Thanksgiving-from turkey to…turkey-shaped cakes…

While I’m not exactly an advocate of calorie-counting, I spend the better part of my workday trying to figure out appropriate calorie ranges for patients. As someone who loves to cook and really digs food science, I always find it interesting to learn how many calories and nutrients are in popular foods and how changing various components of an item can alter the nutrition profile. Wow—I sound really boring.

Not boring: this piece from the New York Times which estimates that the average Thanksgiving meal clocks in at around 4,500 calories. I like the way author Tara Parker-Pope walks you through exactly this is possible, if not exactly easy to accomplish.

Do you think your Thanksgiving contains 4,500 calories? What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods?