Saturday, November 27, 2010

I made it through Thanksgiving!

Okay, Thanksgiving is of course a holiday centered around FOOD. It was my first real holiday since being diagnosed so I was feeling a little down about the whole thing. I knew that I could eat most Thanksgiving food...BUT only if it was modified with all of the special ingredients that I can have. Therefore, I didn't want to put anyone out or their family for that matter because let's face it, having me sit next to the cooks all day watching over their shoulders is not anyone's idea of a relaxing holiday.

My parents came in town the weekend prior to Thanksgiving and my mom as wonderful as she is went ahead and cooked a gluten-free turkey in the oven while I was at work on Wednesday, yay! Just so everyone knows, most turkeys in the grocery store are not gluten-free because of the additives, etc. that are in them...but there are certain brands such as Perdue, Jennie-O, Applegate Farms and Boar's Head that are safe to eat. She could only find about a 5 lb. turkey that was gluten-free at HEB but that was plenty!

So, now I had my tupperware of turkey and an invite to my friend Katherine's family's home. I was so excited to spend the day with a family but at the same time still trying to think ahead of what I could eat and how I could stay out of the way. I ended up finding some microwave mashed potatoes at the store as well so I brought those with me. And...don't forget there is always wine.

Of course, with a holiday of 20 people it is chaos anyway, but they were so accomadating of my special meal. Everyone asked me what snacks I could have (cheese) and if I needed anything to prepare my dish. I was able to safely and quickly microwave my turkey and mashed potatoes and plate them just in time for the toasts. I finished off the meal with a Hershey chocolate bar (no pie or cookies for me). Still sounds a little sad but it was amazing to not feel left out on such a family-oriented and traditional holiday.

The day is over now and I've overcome the worry of my first big holiday. Next comes Christmas with the cookies, parties and big meals...I'm working on my cooler list now :)

3 comments:

  1. Now that turkey news pisses me RIGHT off. Went to a lot of trouble in my house to make sure everything was gluten free for my first Thanksgiving and yet I was seriously gassy (my only noticable sign of glutening except for mouth ulcers) all day Friday. We even used sweet rice flour in the oven bag with the turkey. It did not even OCCUR to me that the additives would be a problem -- the fluid in chicken isn't. Perhaps that was the source of my dietary distress. Didn't mention it to anyone in the extended family and probably won't till next year b/c everyone tried so hard and we thought we had been successful! Found this link for GF turkeys after reading your post. http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/entrees/tp/glutenfreeturkeybrands.htm

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  2. Addendum: I have always bought RiverSide turkeys from HEB (and assume my mom did the same this year) and I did a quick google search only to find that the label itself says "no gluten" in that brand's turkeys. So the mystery of my digestive woes continues... Hmmm...

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  3. Jennifer - that's interesting. I feel like I did the same research and found that even if they claim there is no gluten the meat manufactures are notorious for cross contamination (maybe that is the culprit?) Either way, I'm so sorry that you had problems on Friday, although I completely understand about your family...I'm going home for Christmas and we have a lot of Eve and Day traditions that all involve full meals. Unfortunately I think I'll have the same issue with my family, I know they are trying hard to figure it out but there is just so much to it!! Anyway, congrats on feeling comfortable around friends, I really hope to hit that point soon like you have :( If you ever want to email mine is Jaime.Sutton@gmail.com

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