--we always start the Thanksgiving meal with a huge salad--broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce of various pedigrees, onions, celery. Oil and vinegar for those who want to dress it--I never do. Those who want to, eat a lot of this to fill up enough to keep from overindulging on everything else; this helps keep me to turkey, cranberries, and a sweet potato--these we just bake, like regular potatoes, not melted with marshmallows and such--for the rest of the meal.

Desserts are served much later, and fruit is an option, along with all the brought over baked goods (which I can't have anyway).

What often amazes me most at these get-togethers is the enormous amount of coffee and tea people drink. As I have never developed a taste for either I find this fascinating/bewildering, but I suppose that if you drink a lot of liquids it fills you up enough to avoid that third piece of pumpkin pie.