Simple Thanksgiving Modifications: Try Gluten/Dairy Free Recipes

Thanksgiving is a joyous time for families and friends to gather together, give thanks, and eat their way through an entire day.  Overeating, lounging, and napping are expected!

The Thanksgiving holiday traditionally features a festive table filled with laughter, love, stories, and people going back for seconds. Marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with cream cheese and gravy, buttery sausage stuffing, and the all too famous green bean casserole with French fried onions.  And we can't forget the infamous pumpkin pie! Traditional meals tend to be sugar laden, gluten-loaded, dairy disasters. 

Yet some people who struggle with food intolerances or allergies may find the holiday meal stressful. Aside from the turkey and raw vegetables, menu options are limited. 

Whether you are hosting your Thanksgiving gathering or providing a dish to share, the following tips offer simple, lighter, easy modifications and some new ideas. Your guests may enjoy your new recipe beginning some new family traditions!

Healthy/Lighter/Alternative Options to Traditional Recipes:
All traditional Thanksgiving favorites are prepared (i.e., stuffing, gravy, turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, etc.) using more fresh and less artificial ingredients. 

• Veggies are fresh, steamed or roasted with Omega 3 olive oil.  Be sure they do not contain heavy wheat based soup/sauces and seasonings.
• Serve wild rice with mushrooms, nuts, and cranberries for color. Use gluten free Tamari soy sauce.
• Make gravy with chicken broth rather than gluten based flour.
• Offer both mashed potatoes w/dairy and the sweet potatoes with no dairy. Skip the sugary marshmallow topping.
• If sweetening is desired, use honey, pure maple sugar or coconut sugar and/or fruit purees instead of oil in baked goods.
• For dairy free options in any of your recipes, try the nut milks.  A robust substitute for half and half in recipes is canned coconut milk. Use the thickest part of the milk.
• Add fresh herbs, lemon, lime to your recipes for lighter, fresher more robust flavor.
• If you would like to offer healthier food choices on your table or have people with food intolerances check out recipes below:

Choosing a Gluten Free Lifestyle
Many people are choosing a gluten free lifestyle due to the negative effects it has on the body.  While most people do not have celiac disease (an estimated 1 in 133 Americans, or about 1% of the population) estimates suggest that one in 10 adults might have some form of gluten intolerance or non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). 
 
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is diagnosed by process of exclusion. Experts recommend that you first get tested for a wheat allergy and for celiac disease. If both of those are negative, then your doctor may recommend a gluten elimination diet. If symptoms improve on a gluten-free diet, then you likely have non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
 
Gluten sensitivity shares many symptoms with celiac disease. However, individuals with non-celiac gluten sensitivity have more non-GI symptoms, such as headache, brain fog, joint pain, and numbness in the legs, arms or fingers. Symptoms typically appear hours or days after gluten has been consumed vs immediate .

Offer gluten/dairy free options at your Thanksgiving table
Stuffing is a Thanksgiving staple. Following are other fresh and delicious gluten-free alternatives to try as an additional side dish. Try a yummy new flavor and be the hit!  ​

5 Gluten Free Stuffing Alternatives

Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad
This colorful and flavor-packed salad is a great make ahead dish, especially if you are traveling to someone else's home for the holidays.

Use sweet potatoes instead of the squash or add greens like spinach or arugula for added color.  Quinoa and pumpkin seeds provides a nutty flavor while the cranberries adds a sweet tone. 

A guaranteed hit!

Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad

Clean Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole Recipes
Following are two recipe alternatives for the traditional green bean casserole dish that graces our holiday feasts. 

The Clean Green Bean Casserole features fresh green beans and caramelized onions and skips the heavy wheat based, calorie laden cream-based soup. The caramelized onion topping delivers a buttery onion flavor that without the deep-fried grease and flour.

The Vegan Green Bean Casserole recipe features a a nut based topping for an added crunch. ​

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Why not try something new this year.  Skip the high glycemic, calorie laden butter and cream cheese mashed potato dish and opt for mashed sweet potatoes instead - not the roasted sweet potatoes soaked with syrup, marshmallows and candied yams. 

Why the sweet potato?  One tuber packs 438% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A as well as vitamins B6, C and D. This deep rich orange color indicates it is high in carotenoids which helps to ward off cancer and protects the skin against aging. The sweet potato has more potassium than a banana and is a good source of magnesium and iron.

Sweet potatoes are not only sweet-tasting but their natural sugars release slowly into the bloodstream helping to prevent blood sugar spikes and ensuring a balanced source of energy.  Blood sugar spikes are linked to fatigue and weight gain.

Try this simple Sweet Mashed Potato recipe and add low calorie sweetness and comfort to your family tradition without the sugar spikes!

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Mashed Sweet Potatoes

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Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce
​Here is a yummy and fresh cranberry sauce recipe for a traditional compliment to your holiday table.

Canned cranberries contain a ton of sugar (natural and otherwise). This recipe uses honey because it contains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals (helping to fight off allergies if you’re using local), and it contains a ton of antioxidants.

Try this easy, fresh, make ahead cranberry sauce for your holiday feast. Your family will love the taste as well as reap all the benefits!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie
​Thanksgiving wouldn't taste the same without pumpkin pie.

This recipe gives you a gluten-free pumpkin pie from crust to filling as well as a dairy free option that tastes just as good as the classic — and maybe even a little better.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

Enjoy the moment - cultivate a state of gratitude
​Holidays can increase stress and drive chaos with all of the planning and time tables to get everything accomplished. 

Taking periodic moments to pause, breathe and reflect on all the blessings in our lives allows us to connect to the things that make us feel glad to be alive.  The holiday meal tends to be the focal point, yet gathering with our loved ones and expressing gratitude for all of our blessings is the true meaning of the holiday.  Take the time to pause.

Finding little ways to incorporate daily gratitude in your life increases your overall sense of happiness and provides a ripple effect.  

Susan Finn, PhD, RD, chair of the American Council on Fitness and Nutrition, suggests making “fitness a family adventure.”  Get a brisk walk in during the day or plan a family activity to burn off the extra calories to increase your time together.

Most importantly, be easy on yourself and just let the stress go.  There is always time for getting back on your regular plan.  Enjoy time with family and friends, focus on your blessings and share gratitude with loved ones.

While I think every day is an opportunity to be thankful, Thanksgiving is an extra special reminder to grateful for health, abundance, laughter,  safety and shelter of a comfortable home, a job that pays the bills each month, loving families and friends - and most importantly to be grateful for each and every Brand New Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!  

If you would like suggestions on incorporating healthy lifestyle changes and personalized wellness goals that are tailored to your specific needs,
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