A Stress-free Thanksgiving Dinner
By: Jennifer Frost
Does the idea of preparing Thanksgiving dinner send you into a panic attack? Well, you’re not alone. Many households start preparing the meal days in advance and require “all hands on deck” assistance in the prepping, cooking and serving of dinner. Perhaps you should consider ordering a prepared meal. Whether the reason for choosing a prepared Thanksgiving dinner is due to either coming back from out of town to close to the holiday; being overwhelmed by a large number of out-of-town relatives; convenience or mere laziness, all reasons are valid for removing a large portion of stress from the holiday.
Currently, lots of grocers offer Thanksgiving dinner packages. Depending on the grocer, both price and items included in the meal can vary drastically. For example, on the higher priced end of the scale there is Harry & David who offers many different meal options depending on taste and number of guests; however, you would typically need to order a week prior to the holiday. While local grocery stores, usually offer two dinner options Turkey or Ham with a basic combination of sides, such as mash potatoes, gravy, stuffing, carrots, or rolls.
Given that I returned from an out-of-town trip three days before Thanksgiving, I knew I would be taking advantage of pre-ordering my Thanksgiving meal. Last year, I ordered some appetizer platters from Wholefoods to help reduce some of the stress of meal prep and they were delicious. Therefore, this year when I went to preorder my Thanksgiving meal, I knew that I would be choosing Wholefoods as my provider. I chose the basic Turkey meal which came to about $100 plus tax. One of the wonderful features about Wholefoods is that they only require 48 hours notice, so you can place your order the Monday of Thanksgiving week and still enjoy a delicious meal on Thursday.
What does a Turkey dinner for about $100 from Whole Foods include? Well, the meal includes the following:
Classic Whole Roast Turkey;
Creamy Mashed Potatoes;
Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Green Beans;
Cranberry Orange Sauce;
Traditional Herb Stuffing; and
Turkey Gravy.
Further, the reheating instructions appear straightforward and much more convenient than prepping an entire meal from scratch; the turkey needs to be reheated for an hour while the sides range from 15 to 40 minutes depending on the type of side.
If Thanksgiving is fast approaching and you would like to avoid all the stress of preparing the meal, then consider ordering a Thanksgiving meal package. Ordering a prepared meal, will save you a lot of time and labor, while also allowing you to spend more time mingling with family and friends.