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Sweet potato casserole is one of the most popular Thanksgiving side dishes for a reason: It serves up the vegetable in a creamy, sweet, and decadent way, and as we pile it onto our plates, it makes us feel like a kid again. Unfortunately, it’s often overthought and over-complicated, riddled with too many unnecessary steps and ingredients (I’m guilty of it, too, although this version is delish).

This year, we’re presenting you with the absolute easiest five-ingredient sweet potato casserole. In less than an hour (and with barely any dishes to wash), you’ll be rewarded with buttery mashed sweet potatoes piled under a layer of creamy, tender-crisp marshmallows.

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This may not look like your typical success story, but it’s still a primal success nonetheless! I have been blessed in that I’ve never had any illnesses or struggles with health. I’ve always been super active and that had helped me maintain a healthy weight, even throughout three pregnancies. My passion for running has always been deep and I completed my first marathon at the age of 31. I was hooked.

But with the growing number of miles, you can imagine how my appetite grew as well. I had the mindset that since I ran ten miles that morning, I could eat as much as I wanted, especially because I was eating “healthy” things like whole grain pasta, wheat bread, oatmeal, protein and snack bars, etc. I noticed that with every marathon training cycle, the scale would go up a little. I kept telling myself, “It’s okay, after my 20 miler this weekend I will drop the extra weight.” Nope. I noticed my clothes were getting uncomfortably tighter and my stomach was so bloated. I was confused because I would eat a big bowl of pasta and be hungry 30 minutes later. By this point, my weight was about ten pounds heavier than my normal, and the highest it had ever been! Most people probably couldn’t even tell, but I KNEW something wasn’t right. I felt horrible in my own skin.

As I was browsing for a new audiobook to listen to on my runs, I spotted one that caught my eye called Primal Endurance: Escape Chronic Cardio and Carbohydrate Dependency and Become a Fat-Burning Beast! I knew I had to read it, not just listen to it, so I ordered it right away. To say it changed my life is an understatement! Every chapter was describing my life exactly. I was one week out from my next marathon so I knew that wasn’t the time to make any drastic changes to my diet. I ran a 3-minute PR and qualified for Boston that Saturday, and on Monday I started the 21-Day Primal Challenge.

I cannot even describe how good I felt (except for a pretty bad headache on day two!). I followed the guidelines to a tee and saw incredible results. I lost seven very stubborn pounds during the three weeks and that was without doing any running. My exercise during the 21 days consisted of taking the kids and dog for daily walks. I was blown away that I could lose weight without running!

Needless to say, I didn’t stop after the 21 days. I have now been primal for 6 months and have never felt better. I’ve lost over ten pounds without even really trying. I love my eggs, avocados, nuts, berries, veggies, whole-fat Greek yogurt, and meat. My husband was skeptical at first, but saw my success and joined me in this lifestyle. He lost almost 20 pounds that he hadn’t even realized he’d slowly packed on over time.

I am currently training for the Boston Marathon and can easily go through the day after a run without ever feeling ravenous. If I have to wait to eat or skip a meal, it’s no big deal. I also make sure to avoid chronic cardio by keeping my easy days easy, and my hard days hard.

Thanks, Mark! Although I’m not quite ready to give up marathons, I’ll give up grains, sugar, and bad oils any day!

The post I Was Blown Away That I Could Lose Weight Without Running! appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Earlier this morning, the hosts of a cable news channel morning show struggled to open the tiny doors on their wine-bottle advent calendar and they fumbled with the packaging until the commercial break. That made me think that maybe I’ll skip the calendar, buy a couple bottles of wine, and pretend that I’m capable of rationing them for 24 days.

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I always think of Aldi as Trader Joe’s quirky, minimalist German cousin. (Before you @ me, read this: The Biggest Thing You Get Wrong About Trader Joe’s and Aldi.) Like Trader Joe’s, Aldi really shines in the snack department — ditto for their wines. Aldi wines frequently win awards, and people who love them really love them. But for some reason, people don’t talk about Aldi wine the way they talk about Trader Joe’s wine. I’m hoping to change that a bit.

I held a blind taste test with some of my wine expert friends and these are the single best red and white wines at Aldi.

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America: it’s been an unbelievably bitter week, news-wise. For a little while there, it was easy to think it would be impossible to find the good in other people, but then I heard the story of a California donut shop, and now I know the world just needs people like this to help it find its way back.

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You’ve roasted your turkey, and now it’s time for gravy. You don’t need a recipe; this step-by-step guide will show you how to make delicious gravy to pour over your mashed potatoes and turkey with wild abandon.

The deeply browned and rich scrapings from the bottom of the roasting pan might not look like much when you first take the turkey out of the oven, but those drippings are Thanksgiving manna. Let’s make some gravy.

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Kitchn’s Delicious Links column highlights recipes we’re excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites.

I lived in Germany for about six years, and the one cooking habit I picked up during that time is that I always have good mustard in my refrigerator, usually several different types. At the very least, I always keep large jars of Dijon mustard and “old-style” Dijon mustard, the type with the whole mustard grains. I put them on every sandwich and in most of my salad dressings, but my favorite thing to do with them is to rub them all over meat or seafood before I cook it.

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When it comes to recommending specific gear for Thanksgiving, for the most part I actually prefer not to. I hate telling people they need to buy something special, knowing they’ll only use it once a year — twice, at best. (I’m looking at you, gravy boats!)

But a carving knife and fork set is an exception to that rule. If you’re hosting Thanksgiving and plan on serving turkey, you kind of do need to make this purchase. Yes, you could get away with using a chef’s knife and a giant serving fork, but a specialized set really will make the task at hand easier. Carving knives are thinner and more flexible so they can get into all the turkey’s nooks and crannies for every last bit of meat. And the fork is long and narrow to give you a good grip on the bird and help guide the slicer.

The good news: You don’t have to spend a fortune. In fact, my favorite inexpensive set is just $30. Even more good news: Because it’s unlikely you’ll be slicing a turkey very often, your carving knife will stay sharp and in tip-top shape for a long time.

To reiterate, there’s no need to spend big bucks on a carving set. For just $30, you can get a flexible carver along with a long-handled fork.

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All month long, we’re testing out some of the most popular Thanksgiving recipes on the internet. And if there’s one Thanksgiving side that people have the most opinions about, it’s mashed potatoes.

In my view, mashed potatoes should be just that: all about the potatoes. So I was excited to see that Alton Brown’s buzzed-about version kept them front and center. Compared to the other famous mashed potato recipes I made (here’s Ina Garten’s, Martha Stewart’s, and Ree Drummond’s), Alton’s also called for the fewest ingredients: just Yukon gold potatoes, heavy cream, and butter. But could such a seemingly simple recipe stand up (and stand out) at a packed Thanksgiving table? Here’s what I found out.

Recipe: Alton Brown’s Creamy Mashed Potatoes

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Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, this bread casserole is just the sort of food that makes us all feel nostalgic and cozy at the same time. The familiar flavors of stuffing — onion, celery, and herbs wrapped around crispy, chewy bread soaked in a flavorful buttery broth — are well-loved. This classic dish is both easy to make and easy to mess up. So how do you avoid stuffing-related snafus? Watch out for these five major mistakes.

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