You can enter the drawing by posting up your favorite healthy Thanksgiving recipe on this thread. Everyone who makes an eligible post is entered into the drawing. Here’s what an eligible post includes:

• The name of the recipe. It doesn’t have to be fancy. “Roasted Onions” or “John Doe’s Carrot Appetizer” is fine.


• A list of ingredients and quantities. “4 egg whites, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt…”


• Directions for making the recipe. “Drain the Beans and heat them over medium heat with the garlic powder and cumin. Dice the tomatoes and add them to the bean mixture…”

We can’t wait to see and try your recipes! Good luck in the drawing, and thanks for being part of BariatricPal!

Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash

- 1 (2 pound) acorn squash - halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch slices

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 8 sprigs fresh thyme

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Toss squash slices, Parmesan cheese, thyme, olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until the squash is evenly coated; spread into a jelly roll pan.
• Roast in preheated oven until golden brown and tender, 25 to 30 minutes

Can I submit this as my recipe and change it to Butternut Squash?

I happen to have a Butternut Squash sitting on my counter right now!

LOL

BigViffer's Manly Bean Meal

There are some cool sounding recipes here. But I want to kick it up a notch with something more manly. I made this after my surgery when I was wanting something a little more normal than what I was eating at the time. I made my own BBQ sauce since most bottled stuff has corn syrup in it.

2 bags dried Beans.

- (I use Black & Pinto. IMPORTANT: BEANS WILL NEED TO BE SOAKED FOR AT LEAST 8 HOURS)

1 lbs. bacon

- (NOT MAPLE OR SWEET! Peppered or smoked taste the best. I have also used smoked pulled pork shoulder butts with no sauce.)

1 Onion

- (I don’t care what color. Just pick one. Yellow onions are the most pungent though.)

1 Bell Pepper

- (Green, Red, Yellow… whatever sounds good to you)

Jalapeno or Chipotle peppers

- I like it spicy, so I added about 4, my frieds said it was too hot though. It's up to you.

At least 4 cloves garlic.

- Come on, add some more. You wuss.

Big splash Apple Cider Vinegar

- (OK, maybe ¼ cup)

Real Molasses or Treacle.

- This stuff is potent, so start off with only about 2 Fluid oz. You can always add more if necessary.

¼ cup tomato paste

- Make sure you don't use your wife's tomoato paste concetrate that she already has plans for. It's also much stronger than regular tomato paste.

Scoop of brown sugar.

- This is another part that is to taste, maybe ¼ cup

Yellow mustard

- To taste. Noticing a trend yet?

Salt & pepper if you want.

- How much? You guessed it, to taste.

1. Pick over beans to remove stones and the uglies. Soak in a bowl with just enough Water to cover the beans. Add the salt to the beans and water.
   
2. Go to bed
   
3. Wake up your wife so she can make her wonderful husband who loves her more than his motorcycle and truck combined some coffee.
   
4. Drain the beans but keep the stock!
   
5. Cook the bacon and save the grease. Season if you want because we all know that you make the best damned anything. You want the bacon to be crispy – not burned! This is the only time that crisp bacon should ever be made. It is a waste of bacon and an abomination against nature any other time.
   
6. Roughly chop the bell peppers, onion, jalapeno peppers, and the garlic cloves. Add them to a little of the bacon grease and cook until the onions are translucent.
   
7. Put drained beans into a very big crockpot.
   
8. Add everything at the same time, cuz thats how a man cooks. (peppers, onions, garlic, all sauces, vinegar, all spices, etc...)
   
9. Now add just enough of the stock back into the crockpot to cover the beans.
   
10. Wait a fricken eternity for the damn things to cook while the aroma drives you insane. Put a towel under the drooling dogs mouth to avoid a slipping hazard in the kitchen. Drive the kids out of the house so you don't have to listen to them asking, "Is it done yet?!"
    
11. Open and stir. Taste for testing the texture. Repeat the last step if necessary. This will literally take all day. Depending on your crockpot, I'd say 8-12 hours. If your crockpot is out of the kids reach, 8 hours. If they can reach it, they will keep opening it up wanting to see it.
    
