Primal Thanksgiving

Wow, it’s November already and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. As I work toward my Primal Health Coach credential, it seems fitting to talk about a primal approach to Thanksgiving dinner.

So what does a primal meal look like — and what in the heck do I even mean by primal eating? Well, there are many definitions of what it means to eat primal foods. What it is not is a Palo diet or a Ketogenic diet or any of the other trendy — and in some ways, too restrictive for most of us to figure out — eating program.

From my rather simple view of this, it means eating whole organic natural foods that would have made up our human diet 10,000 or more years ago. It also means eating selectively, factoring in a few modern whole foods that may not have been understood or regionally available throughout the world 10,000 years ago.

Primal eating consists of nutrient-dense foods like meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts and fruits. All these foods can be prepared in a simple yet creative way and can bring to life a harvest feast even our Pilgrim ancestors could find reasonably similar to their simple diet.

What may surprise some of you is the foods that we call traditional Thanksgiving fare were mostly not part of circa 1600 era Thanksgiving meals. Consider the fact that sugar, potatoes and even pumpkin pie were not present in our early colonies. Since meat, fish and vegetables were the staples of daily eating, any harvest feast would consist of things like dried corn ground into meal, so one could expect to perhaps have cornbread at least. The other primary foods would be squash, peas, beans, carrots and a fair amount of meats. Goats would have been the source for milk and cheeses, so how we paint the primal picture of earlier settlers, it does seem a little limited.

Now let’s put together a blend of 21st century primal eating and an old-school settler’s Thanksgiving meal. Since food selection was limited in early America, many food items were not geographically available in Eastern North America in the 1600s. With that said, please keep an open mind to a blend of food preparations which are based on healthy, natural, low-sugar and primal eating.

1. Turkey and/or game hens are a great start for the primary entree. This course would have certainly been a mainstay for early colonists and current primal eaters alike.

2. Stuffing the bird with a South American staple, quinoa, is a great choice — and if you have never done this, it is well worth a try. Use Quinoa with chopped butternut squash, walnuts, onions and season to taste. Simple and very tasty.

3. Replace mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower, add goat cheese (feta) and butter, then season to taste. This tangy, rich blend beats mashed potatoes hands-down.

4. If you must have bread, replace wheat based rolls with authentic sugar-free southern-style cornbread.

5. Green beans and carrots blended with a small amount of onions, chopped bacon then sautéed in butter. Simple, healthy and really good.

6. Dessert would be either apple or pear crisp using whole, gluten-free oats (not primal BTW) and a small amount of organic all-natural maple syrup, but letting most of the sweet flavor come from the apples or pears. Again simple and delicious, if cheating just a bit for the holiday is your wish, add some healthy vanilla ice cream, but remember ice cream was not a thing in early colonial America.

As we enter the holiday season, try to think outside the box when it comes to the foods you prepare. Eating nutrient-dense, low-carb, low-sugar, all-natural unprocessed foods will bring you to the new year healthier and hopefully happier.

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Judd Jones is a director for The Hagadone Corporation in Coeur d’Alene.