A Traditional Thanksgivings
by Tyler Woods on Nov. 20, 2009, under Life
I’m sitting here getting ready to feed about 40 people Thanksgiving dinner a week early. You know all the traditional parties that we need to do. I looked at the dishes I decided to bring, one of which is a spaghetti squash salad with broccoli and olives and a yummy dressing on it. The other dish is a black bean and corn with lime, chilis, green onions, and cilantro. I looked all this over and it got me thinking….
Whatever happened to traditional Thanksgivings? You know the kind with tons of gravy, stuffing and more gravy, potatoes and more gravy, and yams all loaded down and accessorized with pounds of butter. Who said back in the 50s that turkey was good for you?
I recall as a small child my grandmother injecting her turkey with loads of butter and she topped it off with more butter. Hmmmm, now that is what I call a butter ball! Then there was the carbohydrate 
heaven which meant two kinds of stuffing, two kinds of potatoes, and two kinds of dinner rolls. And if we looked really hard on the table, there were vegetables, but I am sure that was a carb too, it was probably corn, with guess what? Lots of butter.
I love TV and stuff showing the woman cooking the turkey and the man cutting it at the table. I have never really seen that done except on TV. I personally think carving the turkey is the hardest part, and my grandmother would be at her kitchen counter with her electric knife, swearing as she tried so hard to get that turkey cut. It was always that darn drumstick that got in the way.
After the feast, we sat then ate puddings and pies. Lots of puddings, and lots of pies. The adults would drink beer and wine, and we kids would feel drunk on kool-aid and pudding. Though an odd combination, the taste was quite yummy.
Today, we hardly use butter; it makes our cholesterol levels go up, so we look for the healthy alternatives. I did not say tasty ones; I simply stated healthy. We make choices which carb we would like at 
our table. Lord knows we do not serve two kinds of potatoes, two kinds of stuffing, or enough bread to feed an army. No we do not do that any longer. After all, we do not want to gain too many pounds because in America obesity is a growing problem that causes diabetes and high blood pressure, or some other new ailment that we will probably need a prescription drug for.
Today, our table holds not a lot of carbs, no real butter, and a salt substitute so we don’t get high blood pressure. I am afraid to talk about dessert. So I will leave it at that, whatever did happen to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner?