12. Once ready, you will be eating beans for a week. flatulence will take on a new meaning in your house. No one will be spared, no one is safe. You'll try to make jokes in the beginning, but it wonlt last long. Your wife will avoid you, your kids will fear you. Only the dog will stay by your side. Hoping you will drop some beans most likely. Then you and the dog will be a source of unrefined methane that brings shame to your household. But you won't care, because the beans are that damned good.
    

Thanksgiving day appetizer

chicken salad yum yums

1 large can chicken breast meat

1 hard boiled egg chopped small

2 baby dill pickles chopped very small

1 celery stalk chopped very small

1/3 to 1/2 cup mayo ( I use olive oil mayo) or if you like miracle whip light that's great with this too!

Salt

Pepper

1 English cucumber sliced in coins

Drain chicken well. Mix chicken, egg, pickle, celery and 1/3 cup mayo in a small bowl. Add additional mayo if needed and salt and pepper to taste.

Top cucumber coins with salad and enjoy. You can also make this with tuna.

Normally I make small cheese puffs - (mini cream puff recipe with shredded cheese in it) and put this salad in between. It is one of my families favorite Snacks for football watching but I adapted it for me.

I have however eaten 1 of the cheese puffs a few weeks ago. Although my tummy usually don't like bread, these were really great and my tummy did not mind.

Brie with apricot cranberries on apple slices

This is one of my favorite treats!

Small wheel of your favorite Brie cheese

1/2 cup low sugar apricot preserves

1/4 cup crazies

Preheat oven to 350. Unwrap Brie and place in glass baking dish. Spread apricot preserves on top (if u like more, add more). Sprinkle craisins on top.

Bake in 350 over for 15 to 20 minutes until Brie is soft and warm. Serve immediately with apple slices or your favorite whole grain cracker.

Be careful not to over indulge in this one. It is addictive!

Best baked hot wings

1 package of chicken wings or however many you like.

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Louisiana hot sauce

1/2 stick butter

I love hot wings but the ones without all that nasty breading. So I simply bake my wings or drumettes in a 400 oven until crispy. It usually take about 30 to 45 minutes. I put parchment on my baking pan for easy clean up and I swear they get crispier because of the parchment. Turn the wings once during baking.

While wings are in oven, take butter and a bottle of hot sauce and simmer in a small saucepan.

When wings are done simply toss in sauce to coat. Wings will stay delicious and crispy if you serve right away.

Sometimes I will put that sauce in a slow cooker on the lowest setting, toss my wings and let people help themselves. The longer they sit in that slow cooker the meat will literally fall off the bones but this method will take away their crispness over time. This is the way that I love them!

Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

• Cubed hard vegetables (carrots, parsnips, potatoes, beets, winter squash, sweet potatoes)
• Olive oil
• Herbs (rosemary or thyme)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Toss cubed hard vegetables (carrots, parsnips, potatoes, beets, winter squash, sweet potatoes) with olive oil and some herbs (rosemary or thyme). Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 hour, stirring once or twice for even cooking.

Ambrosia

2 boxes SF lime Jello

2 cups pineapple bits

1 cup pomegranate kernels

1 cup chopped celery (optional)

1 small can NSA mandarine oranges, drained (use the liquid for the jello)

1.5 cups FF cottage cheese

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Make the jello according to the box, using the Mandarin oranges liquid for cold Water. Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. Yummmmm.

BigViffer's Manly Bean Meal

There are some cool sounding recipes here. But I want to kick it up a notch with something more manly. I made this after my surgery when I was wanting something a little more normal than what I was eating at the time. I made my own BBQ sauce since most bottled stuff has corn syrup in it.

2 bags dried Beans.

- (I use Black & Pinto. IMPORTANT: BEANS WILL NEED TO BE SOAKED FOR AT LEAST 8 HOURS)

1 lbs. bacon

- (NOT MAPLE OR SWEET! Peppered or smoked taste the best. I have also used smoked pulled pork shoulder butts with no sauce.)

