Thanksgiving Food Hangover

Thanksgiving may only last a weekend, but the food keeps on giving for days (and weeks) to come. Large volumes of turkey, stuffing, yams, pie, bread, and whatever else your friends or relatives cook in extreme excess, wait patiently in Tupperware for you to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Whether you go home for the long weekend or get together with friends on campus, most people tend to feast on something during Thanksgiving, leaving them with a lot of extra food. A lot.
Why is this a problem? It’s not, really, but if you’re like me at Thanksgiving and end up more stuffed than the turkey by the end of it, then you too will feel food-hungover the morning after. Would you follow a night at a kegger with a breakfast beer? Then why do we make ourselves eat Thanksgiving leftovers ad nauseum? Okay, it’s not that bad – pumpkin pie is delicious no matter what – but there ARE ways to creatively deal with your leftovers to make the excess food enjoyable the whole way through. After all, no student should ever waste food.
There are many delicious recipes on the internet beyond a turkey club. The usuals are sandwiches, bakes, stews and soups. The more bizarre ideas include: mashed potato tacos, turkey omelets, turkey schnitzel, stuffing and mashed potato fritters, Thanksgiving sushi, samosas, stuffed peppers, various curries, candied yam cake, and turkey cobbler. The Iron Chef Turkey Challenge episode even saw Turnip & Foie Gras Ravioli, although not many people have left over fois gras…or time to make ravioli. Regardless, it’s always fun to try your own Iron Chef creation. Even if it’s inedible, at least it’s a good story. A friend once made chocolate fondue for turkey, stuffing, and the trimmings. Other ones I’ve heard are savoury turkey protein shakes, snowman-shaped stuffing with turkey trees, mixed drinks with cranberry sauce, and the all-ambiguous “surprise fried rice”.
Now, back to being practical: if you still have leftovers kicking around, you can definitely freeze them! With midterms creeping up, a container with a full meal that you can throw in the microwave can save lives. A freezer also relieves the pressure of finishing everything before it goes bad, or the pressure to hurry up so you can eat other things again. Within a couple of weeks your leftovers will taste great again and you’ll appreciate a meal that’s not so on-the-go.
Finally, if you’re afraid of the kitchen but still appreciate some variety to your leftover diet, get together with friends and swap food. Everyone cooks turkey differently. Some cook ham, or beef, or vegetarian deliciousness. Leftover potlucks may result in more food hangover, but at least it will feel different from the last one!
The obvious way to beat a Thanksgiving hangover is to not eat so much, but who wants to do that when the food is so good? Exercising a lot a couple of hours before the meal will get your appetite and metabolism up, not to mention keep the food baby at bay. Other options are to eat slowly (again, this can be challenging when there is pie in front of you) or just to sit down and let the turkey serotonin settle in for a good while before heading to bed to sleep it off.
I apologize if it’s too late and you are reading this article as you eat your twentieth and final turkey sandwich. However, do keep this in mind for next year, or find a friend who is still struggling with leftovers and offer to “help”. Whatever your style, good luck as you embark on your Thanksgiving food adventures.