Can We Really Have A Grain-Free Thanksgiving?

YES! We can! We can have a Grain-Free Thanksgiving without gluten, grain, dairy, egg, soy, corn, almond, cashew, peanut, or sesame! We can have our favorite foods without the inflammation, joint pain, brain-fog, digestive discomfort, hives, or other awful side effects that come with grains!

Earlier, I mentioned 4 key points to have the Grain-Free Thanksgiving of your dreams! 

1. Decide what you want to eat.
2. Choose foods you know how to prepare already.
3. Practice New Recipes. 
4. Prepare for Pushback.

Let’s break it down:

1. Decide what you want to eat—know what everyone else will be enjoying and what is safe for you! 

Salads? Veggie Plates?  Veggies? These might be great safe  foods for you to enjoy with everyone else.  Review the menu and look for hidden grains in dressings, dips, and sauces.  

Think about the foods that will make the holiday special for you!  Do you want stuffing or would you rather have pizza?  You deserve to have the holiday of your dreams. Forget about expectations, indulge in safe foods that you enjoy!  

Stuffing, mac’n cheese, baked macaroni, pumpkin pie, all of these are Grain-Free Options you can enjoy without gluten, grain, dairy, egg, soy, corn, almond, cashew, peanut, sesame, or nightshade!  

(The photos below are photos of my own cooking…it is possible.  Reach out to me if you need recipes.  As your Grain-Free Lifestyle Coach, I’m here to help you make this the holiday of your dreams!) 

If you’re ready to add these delicious Grain-Free foods your menu, you’re in for a real treat!

My Grain-Free VIPs are already practicing these recipes from my brand new cookbook, Don’t Let The Pumpkin Pie Pass You By! Click the button below to get the cookbook and unlock my Unpublished Recipe Archives!

2.  Choose Foods You Already Know How To Prepare.  

While we may want a dream Thanksgiving, preparing a meal with 12 brand new recipes is a lofty goal.  If there are sides you know how to prepare without grains, enjoy them!  Vegges with Dairy-Free cheese sauce or mac’n cheese without grains or dairy, add flavor and variety to your holiday without adding the difficulty of learning a new recipe!

3. Practice your new recipes before the big day. 

New recipes take time to prepare and understand.  If you’ve never made pie before and you’re determined to have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, take some of the holiday anxiety out of the equation by trying the recipe once or twice beforehand.  You’ll know what flops and isn’t worth your time and as a result you’ll have a holiday loaded with food you can enjoy!

If you’re looking for some tried and true Grain-Free Thanksgiving recipes, check out my new Cookbook, Don’t Let the Pumpkin Pie Pass You By! It’s packed with recipes for Grain-Free Garlic Bread, Savory Vegan Cheese Spread, Dips, Salad Dressing, Stuffing, Roast Turkey, Gravy, Maple Ginger Honeynut Squash, Low-Sugar Cranberry Sauce and more!

You’ll be able to enjoy a classic Thanksgiving Meal without Grains or most allergens. You won’t notice the missing ingredients, but you will go for seconds!

4. Prepare for pushback.

I wish this weren’t part of the day.  However it’s part of every gathering I’ve ever been to.  Not everyone understands food allergies and intolerances.  

I find sharing an irresistible treat such as my Grain-Free Brownies, or Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, takes a lot of the mystery and initial shock out of the Grain-Free Lifestyle.

You may be confronted with someone who demands you try their dish. Often, these are people who are so proud of the dish they prepared they want everyone to enjoy it, and may insist.  

I start with “Oh it looks delicious! I wish I could try some but I can’t have it.  Thanks for understanding.”   This is my standard response.  But it doesn’t always work.  

Sometimes they tell me that it’s gluten free and will be fine.  This is great for the GF peeps, but we know Gluten-Free recipes often contain grains and that leaves us with digestive discomfort, inflammation, joint pain, brain fog, hives, and every other symptom we intend to avoid!

I start by thanking them for thinking of those with gluten allergies.  “Thank you so much for considering our gluten-free friends.  They are going to love it.  Gluten-Free foods usually contain other grains like rice, corn, sorghum, or oats that are just as harmful to me.  It’s hard to resist, but it’s the only way I can stay safe.”  

If I get more push back than this, and believe me I have; I find someone else to talk to or I leave if they start to make a scene. There’s never any reason to put up with bulling or any situation that makes you feel uncomfortable!

I remember my first Grain-Free Thanksgiving…I tried so hard to be thankful…but I felt the deep sadness of missing out more than gratitude.

I told myself I would be strong! I wouldn’t cheat, and I didn’t. I brought my safe dessert–Grain-Free chocolate chip cookies and I watched everyone enjoy the foods I couldn’t eat all day!

While everyone else ate cheese and crackers, pizza strips, and dips; I ate veggies. Plain veggies.

With dinner, I missed out on stuffing, rolls, candied veggies–they contained a maple syrup which included corn syrup, gravy, cranberry sauce–more corn syrup. While everyone else at the table had plates piled with food, mine was small and sad. I had my dessert. But I knew I needed more than just some Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Let’s fast forward to my Thanksgiving dinner from 2022. As you can see, I’ve learned to prepare stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, honeynut squash, roast chicken, garlic bread, and more without grains, dairy, egg, soy, corn, almond, cashew, peanut, sesame, or nightshade! I’ve even added pumpkin pie to my menu, really!