Our Healthy, Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Menu

This year marks our fourth year having the holidays gluten free. I absolutely love meal planning (I love food!) and planning our Thanksgiving dinner menu is always fun. We have revamped a couple traditional sides but also have started some new traditions of our own. I love to maximize what is in season. Green beans aren’t exactly in season right now. While I do enjoy green bean casserole, I can enjoy that when it’s in season. It tastes better that way. Instead I love to work with squashes, sweet potatoes, citrus, pomegranates, pears, apples  and all the other wonderful produce that is in season and tastes amazing.

If this is your first year needing a gluten-free Thanksgiving or the first year you need to accommodate someone gluten-free I recommend reading this post after you check out the menu below. The food sensitivities we are working around are gluten, soy, corn, rice and dairy. While that can seem a bit intimidating, when you stick to real food it does become easier.

For 2014 we are planning on doing:

A Gluten Free Turkey with a gluten-free homemade gravy (We will thicken with arrowroot starch or potato starch.) Since my dad isn’t here to barbecue a tri-tip for us, we decided to stay traditional and eat turkey. I plan on making Turkey Bone Soup the day after Thanksgiving as well. That is a family tradition of ours I remember my Mema did every year. It was always delicious and up until recently, I had no idea how beneficial it was to my health.

My Mom’s Famous Gluten-Free Stuffing

My mom came up with this recipe our very first gluten-free Thanksgiving 4 years ago. Everyone loves it and it has been a mainstay ever since. We are more than happy to share it with you.

Allergy-Friendly Green Bean Casserole

Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Butter and salt.

What is thanksgiving without sweet potatoes? We will skip the marshmallows and save our sugar coma’s for after dessert. I just boiled up a couple sweet potatoes until they were soft and smashed with a fork. Add in butter, because we all know the love affair I have with grass-fed butter, and salt. Simple and delicious. If someone is really needing sweet, drizzle with a tsp or two of pure maple syrup and add a dash of cinnamon. 🙂

Baby Spinach Salad with Pomegranate, Almonds and Goat Cheese topped with a Poppyseed Dressing (I like Brianna’s) (Get the recipe here.)

I love to have something raw and fresh to balance out all the cooked foods. Not only is it a dish that doesn’t require the overworked oven and stove top, it gives us a nice dose of fiber. The flavor combinations in this salad are really delicious, if I do say so myself.

My Pumpkin Cheesecake (Get the recipe here.)

We are in love with this recipe. It doesn’t require the oven, it’s simple, and absolutely delicious. While it is a healthy dessert recipe, your taste buds won’t know that. So we’ll just keep our secret, okay?

My Apple Cranberry Crumble (Get the recipe here.)

I created this recipe last year and made it several times throughout the holiday season. It was always a hit. It’s a nice twist on the traditional apple pie. It is low on sugar but high on flavor. I take advantage of cranberries which are in season and help sweeten them with dates and honey. I love the combination of all the flavors.

While I really do love food, my absolute favorite part of the holidays is seeing everyone I love. Enjoying good food and a food coma is just a bonus.

I hope this post has inspired your Thanksgiving Day menu and you have a fantastic Turkey Day.