DAILY DIRT: You might want to consider eating out this Thanksgiving

The price of eggs is up 43 percent? Holy crap … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 448 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Sure, the experience of Thanksgiving dinner, complete with family members as far as the eye can see, is always one of the highlights of the holiday season.

But could this be changing … like this year?

“With grocery prices up sharply from a year ago, Thanksgiving is hitting households a lot harder this year,” writes Jessica Tickler of CNBC.The end result could find more Americans eating out, rather than staying in for Turkey Day.  

The cost of dining out rose “just” 8.6 higher than last year, while the cost of eating at home jumped 12.4 percent over the same period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Americans may actually find value in eating out” for the holiday, according to Brad Rubin, a sector analyst in Wells Fargo’s food and agribusiness industry advisory group“What is (normally) considered a luxury experience is more of a value experience this year,” Rubin said.In case you were wondering, here’s how much some Thanksgiving items have increased from last year, according to CNBC:

• Eggs, 43 percent.
• Butter and margarine, 33.6 percent.
• Flour and prepared flour mixes, 24.6 percent.
• Canned fruits, 18.7 percent.
• Frozen/refrigerated pastry products, 18.6 percent.
• Canned vegetables, 18 percent.
• Uncooked poultry that is not chicken but includes turkey, 16.9 percent.
• Potatoes, 15.2 percent.– Sugar and sweets, 14.9 percent.
• Bread, 14.8 percent.
• Sauces and gravies, 14.6 percent.
• Fresh biscuits, rolls, muffins, etc., 13.6 percent.
• Juices, non-alcoholic drinks, 12.7 percent.
• Salt and other seasonings/spices, 10.3 percent.
• Ham, 9.1 percent.
• Apples, 4.8 percent

2. Let’s be honest, at this time of the year there’s a lot of emphasis on food.

Thanksgiving’s coming, and Christmas is on the way. Both of those holidays are synonymous with calories, right?

With that in mind, if you’re adding a pound or two, why not be playing some suitable music while you are busy munching? Here’s our favorite songs that have a food-oriented title. 

Gold medal: “American Pie,” Don McLean. Since the classic is almost nine minutes long, that’s plenty of time to down a pizza — or two.

Silver medal: “Brown Sugar,” Rolling Stones. Pastries, lots of pastries would ne a perfect matchup for this Stones anthem.

Bronze medal: “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” Def Leppard. It’s not the best Def Leppard song (that would be “Armageddon It”), but this would play well while devouring some — what else, but — Frosted Flakes.

Honorable mention: “Strawberry Fields Forever,” Beatles; “My Boy Lollipop,” by Millie Small,

3. Keeping with today’s food theme, how about the best rock group names with a food theme?

There are plenty of options for this category. Here are my 10 faves:

• 1. Meatloaf: A great, great talent who left us in January. Some amazing albums and singles, headlined by “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad,” “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad,” “I’d Do Anything For Love” and “Paradise By The Dashboard Light.” 
• 2. Raspberries: Most memorable item that will always be tied to this band? Besides “Go All The Way,” the legendary scratch and sniff album cover that smelled like — what else, but — raspberries.
• 3. Honeycone: OK, it’s a takeoff on “honeycomb,” but I’m counting it. This early 1970s girl group had some great songs, including “Want Ads,” “Stick-Up” and “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show.” By the way, lead singer Edna Wright is the sister of legendary Darlene Love.
• 4. Cream: The Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce trio was legendary. Best song? “White Room.”
• 5. Vanilla Fudge: The group was a blip on the late 1960s radar, but it provided us with the monster hit “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” which was an interesting remake of the Supremes’ hit.
• 6. Strawberry Alarm Clock: One of the best names for a band ever, with one big hit to its credit, “Incense and Peppermint.” 
• 7. Peaches and Herb: Lead singer Herb Fame sang with seven different “Peaches” over the years. 
• 8. Bread: Lead singer David Gates put the soft in this group’s soft-rock sound.
• 9. Cranberries: “Linger” is my favorite hit from the Irish rock band.
• 10. Black Eyed Peas: Fergie left the group in 2017. I wish their could be a reunion.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Meatloaf’s given name was Marvin Aday.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. If he led a food-themed band, it would be named Plain Burger.