Good morning! 
It’s my last day of work before Thanksgiving vaca!!! Wahoo! 
I am totally psyched for this mini vacation. I love everything about Thanksgiving– family, friends, food– what more could you ask for?! Plus, I feel like I’ve been on overdrive lately, so I’m really ready for some R & R!
Workout
I practically bounded out of bed this morning for a workout at the gym. I’m not sure what the heck got into me this morning? Usually, it’s somewhat of a struggle for me to get out of bed.
At the gym, I ran + walked for 4.5 miles. After a quick warm-up, I alternated 10 minutes of running with 5 minutes of walking. During the running portion, I switched up the speeds to do some intervals. I varied my running speeds between 6.3 – 7.2 and then walked at a steady 4.0 pace. I finished my workout with a good 15 minutes of stretching and foam rolling. Everything was so tight! I definitely needed it! I was a sweaty mess when I left the gym, but I felt great.
For those of you who asked about my new hip strengthening workout, I plan to do it tomorrow morning, so I will post it with breakfast.
Breakfast
Today’s bowl of oats was very nutritious and very delicious!
In the mix:
- 1/3 cup dry oats
- 1/3 cup wheat berries
- 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1/2 cup soy milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 scoops of peanut butter
It was a humongous bowl of oats, but I managed to eat the whole thing! 
With breakfast, I also enjoyed an iced coffee with soy milk and agave nectar.
Speaking of agave nectar…
What’s Up with Agave Nectar?
I received the above question from a reader the other day, so I decided to write a little something about one of the most used foods in my life.
As you probably know from reading my blog, I am a huge fan of agave nectar–- mostly because I have a major sweet tooth! To be honest, finding out about agave nectar was sort of a life-changing experience for me!
Agave nectar is a natural sweetener that comes from the Mexican agave plant. (It’s actually the same plant from which tequila is made!) Agave is comparable to honey or maple syrup, but less sticky, pours easily, and dissolves quickly in both hot and cold foods and drinks. It’s delicious mixed into your morning bowl of oatmeal or yogurt, added to coffee or tea, drizzled on pancakes or waffles, and is especially wonderful in baked goods.
The glycemic index of agave nectar is significantly lower than that of sugar, so it doesn’t spike your blood sugar as much. Agave nectar contains close to the same amount of calories as sugar, but because it is so much sweeter, you use less. In baking, for instance, you can use 1/4 to 1/3 cup of agave for every cup of sugar, which naturally reduces the calories in your recipes. (Agave nectar burns more easily than sugar, so be sure to decrease your oven temperature by about 25 degrees.)
One of my favorite agave nectar recipes is for Banana Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Agave contains small amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium, so when combined with an All-Star cast of ingredients, these cookies end up being equally nutritious as they are delicious!
Feel Great Weight
In honor of Turkey Day, here’s this week’s FGW post: 4 Thanksgiving Diet Fouls—and How to Avoid Them
Tail Chasing & Elephant Butt
This video is funny for 3 reasons:
- Murphy chases his tail for a good 60 seconds before I grab my camera to film him.
- When he realizes that I am filming him, he stops dead in his tracks.
- Then he does “elephant butt” (tucking his butt and dropping his tail like an elephant) which is absolutely hilarious. He always does it when he’s excited.
Eggland’s Best Recipe Contest
There’s less than a week to enter the Eggland’s Best Holiday Recipe Contest! The last day to enter is Monday, November 30th. I’ve already received so many delicious-sounding recipes! Holy yum!
Question of the Day
What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
I love all of them, but my favorites are sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and my mom’s pumpkin pie.
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Check back later this morning for some exciting news!!!
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Murphy is hilarious!
We do butternut squash (pureed and baked, with marshmellows on top!) instead of sweet potatoes – that’s my favorite!
I also think the thing I love most about Thanksgiving is having a turkey sandwich with squash, cranberries, and stuffing on it the day afterwards!
Gahhh LOVE the pup. He’s too cute! My pup will lay on his back & chase his tail…I have never seen a dog do this before!
I’m a sucker for skin on mashed potatoes & broccoli-bacon salad. Mmmm just a few more days!!
I do want to try agave since I have a serious sweet tooth as well!
