A Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Although I've had a great past couple of days, my Thanksgiving has been anything but traditional. On Wednesday night, I went to DoDiYo's for dinner with my mom's side of the family. With people traveling from all over the country (My cousin's husband drove from Chicago early that morning and made it just in time for dinner) and world (One of my cousins just got back from Peru), it just made things easier this year. There were 15 of us and we got our own private room- it was really neat!

I ordered the Grilled Mahi, which came with marinated vegetables, arugula, fig vinaigrette, and sun dried tomato tapenade. The meal was also served with a Greek salad and my choice of a side. I chose the Konstadino's Greek Potato Salad- baked potatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper, drizzled in olive oil, and topped with green, red, and white onions.

Everything was delicious!

On Thursday morning, we went to brunch with my dad's side of the family at the Classic on Noble in Anniston. For a small town, it really is a fine dining experience and the food is really good!

Although they had an extensive buffet with pretty much every food imaginable, I took the non-conventional route and didn't put any "traditional Thanksgiving foods" on my plate. I never eat turkey at Thanksgiving anyway (too many delicious sides and casseroles!), and I clearly eat sweet potatoes and pumpkin on the reg, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. 

To start off, I had a salad with strawberries, mandarin oranges, and almonds, broccoli salad, and spinach dip with pita chips.

The Classic is famous for their shrimp and grits- it's one of the top 100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die- so I opted for that instead. I also loaded up on sautéed vegetables- squash, zucchini, carrots, and Brussels sprouts and and got a little macaroni and cheese.

As for dessert, I got a plate filled with pumpkin pie, caramel pie, and banana pudding. I also tried a bite of my dad's chocolate and coconut cake and peanut butter pie, so I definitely had my fill of sugar for the day.

After visiting at my grandparents' house for a few hours, we headed down the road to Lake Martin. My dog Angel rode with us in the back of my brother's truck!

We had a relaxing night just watching TV- I made my family watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving! Love being at the lake for the holidays- it's so cozy and rustic!

This morning I made myself a bowl of oatmeal- 1/2 C oats, water, skim milk, sliced banana, blueberries, granola, almond butter. 

I love eating breakfast overlooking the water- so scenic.

I had a lazy morning and just caught up on all my TV shows- Revenge, Modern Family, New Girl.

For lunch, my brother grilled some chicken which I had over a salad with Zoe's Greek dressing. I also had some whole wheat naan with hummus and watermelon on the side.

The rest of today's plans include working out, watching football, going on a walk, reading Catching Fire (the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy), and celebrating my brother's birthday (he turns 21 tomorrow!). 

Have a great weekend!