Thanksgiving 1.0

There is no holiday that has more of a connection to food than Thanksgiving.  And rightfully so.  The original Thanksgiving feast was a harvest festival.  Those who immigrated to the New World gave thanks for their crops and all the food that they had that would help them to survive the coming winter.

As you probably know, the original Thanksgiving was much different than what many of us now celebrate in this country.  First, the harvest festival was most likely held in October, not November, as it is now.  And it was probably a 3-day celebration filled with eating, games and overall fellowship.  I could go for that!



Today, when we picture our holiday table, we think of turkey, stuffing, sweet and mashed potatoes and a load of other yummy dishes.  Most of these things that we eat today, though, either weren't available in the 1620's or were too expensive to eat.  So it was those ingredients that were abundant in early Massachusetts that were on the table.

Since so many of the early settlers lived along the coastline, the menu of the first Thanksgiving would have been full of seafood.  Cod, eel, lobster, oysters and mussels would have been abundant.  The deep woods would have provided venison, duck and wild turkey.  Being a fall festival, the bulk of the food would have been fruits and vegetables that were either cultivated or available wild--things like corn (thanks to the Native Americans), parsnips, turnips, collard greens, spinach, pumpkin, squash, dried beans, dried blueberries, grapes and nuts.  Cranberries would have been used as ingredients in dishes to provide tartness, not as a cranberry sauce since sugar was too expensive for the colonists to afford.  (So there probably were no pies or cakes either.)

Some of our traditional dishes weren't served because the main ingredients wouldn't show up for many years.  White potatoes, for example, were virtually unknown to the English at that time.  Sweet potatoes were imported to England from Spain and only the very wealthy would afford them.

Even though our modern Thanksgiving menu might not resemble the original very much, the spirit of the celebration is very much the same--fellowship, thankfulness, family and friends.  So whatever ends up on your holiday table--enjoy!

Healthy at the Holidays?

As crazy as it may seem--with the way we can so easily overeat at holiday dinners and parties--holiday food can be healthy.  All it takes is a little bit of smarts, self-discipline and moderation.

If you have a choice between something fried and something baked or sauteed, choose the baked (although fried food done correctly isn't as bad as you might think).  Still, shrimp sauteed in olive oil is better for you than fried shrimp. 

Try to avoid pre-made dips and salsas.  Dips and the like that are pre-packaged usually are loaded with sodium and preservatives.  And they don't taste all that great either.  It's so easy to whip up some hummus or some other dip with fresh ingredients (I just made a red bean dip for a party in literally less than 5 minutes).  Better taste, healthier and less expensive--why wouldn't you make it yourself?  Eat them on whole-grain breads, chips or crackers and it's even healthier!

Choose things like salmon, chicken or shrimp for a low-fat option (not to mention the anti-oxidants in the seafood).  Beans, cheese and nuts have protein.  Even dark chocolate and red wine are said to be healthy.

The common factor in all this is moderation.  A few pieces of cheese provides some good calcium and protein.  Eating a pound of cheese throughout the evening provides fat and cholesterol that outweighs the benefits.

So control yourself and know what you're eating!  Life's too short to deprive yourself of great holiday food--just be smart!

Thanks to this USA Today article for some information on this subject.