What Happened in the Frozen Veggie Aisle?

Are the veggies vanishing?

Many, many years ago I begged and pleaded with a dear family friend to share her secret family recipe of cheesy green bean casserole with me. Honestly, I don't know how secret the recipe really is, but it did take some convincing and a little bit of puppy eyes for her to give it up.

This isn't the green bean casserole you may know and love (or not). This casserole is ooey, gooey, loaded with swiss cheese and sour cream, and feels like a hug from the inside out.

Ever since, this recipe has become a family Thanksgiving tradition in our home, and if I threaten to not make it, it inevitably gets requested that I do so.

The recipe is definitely not something you'd find in a health cookbook, but I still make it every year.

And I savor every bite.

Unfortunately, I can no longer make the recipe as outlined. For several years now, the special French Cut green beans that the recipe calls for have been completely elusive, no matter where I look for them.

And yesterday as I was gathering ingredients for this year's festivities, hoping to get lucky with those special cut beans, I noticed how small the frozen veggie section has gotten. It made me pause and wonder what that could potentially mean for how we, as a society, are eating these days.

As I wandered around pondering these thoughts, I noticed that the frozen premade meal section is much larger than it used to be. And while I considered that maybe people are opting for more fresh over frozen, I don't think the fresh produce section has increased in size at all.

So I decided that this means fewer meals are being made at home, and in general, we're opting for either eating out or eating premade meals instead.

And hey - I get that! The older I get, the more I dislike spending time in the kitchen (I really wish it was the other way around though), so simple, premade meals are right up my alley (maybe not the kind you get in the frozen foods section), and I think they can absolutely be used in a healthy lifestyle.

But it made me think about my grandma and how she would not only grow her own food, but cook everything from scratch. Every year, she'd spend weeks preserving food for later use.

Life goals.

In fact, I actually DO spend time preserving food every year, but I definitely do it the lazy way and just put everything in my freezer. I absolutely love utilizing frozen foods. I think it makes eating good foods quick and simple, and as a nutrition coach I absolutely recommend it.

But here's the thing, whether you're using frozen, fresh, premade, or from-scratch meals, the howsometimes isn’t as important as the why.

A healthy lifestyle isn’t about being perfect or adhering to rigid rules—it’s about making intentional choices that align with your goals and values. That means that most of the time you're doing your best to give your body inputs it can work with, but sometimes it's perfectly fine to stray from that.

That’s why, even though my cheesy green bean casserole isn’t the healthiest dish, I make it every year. One indulgent dish (or an entire indulgent day) doesn’t derail a healthy lifestyle—it enhances it.

The joy, tradition, and connection that come with food are just as nourishing as the ingredients themselves.

So my best advice for a healthy Thanksgiving this year, is to surround yourself with loved ones. Laugh, talk about memories, cook together, eat a ton of food, play games, do the football thing - whatever it is that your family enjoys. That is what I hope for you this week.

I've seen a lot of people on GLP-1 meds stressed out about Thanksgiving this year. Two pieces of advice:

1: It's a single day. Enjoy it.

And 2: I realize your eyes may absolutely be bigger than your stomach this year so enjoying it might be difficult. Don't stress about this. Just enjoy what you can, but definitely try not to overdo it. You may actually need to stay away from ultra cheesy foods because fats might come back to bite you. But stressing about this is just going to take away from the experience.

Eventually, as your body heals, you'll be able to enjoy all these things again once your metabolic pathways are reset. Although I am still on tirzepatide, I fully intend on being able to eat until I'm stuffed. GLP-1 works like that - eventually you can eat more. This freaks a lot of people out, and they come to me saying the meds aren't working anymore. I assure you, they are.

GLP-1 feels like magic if you do it right (which is exactly what I teach in GLP-1 Done Right). And now two years into my own journey, it still feels like magic that my body is finally working the way God intended.

You don't want to eat like Thanksgiving every day of the week, but this week, on Thanksgiving Day, I sure hope you enjoy your food like a Queen!

Wishing you a Thanksgiving full of joy, balance, and delicious traditions!

Hugs & Smoothie Smiles,
Coach Camille PN, SSR

PS: Because I love you:

Pam's Green Bean Casserole

2pkgs french cut green beans - cooked & drained (sadly, just use cut green beans)

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp sugar

pepper to taste

1 Cup sour cream

8 oz. swiss cheese, grated

Melt butter in a large pot and add flour; stir til thick. Add salt, sugar, pepper and sour cream; stir to combine. Add green beans and about ¾ of the cheese; stir til combined. Put green beans in a casserole dish and top with the remainder of the cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese starts to become golden.