What You Gonna Eat For Thanksgiving?!

Hey playa! What you gonna eat for Thanksgiving?? *69 Boyz voice* If you don’t get it, *click here* But seriously, what are you going to eat for Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is literally one of my favorite holidays because you get to spend time with family, but most importantly eat delicious food! Lord knows I love a good fried turkey, mac and cheese, collard greens, dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato soufflé and to top it off some pie!

Gluttony at its best! *forgive me Lord* However, when your body has chronic inflammation, and you want to enjoy the holidays, what do you do?

After perusing my social media groups and Pinterest, I’ve realized this is a common struggle. You’ve finally gotten in the groove of eliminating certain food and maybe even alcohol. Your symptoms are lessening and you might even be losing weight. But the way The Rona set us up this year, we all deserve some holiday cheer. I’m on the struggle bus too, so we’re literally taking this ride together. I’m going to go over things that I’m eliminating now and possible substitutes to use to help you successfully get through the holidays.

Dairy Free

Listen, some of you probably have lived a vegan or dairy free lifestyle for a minute now. But for the rest of us, the realization of how many dishes have dairy in it is uncanny. Thank God it is easier to eat dairy free meals, because it is in such high demand. There are so many options to choose from. So don't fret, you will be able to eat your broccoli rice and cheese casserole, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, mash potatoes and anything else that contains dairy.

Plant based milk, butter, spreads, and sour cream are good substitutes for dairy. Here are some dairy free substitute that I typically use, or I've researched that taste similar to the real thing. Nutritional yeast is not pictured, but used heavily in the vegan community, because it has a cheese like taste. Click through the slide show to see more.

Gluten Free

For those of you who are gluten sensitive or have auto immune diseases such as Celiac, it is important to be careful about what you eat. Even if you're in the middle of a gut restoration diet, one part includes eating gluten free foods. I've eliminated gluten as much as possible from my diet, because I have chronic inflammation. Most dishes including healthy ones, have gluten in them. Gluten is tricky because babbyyyy the taste makes a difference. I grin and bare the bread, but I've had a few things that actually tasted decent. When thinking about most baked goods, your noodles, batter, and even some seasonings, you have to be careful about gluten. Most packages will say if something contains wheat, which more than likely means it has gluten in it.

When considering what needs to be gluten free for thanksgiving, think of meals such as dressing, cornbread, and pies. A lot of these products coincide with the non-dairy options. For your heartier meals, you would have to replace the gluten and dairy (for example mac and cheese).

If you are unsure about what products that you buy at the store contain gluten, download the Gluten Free (GF) Scanner. It will tell you what products are completely gluten free, or may have gluten in it.

Click the image for more info.

Pescatarian

For over a month I've been living on a pescatarian diet. Personally, I am going to try turkey for Thanksgiving just because....just because!! However, some of you are very strict pescatarians. Click on the links below about different seafood alternatives to have to replace the traditional turkey and ham. If you're a dairy free, gluten free pescatarian, you're already covered with the substitutes above!!!

• Stuffed Shrimp with Real Crab Meat

• Bourbon Glazed Salmon

• Maple Walnut Crusted Salmon

• Cod with Dill Sauce

• Crab Cakes

• Seafood Gumbo

• Lemon Garlic Scallops

• Oyster Dressing

Vegan

Living a vegan lifestyle does not have to be a struggle during Thanksgiving. While I am not living it, I understand how it feels to be an outsider in your family during the holidays. It's nothing like being the only one in your family on a strict diet! On the other hand, your whole family might be vegan and want to make sure that you have a hearty and comforting Thanksgiving. If you don't read anything else, please follow Tabitha Brown on (@actresstabithabrown) Facebook and (@iamtabithabrown) Instagram. She literally has the vegan world on lock! If you haven't discovered her by now, you will not be disappointed.

Not only do you have to consider the non-dairy options above, but you have to think about the meatless part of it. The beauty in a vegan lifestyle is the bulk of Thanksgiving are fresh vegetables!!! Turn up on the collards, mustard greens, kale, turnips and cabbage. Still have your candied yams and sweet potatoes. Corn, eggplant, butter beans, green beans, and squash casserole are all possible.

When cooking these items especially green vegetables, make sure that you use a good vegetable broth and seasonings of your choice. Hellmann's has a good vegan mayonnaise option for those who are trying to get that potato salad right!

Holiday Meat Substitutes (with links):

• Plant Based Meat: Gardien Beefless Ground Beyond Meat Lightlife

• Oyster Mushrooms (Those fried oyster mushrooms are litttttttt.)

• Jackfruit (pot roast recipe)

• Trader Joes Breaded Turkey-Less Stuffed Roast with Gravy

• Chickpeas (baked chickpeas with butternut squash)

• Tofu ("tofurkey" recipe)

• Tempeh (stuffed butternut squash with tempeh)

Vegan Egg Substitutes for Baking

• Bananas

• Flaxseed Meal

• Chia Seed Meal

• Avocado

• Applesauce

• Silken Tofu

Look for recipes to see how these egg replacements work and for which type of meals it works for the best. I've used bananas for pancakes :).

We're Gonna Be Alright!!!

Listen, regardless if you're a full fledge vegan or trying to heal yourself holistically, just take it easy. Have you ever heard of the saying, "Real players eff up too??" If you slip up and enjoy something that is outside your diet, it is ok. Just know, there are alternatives and you don't have to suffer during the holidays!! If you're reading this too late for Thanksgiving or have already gone shopping, Christmas is around the corner. Also, if you don't feel like cooking, look up your local catering companies that fit your dietary needs. Check out Mac and Yease for highly recommended vegan mac n cheese. One major part of healing the body is living a stress free, happy life. Enjoy your family, get your grub on, forget about the problems in this world, and take care of yourself. Happy Thanksgiving everybody and don't forget to live un·scarred.

Gratefully & Contently,

Gia

“Life has two rules: number 1, never quit! Number 2, always remember rule number one”

-Duke Ellington

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