The original Thanksgiving was a three-day long feast to celebrate the first fall harvest, but it was much lower in fat, calories and carbs than today's traditional Thanksgiving dinners.

It was also very high in vitamins, minerals and nutrients thanks to that bountiful harvest. It definitely didn't skimp on flavor either.

 

Turkey probably popped into your head immediately. It's unknown whether or not the pilgrims and their Native American neighbors had turkey. They ate fowl, but along with wild turkey, swans, geese and ducks were also plentiful. Today's turkeys are different from their wild cousins and also different from the turkey found in the Plymouth area 400 years ago.

The domestic turkey that is a staple of our Thanksgiving menu is bred to be eaten. They're huge and meaty creatures to provide lots of that tasty, lean white meat. Along with that healthy meat, though, comes fatty skin and the greasier dark meat that has about 20 grams more fat. You may want to try duck or goose instead of turkey this year.

Another meat option is deer. The pilgrims most definitely cooked deer for their first Thanksgiving. Deer, or venison, is one of the healthiest meats. It is extremely lean and only has about 1 gram of fat per ounce. It definitely gives turkey a run for its money and is very high in protein. Deer is also versatile. There are as many cuts as there are of beef and there are numerous ways to cook it.

Skip the stuffing. The pilgrims didn't have any bread-based stuffing or dressings. Instead, they used herb and spice rubs or cooked their meats with onions and nuts. If you insist upon stuffing your fowl or want to add flavor to your venison then try creating a vegetable stuffing as an alternative. You can use butternut squash or even pumpkin and add in pecans, walnuts, raisins or scallions and other seasonings.

Shellfish and fish are probably some of the last items you'd think to add to your Thanksgiving meal, but the pilgrims ate them. Mussels, clams and oysters were plentiful and easy to gather during that time period. They're a great way to mix up your dinner and offer more options if you have guests.

The pilgrims also likely ate bass. Bass is high in omega-3 fatty acids as well as protein. The mercury content is a little higher than other fish, so if you want to create a fish entree you might want to consider salmon or tuna instead, but definitely don't count out seafood.

You probably know full-well that fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. The first Thanksgiving was heavily weighted in the fruit and vegetable direction. Spend time in the produce section of your local grocery store and look for green leafy vegetables. Spinach was one of the crops the pilgrims harvested. Also consider cabbage, carrots, onions and a variety of fall squash. Beans were also grown and they're extremely high in protein and fiber. Fresh vegetables are a great source of important nutrients and antioxidants.

Cranberries and cranberry sauce are Thanksgiving staples. Though cranberries were indigenous to the region they are very tart and by the time of the harvest celebration the pilgrim were likely completely out or very low on sugar.

Potatoes, both white potatoes and sweet potatoes, weren't yet being grown in the colonies either, so there were no mashed potatoes or candied yams. There were though, plenty of other fruits and berries - blueberries, raspberries, gooseberries, grapes and plums. They were used and can still be used to create sweet sauces and relishes.

The corn of the pilgrims was different from our yellow corn today. It wasn't eaten the same way that we eat it today either. After the corn was harvested the kernels would be removed from the cob and then made into meal. That meal was then used to create either a mash or porridge. It may have been sweetened with molasses.

Without ovens and without access to wheat flour there was no way to either make bread stuffing nor pie crusts. Pumpkin was a very common crop, but it was never made into pumpkin pies. It was more likely that it was just cooked alongside other squash. It may also have been made into custards, which make fine desserts.

Pumpkin is an often overlooked source of fiber. Cutting back just on bread and sugary foods, which the pilgrims didn't have, will wipe out a lot of calories and carbs from your Thanksgiving meal.

Ingredients:


Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• In a bowl, add 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of water. Next add 2 cups of white wheat flour and a pinch of salt to the bowl. Mix thoroughly, until incorporated into a dough ball.

• Sprinkle a surface with flour. Place the ball on the floured surface. Sprinkle the dough with flour. Using your hands, flatten the dough ball a bit. Next, using a rolling pin, roll the flattened ball into a large, flat circle.

• Gently place the dough into a pie pan. Mold the pie crust into the pie pan. Trim the excess crust from the edge. Place the pie crust into the refrigerator until ready to be used.

• In a bowl, add 1/2 can of pure pumpkin puree. Add the sweetener. Mix well. Next, add the egg whites, then the soy milk. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and the nutmeg. Stir until well incorporated.

• Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Pour the wet ingredients into the pie crust. Smooth the filling out. Gently roll the excess pie crust down, until it touches the top of the pie filling. Brush the top with a raw scrambled egg.

• Place the pie into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes.

• Remove the pie from the oven. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Serve. Top with a dollop of low fat whipped cream, if you'd like.

This sugar-free, low fat pumpkin pie contains approximately 208 calories, 6.5 grams of fat, 10.8 grams protein, 33.4 grams of carbs, 10 grams sugar, 128 mg sodium and 4.9 grams of fiber as compared to traditional pumpkin pie which contains approximately 316 calories, 14.4 grams of fat, 349 grams of sodium, 40.9 grams of carbs, 0 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein.

Enjoy!