Canadian Living : Health : Nutrition : Get to know Thanksgiving

It's all about the turkey
• Many traditional Thanksgiving foods -- such as turkey, squash and corn -- are native to the Americas, in keeping with the theme of celebrating the harvest.
• While a roast turkey is traditional at Thanksgiving, there are several alternatives, such as turducken, a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken, or tofurkey, a turkey-flavoured meat-free dish.
• While turkeys have nothing to do with the country Turkey, their name does -- settlers called the birds turkeys because of their similarity to a European bird, the African Helmeted Guineafowl, which was known as the turkey-cock since it was believed to have come to Europe via Turkey.
• Most turkeys sold at grocery stores are domesticated birds, which have been bred for their size and speed of growth to the point where they now cannot fly, walk normally or even breed on their own.
• Many gourmands prefer heritage breeds of turkey, which are typically grown organically and have a much stronger flavour than their domesticated counterparts.
• There is a power plant under construction in Minnesota that will burn 700,000 tons of turkey "litter" (a combination of droppings and bedding material) each year to provide power for up to 60,000 homes.
• It's a myth that compounds in turkey make you sleepy -- blame it on the giant meal instead!

Time to eat?
Looking for recipe ideas and cooking tips for Thanksgiving dinner? Try the following links:
• 6 ways to prevent contaminated turkey
• Diet file: Cranberries
• Turkey 101
• Expert advice on preparing Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving recipes:
• Maple-Glazed Barbecued Turkey
• Roast Turkey with Corn Bread Stuffing
• Apple Cranberry Sauce
• Honey Ginger Squash
• Baked Squash with Maple Ginger Glaze
• Sweet Potato Soup with Jalapeño Corn Salsa
• Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
• Pumpkin Pie 6 ways
• Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake
• Best-Ever Apple Pie
• Cranberry Apple Cobbler