1 Onion

- (I don’t care what color. Just pick one. Yellow onions are the most pungent though.)

1 Bell Pepper

- (Green, Red, Yellow… whatever sounds good to you)

Jalapeno or Chipotle peppers

- I like it spicy, so I added about 4, my frieds said it was too hot though. It's up to you.

At least 4 cloves garlic.

- Come on, add some more. You wuss.

Big splash Apple Cider Vinegar

- (OK, maybe ¼ cup)

Real Molasses or Treacle.

- This stuff is potent, so start off with only about 2 Fluid oz. You can always add more if necessary.

¼ cup tomato paste

- Make sure you don't use your wife's tomoato paste concetrate that she already has plans for. It's also much stronger than regular tomato paste.

Scoop of brown sugar.

- This is another part that is to taste, maybe ¼ cup

Yellow mustard

- To taste. Noticing a trend yet?

Salt & pepper if you want.

- How much? You guessed it, to taste.

1. Pick over beans to remove stones and the uglies. Soak in a bowl with just enough Water to cover the beans. Add the salt to the beans and water.
2. Go to bed
3. Wake up your wife so she can make her wonderful husband who loves her more than his motorcycle and truck combined some coffee.
4. Drain the beans but keep the stock!
5. Cook the bacon and save the grease. Season if you want because we all know that you make the best damned anything. You want the bacon to be crispy – not burned! This is the only time that crisp bacon should ever be made. It is a waste of bacon and an abomination against nature any other time.
6. Roughly chop the bell peppers, onion, jalapeno peppers, and the garlic cloves. Add them to a little of the bacon grease and cook until the onions are translucent.
7. Put drained beans into a very big crockpot.
8. Add everything at the same time, cuz thats how a man cooks. (peppers, onions, garlic, all sauces, vinegar, all spices, etc...)
9. Now add just enough of the stock back into the crockpot to cover the beans.
10. Wait a fricken eternity for the damn things to cook while the aroma drives you insane. Put a towel under the drooling dogs mouth to avoid a slipping hazard in the kitchen. Drive the kids out of the house so you don't have to listen to them asking, "Is it done yet?!"
11. Open and stir. Taste for testing the texture. Repeat the last step if necessary. This will literally take all day. Depending on your crockpot, I'd say 8-12 hours. If your crockpot is out of the kids reach, 8 hours. If they can reach it, they will keep opening it up wanting to see it.
12. Once ready, you will be eating beans for a week. flatulence will take on a new meaning in your house. No one will be spared, no one is safe. You'll try to make jokes in the beginning, but it wonlt last long. Your wife will avoid you, your kids will fear you. Only the dog will stay by your side. Hoping you will drop some beans most likely. Then you and the dog will be a source of unrefined methane that brings shame to your household. But you won't care, because the beans are that damned good.

I'm gonna veg this up with soy crumbles instead of bacon. (Sorry, no food with faces for me.) I love beans. I just set the crock pot to cook overnight so the smell doesn't drive me crazy waiting for things to cook.

Curried Spaghetti Squash

1 medium spaghetti squash (about 2 3/4 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil or unsalted butter
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the cut-side down in a microwave-safe baking dish (the halves can overlap one another a bit) and add 1 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until very tender and a knife easily pierces the skin of the squash, 15 to 18 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Carefully uncover and let stand until cool enough to handle but still warm.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small nonstick skillet. Add the ginger and garam masala until fragrant. Stir in the lemon juice and honey. Season with the salt. The sauce should be sweet and sour.

Scrape the flesh of the squash into a bowl, using a fork, to make long noodle-like strands. Toss with the sauce and cilantro. Season with additional salt.

I'm on the liver reduction diet so my Thanksgiving recipe is pumpkin cheesecake shake.

1c fairlife skim milk

1.5 scoops bariatric advantage vanilla protein powder

1.5 Tbs sf Torino pumpkin syrup

2Tbs sf cheesecake pudding mix

Pumpkin spice to taste.

