Give Thanks

Whipped Nutty Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes
It's time for giving thanks at the dinner table, gathering family and friends, and maintaining our loved traditions with a new healthy twist. 

Water for Boiling
3 Parsnips, Peeled, and Cut in Halves, then Half Again
4 Large Sweet Potatoes, Peeled, and Sliced Thick
1/2 Cup So Delicious Coconut Milk
1/4 Cup Sucanat
2 Tbs. Butter, (no added hormones)
3/4 tsp Redmond Real Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Allspice

Topping:
1/4 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 tsp Sucanat
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Place the root vegetables into a large pot, covering them with an inch of water.  Bring to a boil for about 15 minutes.  While the veggies are boiling, prepare the pecan topping by combining the chopped pecans, sucanat, and cinnamon.  Drain the veggies once you can pierce them through with a fork.  Returning the parsnips and sweet potatoes to the pot, mash in the coconut milk, sucanat, butter, salt, and allspice.  Mashing doesn't give this the whipped consistency, so  spoon this mixture into your blender, and whip for about one minute, until it is evenly smooth.  While the mixture is still hot, spoon into a shallow serving dish, and sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon pecan topping.  Keep warm until serving time. 

Be Grateful

I'm not a fan of "Black Friday."  Even the name of it has an ominous ring to it.  I was displeased to hear of people who are spending their Thanksgiving camping out for the retail sales that are on the rise.  I thought, "So let's just skip being thankful, and go right to being greedy?"  

While I'm at it, I'll just have to mention that anytime anything is commercialized, it loses it's savor for me.  A good example of this is when a beloved yoga studio of mine decided to add a clothing retail store in the front entrance.  You couldn't go to the yoga class without walking through a very expensive, image oriented, high end retail store.  This seemed so far from a true yogi mentality.  When yoga becomes about image, the cool brand name yoga clothes, the expensive floor mats, and so forth, it is no longer yoga to me.  Remember the words of Dharma Mittra in my Sept 10th 2012 blog post?  He was ever striving for "egolessness." he had no attachment to "things."  It is not so much what you are wearing as you step off your yoga mat into the world, but what you are now capable and willing to offer to the world around you once you have ended your practice.  The practice never ceases.  

"Pray always, that you may come off conqueror..."  Doctrine and Covenants 10:5

I have realized that I need to be more grateful.  I set a goal this month to offer up only prayers of thanksgiving, and blessings to be brought upon others.  So much of the time, my prayers begin with, "Please help me..."  Our prayers also never cease.  

There are countless ways to express gratitude.  It's so much more than saying "Thanks."  Here's just a few ideas:

-Allow yourself to be happy now no matter the circumstance 

-Open your eyes to the beauty around you

-Take pleasure in simplicity  

-Erase your lists of things you might feel you lack

-Waste nothing

-Return what you have borrowed

-Share

-Entertain

-Avoid over-eating

-Avoid over-shopping

-Practice contentment

-Allow creativity to flow when resources are scarce by using what you have.  

-Want less

-Need less

-Give others the very thing you might be desiring for yourself.

Along with gratitude, happiness is yours.  Happy Thanksgiving!