Husband and I provide the Thanksgiving meal for his side of the family and we always take the minimalist approach. Instead of having a ton of sides and options, we limit it to three: stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans. We then, obviously, have turky and gravy. You can't forget the bread or my favorite part of the meal, dessert. One reason we do it this way is because whenever we go somewhere for a holiday meal there is always way too much food left over. The other reason is that normally it's us and his parents. Every other year, just about, his brother comes in town along with his wife and kid. It's a very small family meal so there really isn't a need for a lot of food.
This year his brother and family were in town and staying at our house. Due to our nephew turning 4 soon we also celebrated his birthday. This means that if there was any extra food to be had, it was with dessert as I made a birthday cake and pie. However, dessert NEVER goes to waste in our house (especially not yummy applie pie). The only other place where there could have been waste was the fact that two turkeys were made. I don't eat turkey, so I had no part in this. The good thing is that almost all the turkey was sent home with others who would eat it, so no waste there.
I was also super excited when making the fruit pies and peeling the potatoes and making the stuffing that all the normal "waste" would be composted this year.
All-in-all, I would say this year was very successful with have zero to little food waste. Other waste, well, wait for another post on that one. It's interesting having house guests who aren't as eco-conscious as you.
You did very well! We've also taken the minimalist approach. Our first Thanksgiving, we cooked and cooked and cooked ... there wasn't enough room on our small table or our plates for the amount of food we made. After a week of leftovers, some food got tossed. Ugh! Now, we're like you ... just a few sides. We have enough leftovers for the next day and that's it. It seems to me that wasting food at any time is bad but on Thanksgiving it seems to especially insult the grateful spirit of the holiday.
ReplyDeleteI like your approach of three sides! Keep it simple and quick.
ReplyDeleteThanks All Natural Katie - it really does provide enough food without going over-board.
ReplyDeleteSmall Footprints - Thanks! I agree that wasting food is always bad..but Thanksgiving and Holidays in general seem to be just wrong.