October 2023 – the nutritional reset

I first posted my Gourds & Goblins Menu two years ago and my readers back then deemed it a treat. I’ve exhumed it this Hallowe’en in the hope that my newer subscribers will also find it a scream. If you are seeing this again, think of it as Hallowe’en and Groundhog Day all rolled into one.

My Gourds & Goblins Menu is a Jekyll & Hyde character.

The Jekyll version is served pretty much as described in the recipes. It’s a heaping harvest helping of carbo-comfort foods featuring a gaggle of gourds (namely pumpkin, butternut squash and zucchini). But with some sleight of hand and the spooky styling suggestions at blog-bottom, you can turn it ins-Hyde-out into a fiendish feast for your ghoul-friends! It’s double, double the fun without too much toil or trouble.

Served either way, my Gourds & Goblins Menu is devilishly good at disguising veggies.

Gourds & Goblins Menu

Apéritif: Classic Virgin Sangria (Served per the recipe, it is a harmless harvest cranberry cocktail. But we musn’t forget the word sangria means bloodletting in Spanish, so take a boo at the sinister sip tips below.)

Soup: Spider Web Pumpkin Soup (I’ve dusted the cobwebs off this one from a menu I put out in pre-pandemic times. For the harvest version, omit the spiderweb. But feel free to add curry powder or cayenne if you like it hellishly hot.)

Pasta: Vegan Mac n’ ‘Cheese’ (This is devilishly good served with a tempest-tossed “blood red radicchio and endive of the world salad”. The bitter leaves are a killer counterpoint to the richness of the pasta.)

Dessert: Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes (For some, the thought of zucchini in cupcakes is scary enough. But if you dig the demonic decorating ideas down below you can make these double chocolate delights even darker. If you wish to spike the suggested whipped cream topper, I recommend heavenly Frangelico or the Devil’s rum.)

Whether cooking up the Jekyll or Hyde version, feel free to reach out if you have any questions, comments or grave concerns. I hope you enjoy goblin’ these recipes up!

Join The Nutritional Reset Community here to receive the recipes in the Gourds & Goblins Menu (as well as the recipes to come).

Recently I got hooked by a Netflix documentary called Tour de France: Unchained. It struck me as I watched it that the Tour de France is a great analogy for habit change. Analogies resonate with people. That’s why I used the analogy of climbing Everest in my post Sliding Down a Sugary, Slippery Slope.

The only thing I knew about the Tour de France beforehand was that the winner got to wear the famous yellow jersey. What I didn’t know was that different cyclists don the yellow jersey after each of the 21 stages in the Tour. The winner of the first stage dons the yellow jersey to wear in the next day’s stage. At the end of the second stage, the yellow jersey goes to the cyclist with the fastest time over the two stages. And then over three stages and so on, until, at the end of the 21st stage, it goes to the overall winner, the rider with the fastest cumulative time over all 21 stages. You might say they use a combination of strategy, strength and steely resolve to develop a yellow jersey-wearing habit.

So I thought it would be fun to apply some of the learnings from the Tour de France to habit change. Then why not think of something you want to change in your life and make it into your own 21-day personal Tour de France to win?

the nutritional reset

Month: October 2023

Gourds & Goblins Menu … exhumed

Gourds & Goblins Menu

Habit Change – Your Personal Tour de France