A Pleasant Thanksgiving Surprise

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JFR
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A Pleasant Thanksgiving Surprise

Post by JFR »

My son invited me to his friend's house for Thanksgiving. I had never met his friend. I was worried about finding anything to eat at the meal but did not feel comfortable asking about the menu. It just feels rude to me to expect people to accommodate my dietary needs. I was worried that I would find nothing to eat and sitting at a person's table and not eating the food also feels rude to me. I considered just staying home but I didn't really want to disappoint my granddaughter plus being home alone on Thanksgiving can feel pretty sad. Much to my surprise all the food was gluten and dairy free and most was egg free.There were even 2 kinds of stuffing, with and without gluten and dairy, and 2 similar kinds of mashed potatoes. I don't think there was soy in anything either. It turns out that one of the children is on a dairy and gluten free diet. I took a chance and ate some apple pie which had a bit of egg in the crust. So far so good. Sometimes things really do work out well.

Jean
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Gabes-Apg
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Post by Gabes-Apg »

Jean,
What a magical treat/gift for thanksgiving...

More and more people with multiple intolerances are following an eating plan along that lines,
No longer are we aliens at the dinner table!!!!
We were the pioneers!!!! The others are now following our lead.

Keep well xo
Gabes Ryan

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Post by lorimoose »

Jean,

What a wonderful surprise for you!!

I made dinner at home, and we had 2 stuffings, potato latkes and roast potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and 2 different gravies. My gravy was just the drippings and some broth, but very good. GF apple crisp for me, and a pumpkin pie for everyone else.

I was worried that it couldn't be done, but we all ate well and enjoyed the day.

Now, while the rest of the family sleeps, I am up watching "The Godfather". The day just gets better!!

Lori
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Post by Jeanemcl »

What a great day for me. My nieces and their husbands made a safe sweet potato casserole and a safe pumpkin pie. I had my own turkey without the stuffing and gravy. Wonderful. I tried to bring a jar of my safe mayo with me but they took it away at the airport even though it wasn't opened. Guess they didn't want to see the following headline in the news" Elderly lady blows up plane with mayo! " I was mad at first, but I get it and really just forgot about that restriction. Nobody could find it in Charlotte and so I just threw it in my bag as a favorite of mine is leftover turkey with a little mayo the next day. My disappointment returned to glee when another niece arrived from Raleigh with safe mayo in hand!!! What a great Thanksgiving with a caring family!!!
Jean
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JFR
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Post by JFR »

Glad your day went so well Jean. Your post reminded me. There was even gluten free gravy for the turkey and here I am 12 hours later and still all is well. I wasted a lot of time worrying about how I would navigate this meal and it couldn't have turned out better.

Jean
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Post by maestraz »

What a great Thanksgiving with my son and DIL! DIL's mom is DF, and her SIL has celiac. The three of us were able to eat everything on the menu, including desserts. I could have been very satisfied with just the turkey and the veggie sides that were served.

But, after missing eating my family's traditional potato/bread stuffing the last couple years (trying to make it GF had been a flop), I finally found a GF bread (Canyon Bakehouse) which, left to get very dry, stands up to the liquid in the recipe, so made a small dish of it for SIL and me in addition to a "regular" batch for the others. I savored every bite, so happy to taste it again.

The posts in this thread will, I hope, send the message to others who are struggling that all is not lost. Even on the past few Thanksgivings when the meal has not been as GF/DF conscious as this one was, I had plenty to eat.
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Post by JeanIrene »

Jean I'm so glad you experienced such a nice meal! I feel the same way about going to people's homes to eat, that it is rude to ask what's in the food. I usually eat before I go so I won't be hungry just in case I can't eat the meal.

And the other Jean, sorry about the mayo. You are so funny, joking about blowing up the plane with it!

Boy, there are getting to be a lot of Jeans here :grin:

Jean
"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." Mark Twain
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Post by ladyathome »

You're always so encouraging to me and others! Makes me happy to see you have such a positive experience!
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Post by Leah »

It's great to hear that so many of us was able to Enjoy a nice Thanksgiving meal. I was also able to eat everything but the stuffing. I made both pies gluten and dairy free and they were delicious :)

leah
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humbird753
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Post by humbird753 »

Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience, Jean. I am glad you were able to eat a Thanksgiving dinner with your family. I also feel it would be rude to ask what foods will be served (and what have you added to them), yet at the same time feel awkward about bringing my own foods (since so many in DH family do not understand AT ALL). We were invited to a BIL's which is a 4-hour drive from our home. This year I declined. My DH had his brothers here and many other family members for the opening of deer hunting in Wisconsin. They were here for 5 days, so we felt we had already spent a lot of time with them, and said we just decided not to take the long drive up this year.

I think I will start learning how to make these foods myself, including dessert, so I can bring my own next time. Thank you everyone for sharing how you managed to make a Thanksgiving dinner that was safe.

Paula
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Post by DJ »

So much good news from everyone. Thank you.

My sister, who had lung cancer surgery at this time last year, and her husband hosted the family at a restaurant this year. I called ahead and the restaurant had a plate waiting for me. It worked out great.

As a second pleasant Thanksgiving story, my sister's cancer surgery turned out great. Last year she fell and broke her ribs, bringing about x-rays and a coincidental diagnosis of lung cancer. It was caught at stage 1A and she should have a normal life span. The broken ribs paid off.
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tex
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Post by tex »

DJ wrote:The broken ribs paid off
.

Wow! It isn't often that a serious fall can be categorized as "lucky", but it certainly was in your sister's case. It doesn't get much better than that, because if it hadn't been a serious fall, they might not have taken x-rays.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by tex »

FWIW, I've noticed a drastic difference in the post-Thanksgiving posts this year, compared with most previous years.

Most years, virtually any major holiday seems to be followed by numerous posts by members explaining how they "slipped up", "fell off the diet wagon", were accidentally glutened, or "couldn't resist trying something", resulting in anything from minor temporary discomfort to a total relapse of symptoms.

By contrast, reading about this year's Thanksgiving experiences is very gratifying. :thumbsup: Way to go!

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by Lesley »

I didn't, but then I only had Adam and I here. I roasted lamb, with potatoes and sweet potatoes for Adam. Green beans overcooked. And some of my ice cream.

I am going out tomorrow night for chanuka, if I can manage it. I am hoping I feel better than I do tonight.

I won't be able to eat anything. I don't feel bad about it, Jean. They know how careful I have to be. I know nothing will be gluten, egg, dairy, soy, corn, rice, poultry, almond, cashew etc., etc. free. Even if it is gluten free it will be made with rice or something. Everything always is.

I am looking for a good recipe for apple crisp without any of the above ingredients, that actually crisps. I have tried several, have tried figuring out one of my own, but although I can make it taste pretty good, I cannot get a crispy topping. Any ideas?
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Post by Gabes-Apg »

Lesley
do they have coconut sugar in the USA?

it is low Gi, and caramalises/crunches if you use it as a crumble topping....
Gabes Ryan

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