Sustainable Thanksgiving Meals and Recipes – Mother Earth News (2024)

Stood Up by a Thanksgiving Turkey
by Barbara Pleasant

Want a locally raised grass-fed turkey this Thanksgiving? Here’s how to find a supplier.

A Turkey Story
by Jena Woginrich

Last spring, I decided to raise my own free-range turkey for Thanksgiving. Here’s how that project turned out.

Talking Turkey for T-Day
by Deanna Duke

Pledge to eat local foods, including locally raise true free-range heritage turkeys, this Thanksgiving.

Free-Range Thanksgiving Turkeys
by Tabitha Alterman

If you’re looking for a delicious, sustainably raised turkey this Thanksgiving, your best bet is to purchase one from a local farm.

Discover Better Flavor This Thanksgiving
by Aubrey Vaughn

From organic apple pie to tasty heritage turkeys, local, sustainable Thanksgiving dishes are healthier and better tasting than supermarket options. Learn how you can enjoy a savory, eco-friendly Thanksgiving feast.

Saving Rare Breeds
by Nancy Smith

While historic livestock breeds may not be as “efficient” as their industrial counterparts, the animals are often healthier and more interesting to keep; their meat, milk or eggs are more flavorful, and their genetic diversity is vital to our food security. Learn how you can help save rare birds by joining the Real Food Revival.

Why the Midget White Turkey Is the Perfect Homestead Turkey
by Troy Griepentrog

Heritage breeds are worth saving simply because of the genetic diversity they offer, but they’re also extremely fun to raise (and learn about). This interview explains some of the finer points of one breed of turkeys. In 1971, only six specimens were known. Today, could the midget white be the ideal homestead turkey?

Midget White and Bourbon Red Turkeys are Better!
by Troy Griepentrog

A recent taste test comparing heritage breed turkeys with “industrial” turkey reinforced that heritage turkeys, especially the midget white and bourbon red, do indeed taste better than factory-farmed birds you’ll find in the supermarkets. Find out which breeds were the winners and learn about the turkey that not only tastes best, but is also the perfect choice for your homestead.

A History of the Midget White Turkey
by J.R. Smyth Jr. and B.C. Wentworth

This is a rare firsthand look at how and why a rare breed of turkey was developed, was rescued from near extinction, and may become popular once more.

Why You Should Care About Heritage Breeds
by Troy Griepentrog

Here are some thoughts on why rare breeds should matter to you.

How Eight Heritage Turkeys Kicked a Butterball’s Butt
by Don Schrider

In the past few years, several taste tests have indicated that heritage turkeys taste better than industrial breeds. This new study involved about 70 people in a blind taste test. But this test involved more than just flavor. Texture, tenderness, aroma and appearance were also rated.

A Real Thanksgiving Bird
by the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors

Raise or hunt your own turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Includes instructions on how to skin and prepare a turkey for cooking.

Talking Turkey
by Anne Vassal

New ways to cook and prepare a Thanksgiving favorite, including recipes for turkey mango curry, Azteca soup, picadillo pita, BBQ turkey and turkey white bean salad.

The Turkey Hunt
by Edward Stern

As I drove up Highway 27 heading toward Northern Michigan, I was enjoying a late fall day, the kind just sunny enough that if you wanted to (and I did), you could stick your hand out the window and feel the crisp air passing through your fingers without being cold. It was gorgeous, and so was she.

Vegetarian and Vegan Thanksgiving Meals
by Aly Van Dyke

Attention Vegetarians and Vegans: You too can have an enjoyable, delicious Thanksgiving dinner without compromising your lifestyle!

Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Pie
by Laura Evers

Happy Thanksgiving! Want a new vegan dessert to serve at Thanksgiving? Try this Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Pie from the website Care2 Inc.

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving
by Ron Schadegg

Try this recipe for stuffed pumpkin in lieu of turkey for a vegetarian Thanksgiving — or simply add to a traditional meal as a fun, flavorful side dish.

With All the Trimmin’s
by Scot Robinson

Make a complete Thanksgiving feast without the turkey, or any veggies for that matter. Includes cooking instructions for stuffed pumpkin, cranberry sauce, creamed baby onions and baked apples.

Healthy Holiday Pie Tip
by Tabitha Alterman

This season, try a creamy vegan pie with fewer calories and less saturated fat.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Recipe

by Tabitha Alterman

It would not be Thanksgiving without from-scratch pumpkin pie!

What Do You Do With a 40-Pound Squash?
by Lorraine Worley

Winter squash or pumpkin can be canned or follow the recipe for yeasted pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter pie, banana-pumpkin milkshake or a pumpkin butter cake.

Pumpkins Make Any Dish a Smashing Hit
by Jessie Fetterling

Pumpkins are healthy and can satisfy both your sweet and salty tooth, so start celebrating the flavor of the season! Includes recipes for Rigatoni with Pumpkin and Bacon, Pumpkin Ravioli, Pumpkin and Shrimp Bisque, Thai Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Bread and more.

