Let's Talk Turkey
BY LIZ GOFF

The first Thanksgiving may be significant for having brought together Pilgrims and Native Americans, but the feast we celebrate today wasn't recognized as a holiday until the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, took office.

President Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday on October 3, 1863, hoping to bring two warring factions to the table. Lincoln hoped all Americans, in both the North and South, would use the holiday to heal the wounds of the nation, caught up in the Civil War.

For most people today, Thanksgiving marks the start of a season of eating, shopping and socializing with family and friends.

The turkey takes center stage at most Thanksgiving dinners, and most recipes are passed down through generations. After all, who could resist mother's traditional bird, bursting with grandma's chestnut stuffing, surrounded by cranberries, veggies and all the rest?

Retail experts estimate that more than seven million turkeys are sold in New York City in the weeks and days leading to Thanksgiving, and claim the average family, three children and two adults, typically serve a turkey weighing between 20 and 22 pounds.

Even after sharing the bird with the dog, the cat and the neighbors, that leaves a lot of turkey to be turned into leftovers. Did you know that the typical Thanksgiving meal gobbled down this week could tally more than 3,000 calories?

Officials at the City Department of Health (DOH) released the following list of traditional Thanksgiving dinner items and their calorie intake in computing the calorie-value of this Thanksgiving meal:

Food Item	Calories
Turkey	40 per ounce
Stuffing	400 per cup
Gravy	800 per cup
Mashed Potatoes	300 per cup
Baked Potato	20 per ounce
Mixed Veggies	80 per cup
Candied
Sweet Potatoes	45 per ounce
Cranberry Sauce	30 per tbsp.
Green Bean
Casserole	250 per cup
Fruit Salad	100 per cup
Tossed Salad, dry	40 per cup
Sour Cream	30 per tbsp.
Salad Dressing	70 per tbsp.
Croutons	10 per ounce
Rolls, Bread	80 per ounce
Soup	150 per cup
Cake	110 per ounce
Cookies	140 per ounce
Pecan Pie	130 per ounce
Whipped Cream	40 per tbsp.

Ice Cream, non-gourmet 300 per cup
Ice Cream, chocolate	150 per ounce
Fudge	145 per ounce
Eggnog, non-alcoholic	300 per cup
Liquors	125 per ounce
White Wine	20 per ounce
Mixed Nuts	800 per cup
Potato Chips	150 per ounce
Onion Dip	30 per tbsp.

While this list does not include hors d'oeuvres, cheese and crackers, cheese platters or other goodies, DOH officials said, "Let's face it. Thanksgiving is a food holiday. It's the one day each year when we can overeat without feeling guilty. Hopefully, this list will help people choose foods that will fill them up without weighing them down."