Choosing Wisely for the Thanksgiving Mealby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 18 Nov 2008 10:20 AM
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. Free Fast Food Today (and Cheap Food, too) How to Have a Frugal Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Meal Ideas on How to Include Baby
Just look to the right of this blog and find the subscription center (it looks just like this picture, although you'll have to find the "real" one just above the category listing ). Click on "Subscribe via Email". You'll be instantly subscribed and the email address that you registered at Families.com with will receive an instant notification whenever we post a new Frugal Living Blog! Don't miss a thing - subscribe now! Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags frugal meals, frugal food, frugal living, holidays, Thanksgiving Discuss this article
|
Frugal categories |
Are you subscribed to the Families.com Frugal Living Blog? With the click of a button, you can receive an email notification anytime a new blog is posted in the Families.com Frugal Living Blog!
