It would be lovely to get rid of all that extra fat gained over the holidays by donating it to a charitable cause; however, it just doesn't work that way. There is an alternative, though! But let's get things straight first. If you're not a vegan or a vegetarian, do you really want to give up the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with all it's fixin's?
If you said no, this is for you: Since the foods cooked for the traditional holiday meal are in season anyway, try shopping at your local farmers' market to get the freshest, locally grown produce. If you're first choice is shopping at the grocery store, try staying with organic produce and poultry.
At dinner time, pile up on the fresh produce and a small slice of turkey, leaving as little room in your stomach for the "extras"--pumpkin pie, grandma's stuffing, fresh baked cookies, etc.
Now, ideally the turkey would be roasted in an oven with as little extra fat as possible, but there are many who enjoy a deep fried turkey--and who knew, these people could be contributing to a greener environment by donating the fryer oil! This is exactly what folks in Plano, Texas did a few years ago. After deep-frying their turkey, rather then leaving the fat to head for the landfill and rot, polluting the surrounding air, the Plano City workers collected the bird fat from residents for use in the bio-fuels industry!
FYI: the Green Restaurant Service, a program run by a California based company is where the fat was sent. Biodiesel Industries, Inc. collects fryer oil from restaurants in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and converts it to biodiesel, a non-toxic, biodegradable replacement for petroleum diesel that can be used in all diesel engines with little or no modification. Cool alternative, don't you think?
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