Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

As I’ve mentioned in the past, Thanksgiving is definitely one of my most favorite holidays.  Aside from the delicious food and great family company who most of us will be celebrating with, it brings so many other traditions as well.  For instance, tomorrow my parents, brother and sister-in-law, and Isaiah and I will be going shopping all day on Michigan Avenue!  I know it’s Black Friday and most people fear the crowds, but on this day, I thrive on them.  We won’t be waking up at ungodly hours like some people do, but we’ll start around 3 and shop ’till we drop for the remainder of the day.  I am mostly excited because this will actually be Isaiah’s first time doing this with us!  You see, prior to marriage, we split up on Thanksgiving and he went home to Rochester.  Last year we were both in the Roch so neither of us partook in my family tradition (even though they still did it without me – kinda rude, no? Just kiddinggg) so I am more than looking forward to resuming the Black Friday shopping experience on the one of only Magnificent Mile.

I will say though, that tonight will be different than most Thanksgiving nights because as I spoke about here, my family will be celebrating Hanukkah as well.  Usually my Mom has Thanksgiving and my Aunt has everyone over for Hanukkah but we are going to my Aunt’s tonight for the combination of Thanksgivukkah. In addition, we are celebrating my Grandpa’s birthday!  So tonight, along with being so incredibly thankful, there will be much more to celebrate too.

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In honor of this festive family holiday, I thought I would post a recipe that I’ve literally made every year since college.  I can’t take the credit, as it’s a Weight Watchers recipe from way back when but I enjoy it and if you love pumpkin pie as much as I do, you will love it too.  I think I’ve tweaked it somewhat over the years but not only is it incredibly EASY to make (I seriously whip it up in 5-7 minutes flat), it’s oh-so-healthy and beyond delish. The fact that it tastes like the holidays (sans fat and crazy cals) makes it even better :)

So without further ado…
PUMPKIN PIE PUDDING:

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz) of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin (not the pie mix)
• 2 boxes of Jell-O Instant Sugar-Free / Fat-Free Vanilla Pudding
• 3 cups skim milk
• Nutmeg, cinnamon, and/or pumpkin pie spice to taste. (You don’t HAVE to add any of the spices, but you can if you feel the need.  I ALWAYS add pumpkin pie spice just to give it that extra holiday kick!)
• Cool-Whip Free OR Fat-Free Reddi-wip if you desire.

Directions:

1. Whip, mix, or use a blender to combine all ingredients except Cool Whip or Reddi-wip.
   SIDE NOTE: Do NOT prepare the pudding. Just dump it into the mix as is!
2. After, either pour the entire batch of pudding in one bowl OR divide the mix out into individual bowls.
3. Chill in the refrigerator.
4. Top with Reddi-wip or Cool Whip before serving!

There you have it ladies and gents. And just in case anyone is counting, it’s completely fat-free and only one point on Weight Watchers. With that, go ahead and indulge a little bit. It’s not even going to show up on your waistline!!

Now I’m going to go watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade!
(Another holiday tradition of mine… no matter how corny they make it)

What’s your favorite family Thanksgiving tradition or recipe?  I would LOVE to know in the comments below!!