Although this is many people’s favorite holiday, for me, not so much. Thanksgiving is ranked pretty low on my favorite holiday list—nothing against the nature and culture of the holiday, other than the food choices. I enjoy watching the Macy’s Day Parade and shopping for Christmas gifts. Hopefully one day I can go visit New York City to watch the parade.  I am a pretty picky eater and do not enjoy most of the foods cooked at Thanksgiving.

For example, stuffing is a no for me. And it is called stuffing not dressing;  where did dressing even come from? I do not really understand what it even does anyway. I have seen people cook it in the turkey and then in its own dish. Which is the right way?

Next up is cranberry sauce, which is just not for me, it is too sour for me and I don’t like mixing tart fruit with savory. I tried cranberry sauce from a can last year during Friendsgiving and that will be the last time I eat cranberry sauce. Whoever decided that Cranberry sauce should be a Thanksgiving staple I would like to speak with them and ask them why. I do enjoy Sprite Cranberry on the holidays and love having this with Thanksgiving dinner. I feel like that counts as my cranberry for the Holiday right???

Sweet Potato Casserole has always been a strange dish to me. Why are there marshmallows on it? Why do people put pecans on it? I don’t understand. I also have a personal fear of sweet potatoes themselves because all of my life I thought I was eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. But turns out my Grandmother and Mom were making sweet potato pie and telling me it was pumpkin pie!  I still have some anger towards them because of this.

Finally please no cooked carrots. I will eat raw carrots any day, especially with some sort of dip like spinach dip. But cooked and mushy carrots, ew. I have never liked cooked carrots, even as a young child I would never eat them.

Now for what I do actually eat. I stick to the basics, loads of mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, a little bit of green beans for health, and a minuscule piece of turkey, for the culture of course.

First and foremost, my favorite meal in general and on Thanksgiving, is mac and cheese. This is included in my weekly diet 365 days of the year.  I love mac and cheese.  My family’s recipe has been passed down from my great-grandmother and is perfect. Nothing is more perfect in this world than cheese and pasta combined in one. Thanksgiving mac and cheese is above all because it is baked and the cheese on the sides gets crispy and bubbly. Mac and Cheese is my main source of nutrition on Thanksgiving Day because it is the classic dish I enjoy the most.

Next up, Mashed Potatoes and Homemade Gravy, keyword homemade. Not the gross stuff from the can. These are a classic and are always delicious. It’s a controversial opinion, but I like it when they are not mashed all the way and have some potato chunks in them. You can not be upset eating mashed potatoes and gravy. These are again a Thanksgiving classic dish I enjoy a lot of on Thanksgiving to make up for my lack of nutrients from other dishes.

Now you may be wondering where I get my source of vegetables from on this holiday. My favorite cooked vegetable is green beans, and these are a staple at my family’s Thanksgiving. Notice I say just green beans and NOT green bean casserole. Because I love these so much, I am now in charge of making the green beans this year. My role this Thanksgiving is to make the vegetables, so instead of just green beans I might also make some Brussels sprouts to add in this year. I know it is weird I am a picky eater but I love Brussels sprouts, it doesn’t make sense, even to me.

A special guest at my Thanksgiving is always a cheese board, made by yours truly. This is my element of help during the cooking and baking of Thanksgiving. I am not very skilled in the cooking department but I have a special talent for making cheese boards.

Finally, just for the culture I have one little piece of turkey. And when I say little I mean not even half the size of a chicken cutlet. It’s not that turkey is bad or anything but I would just much rather have a different kind of meat. I have had many different types of cooked turkey, but my favorite so far has been a deep-fried turkey. This gave the turkey a lot of flavor and wasn’t as dry as I remember turkey being in the past. When I do eat my one small piece of turkey I always dip it in the gravy to give it more flavor.

I have a huge sweet tooth and my favorite part of Thanksgiving dessert is of course apple pie. This dessert is a staple at my family’s Thanksgiving and this holiday would be incomplete without it. I love the mix of sweet and tart apples with the flakey and buttery crust. I wouldn’t have any other dessert on this day. Brownie points if we have Cool Whip to put on top of it, making it 1000 times better.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving this year and spends time with family and friends. I will be shopping on Black Friday so stay tuned for a review on the best deals this year. Comment below what is your favorite or least favorite Thanksgiving dish! DO NOT forget about the Macy’s Day parade on NBC from 9-12 on Thanksgiving Day. Happy Turkey Day to my fellow raptors!