Wait, we eat HOW much at Thanksgiving?!

It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is almost here. So while you’re planning your turkey dinner and preparing for what is most Americans’second favorite holiday, topped only by Christmas, take a minute to digest these insane facts about the food we fill our plates with on Thanksgiving.

  • About 46-million turkeys are eaten around Thanksgiving, according to the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association. And with the average turkey sold in supermarkets weighing in at just over 30-pounds, that means Americans are feasting on close to 1.4-billion pounds of turkey for the holiday.
  • Americans eat between 2,500 and 4,500 calories at their Thanksgiving dinner. That’s equal to eating between four and eight Big Macs in one sitting.
  • Campbell’s makes 40% of its annual sales of cream of mushroom soup ahead of Thanksgiving and most of it goes into the classic green bean casserole. The Washington Post reports that around 20-million Americans serve the side dish with their turkey dinner.
  • During Thanksgiving, we consume 80-million pounds of cranberries - enough to fill almost eight Olympic-sized swimming pools.
  • People buy nearly 19-million ready-made pies for the holiday, with pumpkin being the top choice.
  • And somehow, despite all those extra calories, you probably won’t see the scales tip much after Thanksgiving feasting. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds the average weight gain during the holidays is only eight-tenths of a pound. And that’s something we can all be thankful for.


View Full Site