What's not to like? We could all use a little more gratitude in our lives.

But, every year, without a doubt, the food that is served up stops me in my tracks. Or I should say, stops me in my Instagram scroll.

Not because I particularly love turkey, but because there is one very common side dish that I can't get my head around. And that's the sweet potato casserole - aka the savoury dish that is topped with marshmallows.

I just don't understand why. Sweet potatoes are delicious. Marshmallows are delicious. But at what point did someone look at those two things and go, "Yes. That is a match made in heaven." But surely it has to be good? I mean even Nigella Lawson has gotten behind it.

Of course, this is not the only Thanksgiving dish that raises eyebrows.

There's ambrosia salad - which personally, I think sounds worse than the sweet potato casserole.

It's a mid-western "delicacy" that is a combination of marshmallows, canned fruit and - wait for it - either sour cream or mayonnaise.

It's the type of dish that you're almost certain that it started as a mishap in the kitchen. Surely they meant to put sweet cream but picked up the wrong container. But the question remains, why do people keep eating it?

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And the same can be said of frog eye salad - a mix of canned pineapple and mandarins, pasta, coconut and whipped cream. And looking at some of the recipes you can also chuck in - you guessed it - some mini marshmallows.

This is just the tip of the (marshmallow-covered) iceberg. Looking through the history (cook) books and the weird foods continue.

Things like ham and banana casserole - whole, peeled bananas wrapped in ham, covered in cheese and cream. Trust me, it doesn't even look like it has potential to be delicious.

And then there's the jell-o salad which is a combination of some sort of fruit - pineapple, apple, kiwi fruit, whatever you like - mixed with cottage cheese, cool whip, and jelly.

I just look at these recipes and I wonder why it is that Americans - according to the internet, at least - can't get their head around fairy bread. Or that we have plain pieces of bread, rather than bread rolls, to house our sausage sizzles in.

I do wonder, however, if these dishes will ever make their way down under. Will we get on the savoury-marshmallow bandwagon? We've already embraced Halloween, is Thanksgiving next?

It's not unheard of to see pumpkin pie in Australia. Full confession, I have tried it, and it is delicious, and definitely worth a try. But would I do the same for ambrosia salad? Probably not.

But if someone out there is willing to come to its defence and prove me wrong, I am here for it. I'm not saying I will ever understand the recipes, but I'll give them a go. You only live once, right?

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