Seven weeks to go to my half-marathon in Carlsbad, CA ... and between now and then we have "the eating season" of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.

Clearly, I need a plan that allows me to enjoy the holiday season while taking care of my health and emerge January 16th ready to run 13.1 miles.

A lot of people have asked me what I'm going to do about Thanksgiving, so here's my plan.

Our family will start the day with the Turkey Trot 5K run.

Then, I'll prepare a beautiful, delicious, healthy meal for the entire family. I'll ditch the green bean casserole, cheesy broccoli, butter-laden mashed potatoes and refined carbohydrates from stuffing and pies.

Instead, we'll have amazing food that's nutrient-dense and actually improves our health while tasting awesome!

Here's wishing you a wonderful holiday. I hope you're surrounded by family and friends and filled with thanksgiving for the many blessings in our lives. I am especially thankful this year for my amazing clients, my family and our health!

If you want some inspiration to boost the health-index of some of all of your own holiday meal, feel free to use or adapt any of my ideas!

Here's the menu

• Roast turkey with extra-virgin olive oil and Italian herbs seasoning
• Whole wheat dressing with fresh cranberries and apples
• Whole wheat honey rolls
  • Substitute extra virgin olive oil for butter in all instances
  • These turn out just fine if you skip the all-purpose flour and use only whole wheat for a healthier version
• Roasted butternut squash (extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, onion, herbs, salt and pepper)
  • Peel and core butternut squash, removing all the pulp
  • Cut into 1-inch cubes and toss into a large mixing bowl
  • Coat sparingly with extra virgin olive oil -- just enough to coat your squash and not pool in the bottom of the bowl
  • Add chopped onion and minced garlic to your taste and mix well
  • Sprinkle with Italian herb seasoning, kosher or sea salt and pepper
  • Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes
• Veggie/pasta side dish: zucchini, peppers, onions, mushrooms, whole grain penne, homemade marinara
  • Chop up enough zucchini, green peppers, and red onions for your needs and tastes
  • Saute in a large skillet with about 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and Italian herb seasoning until peppers are tender
  • Add mushrooms (canned is fine, but drain and rinse to reduce salt) and mix well
  • Add two cups cooked whole grain penne pasta and stir to mix
  • Add just enough marinara sauce to coat. I use a homemade marinara, but Rao's sauces are good without a lot of added sugar or ultra processing.
  • Optional: serve with freshly-grated Parmesan if desired
• Traditional greek salad
• Homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries and honey
• Dessert: sliced apples baked with cinnamon, rolled oats, walnuts and honey ... with a dollop of greek yogurt on top.
  • Peel, core and slice enough apples for your group. I use Honeycrisp apples and figure about 1/2 cup per person
  • Coat generously with ground cinnamon
  • Add rolled oats and chopped walnuts as desired
  • Drizzle honey on top and mix well
  • Spread out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until apples are tender and oats are slightly toasted.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups day old whole wheat bread, cut up into 1" cubes
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 egg
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 cup celery (about 2 stalks), chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Honey Crisp apples, chopped
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c flat leaf parsley 
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp fresh sage
• Freshly ground pepper 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat an oval 11" dish with olive oil and set aside.
2. Cook fresh cranberries in the broth just until they pop. Set aside to cool.
3. In a small saute pan cook the onions and celery in olive oil until the onions are translucent. About 5 min.
4. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and then add the egg, onions, celery, cranberries, apples, salt, herbs, pepper, and stock.
5. Mix together well and place in prepared dish. Bake for 30-40 min. or until apples are tender and the bread is starting to toast slightly.

SERVES 8.

Nutrition Estimates per serving

95 calories | 3 g fat | 15 g carbs | 6 g sugars | 3 g protein | 3 g fiber

Low glycemic index

Kicked off running camp with an hour's run along Scenic Drive with Jeff Galloway.

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Key Take-Aways from our first run:

• Jeff is still recovering from his heart attack earlier this year. He's listening to his body and using everything he's learned coaching others to navigate his own cardiac comeback now.
• Major perk of being a slower runner myself is that I got to run with Jeff while the others took off ahead. I definitely chose the better portion!
• Listening to his heart, Jeff runs a 10 second / 30 second run/walk interval for the first 20 minutes of his run. This allows his heart to get warmed up. I loved this 20 minute warm-up time which gave us a chance to admire the scenery, and share stories.
• After his warm-up, Jeff switches to a 15 second / 15 second run/walk interval, which he used even before his heart attack to run a marathon a month.
• If you do it right, 15/15 is a GREAT interval split!
• An hour of running can seem like just a few minutes when the pace is swift and the stories are grand.
• There is so much more to Jeff Galloway than running or coaching. He is a national treasure!

Learn more about the Mediterranean Diet and it's health benefits here: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mediterranean-diet-meal-plan#benefits

This Mediterranean Bean Salad can be used as a side dish, main dish, or snack. Feel free to add Mediterranean Diet compliant ingredients such as fresh spinach or chunk tuna as desired. Makes eight servings.

DRESSING

I have been training with Jeff Galloway for the past several months and decided to take a huge leap and sign up for his running camp this month in Carmel-by-the-Sea. We left home on Tuesday, Nov. 9th for the 2-1/2 day drive from Colorado Springs to Carmel. On Day Two, as we approached Flagstaff, AZ ... I realized we would be within an hour or so of the Grand Canyon. It was a beautiful day, sunny and 52 degrees. So, we made a very last-minute decision to drive up to the Park and take time for me to run the Rim Trail. It was positively glorious!

I ran a good pace, finished the trail, and we loaded back into our car and continued California-bound.

What made me happiest about this ...

• The Rim Trail ... okay?

• Goal Met -- when I re-started my running journey, one of my goals was to be able to lace up my running shoes and go for a fun run ... whenever I wanted. This run was totally un-planned, but they say ...

Luck happens when OPPORTUNITY and PREPARATION meet ...

So I was extremely LUCKY today!

How does this apply to business?

I find that one of the best things about a long run is the time I have to free my creative mind!

Running the Rim Trail ... on a whim ... reminds me how vital it is to be ready to seize opportunities.

Whether it's an unplanned, beautiful run or simply the opportunity to serve a new client in need of help ... the outcome hinges less on what I do in that moment than on what I've done every day for months ... or years.

I can't quickly "get ready" to serve new clients any more than I could quickly "get ready" to run the Rim Trail.

I'm reminded to stay current with every aspect of my marketing -- writing my blog, growing my audience on social media, updating my website, publishing my podcast, etc.

When everything is in place, then I'm ready to serve the next lawyer who may be out there right now ... praying for help to fix their practice, reclaim their time, and grow their income.

Then, we will both be really LUCKY!