It’s
Thanksgiving in Canada! The time of year
where we say thank you for everything we have by wasting money and food. The post-Thanksgiving food-related financial depression
is only beaten by the post-Christmas one.
So here’s an idea: treat Thanksgiving as a rehearsal for Christmas.
This isn't really a tip, it's more of a suggestion because I haven't actually done this myself. But I think it just might work and might save you a load of money.
Traditional
Thanksgiving and traditional Christmas meals in Canada are very similar: giant
turkeys, sweet potatoes, roast potatoes, roast veg, cranberry jelly, stuffing,
gravy, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin pie, the list of “requirements” just goes on
and on. I put “requirements” in
parentheses, because it’s important to question whether they are indeed
requirements. Is it important to have a
giant turkey for just five people? Is it
important to have a whole bowl full Brussels sprouts on the table if only one
person eats them?
With
Thanksgiving so soon, it’s probably too late to change the preparations
now. But you have a great chance to
learn from any mistakes made this time around and apply the learning to Christmas. I’ve made an equation for you. I call it the Turkey equation.
L = (T - Te) / n , where Te = T - Tl
L = leftovers (in kg or whichever unit
is most appropriate)
T = Turkey (in kg - can be replaced by
any other food item, in whichever unit is most appropriate)
Te = Turkey eaten (can equally be
replaced by any other food item)
Tl = Turkey left (can still be replaced
by any other food item)
n = number of people eating.
The idea
is to bring L as close to 0 as
possible. Unless you’re absolutely madly
in love with Turkey leftovers sandwiches, and can eat them for the rest of your
life, in which case your goal is probably to maximise L for those items but minimize it for others.
Example 1. Say you have 24 Brussels sprouts (T = 24), and only your great aunt Agnes
likes to eat them (n = 1). But great aunt Agnes is 94 and has the
stomach the size of a quarter, so can only manage 2 of them (Te = 2).
You’re left with L = 22. Problem!
We want to minimize this!
Solution: make fewer Brussels
sprouts. Perhaps present them on an
individual plate for great aunt Agnes, all pretty and garnished, so she feels
special and included. Maybe include an
extra one for each child under 18, so you can threaten to make them eat
them.
Example 2. You have a 60 lb turkey. You have 50 guests over, which you would
think would mean the 60 lb bird would be perfect for. But 25 of them have become vegetarian over
the past year, and suddenly your n is
cut in half, leaving you with masses and masses of leftover turkey.
Solution: Rethink your Christmas
needs. You’ll need to get a smaller
turkey and provide a vegetarian alternative.
It’s too late for Thanksgiving – but don’t throw away that turkey! Make turkey pasta sauces, turkey casserole,
turkey soup, turkey stir fry, and freeze them for consumption over the next
month. But save some for sandwiches.
Example 3. You are super-thrifty and
only bought one can of cranberry jelly because traditionally your family doesn’t
use much of it. But this year your two
kids taste cranberry jelly and suddenly decide they like it and could pretty
much eat it with a spoon. That leaves
you with L = -1; in other words, you’re missing a can.
Solution: Canned cranberry jelly doesn’t
go off, so make sure you have an extra one available. Only open one at first, but keep the others close
by, just in case jelly lovers come over for dinner. If they don’t, you can save them for next
year. It’s a better solution than
opening two and dumping one and a half at the end.
So,
by calculating your equations carefully, you can reduce your leftover
nightmares and your financial loss and still have a great turkey dinner with all the real requirements.
Alternatively,
do what my family is doing: have a meal that everyone loves, and to hell with
tradition. In our case, it’s ham,
scalloped potatoes, and apple pie for dessert.
Yum!!!
Happy
Turkey (ham?) day!
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