The Great Pumpkin


by Jack McQuarrie

How to pick and preserve a pumpkin, including seeds and Mother’s all-time favorite pumpkin pie recipe.

Grilled Pumpkin With Rosemary and Sea Salt
by Deanna Duke

This great recipe offers a new way to enjoy pumpkin.

Three Phunky Pumpkins
by William Woys Weaver

There are lots of wonderful heirloom pumpkins that are superior in flavor and appearance to the same old orange globes found everywhere in the fall: It’s a shame we don’t see more of them. Here are a few varieties for gardeners with enough room for long, trailing vines. One is French, one is Italian, and one is Iranian. All three will forever change your perception of pumpkins.

The Great American Pumpkin
by Gail Damerow

Information on how to grow pumpkins along with tips on choosing the best pumpkin for cooking. Includes recipes for pumpkin purée and clearwater pumpkin soup.

About Pumpkins
by Sara Pacher

The benefits and joys of growing, preparing and cooking pumpkins, including what to grow, when and how to plant, what to watch for, how to harvest and store and how to grow giant pumpkins. Includes recipes for Simple Pumpkin Soup and Pumpkin Muffins.

How to Roast Pumpkin and Squash Seeds
by Tabitha Alterman

Halloween may be over but put those old pumpkins to good use by roasting the seeds.

Roast Squash Seeds
by Scott Smith

You will get a bonanza of great flavor and nutrition from squash and pumpkin seeds, which are loaded with protein and fiber.

Wonderful Winter Squash


by Barbara Pleasant

This highly nutritious vegetable stores easily for up to six months. Includes cooking tips.

Kitchen Garden: About Squash
by Sara Pacher

Cooking uses for this versatile vegetable, including pies, casseroles, fruit co*cktails, varieties, harvest and storage.

Enjoy Fall Flavors With Healthy Sweet Potato Recipes

by Jennifer Kongs

Sweet potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple, but there are limitless ways to cook these hearty tubers — with or without marshmallow topping.

The Sweetest Potato
by Rita Pelczar

Slip some nutritious and delicious sweet potatoes into this year’s vegetable patch. Here’s how to grow, harvest, store and cook sweet potatoes for your holiday feast. Includes Mother’s favorite varieties of sweet potatoes plus a recipe for candied yams.

Great Varieties of Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

by William Woys Weaver and Roger Doiron

Our food and gardening experts recommend some favorite potato and sweet potato varieties for stellar Thanskgiving meals.

Southern Peanut Stew With Sweet Potatoes and Collard Greens Recipe

by Tabitha Alterman

You’ll love this down-home comfort food — the blend of sweet and spice is pretty nice!

A Toast to Roasted Vegetables
by Barbara Pleasant

Roasting is the best way to cook winter root vegetables, because dry heat coaxes out and concentrates flavors. Use this simple method and fool-proof tips from cookbook author Andrea Chesman to bring out the best in parsnips, carrots, rutabagas and other root vegetables.

Healthier Holiday Desserts
by Aubrey Vaughn

While homemade desserts are delicious, they’re often high in fat and calories. Satisfy your sweet tooth without sabotaging your body, with these healthier holiday dessert recipes.

Parsnips Back on the Plate
by Kris Wetherbee

Now is the time to experience parsnips, the ivory jewel of root vegetables. Includes the recipe for Ginger-glazed Parsnips — a perfect holiday treat!

Stocking the Root Cellar
by Mike and Nancy Bubel

Keeping winter vegetables fresh underground, including varieties, treatment, storage, harvest.

Courting the Cranberry
by Bruce Burnett

Not only are cranberries a delicious addition to any Thanksgiving feast, they’re good for you too! Cranberries may have broad-spectrum antibiotic value against E. coli and other harmful bacteria and are an excellent source of vitamins A and C and potassium.

Create a Cranberry Feast
by Eva Zlab

The ruby of the bog will add a burst of color and a bundle of flavor to your holiday fare, including recipes for cranberry-honey sauce, cranberry crepes and apple-cranberry salad.

Five Minutes a Day for Fresh-Baked Bread

by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François

Discover this ridiculously easy — and cheap! — technique that revolutionizes home baking.

Homemade Bread: Truly Easy and Delicious

by William Rubel

Say goodbye to the intimidation factor in baking homemade bread! These tips and simple bread recipes will inspire beautiful loaves and a whole new outlook on baking.

Easy, No-Knead Crusty Bread

by Roger Doiron

This easy bread recipe requires no kneading, and uses the heat and humidity of a Dutch oven to achieve the perfect crispy crust.

Wholesome Holiday Bread Recipes

by Erica Rowe

Intent on celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays while still eating healthy, the author devised a few natural and wholesome holiday bread recipes.

