Canadians and Americans - do you celebrate Oct or Nov?

[Reba 2]

I prefer parsnips for Thanksgiving dinner. First time I made them here, James said he'd never had them!

My sister's birthday is on Oct 7th, so our Thanksgiving was always included with her birthday party when we were kids. She's never had an official just birthday party. Poor kid. Of course, she's 39 this year, and if she wants to have a party she'd better just plan it herself like I've always done for me since I was 5! (my birthday is Aug 30 and I always got back to school stuff as presents. I think I'd have rather switched with her!)

[Krikit 1,164]

I prefer parsnips for Thanksgiving dinner. First time I made them here, James said he'd never had them!

Mmmmm. I love parsnips. I put some in my carrot and turnip or mashed potatoes sometimes for a different flavour experience.

[Reba 2]

For those of us who celebrate Thanksgiving twice, we may want to rethink our menus! I just saw this article on MSN, and I dunno about you, but I can't afford another new wardrobe!

The Eight Most Fattening Foods of Fall

As the temperature drops, we start yearning for comfort foods. But beware of their hefty caloric price. A few of autumn's least healthy offerings.

WEB EXCLUSIVE

By Sarah Kliff

Newsweek

Updated: 4:20 p.m. ET Oct 1, 2007

Oct. 1, 2007 - The leaves start turning, the wind gets cold, and all you want to do is curl up with delicious but heavy autumn treats. And even though our fall favorites aren't exactly known as diet foods, their calorie counts might still surprise you. Turns out Thanksgiving essentials aren't the only figure-busting culprits. Here's a list of the worst eight:

1. Halloween candy With all the bowls and bags of bite-size treats around the house, it's all too tempting to steal a few. But those tiny chocolate bars are more of a trick than a treat. Eat just four "bite size" bars and you're up to 320 calories. Twenty pieces of candy corn will cost you 100 calories, and just 25 jelly beans add up to 140 calories.

2. Mashed potatoes They are the quintessential comfort food for fall. But watch out before taking seconds: weighed down with milk and butter, mashed potatoes usually have about 200 calories in a half-cup serving.

3. Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte Starbucks drinks are notoriously high in calories, and their autumn special is no exception. The Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte weighs in at 510 calories and 20 grams of fat.

4. Apple pie A Thanksgiving dinner is never complete without a slice of apple pie. But with more than 400 calories and 20 grams of fat, this might be one dessert you shouldn't be saving room for. Add a scoop of ice cream (who doesn't?) and you're up to 530 calories. It might just be enough to last you until next fall.

5. Cider Who doesn't love a cup of warm cider? You might not want to skip this traditional treat altogether, but with a sugar-laden 200 calories in 16 ounces, the sweet drink should probably be considered a dessert substitute rather than a beverage.

6. Stuffing At 358 calories and 18 grams of fat per cup, there's a reason they call it stuffing. The high-carb turkey companion may be appearing on lots of menus this fall, not to mention its starring role on Thanksgiving Day, but take it easy if you're trying to keep the fall weight gain to a minimum.

7. Candy apple An apple alone is a pretty healthy fall fruit somewhere in the 60-100 calorie range. Coat it in caramel, however, and you have quite a different story. A large candy apple with caramel usually weighs in around 540 calories. Avoiding this autumn treat will be a boon for your dental bills and your figure.

8. Turducken This combo wonderbird is a trendy entree you might want to forgo. It contains turkey, duck and chicken wrapped together for a new twist on the usual Thanksgiving meal. In terms of your diet, that twist may be for the worse: one serving of Turducken has 749 calories and 34.5 grams of fat. Try limiting yourself to one bird and skip the crispy skin. A three-ounce serving of skinless turkey has 130 calories.

[Marilyn. 340]

who cares.... you need to live a little.....

mmmm, mashed potatoes and gravy.... I have been craving that all week

Edited October 2, 2007 by MarilynP

[thetreble 19]

I agree! It's not like you get turkey all year round. You just have to make sure you don't over eat. I've realized I can't eat like I could when I was 16 anymore haha

[Marilyn. 340]

our tradition was to make jello but then forgot to take it out of the fridge we would usually remember at the end of the meal....

here in the US we have the turkey and potatoes, cranberry jelly, stuffing etc....

the first Thanksgiving I had here, they used instant potatoes... I was shocked and made sure the following year to make real mashed potatoes

i usually make a chocolate trifle for dessert too.. they have come to expect it already...

[Krikit 1,164]

For those of us who celebrate Thanksgiving twice, we may want to rethink our menus! I just saw this article on MSN, and I dunno about you, but I can't afford another new wardrobe!

The Eight Most Fattening Foods of Fall

As the temperature drops, we start yearning for comfort foods. But beware of their hefty caloric price. A few of autumn's least healthy offerings.

Spoil sport.

[thetreble 19]

instant potatoes at thanksgiving dinner? shock horror!

[Reba 2]

Spoil sport.

yeah well, when a person gains 25 pounds in just two months due to medications, and can't lose it again, one has to think about what we're eating unfortunately. And Turducken is just out of the question!

[Carlawarla 1]

What is Turducken anyway??

Carla

[Emancipation 2]

What is Turducken anyway??

Carla

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken

It's an obsession for my husband he REALLY wants one for Thanksgiving..

it's crazy expensive though I hear!!

We're thinking now we won't be able to manage (or eat) CDN Thanksgiving this year

Friday night we are hosting a 40th birthday b'bque bash, and on Saturday friends are hosting and Indian Food extravaganza.. *sigh.. too much food for us to eat and THEN try to have a turkey on top of that!! *Sigh...

[Marilyn. 340]

instant potatoes at thanksgiving dinner? shock horror!

I know I was totally shocked...

my mom never used instant potatoes at all when I was growing up but hubby said they always used instant potatoes

[~Nini~ 2]

I'd rather get fat on Turducken and mashed 'taters and gravy than venti pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks!

[trailmix 77]

1. Halloween candy With all the bowls and bags of bite-size treats around the house, it's all too tempting to steal a few. But those tiny chocolate bars are more of a trick than a treat. Eat just four "bite size" bars and you're up to 320 calories. Twenty pieces of candy corn will cost you 100 calories, and just 25 jelly beans add up to 140 calories.

Ok Sarah from Newsweek is miserable and she is trying to take everyone down with her. Evil Sarah!

Plus, her calculation on the olde halloween chocolate bars is wrong:

Here are some examples of bars I happen to have here:

Twix - 10g - Calories = 50

Snickers - 13g - Calories = 60

Caramilk - 11g - Calories = 50

Ok maybe her math is just really bad.

Anyway I like these little bars! Normally I buy the 100 calorie Cadbury bars, which are far more expensive than their regular bars - but I like the convenience. These little bars are handy and you get the variety. Yay for Halloween Candy!!

Edited October 3, 2007 by trailmix

[Reba 2]

Well actually no, her math is fine.

I believe the US versions of these candy bars are more calories than Canada, because they use different ingredients and different sweeteners. Mostly high fructose corn syrup bleah...that stuff is nasty. So in the US, 4 bite size bars most likely equal a full size bar, which in most cases is somewhere over 300 calories.