Grains

• Grains were a staple of the colonial diet. Corn, also known as maize, is native to North America. The native peoples of the Americas, such as the Wampanoag, introduced corn to the settlers, reports Plimoth Plantation. Though corn saved them from starvation, colonists still preferred the wheat bread they had known in England, stretching precious imported wheat flour by mixing it with other grains such cornmeal.
  
  

Vegetables

• Squashes, especially pumpkins, formed an important part of the colonial diet. In fact, pumpkins were so important that a colonist wrote a poem about them, stating the colonists ate them at morning and noon, and would be "undoon" without them. Other vegetables mentioned in 17th century colonial documents include asparagus and lettuce, reports Harold McGee's book "On Food and Cooking."
  
  

Meats

• Meat was also a part of the Puritan diet, and colonists ate a wider variety of animal-based foods than most people do today. Colonists fished and hunted wild game such as rabbits and deer. However, Puritans didn't solely rely on hunting. They also raised the few pigs, sheep, chickens, and cows they had brought with them from England, which eventually multiplied enough for the colonists to slaughter some of them without risking their food security.
  
  

Meal Patterns

• Puritan foods weren't the only thing different in Colonial America; eating patterns were different too. Unlike today, when the heaviest meal is usually enjoyed in the evening, colonists ate most around noon. This, reports History Magazine's website, is because the candles and oil lamps used after dark didn't provide enough light to eat comfortably. It was more convenient to get most of one's food when the sun was high, and save leftovers for lighter fare before bed.