My favorite thing is probably apple pie! I actually don’t like the rest of the thanksgiving food that much….I am probably the only person in the world who feels that way!
@Lara: Interesting. I guess it all goes back to reading labels and knowing where your food comes from.
I LOVE sweet potatoes with a praline crust. Not the healthiest option but SOOOOO good!
Also, thanks for the info. on agave nectar and baking. I’ve been experimenting with it a lot but it’s helpful to know the measurements of substitutions from someone who bakes a lot. Can’t wait to see your next creation!
I have actually never tried agave nectar. I tried a blend of agave and maple syrup and truly enjoyed it so I think I will have to give it a shot.
Haha, that video of Murphy is so darn cute!!!
Our dogs are the same way about the camera. They love to play and be goofy until I get the camera out.
I love stuffing most of all. It can be made so many ways and I enjoy most of them
@Tina: It is not a matter of labels/brand, etc. It is that what is sold as agave nectar regardless of brand/origin is “flawed”.
I’m really curious about agave nectar.. I’ll need to give it a try one day soon.
Sweet mashed potatoes; yuuumy!
My favorite Thanksgiving dish is a broccoli/cauliflower and cheese dish my momma makes. Delicious, but probably not too healthy.
You always have some exciting news going on! Good for you – whatever it is. I will check back.
Have you ever heard the controversy about agave nectar? I was using it for awhile, and then stopped after doing quite a bit of research. A lot of things I read seemed to say it actually has the opposite effect than what people thought at first. It is compared to high fructose corn syrup and some say it is worse because it is even more highly processed. I have found many articles in the past year and just decided to take it out of my diet. Here was one I thought explained it particularly well:
http://www.naturalnews.com/024892_fructose_food_health.html
I have also started using Brown Rice Syrup, which is a mild syrup-like sweetener that will not spike your GI levels. I haven’t found any of the “negative” type articles on this that I have found about agave. I started a granola bar business last spring and did a TON of research on what to use for the sweeteners…this is how I stumbled on all of this. Let me know what you think. Thanks =)
your oats look great!!
thanks for the info on agave!
jenna
Ha ha ha! Murphy is SO cute! I love when dogs chase their tails. Ours does it often but it’s long enough so he can actually catch it. My favorite Thanksgiving dish the my mom’s sweet potato and apple casserole. Yum!
Is it bad to say that I Love my own recipes? You see, now that I am seeing someone-we go to his parents for Thanksgiving and have been doing so for the last 5 years and it’s just not the same. The stuffing is all wrong, the potatoes don’t have any butter in them (and what’s mashed potatoes on thanksgiving without a little butter?). So, I take my homemade cranberry sauce and my moms pumpkin roll with.
If I were at my moms for Thanksgiving- I would eat everything! Sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and stuffing
Stuffing, Gravy, & Cranberries!
I too enjoy agave nectar. I’ve been adding it to my coffee and tea but have not tried baking with it yet. I’m hoping I can get the energry to try baking some bread using it tonight!
Murphy is so funny! I’ve discovered agave nectar through blogs and really like baking with it. I haven’t put any into coffee or oats yet because it’s just too sweet for me, which is hilarious because I totally have a sweet tooth too!
I think my favorite dish is the stuffing, it’s just so carby and delicious!
I have heard a lot of bad things about agave – that it’s low on the GI because it’s nearly all fructose – which can be as bad as HFCS. What are your thoughts on the recent criticisms it has taken?
Aww, I miss the low butt run of my little pug, Harry, who we had to say goodbye to this past Oct. 16.
He used to always poop after doing it. LOL!
hahaaha I love pugs!! That just put a wonderful smile on my face.
My favorite Thanksgiving dish is turkey breast with cranberry sauce on top! MM!
i do love agave – have you ever tried brown rice syrup? i love that too….though it gets messy.
Oh my goodness- Murphy is the cutest!!!! The elephant butt is hysterical!
omgosh! hilarious! so cute!!!!
my fav thanksgiving dish…well, actually dessert is pumpkin pie =)
Murphy’s gotten so big!!
My fave dish is green bean caserole, hands down.
