There’s nothing more attractive than a good sense of humor.

Laughter strengthens your heart, soul, and immune system. Spend the day finding the humor in everything – and make it a habit. Life is easier when you can laugh through it.

If you’re entertaining this week or weekend, don’t waste another minute of preparation time. Knowing what you have to do and doing a little bit each day will make the whole weekend more relaxing for everyone.

• If you’re having overnight guests (or the kids are coming ‘home’), then clean the bedrooms and bathrooms they’ll be using. Change the bed linens if necessary. Put a couple of extra blankets on the bed, along with a set of clean towels for each guest. Put a basket of sample-sized bath gel, shampoo, moisturizer, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. in the bathroom, in case anyone has forgotten anything. Make sure you have laundry detergent, too – in case anyone needs to do laundry while they’re home.
• Get your dining table ready. Put in the extra leaves if you’ll need them. Collect the chairs from around the house (or the closet, or wherever you keep the extra chairs!) – they may need to be dusted or wiped clean. Put the table linens on the table, and get the candles or centerpiece together. Use cloth napkins and labeled napkin rings (or assigned seats) if your guests will be present for several meals.
• Make your menu plans now. Stock up on pantry items at the grocery store early in the week, and go back later for produce (after you’ve cleaned out the fridge).
• Twice a day, spend 15 minutes decluttering a room (two rooms a day). In a few days, you’ll be able to dust and vacuum with ease and efficiency.

During the holidays, or any time family and friends gather for an extended time, it’s good to have a couple of easy meals that everyone will love. It’s a bonus if they don’t resemble the Main Event meals, and if they are easy to keep on the back of the stove for whenever the gang gets hungry.

Cassoulet is a traditional slow-cooked stew, based on beans and sausage (vegan in our recipe), from the south of France.

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Cassoulet
from The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Dr. Neal Barnard and Robyn Webb
Blue * Serves 6 (doubles easily)

1-1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed (or 3 cups cooked beans)
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 bay leaf
2 vegetarian sausage links, sliced
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs, toasted

Heat 1/4 cup vegetable broth in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic, and saute for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining 1 cup broth, beans, thyme, salt, black pepper, tomatoes, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and add the vegetarian sausage. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Garnish each serving with parsley and bread crumbs.

It’s the season of gratitude for all things good and beautiful in our lives.

Take time to thank the people in your life, too, for all the ways they’ve helped you become the amazing person you are today.

Not every relationship we have is easy (in fact, most aren’t easy at all), but every one has shaped us. Honor that, and say ‘thank you’ to the people who’ve made a difference in your life. If you can’t say it in person, write it in a letter (even if you can’t mail it). Let them know you’re grateful.

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Purchase “Thank You” by Jim Brickman (featuring Matt Giraud) on iTunes.

If you send out holiday cards, be sure to carry your camera around during the next couple of weeks.

Candid photos of your family members – and pets – will make fun photo cards or collages. Get pics of the kids going to school, everyone hanging around the dinner table, a family basketball game. If you’re single, go on a photo day with a friend and take pics of each other exploring your city (someone will gladly take a pic of both of you together, too).

It’s so easy to get photo cards printed at your local drugstore or discount store, or to make a collage on your computer. You just need some fun photos to make into cards!

Bonus * If you have extended family members with digital photo frames, send them the photos to add to their frame, too.

Take a break from the news this weekend. So often we get dragged down into the negativity of what’s reported in the media. So turn off the news, walk away from your RSS feed and Google alerts, stay away from newspapers and news magazines – just for a couple of days.

Live in your present reality this weekend. Create a safe and happy place for yourself and your loved ones, and enjoy each other’s company. The news will wait until Monday.

Just don’t gain!

Don’t stress out about losing weight over the holidays; it can be hard enough to maintain your current weight. Weigh yourself today, and promise yourself that the number you see on New Year’s Day won’t be any higher.

Take a walk on the wild side! Visit your local zoo or animal park or aquarium. It’s a fun activity for the whole family over a holiday weekend, too (and more invigorating than going to a movie).

Make a day of it and plan to walk the whole park – maybe twice! Pay attention to how different animals move, and try to copy them. Look at what they eat, and compare it to what you eat. Go ahead and make the sounds they want, too, if you want.

It’s time to turn up the heat. Let’s make sure you are prepared for the cold winter ahead.

• Stay on top of all the things your house needs to keep you warm efficiently. Change your furnace filter. Get your boiler inspected every 5 years. Maybe even have your heating ducts cleaned – you can at least remove the grate and stick the vacuum hose in there. Check your water heater.
• Check your windows and doors for leaks (hold a lit candle around the edges; if the flame bends or goes out (!) you need to do some caulking!). You may want to think about window shrink-wrap, too.
• Make sure the damper in your fireplace is closed (until you’re ready to build a fire).
• Use an area rug or a “door snake” against the bottom of an exterior door to cut the draft across the floor.
• Get on the budget saver plan with your utility company! Level out those payments, so you aren’t afraid to use the heat!
• Now that it’s getting cooler and heaters are blowing, check your indoor plants and move them if they’re too close to heat ducts or radiators. You can also add decorations for the holidays by wrapping a ribbon around pots.

“Vegetarian Thanksgiving” can be a foreign concept for some families. Remember that a traditional Thanksgiving meal is a harvest feast. Focus on the bounty from the local harvest, and you’ll have an amazing meal.

If you need bread crumbs, just whiz the bread in a food processor after letting it thaw and dry over one night. Keep the breadcrumbs in the freezer.

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Cranberry-Pear Wild Rice Stuffing
Green * Serves 8

2-1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2/3 cup raw wild rice
1-1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 large celery stalk, diced
2 medium firm pears (such as Bosc), cored and diced
4 cups finely diced whole grain bread
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
2 teaspoons salt-free seasoning (such as Spike or Mrs. Dash)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup apple or pear juice, or as needed

Bring the broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Stir in the wild rice, then cover and simmer gently until the liquid is absorbed, about 35 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the celery and sauté over medium heat until both are golden. Combine the onion-celery mixture with the cooked wild rice and all the remaining ingredients except the apple juice in a mixing bowl. Toss gently to combine. Drizzle the apple juice in slowly, stirring all the while, until the mixture is evenly moistened.

To bake as a standalone dish: Transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled, large shallow baking dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top begins to get slightly crusty.

Or bake acorn squash halves (seeded and scraped clean) halfway, then fill with the stuffing and bake the rest of the way. Garnish each serving with two slices of red Bosc pear, if desired.