Mrs. Flinger: Bites

In high school, I went to a Thanksgiving at my Grandma’s house. She created everything from scratch, used real butter, the giblets for the gravy, and actual cream for the pie topping. At the time, I was entrenched deeply in the nutrition science and (now false) claims that fake food was actually better than real food. Food out of a box with zero fat! No saturated fat! Margarine not butter. Fat free canned gravy.

Now we know otherwise. Natural fats are better than processed fats. Real food is better than canned. Butter truly is, in fact, better than margarine.

Grandma was right.

I remember my family going home unsatisfied. We all complained that it wasn’t a “real” Thanksgiving. We wanted our stove top stuffing. We wanted our cranberry that looks like the can it came out of. We wanted our potatoes that were perfectly whipped from the instant flakes.

My mom made the best Thanksgiving out of the box ever.

I’ve followed suit, making amazing recipes off the backs of cans. Green bean casserole with four ingredients, each from a can. Everything is easy and dinner takes about an hour (aside from the bird).

Not this year.

No, this year I’m going back to my Grandmother’s kitchen. I’m making everything from scratch. We will not eat a single boxed item. In a quest to eat food, actual REAL food, I’m giving up some convenience but in the end I hope to raise children who don’t clamor for the boxed stuff. Children who one day, will make dinner for their own family the way their mother did, the way their great grandmother did: All Natural. Real. And home-cooked.

My Recipes (which I’ll try posting for the next few days) include:

Pumpkin Hummus (With Whole Peta)
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Low Fat Turkey Gravy
Baked Turkey
Chestnut Stuffing
Cinnamon Pear Compote

** Don’t forget to take the Turkey out of the freezer! Now’s the time!

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