Favorite dish is Cheesy Potatoes! SO, so, SO good! And so easy! A bag of frozen hashbrowns, a couple cans of cheese soup, some sour cream, salt, pepper, onion if you like (I do), 2 cups shredded cheese – mix up and bake (I usually do 350 for like an hour). You can add crushed chips to the top, but I never do. I do sometimes add extra cheese to the top. If you love cheese, this is a GREAT dish for you.
Ha, elephant butt is hilarious. I agree with the previous commenter who said it totally makes me want a dog.
Those pom arils look gorgeous on the oats.
I still have not tried agave nectar but it’s on my list! My favorite Thanksgiving dish…I have no idea! I guess not one in particular stands out but just the meal in general. Hope you have a good one
Haha, I love the video!
I had no idea that agave comes from the same plant as tequila… but I recently started using agave and LOVE it!
Hey! I’ve been reading your blog for a while now but decided to come out from hiding
to tell you that I recently bought agave nectar after seeing you incorporate it in your recipes. I love it! I’m trying to break my habits of using sugar substitutes like splenda and equal and use natural products. Love your blog and your smoochy dog too!
You can run damn fast. I know you took walking breaks but still… 6.3-7.2 is impressive. I ate my fist pom the other day because you inspired me to finally test one out. We became fast friends and I am now obsessed, so thanks for that. I also bought Agave and I feel like it doesn’t taste as sweet as maple syrup or honey. About to watch Murphy’s video–did you google pug meet-ups in Boston yet? You’ve got to go.
I can deal without gravy, i can deal without potatoes… but i have to have STUFFING! Moist and delicious STUFFING! Ok, i’m hungry now…
And i’m another agave addict, so glad it doesn’t mess with my bloodsugar!
Thanks for the agave info – I do use it, but I was glad to know the proportions for baking.
Great Thanksgiving food article – I’m definitely going to try to incorporate your suggestions – especially the appetizer plate.
STUFFING! I love it! I have a gluten-intolerance but my mom makes a great gluten- free version for me and I can eat myself sick on it! But I figure since I only eat it once a year…it’s okay! haha! I usually pass on the pie and when dessert is served ask for more stuffing. I am not kidding…I LOVE IT!
Murphy is tooo cute. How do you get anything done in your apartment. I would just stare at him all day.
My favorite dish is mashed potatoes and my aunt makes her turkey in a fryer which makes it SO tasty.
Cushaw and Mac n’ Cheese!
So adorable! My puppy used to do that too but Murphy looks much cuter trying to tuck that curly tail under!
Thanks for the information on Agave too. I’ve been wanting to try it in my tea but haven’t been able to find it in my area yet.
Elephant butt is a creative name for that! Our dog in Africa did that when He was SUPER excited.. We called it “The Scoot”- he was like a little bronco trying to get around …. things broncos try to scoot around.. barrels!
That is too funny ! My dog does elephant butt too , but we call it ” the dolphin ” ! She reminds me of when dolphins come up out of the water and ride around on their tails.
I just made the banana oatmeal chip cookies that you mentioned. It worked out perfectly because I over bought bananas last week and have a ton of mushy ones that I need to use up. Just tried one out of the oven and they are delicious! Thanks so much for posting the recipe, these will definitely regulars in my house!
I LOVE your pug!! Murphy is adorable!!
That video cracked me up!
I also really love your website and have been reading it for over a year. I just want to tell you that you do a wonderful job, and although I rarely ever comment, I really do appreciate the information you share with all of us. THANK YOU!!
My dad’s mashed turnips!!!!!!! YUM!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the 411 on agave. I think my favorites at Thanksgiving have to be the potatoes (sweet & mashed), and dessert : )
I used to loooove agave nectar until I read this article : http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/HFCSAgave.pdf
which is a bit long and complicated but basically they are saying agave nectar isnt quite a “nectar”, its from the root of the agave plant and therefor processed in a similar way that HFCS is (unlike maple syrup or honey, which really are nectar like). So, just curious as to what you thought of this? Im sure there are multiple opinions out there!
PS I love your blog, have never commented before but I give you and Murphy two thumbs up =)
My puppy does that when we don’t have time to walk her or take her to the dog park (our puppies normally get walked 3 times a day in addition to running around in the parks). not saying that you don’t give your dog enough exercise, but maybe you should look into it a bit more.
thanks for the info about agave nectar! i had read about it on blogs but really had no idea what it was.
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