Giving Thanks for our Food

Well, Thanksgiving has passed and most of us were subdued into turkey comas. Eating season has begun. It starts on Thanksgiving and ends on January 1, when we make our fanciful resolutions to go on diets and work out.

I cannot begin to TELL you how much I ate since Thursday. In a matter of days, it seems like my face has filled out again. It all started with the fried, breadcrumby artichoke. I consumed two very oily, delicious artichokes on Thanksgiving, along with a turkey sandwich, sweet potato pie, broccoli casserole, mashed garlic potatoes and my very special mulled apple cider.

You would think I would ease off since then, but everytime I go anywhere, people suddenly have their holiday pastries baked. I have been a culprit of such hospitality as well. Saturday was a very decadent day. My friend Laura came over and we baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies which I would lie if I told you I made them from scratch. Baking's not my gift and betty crocker can just do it so well sometimes. I did make a small experiment batch where I put ingredients to my mom's sweet potato pie topping into the mix. This consisted of coconut, corn flakes, and pecans. It wasn't too bad. I also topped some of the cookies off with caramel. We ate the cookies and got lattes from Claytime Cafe where we painted ourselves mugs. The funny part is I have a brother who has no sweet tooth so I didn't think he would indulge in the cookies. But he had a late night craving and finished the whole plate of them! It made me very proud.

This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent when the candle of Hope got lit. This past Sunday, I went overboard. My friend Sarah invited me to an Advent dinner and I accepted. Priot to that, I got home from lunch to discover my Dad cooking his traditional, Sunday meal- meatballs and pasta with homemade sauce. I cannot begin to tell you, my Dad might make the best sauce you've ever had. Then at the Advent dinner, I could not pass chicken and dumplings over rice. I had two dinners and was completely exhausted the next day.

But the point of this is not to inform you that I eat too much. Most of us eat too much at this time of year. Sometimes it feels very good to indulge and not feel any guilt. However, we also need to aquire the spirit of gratitude. I am so blessed to be able to enjoy food so much, but why can I not use my blessing to bless others?

So at this time of year, where the spirits are high and sweets are everywhere, remember this:

enjoy. be thankful for everything. but don't hoard, share. you are blessed to be a blessing.

donate food to food pantries. volunteer at a food pantry. work at a soup kitchen. buy a homeless person a meal. provide groceries to a friend in need.

we can all do something to express our gratitude.