PAST PICKS NOVEMBER 2008

So is the turkey!   Click here and enjoy the video. 

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

 “What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?” ~ Erma Bombeck

“Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year.  And then discover once a year is way too often.” ~ Johnny Carson

“Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty.” ~ Michael Dresser

“I love Thanksgiving turkey.  It's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts.” ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger: 

 “Here I am 5 o’clock in the morning stuffing bread crumbs up a dead bird’s butt.” ~ Roseanne Barr

 “An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” ~ Irv Kupcinet

 “My cooking is so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor.” ~ Phyllis Diller

Yes.   As reported in the November, 2008, issue of Environmental Nutrition, ounce-for-ounce, canned pumpkin is more nutrient-rich than its fresh counterpart; it has less moisture, which means you get more actual pumpkin per ounce.  And if you look at the ingredient list on a can of pumpkin, there’s more good news because of what you don’t see.  Pumpkin is the sole ingredient; there’s no added salt, sugar, water, additives or preservatives.  Both canned and fresh pumpkin are nutritious choices; both are low in calories, virtually sodium-free and excellent sources of fiber, vitamin A as beta-carotene, and choline, an often-overlooked but critical B vitamin.  Both also provide potassium, important for blood pressure.

Who doesn’t love sweet potatoes?  They’re packed with nutrients and delicious.  Usually you have to wait an hour ‘til they’re done.  Not anymore.   Ore-Ida’s new Steam ‘n Mash uses 100% real potatoes that are pre-washed, pre-peeled and pre-chopped and ready to mash in just 12 minutes.   Each cup serving has only 90 calories (1 G).  You can mash in your own seasonings (cinnamon; grated orange rind; sugar-free maple syrup; dried cranberries).   Or, instead of mashing, try tossing the chunks with 3 TBS of extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ TSP salt, a bit of freshly ground black pepper and roast at 400° until they start to brown.

•     Use herbs, instead of extra fat, for flavor.

•     For a golden skin, roast at high heat (475°) for the first 45 minutes, then reduce to 350°.

•     A 3-oz. portion of light meat without skin has only 132 calories and 3 grams of fat.  With the skin, that jumps to 168 calories and 6 grams of fat.  Dark meat is higher in calories and has more fat.

•     3 oz. of dark meat supplies 15% of the recommended daily intake of iron; white meat has only 8%.

•     Turkey contains slightly less fat and cholesterol than chicken.  Turkey has more protein than chicken or beef.

•     Turkey meat (and chicken) can be pink even when it’s fully cooked.  Why?  The bones of young birds are porous and allow red pigmentation (hemoglobin) to leach out into the meat.

•     A 15-lb. turkey usually has about 70% white meat and 30% dark meat.

•     Feeling lethargic?  Don’t blame tryptophan, an amino acid found in turkey.  Other amino acids in the food block tryptophan’s absorption into the brain before it can make serotonin, which in turn would make you feel sleepy.  All the carbohydrates in your Thanksgiving dinner are the likely cause of your sleepiness!