Thanksgiving has never been my favorite holiday. At age 12, when I declared I would no longer eat meat. In high school when I was constantly in pain, not knowing what food was the cause. Then in college realizing dairy and gluten were the culprits and having to cut those out. Gathering with other's who don't always understand or have my specific needs in mind was usually pretty stressful. As our food culture has only gotten more unhealthy and laden with toxins, this iconic holiday doesn't seem to get any easier.
So I am extremely thankful for family and friends who are willing to throw some tradition to the wind and make a delicious clean Thanksgiving dinner. Last year we spent the holiday with friends and made homemade chicken nuggets, French fries, gluten free stuffing, cooked carrots, fried pickles, and pomegranates. We also had chocolate mousse pie!
This year Chris and I are both eating extremely clean. Organic, no sugar, dairy, white grains, and more. My parents weren't traveling anywhere this year and were up for the challenge. Here are the dishes we ended up making. Keep in mind there are a few ingredients mentions that don't fall within our "diet" but especially for a one day event we go by the rule of 80/20. We don't have cheat days, but if we can follow our plan at 80%, there can be a little give 20% of the time. This makes changing your diet as a lifestyle so much more attainable and sustainable. So here is our Thanksgiving 2021 Menu:
My mom did make a small organic turkey, and gravy from the drippings, water, organic butter and onions.
I made a gluten free, dairy free, egg free stuffing. I followed ingredients and proportions from this recipe, but did not use egg or the oven and followed instructions for this stove top version. I ended up adding more veggie broth for a more moist dish...this was delicious!
My dad made simple mashed potatoes from organic potatoes, cashew milk, and salt.
I also made cooked carrots because I must have them every year!!! ;)
But my favorite dish and I don't even know if this is traditional for Thanksgiving, was this Vegan Broccoli Salad. I wasn't so sure about the cashew, ACV, and maple syrup sauce but it was AMAZING! Literally nothing I would change about this one. This is a gem of a recipe and definitely going in my recipe box for any occasion. Anyone would enjoy this and never know it was dairy and sugar free. This blogger also has a Green Bean Casserole recipe that I really want to try, maybe for Christmas!
My mom also made a homemade cranberry sauce with organic sugar (I passed on this one due to the sugar).
I considered my mom's Sweet Potato Casserole sweetened with maple syrup my dessert. It was SO good!
And lastly, here is the recipe I had saved and all ready to go for Gluten Free Dinner Roles....and I completely forgot to make them! We had plenty of bread with the stuffing so we really didn't miss them, however I will be giving this recipe a go once we get home. I picked this one because it uses psyllium husk which always gives a great texture to gluten free eats (and bonus it keeps things moving). I will use date or coconut sugar and the egg replacement. Against her suggestion I will use coconut oil in place of butter, but will mix in some nutritional yeast for flavor....I'll keep you posted!
It's totally possible to eat clean for Thanksgiving, enjoy your food, and be completely satisfied! To end, I will share Chris's turkey tower of a plate.
