Last night’s supper was FAButastic!  Baby potatoes, stuffing, carrots and turnips, brussel sprouts, stuffing, homemade cranberry jelly, stuffing, and ( of course) TURKEY and Gravy!   To wrap it all up to bursting?  Pumpkin pie and mincemeat pie!  STUFFED!

Along with the many things I am thankful for this year, one is being at a point where a family meal ( such as this one) is safely indulged in to it’s full extent without the worries or fears of getting Glutened!  The whole meal… gluten free to the last whip cream sticky crumb!

A thankful Thanksgiving to everyone!  Indulge!

I turn to creativity and my sisters!

What brings my family together in a heart beat is food.  The talking of food, the cooking of food, the eating of food, and pretty much anything to do with food.  Toss in some Double Doubles and you have a perfect sister chat!  Pity we are spread out between two provinces but technology keeps us in touch.  So when I mentioned to my sister in Calgary that I was working on Thanksgiving recipes she quickly offered up her Skinny on Pumpkin Pie.  For anyone following Weight Watchers, this bad boy is only 1 point for 1/8th of the pie!  heck… that is equal to an apple!  GO PIE!

Skinny on Pumpkin Pie

15 oz can Pumpkin 12 oz can Evaporated Skim Milk 3 egg whites 1/2 t salt 1/2 t allspice 1/4 t cloves 1/4 t nutmeg 2 t cinnamon 1 t vanilla 2/3 c Splenda Mix everything together and bake at 400F for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 325F and continue to bake for 25 minutes.

I have become a dressing person but perhaps that isn’t the right term.  Stuffing Snob!  If I am going to eat it, it must be GOOD.  If not, the place on my plate could be put to much better use!   So how do I do it Gluten Free?   We have come up with Three ‘recipes’:

1)  St-UDI-ing

Breads have come a long way over the past 10 years and, if you are just getting started as Gluten Free, you have hit a perfect time to do so!  No more are the only options for breads those dried out, crumbly, cardboard tasting squares of tasteless white slices found in the freezer section.  ( Or worse!  NOT in the freezer but packed with little silicon packets! O.O)

UDI bread to the rescue!   This bread is well worth the $5 – $7 a loaf!  Is fantastic toasted AND NOT TOASTED!  Even holds up to, yes, STUFFING!  Replacing your old Wonder bread with a loaf or two of Udi’s whole grain bread makes for an easy recipe conversion at the time of a hectic household meal.

2) Wildly Rice

Go a little on the wild side with a mixture of white & wild rice, apple juice, seasonings.  Let the rice soak for a bit to soak up some of the apple juice, and then stuffed it in the turkey with lots of room for expansion. The turkey cooked the rice then. Makes for a great alternative.

3) Quinoa Walnut

My personal favorite, thus far, though is our Quinoa stuffing.  This went over with not only the GF folk but even non-stuffing fans!  Cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, walnuts, dried cherries, diced onions, diced apples and LOTS of sage, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Keep in mind that quinoa absorbs flavor so be VERY generous with the seasonings!

Breaking away from the grey mound of soggy bread in a bowl can be a challenge or an adventure!  Putting a spin on it doesn’t need to be difficult or off putting to non-gfers.  Just remember… the CRITICAL ingredient in any meal is laughter!  Spread it liberally throughout your weekend and enjoy Getting Stuffed!

That is until you realise that the largest threat on the table isn’t Aunt Martha’s lime pineapple jelly ring!   Wheat ( Gluten) can turn a fantastic family dinner into a roller coaster nightmare in our world.  The initial disappointment as you do a mental tally of all the foods you will NOT be partaking in and realise you are down to the honeyed carrots and mashed potatoes.  ( Oh yes… and the lime pineapple mass).  If you also avoid sugars in your meals ( like I do) then there goes the carrots and potatoes too.  Sighs….  Remind me again to be thankful?

So what are some ways to turn Thanksgiving Dinner into a safe place to over indulge?  ( You know you are going to so why pretend otherwise? lol )

1) Be safe about cooking the bird!

Yes, time + temperature is critical but stuffing can be a allergen’s death trap!  Do not accept the thought of ” well, I will just take some of the breast meat and it will be fine. I am sure it hasn’t been contaminated.”   O.O  That bird had it’s entire juicy cavity stuffed with the Evil Grain and then basted in it’s run off’s for how many hours?   YES, The breast meat is contaminated! There are many options for stuffing that are delicious and easy!

2) Talk to the Host Ahead of Time!

If you aren’t the one in control of the kitchen, there are many ways you can help out.  If the host/ess is not particularly understanding or responsive to the Gluten Free thing, simply explain that this IS an allergy and offer to bring your own turkey breast or chicken breast.  Don’t make a big deal of it, being respectful of your Host’s world is just good ambassadorship for gluten free!  Slice up your chicken breast in the kitchen just before the meal is served and discretely go and retrieve it when the passing of the parade of food begins.

3) Indulge in the Veggies!

Almonds and asparigus, sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, and the myriad of other dishes that will be around the table can easily fill up a plate!  Take a little extra potatoes or some other treat to prevent yourself from feeling like you are doing without!

4) Offer to Help Ease the Workload with Dessert

Dessert on Thanksgiving ( or any gathering) is an easy place to help out.  Everyone loves ANOTHER pie or dessert.  Offer to bring your pecan crusted pumpkin pie, Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies, or your cheese cake and use that as a smooth way to ensure there is SOMETHING there you can eat.  I can skip an entire meal if I know I can eat dessert!

5) Laugh.  A lot.

We know that we should be looking at this time as an opportunity for family but often we don’t do more than lecture ourselves on it.  Pick up the camera, snap pictures of everyone laughing and eating!  ( Yes they may hate you for it later!)  Have people write out on pieces of paper what the ONE thing they are deeply thankful for ( or if it’s a birthday – their wish for the celebrant, Christmas – their greatest joy ) and while they are sharing it with the table, take pictures of them with the note.  While you are capturing memories you AREN’T Eating!

Being involved in the day can keep your hands and heart full!

His birthday party always heralds in the new season almost more than Back-T-School does.  The first big gathering of food, friends and family to launch forward from.  Am I ready?!!!   Heck, apparently I don’t even know how OLD he is let alone anything else!  So this year is K.I.S.S. strategy.  No big buffets of bottomless foods, no wall decors of streamers and print out theme decor, and no mighty loot bags with creativity and candy.  No. Instead, I hired someone else!  *GASPS

Lana from Kid’s Den is coming for 2 hours of UNBELIEVABLE face painting.  The kids will get to run completely amuck in the back yard and then stuff their faces on Gluten Free cake and ice cream and then head on home.   A pot luck family/friend supper will follow but, yes, I went potluck this year.   So, the menu? It’s more A PLAN this year but I will add the recipes of the cakes and my potluck contribution!

Keeping It Simple Stupid sounds like a great motto for this party!  Who knows.  I might just be able to just SIT for a bit even and enjoy the festivities myself.  *GASP!  I know!  Scary isn’t it.