Most nutritionist and health nuts focus on how to cut calories with alternatives to high fat traditional Thanksgiving foods. There will not be one iota of an idea on how to cut calories and keep your waist line in check. Instead let’s focus on how the original dinner for giving thanks has transformed over the years and the marrying of cultural influences.
Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? If you make a conscious effort to eat healthy, exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle 80 percent of the time, it allows for 20 percent letting loose and splurging. Relax, unlike the original feast of Plymouth Rock that lasted for days, Thanksgiving is one day therefore celebrate and enjoy the foods presented. Focus on family and friends and feeling great; food that is consumed in a positive environment is actually better digested and utilized by the body.
Ok for you health enthusiasts that cannot take a day off here is one iota of advice; use non-salted butter or coconut butter in place of shortening, olive oil in place of vegetable oil and incorporate stevia, xylitol, honey or maple syrup in place of sugar. Keep your portions in check; keep protein to the size of your fist, load up on green raw vegetables, keep cranberry sauce and gravy to a tablespoon. Drink water or dry red wine and take the smallest biscuit and eat half of it. Don't skip desert, take a sliver of pie or the smallest piece and take 3 or 4 mouth-full to get a taste without guilt.
Thanksgiving in the United States is modeled after the 1621 harvest and new friendships between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. The Pilgrims regularly gave thanks and blessings for fighting victories, bountiful harvest, and new friendships. The Wampanoag gave thanks for every hunt and according to log entries of Edward Winslow, a Pilgrim, described the following after witnessing a Wampanoag ceremony;
"The Wampanoag would meet together and cry unto him [the Creator]
...sing, dance, feast, give thanks" for the success of a bountiful hunt."
Symbolism for Thanksgiving transformed into a symbolism for inter-cultural peace, allowing America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family.
In time Thanksgiving moved away from the religious aspects and turned more to family gatherings to incorporate all ethnic backgrounds living in the USA. With this shift came different interpretations of dinner. Typical American feast includes gravy, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
Southerners’ Thanksgiving incorporates cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, rice, seven layer salad, sweet potato pie, cranberry salad, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, broccoli pudding, green bean casserole, collard greens, extra creamy baked macaroni and cheese, and biscuits. Desert consists of pecan pie and pumpkin pie.
Louisiana’s Cajun flare includes the "turducken", a turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. Growing in popularity across the United States is deep-fried turkey requiring an extra large deep fryer. Although it sounds scrumptious it is a health hazard if it is not constantly attended to. There have been reports of burns and homes catching fire.
Speaking of keeping it healthy; if you are deep frying your turkey this year, use a high quality, high grade cooking oil such as Avocado oil with a smoke point of 271F, or Coconut oil with a smoke point of 350F. If you enjoy butter, try Ghee, a clarified butter removing the milk solids to allow for a higher smoke point which is 375-485F.
For those of you who use peanut oil, and are suffering with any kind of inflammatory condition such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, gout or arthritis may want to avoid. Unless it is organic, peanuts are at a high risk of containing Aspergillus flavus, releasing the toxic substance aflatoxin. This usually happens from improper growing and storage. Peanut oil is also high in omega-6 linoleic acid which causes excess flammation in the body, as well as PGE2 which causes increased pain.
Some areas on the West Coast replace traditional turkey with Dungeness crab; a species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Santa Cruz, California.
Puerto Rico cooking is influenced by Spain, Africa and Amerindian Taino traditions. Side dishes of choice include their national dish, arroz con gandules; rice and Pigeon peas, pumpkin flan , roasted white sweet potatoes and Spanish sparkling hard cider
Vegetarians and vegans have tofurkey which is a tofu-based dish with imitation turkey flavor. Alaskan villages, traditionally used whale meat, and beef prime rib is the choice of Irish Immigrants. Italian have meals of lasagna, spaghetti and meat balls, sweet and hot Italian sausage, eggplant parmesan, stuffed mushrooms and tomatoes, along with rum cake and canoli's washed down with an expresso.
What is interesting to note is the metamorphosis of the Pilgrims of Plymouth celebration of thanks. According to logs of the 1621 feast included were waterfowl, venison, fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, squash and wild turkeys. Spices and seasoning were compliments of the Wampanoag natives. Although squash was available there were no ovens meaning pumpkin pie was not on the menu; melon was the desert of choice.
Pumpkin was either stewed of made into a pudding and pumpkin pie was first reference in a book entitled The History of New England written by Edward Johnson in 1654. It seems there is no definitve answer, however Francois Pierre la Varenne, a famous French chef and authored a cookbook in the 17th century, referenced a pumpkin pie and Amelia Simmons’ cookbook "American Cookery" published in 1796 developed recipes for foods native to America. It is believed that her pumpkin puddings were later baked in a crust resembling pumkin pie.
Thanksgiving was not a tradition, in fact, prior to the mid-1800s, Thanksgiving had nothing to do with the 1621 harvest celebration. It started as a traditional New England holiday that celebrated family and community. An actual day for Thanksgiving was not introduced until 1863, when in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. Turkey became the prominent choice after World War II, with the development of larger hybrid turkeys and aggressive marketing by the poultry industry.
The meaning of Thanksgiving has changed throughout the years and is celebrated in many different ways. The two components that remain the same are family gatherings, food, giving thanks, and we can’t forget football.
This Thanksgiving, focus on what really matters, being with others. Give thanks for family and friends and the food you are about to receive.
In case you are wondering; when did football become a part of the tradition? In 1876; Yale versus Princeton. The first televised Thanksgiving game aired in 1956, prior to this, games were broadcast on radio.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Photo: DanBrady.co.uk
