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Going Local for Thanksgiving

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Not just a modern fad, “going local” was the basis for the original Thanksgiving Day. Plymouth Rock’s pilgrims weren’t able to crack open a can of jiggly cranberry sauce purchased from a national grocery store. It’s a harvest holiday, so celebrate Utah’s bounty—from goat cheese to gourds, potatoes to garlic. If it’s too late in the game for Thanksgiving planning, keep these purveyors and products in mind for later holiday celebrations and Yuletide merriment.

For many, it’s not Thanksgiving without a turkey, so Liberty Heights Fresh (1290 S. 1100 East) is featuring delicious White Family Farms birds—free range, hormone-free and fifth-generation-farmer-tended—for $2.99 a pound. If turkey isn’t your thing, the market also sells Heritage Farm chickens—whole $4.99 a pound, breasts $7.99 a pound—and house-marinated brined birds in mulling spices. Complement them with some Beehive Cheese or Drake Family Farms goat cheese, and pair it with Logan-made Zolinger’s Apple Cider, all available at Liberty Heights Fresh.

For a variety of local producers under one roof, visit the newly opened winter market Market on State (1050 S. State, open Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.), featuring some farmers market brands, including Canyon Meadows Ranch (grass-fed beef and honey), Fowers Farms (cherries, berries, jams, root vegetables) and Volker’s artisan bread (great for stuffing and croutons).

Not willing to scrounge up ingredients and labor in the kitchen? Cali’s Natural Foods (389 W. 1700 South) is making it easy. Its prepared holiday meals come with turkey-flavored seiten and all the trimmings—mashed potatoes, gravy, apricot stuffing, corn pudding and more—for $25, which should feed two. Call ahead; supplies are limited.

Each store also offers seasonings, a variety of local onions, garlic, potatoes and other veggies for scintillating sides or apples and pumpkins for locally grown filling for pies. After desert, if those who overindulged need heartburn and indigestion relief, Park City-made Solaray’s Super Digestaway—available at Whole Foods (WholeFoodsMarket.com)—can help. Going 100 percent local might be difficult, but even a little goes a long way.

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