Hooray! Thanksgiving is almost here! I can practically smell the pumpkin pie—which is, without question, my favorite part of the Thanksgiving feast. So what better time is there to give thanks for pumpkin and its potent nutrients?

Pumpkin is as potent a vegetable as you’ll find anywhere. Its deep orange color is a sure sign that it’s just crazy with carotenes, which fight both heart disease and cancer.

So of course pumpkin pie is great for Thanksgiving. Put this recipe in your favorite piecrust, and you’ve got a winner. But here’s a little secret: If you bake this filling in custard cups instead of a crust, you’ll have a power-packed dessert with half the calories of last Thanksgiving’s pie!

Spicy Pumpkin Custard/Pie Filling

2 cups of canned pumpkin
1 ½ cups of evaporated skim milk
½ cup of packed brown sugar
¼ cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 300°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, milk, sugars, molasses, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and eggs, and stir with a wire whisk until thoroughly blended. Ladle into six custard cups (or into a prepared pie crust). Arrange on a rack set in a baking pan of hot water. (The water should not go more than halfway up the sides of the cups.) Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the custard comes out clean. Chill before serving.

Happy Thanksgiving!