With Thanksgiving less than 2 weeks away, now is a great time to do a test-run of any recipes you would like to include on your holiday menu, but have never made before.  I will not actually be cooking this week because my husband and I will be following the Fasting Mimicking Diet, a 5-day fast with food.  Everything you need to consume over the 5-day fast is sent to you in a box, so you don’t have to think about doing much.  I don’t do juice cleanses, diets, detoxes, or anything else.  But I have done this fast twice before and I felt fantastic.  I have done a lot of research on the subject of fasting and I am sold on its benefits for longevity.  My friend Dr. Vivian Chen @plateful.health did a wonderful Instagram post with other benefits of fasting which include:

• improved insulin sensitivity – better sugar control = less insulin, with the potential downstream effect of fat loss, particularly visceral ie belly fat (because insulin is the fat storage hormone.)
• repair and detoxification – much of the body’s energy expenditure goes on digestion. when you fast, your body is ‘freed up’ to perform other functions – a nightly 12 hour ‘fast’ will also serve this function.
• preliminary studies also show fasting may increase beneficial gut bacteria strains such as Akkermansia Mucinophilia. (Akkermansia has been implicated in healthy weight control and more recently in cancer therapies.)
• If you want to find out more about fasting, register for the FREE Global Fasting week organized by @Fastingtalks and listen to experts like @drjkahn @joelfuhrmanmd @drjasonfung.
• If you want to join me in Prolon’s Fasting Mimicking Diet, use my code: pamela25 to receive a discount on a kit or subscription.  Feel free to ask me any questions here.  I will also be documenting the process on Instagram stories.

Speaking of Instagram, I will continue the Thanksgiving theme LIVE on Monday, November 12th at 5:00 pm PST/8:00 pm EST.  Bring all your questions!  After the video disappears, I will post on my Facebook page where you can find previous Instagram LIVES.

I will be doing a bonus Instagram Live with Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, on Thursday, November 15th at 2:30 pm PST/5:30 pm EST.  We will discuss making pie dough and pies!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Meatless Monday: Red Lentil Dal with roasted organic broccolini and roasted organic red onions

Tuesday:  Roast Turkey, or turkey breast, so you can practice for Thanksgiving, with Braised Fennel with Tomatoes and Thyme from my cookbook. Serve with a fresh organic green salad and olive oil, vinaigrette and sea salt. 

Wednesday: Roasted wild fish served, brushed with unrefined extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and baked at 400 degrees for 10 minutes/inch and served with One Pot Farro with Cauliflower and Golden Raisins

Thursday: Lemony Chickpea Soup with a side of simple avocado toast. 

Friday: Baked Black Bean or Chicken Taquitos. Serve with a side of guacamole and/or salsa and rice.

Saturday Brunch/Lunch: Simple One-Pan Eggs with Greens from Goop and Citrus Sage Tonic

Sunday: Slow Cooker White Bean Soup with Sausage and Collard Greens

 

Here’s what you can do ahead if you need to:

Sunday

Wash and dry all veggies

Make all dressings, marinades and sauces

Prep turkey

Cook farro

Thursday

Make guacamole

Friday

Make Citrus Sage Tonic

For ALL my Thanksgiving Recipes and Tips, check out my new Thanksgiving eBook!

Here’s a link to my previous dinner planners.

I have LOVED seeing all your creations of my recipes on Instagram.  If you make any of my recipes, please tag me @pamelasalzman #pamelasalzman so I can check them out!

Click here to learn more about my online cooking classes and my cookbook!