Choosing Food this Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is upon us again! It is a time for celebrating the food we are blessed with, so I'm thinking why not choose the food most worth celebrating?! For me, this really boils down to sustainable local foods grown in a healthy and balanced way. I absolutely realize that it is unrealistic for all of us to eat 100% local, especially on this upcoming day of abundance. I do know, however, that there is much room for improvement in terms of choosing local. For my own benefit as well as whoever is interested (and that's probably you if you're reading this!), I have compiled a list of things that I know can be found locally right now to help make Thanksgiving dinner a meal worth celebrating.

• Potatoes - for mashed potatoes...duh! A staple in any Thanksgiving reportoir. These babies are abundant in New Hampshire now and through the winter. 
• Onions - the foundation of so many yummy things. These are also abound in NH now and through the winter
• Carrots - same story as the other guys! Don't be afraid of the funny-looking carrots you may find at a farmers market...these are often the tastiest! 
• Pumpkin - Poor pumpkins get kicked to the curb after Halloween...forgotten in the cold. But lets not forget these delicious local goodies are super edible and super integral to Thanksgiving. Try to make a pumpkin pie from scratch this year and support your local pumpkin grower!
• Squash - So many delicious varieties of squash are plentiful in NH right now...gotta try them all! 
• Celeriac - A funky looking root vegetable that is new to me! It is a reliable NH crop this time of year that I am sure has the potential to add incredible flavor to Thanksgiving necessities like stuffing.
• Kale - Kale might not be a traditional Thanksgiving food for most, but this hardy green lasts well into the fall in New England. Maybe try some steamed kale as a delicious side dish this year!
• Beets - Maybe you aren't used to having beets at Thanksgiving, I know I'm not. But this year I am trying a beet salad to honor this NH classic and try to keep it local!
• Cranberries - One of the last few traditionally North American crops that remains a staple in our diet today. We are lucky to have cranberry bogs abound in New England, especially Massachusetts and Maine. 
• Maple syrup - Pies are a Thanksgiving must and usually have a lot of sugar added to them. This year, maybe replace some of that sugar with local maple syrup! YUM!
• Apples - Apple season just came and went but lots of great NH apples are still floating around...and everyone knows apple pie is a Thanksgiving classic.
• Eggs - If you are using eggs this season, for desserts or what have you, don't forget that there are great New Hampshire eggs all around, including at the grocery store! 
• Dairy - Dairy is a classic New England industry at the heart of our local agricultural system. It won't be too hard to find local dairy products, but don't forget to do some research on the best, most humane and healthy products! 
• TURKEY! - Turkey is obviously the heart of most Thanksgiving meals, but I am willing to bet without a doubt that the turkeys sold at the supermarket are far from a meal worth celebrating. Do some research, find local and humane turkey farms or hunt one yourself! 

Personally I am shopping for Thanksgiving at the Kearsarge Gore Farm and Greenhill Collective Farm this year to see what I can gather before stepping foot in a grocery store. I understand that access to local food might be a very real barrier between you and choosing local (which may or may not be the focus of a little project I am working on with friends, soon to be revealed!) but start looking around and you might be surprised at what you might find! Contact your local farm through Facebook, find a farmers market and look for local food in your supermarket.

Finding even just a few local items to be integral parts of Thanksgiving dinner will impact the quality of the meal substantially and help us to move toward a more locally-sourced diet. I know I want to feel good about the products I am buying, who I am supporting and how it affects the health of my loved ones and the planet. Thanksgiving is a wonderful place to start making a shift toward healthy food worth celebrating! CHEERS!