If you have recently embarked on a special diet you may be wondering what to serve for Thanksgiving. The old favorite Thanksgiving recipes sometimes work, maybe with simple tweaks. Other times, they don’t. If you are gluten free, grain free, refined sugar free, or on the GAPS diet, these healthy Thanksgiving recipes can help. Even if you aren’t on a special diet, you might like an easy Thanksgiving recipe that is also good tasting and good for you!
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The first year on a special diet is hard. Even after you get into a pattern of daily cooking, challenges crop up. Events that are supposed to be joyful, such as birthdays, vacations, and eating out, can become fraught with stress and pitfalls. They can seem like problems to solve rather than the special times they ought to be. Celebrations can even cause sadness, disappointment, and difficulty.
Holidays are one of the hard parts, especially the first year of a different diet. Those holidays associated with particular foods, and maybe special family recipes that evoke fond memories of holidays past and even loved ones who aren’t with us anymore, might be tough at first.
If it isn’t you or someone in your household eating differently, but someone you are hosting, the difficulty is even greater. The diet may be unfamiliar, and you want your loved ones to feel well and be safe at your table!
You can do this!
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Whether your special diet is medically necessary (like for food allergy or diabetes) or a choice (such as reducing sugar or following a healing protocol), you can still be festive, eat delicious food, and get out of the kitchen in a reasonable amount of time.
By way of good news, Thanksgiving dinner tends to center around the turkey. Most people on special diets can eat turkey! You may need to read labels and use ingredients that suit your needs, but the likelihood is very high that you can pull off a turkey that is exactly or almost the same as what you are used to.
After the turkey, things get tougher. Potatoes? Sweet potatoes? Stuffing? Gravy? It will depend on the person! Maybe you can still serve some of those, or maybe not.
I will offer some healthy Thanksgiving recipes I use for holidays– and sometimes for everyday! All are gluten free and grain free, low in sugar, free of refined sugar, and either GAPS compliant or include a simple GAPS tweak. (You can get even more recipes in my free e-book for the holidays! Gravy, green bean casserole, more desserts…)
You won’t need to search for many weird, obscure, or expensive ingredients. The exception is coconut flour or maybe almond flour. These are both a little odd, and definitely more expensive. They are, however, widely available. You won’t need much of either.
Vegetable Side Dishes
When it comes to side dishes, you may find it helps to offer several side dishes, especially if you aren’t serving potatoes, stuffing, dressing, sweet potatoes, or any sort of bread.
Some of my family’s holiday-worthy vegetable sides include:
This one could be served prior to the main meal if you like. There are three quite different flavor variations in the recipe. Any will work fine, but I consider the Scarborough Fair version especially appropriate for Thanksgiving!
Festive Roasted Brussels Sprouts
This is such a simple recipe, and so pretty! It might even convert a stray Brussels-sprout-hater.
Bacon Butternut Squash Casserole
While I don’t really care for squash, I admit I enjoy it this way. Probably due to the bacon… which is definitely a special-occasion-enhancer. If you can’t find bacon that fits your diet– maybe due to preservatives or sugar– you could try these instructions.
Cranberry Sauce
I would apologize for making cranberries a category, but I’m not sorry! Cranberries are one of my favorites. Store bought cranberry sauce and most recipes for it are packed with sugar, but these are not. No refined sugar, and not too much honey, but still great!
This is pretty similar to typical cranberry sauce, but much less sugary. Yet not too sour… I recommend doing it with orange as written, but included are instructions for leaving the orange out. Either way, it is simple to make.
Full of probiotic benefits, this recipe borders on a superfood. You need to allow a few days for fermentation to happen, so plan in advance. One less thing to do right before Thanksgiving! And, while it is a bit unusual, it doesn’t taste as weird as it might sound.
Cranberry Raspberry Sauce with Pineapple
I think of this as Christmas cranberry sauce– it tastes different from traditional cranberry sauce, but in a good way. It is sweet and bright without much honey, and still easy to make.
Desserts
I admit, I have a sweet tooth. If you want to skip dessert for Thanksgiving, go for it! You might be better off… We like our dessert around here, and these aren’t so bad for us. Or hard to make!
Yes, pie crust is possible without gluten, grains, etc. It is also a hassle! Apple crisp is just as good, and maybe even better! Make ahead and reheat, or assemble and bake while feasting on your main meal.
This recipe takes a little more preparation than crisp, but it is definitely special. Prepare while the turkey bakes, then pop it into the oven so you can serve it freshly baked. It is better that way!
Pears aren’t my first thought when it comes to Thanksgiving desserts, but maybe they should be! Also a fall fruit, pears suit themselves to the same warm spices as apples, with a sweet, mild flavor.
Easier than pie, pumpkin ice cream is just as yummy! Make with cultured dairy (for GAPS or for general health benefits), fresh dairy, or a combination. The house will be plenty warm from roasting the turkey– ice cream is perfectly in order!
Special Extras
So simple, and so good! There are suggestions for creamer and sweetening for all sorts of special diets. There actually isn’t any pumpkin involved, which means no blender or complicated process is needed– and also no little bits of floating pumpkin.
Serve these on their own or on top of a salad, Make them ahead and make extra– they will disappear fast!
Pumpkin Bread with Almond Flour or with Coconut Flour
If you need more pumpkin, try one of these!
Need more healthy Thanksgiving recipes?
Download my free e-book! Some of the above recipes are in it, and more– two gravy recipes, green bean casserole, pumpkin “pie”, a lovely salad… I’ve got you covered!
You can definitely pull together a good dinner with these healthy Thanksgiving recipes, added to whatever you already have in mind. Happy feasting!
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