As I continue to indulge in whatever delicious food I am in the mood for at the moment, I continue to notice more and more people in my life are not able to indulge in a lot of the foods we take for granted each day. This includes favorites such as bread, cereal and pasta – foods that contain gluten. My dad has been eating gluten-free for quite a while now, as well as my aunt on my dad’s side of the family because they both found out they have celiac disease. Celiac is when the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten which leads to trouble with digesting food.
I used to think that this was something that only occurs in older adults, but then a few of my friends discovered that they were having serious reactions to gluten as well. It takes a lot of will power to not give in to all of the gluten-filled foods many people consume each day – especially during special occasions and around the holidays.
Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, I wanted to discuss gluten-free options for Thanksgiving dinner so anyone with a gluten allergy will be able to enjoy themselves without having to miss out on delicious food.
Turkey
Turkey is gluten-free as long as you make sure you don’t use any spices, sauces or gravy that contains any gluten. A lot of people like to stuff their turkey with stuffing as it cooks in the oven. This is still doable as long as your stuffing is gluten-free of course!
Stuffing
For those who are gluten-free, bread = bad. But the magical thing is, there are gluten-free breads! For the most part, you should be able to keep the same stuffing recipe you have been enjoying for years and just replace the bread and/or breadcrumbs with gluten-free bread! Once again, the spices and herbs used should be double-checked to make sure they are safe for those who eat gluten-free.
Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
One amazing Thanksgiving dish that can’t be taken away from anyone gluten-free…potatoes! Mashed and sweet potatoes are gluten-free – thank goodness! Unless your recipe has some element that adds gluten to your dish, you should be golden. Most are made with some butter, milk and spices.
Vegetables
Maybe not everyone gets excited over vegetables, but as I’ve gotten older I have grown to love almost every single one there is out there. You can’t go wrong with sautéed veggies as a side dish!
Dinner Rolls
If it was up to me, I would say skip the dinner rolls. Who needs the extra carbs to fill your belly when you have all of this other delicious food?! However, I know that some people can’t resist. Your options really come down to making your own gluten-free bread rolls, buying some already made, or skipping the bread all together and fill that tiny hole in your heart with another delicious gluten-free side dish or DESSERT!
Speaking of Dessert…
My one roommate LOVES to bake. So when she found out she was allergic to gluten, it was a pretty sad day. However, that quickly turned around because there are so many gluten-free dessert recipes out there – ones where you can’t even tell you’re eating gluten-free! Here are some Thanksgiving desserts to try: