Summary: Well, here we are at episode 16! That's four months of podcasting! And what a great way to celebrate the four month mark with it occurring on the eve of Thanksgiving – one of the best holidays of all time, IMHO. I like Thanksgiving for a number of reasons. Most of all I like the meaning of the holiday because I do believe that in order to achieve true happiness one must exhibit gratitude and thankfulness, even if it is a difficult life that has some trials and tribulations and suffering within it. That is the cornerstone to a life that is filled with happiness, and a life that can bring happiness to others. Thankfulness is the cornerstone to a life filled with happiness I also love the Thanksgiving story, and I also love the history and tradition of Thankgiving in America. I recount it here in the podcast because I believe it should be heard again every year. Most people always talk about seeing the Nutcracker for Christmas or watching It's a Wonderful Life or The Night Before Christmas. Everybody pretty much knows these traditions of the Christmas season, but I was surprised when I started sharing the Thanksgiving story with other people how little they actually knew about the Pilgrims and Native Americans at Plymouth Rock. I am by no means a history expert but I hope this is a nice brush up. I talk a little bit about the Thanksgiving story as it relates to the Paleolithic diet and the Neolithic development of agriculture, because these two worlds essentially meet at Plymouth Rock. The Native Americans had one of the most diverse diets of all time and even though they included some grains in their diet like corn, they ate an enormous variety of meats fruits and vegetables that they were able to hunt and gather. The Pilgrims, on the other hand, had the classic Neolithic diet which was based only on a few things, primarily grains and pork (and the grains were fed to the pigs to make them fat!). It's a classic example of the dietary transition that occurred between the Paleolithic age and the Neolithic age, except this is not a theoretical example. It actually could be seen at Plymouth Rock! And then, I finally discuss the amazing aspect of America, which we all should be thankful for this Thanksgiving – specifically how we can all come here and be Americans but still bring a little bit of our old culture with us to integrate into this great nation. Nowhere is this better exemplified than the Thanksgiving dinner table, where everyone has Turkey, squash, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, but depending on what part of the world you're from, you might also have things like stuffed cabbage rolls, or add a special spice to your stuffing, or-like my mother-use matzoh crackers for the stuffing, or add a little twist to the cranberry sauce by making it yourself with special ingredients such as lemon rinds or walnuts. I talk about all the different foods of the world, where they come from and how all this diversity, that is brought together under the umbrella of being American, the classic E Pluribus Unum, makes us all uniquely American. This has brought us enormous blessings, both in terms peace and prosperity, which we should all be thankful for this year! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! Links for Episode 19: A Perfect Paleo Thanksgiving (Grab the ebook version and you can be cooking from it in time for the feast!) Made in America by Bill Bryson The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan (A great read containing the biography of the Apple and the Potato) A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (Watch it with your kids, they deserve it!)
