Six Quick & Easy Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

I know I have a ton of recipes on this website but I actually don't like complicated recipes or spending all day in the kitchen - and that applies to the holidays too! I'm not even a fan of your typical Thanksgiving food (never have been!). I do love the holidays but I think that more focus should be on spending time with the ones you love and less on elaborate cooking, cleaning, and shopping (unless that's your thing!).

I wanted to bring you some delicious but also very easy to make side dish recipes that you could use over the holidays or even just during your normal food prep! Also, don't forget to get your FREE copy of our Fit Festive Foods eCookbook! Enjoy!

Six Quick & Easy Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

Balsamic Garlic Asparagus

Fall Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Raisins

Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash

Creamy Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
by Hettman Homestead

Pomegranate, Butternut Squash, & Wild Rice Power Salad
by Hettman Homestead

Maple Acorn Squash
by Hettman Homestead

Looking for a Cranberry Sauce recipe? We have one in our FREE Fit Festive Foods eCookbook!

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays

It's hard to believe that it's already November! I know I say that every season but it's true. I feel like yesterday was June! The question that always comes up this time of year is "How Do I Stay on Track During the Holidays?". The answer is actually quite simple - we suggest that you try and keep your routine as normal as possible. We know the holidays are filled with food, family, friends, parties, shopping, etc. We want you to enjoy the holidays but also keep your sanity and avoid the dreaded holiday weight gain. One of the most important things to remember is that this is YOUR life. If you want to eat the piece of Red Velvet Cake - eat it! But don't eat it just because someone is pressuring you to!

We are sharing some of our best tips below and we also have some BIG NEWS too!

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays

• Don't Skip Meals - A BIG mistake people make is skipping meals. It seems to be an even bigger issue over the holidays. Whether it's intentional (thinking that you will "save" calories) or if you just get busy and forget to eat, this cycle will lead you to over-indulging. Stick with your normal eating schedule and don't let yourself get too hungry. Pack your food or at least take protein bars or protein powder packets with you while you are out. Going to a party? Take something with you to share!
   
• Stick with Your Routine - Write down all of your commitments (parties, shopping, etc.) on a calendar ahead of time. After you have all of your commitments written down schedule your workouts for the days that you have free.
   
• Make Time for Food Prep - Your crock pot will be your best friend over the next few months. It seriously only takes a few seconds to throw some stuff in a crock pot and you can have a full meal waiting on you when you are ready. Continuing to do food prep will be a life saver for you! It's amazing what doing one small thing to stay in a routine will do for your motivation!
   
• Start/Continue with a Detailed Workout Plan - Having a workout plan in place will take any guesswork out of the equation and save you time trying to come up with workouts on your own. You could start any of our workout plans but our Busy Body 4-Week Workout Plan is great for this time of year. You will only spend 3 days a week in the gym (or your home workout space) for 40 minutes or less! Even if you can't workout for 40 minutes, we have a solution - simply eliminate the suggested cardio at the end and be on your way in 20-25 minutes!

Exciting H&S News

We are releasing our very first cookbook and it's FREE!

This cookbook is called Fit Festive Foods and includes the recipes listed below. We will also be releasing a series of cookbooks next year, the first one will be crock pot recipes! We are so excited to be working with Kenzie from Hettman Homestead to bring you these cookbooks!

UPDATE: The FREE cookbook is now available! You can learn more here! Also feel free to fill out this form if you would like to let us know what you are looking for in future cookbooks!

Fit Festive Foods

• Sugar Cookies
• Gingerbread Muffins
• Gingerbread Smoothie
• Cranberry Sauce
• Pomegranate Mojito
• Cherry Almond Shooter

We also have our Free Healthy Living Challenge that will be continued through the holiday season. You will have fun challenges each day, get a "behind the scenes" look at what we eat and what our routines look like, and receive support from numerous coaches and trainers! Click here to sign up for the FREE Challenge!

We also will be starting another 21 Day Challenge! Get a jump start on your goals before the new year! Click here to receive more information.

Why join the 21 Day Challenge?

• Lose weight
• Peer Support
• Boost your metabolism 
• Kick your cravings
• Bust out of your plateau

30-Day Turkey Trot Challenge

WANT A FREE HIIT EBOOK?

Join our newsletter and get the instant download. We never spam you - we only bring you the best workouts and recipes each week! Click here to join now.

Note: We're on Snapchat! You can find us under hesheeatclean. We will be posting more of our meals, workouts, and money saving tips! Also, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter!

---

We've had a ton of different challenges before but we've never had a run/walk challenge! I wanted to do one this month since most of us tend to fall of the cardio bandwagon this time of year - which also coincides with the time that we indulge in more treats than usual! Let's keep our cardio game going with this 30-day challenge. You can run, you can walk, you can hike, or you can do a combo - just get it done! I also suggest that instead of just running you try to mix it up. Some ideas are sprints (30 seconds on - 30 seconds off, etc), incline training, or a combination of both (check out our cardio/HIIT routines for ideas).

Remember, this shouldn't be your only workout - you still need to keep up your weight lifting! We have 4, 6, and 12-week workout plans for all fitness levels! Use one of our workout plans, our 4-Week Busy Body Plan would be perfect this time of year! You can read all about those here.

Follow us on Instagram (heandsheeatclean) - we would love to see you trotting - use the hashtag #heandsheeatclean.

This isn't the only challenge we are introducing though! We are going to have our Healthy Living Challenge {Holiday Edition}! This is another completely FREE challenge to join where you will have the support of numerous trainers and coaches to help you stay on track over the holiday season! (If you are already in the Healthy Living Challenge Group on Facebook you do not have to request to join again!)

Looking for a little bit more of a challenge this month? Pair this with one of our workout plans & our Turkey Tone It Up Challenge!