Thanksgiving Feast
All over the world, there are celebrations of the harvest and giving thanks. It’s an opportunity to celebrate and share what we have. Preparing your holiday meal can be elaborate or minimal - here are a few ideas to get you started!
Prep Ahead
Many Thanksgiving favorites can be made ahead — save your time on the day for celebrating with a little prep this weekend.
You can freeze and reheat mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie filling, or rolls.
Prepare your spices and components - measure them out in a muffin tin for different dishes to stay organized.
Holiday Meal Makeover
A celebratory dinner should be exactly that: a time to share delicious food with family and friends. While many people wish to serve traditional family favorites, for most, there's still plenty of room to liven up your holidays with a few new flavors, local foods, and even nutritional boosters.
Here are some ideas for making your holiday meals fresh, easy, and fun.
Use this handy chart so you have just the right amount of food for your guests.
Turkey Tips
Our co-op Meat and Seafood Department shares the necessary tools, tips and preparation method for your best Thanksgiving turkey!
Tools
Kitchen twine to truss the bird to ensure uniform cooking.
Good instant read meat thermometer to get the most accurate internal temperature - breasts should be at about 155, and legs at about 170–175 when you remove it from the oven. It will continue cooking as it rests.
Preparation
Try using a dry brine and drying out the turkey skin for 24 hours before cooking. This helps flavor the entire turkey and dries out the skin resulting in a crispy exterior.
Use big chunks of onion, carrots and celery to form a natural baking “rack” in the bottom of your roasting pan, and use the drippings and veg to create a flavorful gravy.
Skip the basting to avoid opening the oven — you’ll loose heat and your turkey will take longer to bake.
Use a good amount of butter or oil to create a golden brown exterior. About a teaspoon per pound, to estimate.
Don’t forget to rest the turkey for 20 minutes before carving!
Local Turkeys
Our local farm partner, Veseckys Family Farms in Baldwin City, take pride in their free-range, antibiotic and hormone-free turkeys.
Fresh-never-frozen local turkeys are available beginning Thursday, November 16 at our Lawrence location and throughout the holiday.
This November, get ready for gatherings with friends and family with big savings on all Field Day products at your co-op.
Save on more than 300 Field Day items — from maple syrup to wild-caught tuna to paper towels — from Nov. 5 through Dec. 2, 2025. Field Day is our value brand that offers high-quality, delicious food and household products at more affordable prices every day through Co+op Basics, making this savings event even more spectacular. Our lowest prices will be even lower!
Stock up on staples like rice, pasta, beans and olive oil. Save on tons of spices and herbs, as well as baking essentials including sugar, vanilla and chocolate chips. Find the foods you want for holiday meals, like gravy, pumpkin puree and stuffing mix.
Gathering with family and friends for a Thanksgiving meal is a familiar ritual for many people, and we strive to serve our entire community well during this busy time of year. In recognition that the story of the first Thanksgiving perpetuates an inaccurate and harmful version of history, food co-ops across the country are making a collective donation to North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) this November.
Taking advantage of low prices on Field Day items not only saves you money, but it also supports the vital work that NATIFS is undertaking. If you are interested in doing more, consider learning about and supporting the initiatives of Indigenous people in your local community. Start by visiting https://native-land.ca/ to learn whose ancestral land you live on.