Iowa and Illinois’ Favorite Thanksgiving Food is Downright Nasty

What is on the menu for you/your family's Thanksgiving this year?

My girlfriend, Catherine, and I are zagging this year. We've done a lot of traveling this month, so we're electing to spend Thanksgiving by ourselves, in the company of our animals. On our menu is lobster tails, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin bars for dessert.

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Lobster is an unconventional Thanksgiving dish, sure, but neither Catherine nor I love turkey enough to go through the hassle of cooking one. Being curious, I wondered what the most popular Thanksgiving dish for our region was. As it turns out, it's quite possibly my least favorite of all-time. And yes, I love jellied cranberry sauce from a can.

According to a Thanksgiving food study from Online-Casinos.com, the favorite dish for Iowans and Illinoisans alike is green bean casserole. Growing up, my father's side of the family would occasionally make it to go with our spread. I couldn't avoid it then and I still won't go near it.

I'm not big on food that looks like it's already been digested, and that's how my eyes and brain process any type of casserole. I love the taste of green beans, especially complemented with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and butter. Do not soil them by putting them inside a platter of mincemeat.

Thankfully, both states have good taste in dessert. Pumpkin pie was the overwhelming dessert favorite for both Iowa and Illinois. That being said, if I have one slice of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or Christmas time, I'm good for the rest of the calendar year.

Here are some other stats from Online-Casinos' Thanksgiving study:

• Mashed potatoes are the most popular side dish among Americans, earning the vote of 14 different states
• Stuffing (11 states) and macaroni and cheese (8 states) round out the top three
• Wyoming was the lone state to select cranberry sauce as its favorite Thanksgiving dish
• 63% of respondents prefer a heavy pour of gravy with their Thanksgiving meal, while 37% prefer a “light coating” or none at all
• As for turkey, over half of Americans prefer white meat, while just 15% have no preference - per Our Quad Cities

Read more about Online-Casinos.com's study on Our Quad Cities' website.