Blend in a blender bottle for 2 minutes.

buffalo cauliflower "wings"

2 medium heads of cauliflower, cut into florets

1 cup white rice flour (or sub regular flour)

1 cup Water

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon paprika

1 cup your favorite buffalo wing sauce (store bought or homemade. Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce is vegan)

Vegan Ranch Dipping Sauce:

1 cup Vegenaise

½ cup vegan sour cream

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced fine

1 tablespoon fine chopped dill

1 tablespoon chives, chopped fine

¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon gluten free, vegan worcesterchire sauce

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

**You can add a non dairy milk to thin out the sauce if desired**

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.To make ranch sauce combine all ingredients, whisk until smooth and set aside.

Combine rice flour, water, salt, garlic powder, paprika and whisk until combined.

Dip cauliflower in batter and place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Spray the tops with a bit of oil. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops start to get color on them.

Pull cauliflower out of the oven and lightly dip them into buffalo sauce to coat. Put them back into oven for another 5 minutes to crisp back up.

Remove from oven and serve hot along side your homemade ranch dip.

Zucchini Tots

Shredded zucchini 1 cup

Shredded sharp cheddar 1/4 C

Panko crumbs or Almond meal 1/4 C

Chopped onions 1/4 C

1 egg

1tsp salt

1tsp pepper

1T Trader Joe "everyday seasoning" or one of the Mrs Dash mixes or any seasoning mix you like.

With a lint free dish towel wring excess Water out of zucchini. Combine all ingredients till completely mixed. Drop by teaspoon or mini ice cream scooper onto a parchment covered cookie sheet (or spray it with cooking spray).

Bake at 400 for 15-20 mins flipping once halfway through.

Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini

So I kind of came up with this recipe and I've made it a few times this week. I plan on making it tomorrow in a bigger batch for the family as an appetizer/side dish. I like it because it takes me under 10 mins to prep and cook, and uses very few ingredients... hard to mess up.

Ingredients:

• 3 small frozen turkey meatballs (I have a couple bags of kroger brand in the freezer)
• fresh garlic - 1 clove (remove skin, cut in half longways)
• olive oil - 1-2 tsp
• half a medium zucchini (I core it with a spoon and cut it into small pieces about 1/2" long and 1/4" wide)
• 2-3 tablespoons of tomato/spaghetti sauce (I'm using light smart by prego)
• grated or shredded Parmesan (2 tsp or so)
• salt to taste

Recipe:

1. Heat olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat
2. Saute garlic for a minute or so... remove before it browns/burns
3. Add zucchini to the pan of oil and toss to coat
4. Heat meatballs 30 seconds or so in the microwave to defrost, then cut them in half
5. Add meatballs to pan cooking them on both sides to desired crust
6. Cook zucchini to desired doneness (I like mine nicely brown and super soft)
7. Remove pan from heat and let cool for a minute or so
8. Add tomato sauce and quickly toss to coat meatballs and zucchini (could also be done in a mixing bowl, as you want to do this fast so the tomato sauce doesn't burn in the pan)
9. Plate and top with Parmesan and salt to taste. I bought a can of kraft grated Parmesan with Italian seasoning that I like, but fresh would probably be even better.

Anyhow, I love how it comes out... very filling. MyFitnessPal calculates it around 160 calories, 10g Protein, 10g of fat, 8g carbs for the above serving.

an old weight watchers favorite that I still do on Thanksgiving.

2 small pkgs instant sugar free pudding.

pumpkin pie spices

1 1/2 c. milk

1 small can pumpkin

1 cool whip fat free

Mix all ingredients except cool whip and stir well. Fold in Cool whip and put in fridge for at least one hour.

It really gives you that pumpkin pie taste.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you to all the members that contributed these mouth watering recipes. Here are the winners of the $200 BariatricPal Store giveaway:

1. Djmohr
2. padremama
3. Elode
4. Amy Wolfe

You'll receive a PM with your $50 gift card shortly.

Here's a $10 coupon that's valid for 48 hours for everyone else who participated:

10OFF24