Happy Thanksgiving!
No need to stress. With the help of a few Star Chefs at Stuffed Pepper ™, I’ve put together a full gluten-free Thanksgiving meal plan for you. So now you can just get on with the business of being thankful. In case I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, I’m actually the community organizer at Stuffed Pepper™, and I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year. I’m not one of their Star Chef’s, but sometimes they let me mess around in the kitchen a bit.
Its a funny thing about tradition. I love to experiment with food, and I’ll try just about anything once. But when it comes to Thanksgiving, I prepare the same exact meal year after year, based on the same traditional meal that I grew up with. There is a reason traditions exist, and I love every single one of the dishes that I prepare on Thanksgiving, so why change it?
So what about turkey? It’s gluten-free, right? Well it should be. It is, naturally, of course. But depending on what company you buy your turkey from, you might be getting fillers injected into the meat, to make breast meat juicier and more tender. Sometimes these fillers can contain gluten. These same “factory farm” companies also give their turkeys antibiotics and hormones, which are still in the meat when we ingest them. Even more, many factory farms feed their turkeys animal by-products, which makes no sense, since turkeys are obviously vegetarian.
Which is why I urge you to shop for a locally grown, humanely farmed, all natural turkey. Yes, they are more expensive. But as the saying goes – pay the farmer now or pay the doctor later. Whole Foods and other natural foods markets often supply trustworthy turkeys. Or you can also check out localharvest.org to find farmers who are raising turkeys in your area. And now, as in today, is when you should order your Thanksgiving turkey.
From my family to yours, I wish you a happy, healthy Thanksgiving. I give thanks for you, and also all my new gluten-free friends at Stuffed Pepper. I hope you will join us there.
Updated November 17th:
So here’s the menu:
“Buttery”, Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Green Beans Almondine (naturally gluten-free)
Simple, Delicious, Gluten-Free Gravy
Simple, Delicious, Gluten-Free Cranberry Sauce
Gluten-Free Mushroom Cornbread Stuffing Muffins by Jeannette’s Healthy Living
Sweet Potato Pull Apart Dinner Rolls (Gluten-Free) by Free Eats
Hint of Sweet Pumpkin Custard by Stephanie Meyer
