How to Have a Zero-Food-Waste Thanksgiving

Photo: Stocksy/Cameron Whitman
A beautifully decorated table full of goodies—from stuffing and mashed potatoes to your favorite healthy pumpkin pie—is a Thanksgiving dream come true. But, since your eyes can be (much!) bigger than your stomach, a lot of food might unnecessarily end up in the trash. Luckily, having a zero-food-waste holiday isn't as hard as it sounds—as long as you do the prep work.

According to a press release, around six million turkeys were wasted last year. (Yeah—six million.) And to prevent the same from happening this Thanksgiving, the Ad Council teamed up with Natural Resources Defense Council's Save the Food campaign and created Guest-Imator, a free calculator that helps you figure out exactly how much food you need for the big dinner next week.

The tool then generates an exact meal plan for you—measurements and all!—so you can create a spread to satisfy everyone, without any waste whatsoever.

Once you open the free calculator in your browser, you can choose your number of guests (and specify the size of their appetite), whether or not you want leftovers, and if you want a classic Thanksgiving dinner, a vegetarian feast, or a variety-infused smorgasbord. The tool then generates an exact meal plan for you—measurements and all!—so you can create a spread to satisfy everyone, without any waste whatsoever.

It's almost too easy, right? All the more reason to commit to a zero-waste holiday.

These 15 Thanksgiving apparel pieces will keep the cozy hygge vibes going all day long. Also, you'll want to check out these hygge Black Friday deals.

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