These wild blue shrimp have our tummies growling. Sara's Kitchen made them for her parent's 34th wedding anniversary. She details how she used just a little olive oil, salt, pepper and juice from a Meyer lemon for the saute. But we think it's the paring with an herb salsa verde (made from Suzanne Goin's "Sunday Suppers at Lucques" recipe) that really makes the dish pop.

Thanksgiving can be a tough holiday for vegans, as the meal is centered around turkey, with stuffing that is either cooked inside the bird or has turkey stock added, and lots of dishes with egg and dairy added to them. If on side dish is vegan, that is hardly the same feast that others are enjoying. For vegans in LA, there is an alternative to scanty side-dish fare. Real Food Daily is offering a vegan Thanksgiving To-Go, full of lots of flavor that is 100% plant-based. The dinner includes: Butternut Bisque, Faux Turkey Breast, Corn Sage Stuffing, Candied Garnet Yams, Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips, Golden Gravy, Herb Roasted Vegetables, Baby Green Bean Salad, Cranberry Relish and a slice of Pumpkin Pie with Tofu Whip. The whole meal is just $36.95 per person, but there are only a few days left to get your order in by calling the restaurant. They also have organic, maple-syrup sweetened vegan pies, Pumpkin and Pecan, that would be great for dessert if you want something to share with the whole family, as well as an Apple Pear Spice Cake with vanilla maple cream.

It seems early to start thinking about Thanksgiving, but as the holiday season approaches, the weeks begin to roll by remarkably fast. While some look forward to the holiday as a way to spend time with family and enjoy good food, others just think about it as a setback for their diet plans. Because of the family aspect, it is hard to turn down such good food (especially if you have a grandmother whose only goal in life seems to be to get you to eat another slice of pie), so it never hurts to get a head start on burning off some of those calories. Plus, if you get in some of the extra walking before hand, you won't feel so bad about sitting around and watching football for several hours the next day.

When you're planning your Thanksgiving indulgences, take a look at the Thanksgiving calorie calculator, which will ballpark the amount of energy you'll take in and tell you how much far you'll need to walk to burn it off. Useful, right? Once you see the numbers, you'll know why we're suggesting you get a head start!

[Thanks, Punisher2K!]