Homemade Whole-Grain Bread Recipe

by Tabitha Alterman

Nutritious bread doesn’t have to be dense and bland. Revolutionize your whole grain baking using this Homemade Whole-Grain Bread recipe based on the methods of baking expert Peter Reinhart. You’ll make homemade whole-grain bread with a surprisingly light texture and rich flavor.

Even the Drinks Are LOCAL? Try Farm-fresh Apple Cider This Thanksgiving

by Tabitha Alterman

Support America’s artisan cider makers by putting locally made sweet and hard apple cider on the Thanksgiving table this year.

Cheers to Pumpkin Beers!


by Tabitha Alterman

Pumpkin love continues, but this time with a twist, it’s not an ale but a lager, the only one of its kind in the world! Includes a link for how to brew beer in a pumpkin.

Brew Your Own Beer
by Nathan Poell

Homebrewing is a lot of fun, and it gives you the chance to make any kind of beer you want. It’s relatively easy and inexpensive to get started, and making your own beer is usually cheaper, too. This article will tell you what you need to know to make a good first batch of beer with step by step instructions for a basic brown ale. Are you ready to get started?

Good Libations
by Megan Phelps

For delicious and eco-friendly beverages, try local and organic wine and beer. Choosing local beverages encourages breweries and wineries to explore a diversity of flavors, and avoids the environmental costs of transporting wine and beer halfway across the country, or even halfway around the world.

Enjoy Delicious Apple Cider, Sweet and Hard
by Megan Phelps

If you happen to be driving out in the country on a beautiful fall day, and you pass a roadside sign that says “fresh apple cider,” by all means stop! This is the time of year to enjoy freshly pressed cider, and some of the best available is from local cider mills.

Fall’s Sweetest Harvest


by John Stuart

If you want to try really delicious apple cider, look for fresh local cider in the fall. You can find it from small cider mills, or press it yourself with a backyard cider press.

Make Your Own Hard Cider
by Nathan Poell

Making delicious hard cider is fun and simple, and if you press your own sweet — nonalcoholic — cider, you’ll have the perfect starting place to brew your own intoxicating hard cider.

Falling for Apples
by Noel Perrin

One of the sweetest things about homemade cider is the pressing of it.

Get Ready for Cider Pressin’
by Judy White

If you know what’s good for you, you’ll round up some jugs, and head for the nearest cider mill right away.

Juice of the Apple
by Michael Phillips

Don’t settle for thin, hom*ogenized, store-bought “apple juice.” Homegrown cider is cheaper and infinitely more refreshing.

Reader Callout: What’s the One Thing You Make From Scratch at Thanksgiving?


by Tabitha Alterman

What’s the one thing you make from scratch at Thanksgiving? Tell us (and our readers) about that one special, “gotta have it or it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving!” thing you make from scratch every year.

A Simpler Thanksgiving


by Anne Vassal

Thanksgiving doesn’t have to mean a crowd of folks and hours of labor. Enjoy a simple, savory Thanksgiving feast with these easy recipes. Includes recipes for Herb-roasted Turkey Breast, Grilled turkey, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Green Salad, Squash Flan and Ginger Cream.

Back to Basics


by Anne Vassal

Simple Thanksgiving recipes for Garlic Roast Chicken, Mixed Greens salad, Leftover Chicken Salad, Bean Soup, Almost-Instant Dessert.

Harvest Kitchen


by Stephen Klein

Preparing the traditional Thanksgiving dish, including recipes for cranberry relish, cranberry cake, apple and cranberry crunch and turkey tips.

Saving Tradition
by Anne Vassal

Look here for simple directions for cooking and preparing a turkey. This includes recipes for smoked gravy, cranberry sauce, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

Savor the Season With ‘Slow Food’
by Megan Phelps

Indulge in traditional, homemade foods this holiday season by discovering the slow food movement.

A Turkey of a Different Feather
by Juanita Browne

Creating a decorative turkey from various vegetables, including squash and pumpkin.

Local Harvest

Find local sources of organic and grass-fed meat with this directory of family farms, farmer’s markets and natural food stores. Find local sources of organic and grass-fed meat with this directory of family farms, farmer’s markets and natural food stores.

Eat Wild

Scientific proof of the benefits of grass-fed meat is available at the Eat Wild site, which is maintained by Jo Robinson, author of the books Pasture Perfect and Why Grassfed is Best. The site also includes a directory of producers of grass-fed beef, bison, pork, chicken, turkey and dairy products.

Slow Food USA

This international organization of food lovers has active chapters in most states.

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC)

This nonprofit agency is working to conserve rare breeds and genetic diversity in livestock.

Sand Hill Preservation Center

This small family farm is dedicated to the preservation of genetic resources, including rare and unusual seed varieties and poultry breeds.