In life, I wholeheartedly believe less is more. But when it comes to food…I have a bit of a different opinion. More chocolate is better. More cinnamon is better. Bigger servings are better.

In general, I can some it up as follows: MORE= ALWAYS BETTER

Now before I come off as completely gluttonous, I will say that my style of cooking usually complements this mentality. I like to cook and bake with ingredients that you can eat a lot of and still feel good on the inside and out when you’re done eating. I tend to create recipes that over-index in nutrient-dense ingredients like fruits, veggies, and lean proteins that are all (as the characters on Sesame Street call them) “anytime foods.”

This strategy works pretty well for a majority of the year…until my favorite holiday comes around: Thanksgiving.

Like most people who have a love affair with food, I am obsessed with Thanksgiving. Besides the main event being “eating delicious food,” Thanksgiving is a relatively calm holiday—one where your only priority besides eating is spending time with those you love and simply being thankful.

Besides being thankful for my amazing husband, family, and friends on this day of reflection, on Thanksgiving I find myself most thankful for the following food items:

{*Note: Rutabegas are also called Swedish turnips. They’re a root veggie that makes your kitchen smell like an old gym sock and your mouth feel like it’s won the lottery. It sounds weird because it is…but DANG it’s delicious.}

Looking at these above items, I know that there is no way that I will ever try to change my grandma’s classic mashed rutabaga recipe or even TWEAK my mom’s amazing, life-changing gravy recipe. On Thanksgiving, my “more=always better” motto continues to hold true for these items…buuutt these items’ lack of nutrient-density makes me a bit uneasy about eating a lot of them.

So as I was thinking about Thanksgiving this year, I realized that my third favorite Thanksgiving food actually had the potential to actually include more good-for-you ingredients…could this classic dish be the place where “less=more?”

Less sugar + more nutrient-density sounded like a recipe for a successful pie that delivered a heck of a lot more than the traditional pumpkin pie I was used to.

So with the pie that is the epitome of Thanksgiving on the line, I set off this past week trying to create a pumpkin pie that was both low-sugar and delicious. 

Now, in doing so, I learned a few things very quickly:

1. Greek yogurt does NOT work in pie. YUCK.
2. Figuring out the correct number of eggs/egg yolks to use in your pumpkin pie is tricky.
3. My husband is a saint to willingly try all the different weird pie versions I put in front of him.

And you know what? After quite a few cans of pumpkin and bunches of ripe bananas later…I did it. I made a pumpkin pie that my husband would actually choose to eat when placed next to the Costco-version monstrosity that he adores.

So…where’s the compromise?

Here’s our answer:

• Ditching the crust and embracing the less-is-more food philosophy for the first time in my life
• Embracing the pumpkin-ness of the pie by using fiber-packed real canned pumpkin (not the canned pumpkin pie filling!)
• Using only bananas for the sweetener–no refined sugar, maple syrup, or agave here!
• Telling yourself that some FAT IS NOT BAD FOR YOU and using low-sugar & low-carb half and half as the creamy base of the filling
• Using a crap-ton (technical term) of fall spices…because that’s what truly makes a pumpkin pie a pumpkin pie

| Crustless-is-more Pumpkin Pie |

Serves: 8 Tom’s or 10 Alaina’s

Ingredients Needed:

• 1, 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
  • NOT PUMPKIN PIE FILLING!
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • The riper the bananas the sweeter the pie!
• 3/4 cup half and half
• 1 egg & 1 egg yolk, lightly scrambled
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

First get everything prepped…

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Using cooking spray, lightly coat a 9 inch pie pan

Next start mixing everything in a bowl…except the eggs…

• In a medium/large bowl, mash your RIPE bananas

• Add your pumpkin, half and half, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt and whisk together well

• Now taste your filling–do you like it? Everyone has different spice-level preferences. This is your chance to taste and add more spice before you add your eggs!

Once it’s tasting delicious, add your eggs…

• Gently add in your lightly whisked egg and egg yolk and whisk together until well combined

Now just get it in the pan and in the oven…

• Pour your filling into your pre-sprayed pie pan

• Bake for 40-45 minutes–checking for doneness beginning at 40 minutes
  • How do you check for doneness? You know it’s done when the edges have lightly pulled away from the edge of the pan and when a knife can be inserted into the middle and come out clean

• Let your pie cool until it becomes room temperature and then store in the fridge for at least 6 hours to let the pie set
  • If making for Thanksgiving, I recommend making this pie the day before. It gives the pie enough time to set, but it still tastes super fresh!

So there you go…it’s literally THAT easy to create a deliciously healthy pumpkin pie. There’s no way I would ever skimp on anything in the main part of our Thanksgiving meal, but the pumpkin pie is a surprisingly delicious place to embrace the “less is more” philosophy….and it may have just converted me into believing that less can actually sometimes be more when it comes to food.

Now I’m not going to lie to you, this pie is not the super-sweet pumpkin pie version you may be used to. It has a more subtle sweetness…but it’s a sweetness that allows for the lovely pumpkin flavor to really shine through. It’s a true pumpkin pie…and it’s absolutely delicious.

{…and did I mention it has only 71 calories, 7 carbs, and 4 sugars a slice?…just saying…}

Now while I may have been an easy convert to this new “less is more” philosophy when it comes to dessert at the Thanksgiving table, the true test was Tom…would he choose my healthier version of pumpkin pie when compared to his beloved Costco version?

The answer? Yes, he likes it and he doesn’t miss the crust…but as you can see, it needs to have whipped cream for him to love it.

So while I’d normally be anti-adding sugar…you know what? A little whipped cream really does make it better. So add whipped cream away to your heart’s content (and maybe even a sprinkle of cinnamon) and take heart…because your less-is-more pie is still good for you.

And the best part? Compromising on things like whipped cream is what makes this pumpkin pie a true example of marrying tastes–marrying what Tom loves (traditional whipped cream on your pumpkin pie) and marrying what I love (low-sugar and diabetic-friendly) and creating a new recipe that we both adore.

Here’s to making many more culinary compromises…all in the name of love.

xoxo,

alaina