Gobble Gobble

It is hard for me to decide what my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is. It heralds what I like to call the Fantastic Three - family, football, and food!

While I normally eat more than I should, I thought this year I might learn more about the food I so love, and about some of the food on the table I can do without.

Every year in my family the day's discussion is the same leading up to the grand feast, "Is the turkey going to be dry?" Luckily, we have not had the displeasure of having too dry of a turkey.

Because of that, I am then left with a decision I agonize over for the weeks leading up to the big day, "Am I going to eat white or dark meat?" In these times of reflection, I often wonder what the difference is between the white and dark meats.

The meat we eat from the turkey is very similar to chicken because turkeys and chickens are very similar species of domestic fowl that spend much of their time on the ground, not in the air. This means much of their time is spent walking or running. The delicious white meat - the breasts and wings are the muscles Thanksgiving turkeys almost never use because of their lack of flight. The dark meat comes from the muscles that are used more often - the legs and thighs.

These muscles have different colors because the more active the muscle, the more oxygen it needs from the blood vessels. These types of muscles are actually called "slow twitch," while the muscles of the white meat are called "fast twitch."

I have always heard that the turkey we consume makes us tired because of an essential amino acid called tryptophan. It is essential, but our bodies are not able to produce it, therefore we must include it in our diet. While turkey contains tryptophan, it is likely not the only food at the table that contains it. Cheese, for instance, has as much or more tryptophan than turkey.

It is also important to mention the sleep-inducing effects of the amino acid require an empty stomach to kick in. It is the cornucopia of food, relaxed holiday spirit, and inclination to overeat that's most likely responsible for Uncle Tim falling asleep on the couch after the meal.

Consider the holiday decisions one has to make about potatoes. I do not like sweet potatoes but because of "Sam I Am" and his green eggs and ham, I have given yams a try. Sorry Sam I did not like yams. No matter how much sugar and butter, they tasted similar to sweet potatoes. It turns out, however, that 95 percent of yams in the world are grown in Africa, so unless you go to one of the many international markets in Helena, the festive orange tubers on your Thanksgiving table are likely sweet potatoes.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that this information helps to make your dinner a little more enjoyable, even if you are a sweet potato fan. Happy Thanksgiving!