Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

I can’t believe it is already time to post this. I’m a little nervous about the holidays this year. This will be the first year for a gluten-free Thanksgiving. Last year I was on a pretty strict diet, but I cheated a little and suffered the consequences. This year – none of that! I’m not nervous about the food. I’m nervous about the interactions during meal time. I definitely don’t want to hurt feelings or step on toes about not eating what the family cooks. However – I simply can’t afford to have a bad day due to poor diet choices. So here goes nothing (wish me luck!) As I’m sure many of you are doing, we are traveling some. We aren’t traveling far but we do have several dinners to go to or make. One thing I will miss this year – my mom’s pumpkin pie and my mother-in-law’s ham. Oh gosh… my mom always makes an extra pumpkin pie, just for me! I take it home; eat it again that night, for breakfast the next day, etc. We will have to work on an alternative but for now, no “Mom’s Famous” pumpkin pie for this girl. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t have to suffer or feel guilty about not eating holiday meals. There are many options out there; you just have to find what’s best for you. What we have decided to do is to just make our own “traveling” Thanksgiving dinner. I will make our own meal and take it to the dinners we are going to. For those coming to our house to eat, they can eat what we cook. If they don’t want to, they can bring their own. It’s not the best solution I’m sure, but it’s the best one we’ve come up with. I can’t touch, eat, or be around gluten. If anyone has other suggestions – I’m all for hearing about them! Anyway – I wanted to present some options to any of you having this same problem. Or if any of you are just wanting to try something new this holiday season, try one of the recipes below! Either way, it’s Thanksgiving and it’s a great time of year to be thankful for what we have. Whether you are doing a typical family tradition, or like us – trying something new, just remember how fortunate we all are. I sometimes find myself wondering why this happened to me, but at the end of the day I have to be thankful. I’m thankful God put me in this position to help me learn and challenge me. I have learned so much about taking care of my body and my health. My situation has also made me realize how fortunate it is to enjoy a meal with family. Something as simple as dinner can be taken away so quickly. Some may not be able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner due to food allergies or illnesses. Others may simply not be able to afford it. Regardless, I am so very thankful for the opportunity to create a tasty, healthy meal on this wonderful day and I hope you all are too. Of course, I’m thankful for millions of other things but this is a food blog after all! Check out the full day’s menu options below and try some of the recipes – they should all be linked to the original posts complete with pictures. Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

    

Breakfast:

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Maple or Original)
Banana Oatmeal Pancakes – my most popular! (for extra energy if you have having a late lunch)
Cinnamon Scones
Appetizers
Shrimp Dip
Veggie Pizza
Watermelon Mint Jam – served with crackers/chips
Smoked Chicken Antipasto
Lunch/Dinner:
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts - for an alternative to turkey
Made Over Mashed Potatoes
Balsamic Green Beans
Roasted Fall Veggies
Deceptive Mac & Cheese
Stuffed Acorn Squash (or stuffing)
Mushrooms, Onions & Swiss Chard
Butternut Pumpkin Biscuits
Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
Desserts
Upside Down Apple Cake
Cranberry Pear Crisp with Lavender – my favorite!
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – for the kids!
Pumpkin Pie with Almond Crust – if you want to get real fancy
Beverages
Apple Cider
Pumpkin Spiced Chai Latte
Strawberry Lemonade  - for the kids

Rhubarb-Cherry Crisp

This recipe was kind of a brilliant mistake. We were going to dinner at a friend’s house so I decided to make a dessert the night before. I made my traditional strawberry-rhubarb crisp but I had a LOT of extra crumb topping leftover so I decided to make another small batch. Only problem was I was out of strawberries and apples. I did have a BUNCH of cherries that needed eaten and a couple pineapple slices. That’s how this lovely concoction was made. It is just the perfect amount of sweet and tart flavors and really just screams summer with the fresh fruit taste.

Filling

2 stalks of rhubarb, diced (about ¾ cup)
2 cups of cherries, halved (pits removed – could also use 2 cans of cherries)
2 slices of fresh pineapple, chunked (about ½ cup)
1 Tbsp honey or other sweetener
1 tsp cinnamon
Topping
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup GF all purpose flour (or omit coconut flour and use ½ cup all purpose flour)
½ cup GF oats
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp coconut oil

• Mix together filling ingredients in a greased 9” pie plate.
• Mix together the topping ingredients into a small bowl until it crumbly.
• Sprinkle crumb mixture over fruit evening and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and brown on top.

Strawberry-Rhubarb-Apple Crisp

My husband is a sucker for apple crisp and we love anything with rhubarb. I planted some rhubarb this year and had just enough to make this crisp. The fruit can easily be substituted for whatever you like: pears, peaches, any combination, etc. I’ve even added a pit of pineapple chunks to this to give it an extra flavor! This recipe is one of my go-to favorites because it is so easy and is such a good comfort food dessert.

Fruit Filling

2 cups of chopped fruit (we love strawberries, rhubarb and granny smith apples)
¼ to ½ cup of fruit juice or water (depending on how juicy you want it)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp starch (corn or tapioca)
¼ cup maple syrup or honey
Topping
½ cup GF oats
¼ cup quinoa flakes (or omit – it just gives it a little extra texture)
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup GF all purpose flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill)
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup brown sugar (or Stevia, or regular sugar)
·         Mix together the ingredients for the fruit filling.
·         Mix together the ingredients for the topping. It should resemble a course crumb texture.
·         Place topping mixture into a greased pie plate. Then sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the fruit. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 25 minutes or until bubbly and slightly brown on top.