A Green Thanksgiving is Making Me Blue

November 12, 2009

Can you “green-up Thanksgiving”, which in my opinion is one of our most over-indulgent holidays, and still have fun? That’s the topic of a post that I’ve been working on.  I had several ideas on how to make Thanksgiving Day more green while preserving our tried and true traditions. I had some really good ideas.

But, as I thought about it, and researched heritage turkeys, organic turkeys and free-range turkeys, something occurred to me. The truth is this. I don’t want to cook a turkey at all. Oh, I want to eat a turkey. But, not being much of a cook, I really don’t want to go to all of the trouble of cooking a turkey. There are only 5 people in my little family, so while I really, really want that turkey, slaving away in the kitchen all day just isn’t what I want to do with one of my few days off work. You know? And, the fact that the more I thought about a sustainable Thanksgiving Day, the more overwhelming it seemed. It made me feel blue, that it seemed to be taking so much planning and researching and worrying, just to come up with a sustainable Thanksgiving meal.

Thinking about this blog, I brought myself back to the original premise of writing this, it’s about learning, and making conscious choices. And sometimes, we’re just not ready to take some of those steps. But, as long as we’re still taking steps forward to sustainability, it’ll be OK. Or, at least better. And better is good.

With those thoughts in mind, here’s how I plan to handle our Thanksgiving this year:

1. I’m buying a pre-prepared turkey like we always do. Whether its from Honey Baked or some other company, that’s just how its going to be. We buy one turkey per year. Maybe next year I’ll be more industrious.

2. We’ll serve our traditional foods, cooked in a better way. In order to keep peace with kids, we’ll be serving up our same old casseroles. (Probably pulled from “Holiday Ideas from Kraft” circa 1962). But, I’ll try to prepare them a little better. Organic cornmeal, free-range eggs and local sweet potatoes anyone?

3. Bring on the local fare. I’d like to introduce at least one (maybe two) new recipes that are completely local, and seasonal.

4. Drink Wine! We consume a lot of wine at Thanksgiving. It will be fun to find some new, organic brands.

5. Decorate Sustainably. Nice plates will be on the table, along with cloth napkins. No paper plates for us. Holidays have always been about nice china because my mother has been the hostess for at least 50 of the last 55 years, and she’s all about presentation. But, that is one tradition that is sustainable. Actually I’ve done away with paper plates altogether, and cloth napkins are on my Christmas wish list. (In case any one’s wondering, tee hee)

6. Of course, we’ll be recycling, that goes without saying.

Thanksgiving will be here soon, but our menu plans may definitely change or expand before the big day. I’ll be researching some local resources and recipes. If you have ideas or tips for a simple, green Thanksgiving celebration, I’d love to hear about them.

Filed under: Eating Well,Healthy Living,Uncategorized

Tags: eco-friendly, Holiday, Lifestyle, Thanksgiving