Some food costs more than others. Here is how to make the best selections for your budget and still be true to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
On Thanksgiving, we tend to go a bit overboard. I know this because the number of leftovers seems to grow exponentially over the years. Everyone has their favorite dishes, and all of them need to be prepared. Why have pumpkin pie when you can have pumpkin pie, apple pie, cheesecake, cookies and a cherry cobbler. Well, I’ll tell you why. All of that food can add up, and expensive ingredients mean expensive dishes. This is not to mention, of course, that extra food can go to waste.
More food means more energy used to cook it and store it, as well. If you cook food with leftovers in mind for freezer meals, then this cancels out.
Once you get the menu down to essentials, that is meaning the amount of food that is actually needed to feed your group, then you can begin to make choices among dishes. Choose the least expensive options in each category, or scrimp in one area in order to splurge in another. I’m going to ignore exotic ingredients or dishes that we all know cost a lot, such as fancy cuts of meat or truffles. Instead, let us take a look at some dishes that are normally served at Thanksgiving.
Main course
Least expensive: Frozen turkey on sale a week or two before Thanksgiving, homemade lasagna or pasta dish.
Most expensive: spiral cut ham, pheasant, game hens
Side dishes
Least expensive: mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, buttered noodles, stuffing, homemade soup
Most expensive: creamed vegetable casseroles
Desert
Least expensive: pumpkin and fruit pies made from scratch, homemade cookies
Most expensive: cheesecake, ice cream, store bought desert trays.
Beverages
Least expensive: tea, lemonade, water
Most expensive: alcoholic beverages
Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.
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