Healthy Sustainable Living: 9 Tips for a Gluten Free Thanksgiving...and Other Healthy Suggestions

Who Loves Organic Turkey?

Healing with food is not always easy around Thanksgiving time. Especially for those of us that are trying to stick to our gluten-free diets. Stuffing, pie crust,...yikes! And if we're also trying to be sugar-free and dairy-free, the entire meal is full of land-mines.

Here are nine tips you can use to get through the meal without compromising your health. Follow our tips and you won't have to go into recovery mode after the big day.

1. Skip the dinner rolls-- Yes, those airy pieces of gluten-y fluff are fun to eat, but we have a better option. Our healthy Seed Bread (recipe here) is really delicious, totally gluten-free and a perfect flavor to match up to Thanksgiving turkey.

2. Use store-bought gluten-free bread for the stuffing or make home-made Einkorn Bread-- We are loving our homemade Einkorn Bread, recipe here. When you use a sourdough starter and einkorn ancient grain wheat flour, you get a very low gluten loaf. (More information on einkorn, here.)

3. Replace sugar in your holiday recipes with Coconut Nectar-- It's not just the pie. Sugar is added to other holiday recipes, like sweet potatoes and cranberries, too. You can choose to drop these items from your menu, or substitute low glycemic Coconut Nectar and stevia for the sugar in your favorite recipes. Start by adding two tablespoons of stevia to your recipe and then add about 1/3 cup of Coconut Nectar. This is when you start tasting. If it's sweet enough, stop here. If not, keep adding Coconut Nectar.

4. Switch from regular butter to grass-fed butter-- Mashed potatoes anyone? Try whipping up those potatoes with a combination of unsweetened almond milk and grass-fed butter. Most folks with dairy intolerances or allergies can handle butter or ghee. Goats milk may also be an option. (See here for more information on dairy allergies and intolerances.) The good new is that if you're working to reduce inflammation in your body for your overall health, grass fed butter is an excellent source of inflammation reducing omega-3 oils.

5. Use a reduction method or try einkorn flour for the gravy-- When it comes to thickening up your turkey juices, you can add some flavorful wine and boil the mixture down to create a syrupy sauce. Or try low-gluten einkorn flour as a replacement in your favorite gravy recipe.

6. Try our Coconut Nectar sweetened pumpkin pie-- It's good enough to pass muster with the family. No one will know that there's not one bit of sugar in it. Pick up a ready-made gluten free crust or use our recipe for low-gluten einkorn flour crust. Our recipe is here.

7. Pass up the whip cream-- If you're avoiding dairy, you can always add a scoop of Coconut Secret ice cream or Laloo's goat milk ice cream.

8. Change out your salt shaker to real natural sea salt-- Good news! If you think salt is bad for you, you're missing out on all the research. Yes, regular table salt and the salt that comes in most processed foods is still a contributing cause of high blood pressure, kidney disease and fluid retention. However, real natural sea salt is filled with important minerals that are very healthy for the body. Get off the processed foods and you can add natural sea salt to your diet. Just be sure to keep your consumption down to about 1/2 teaspoon a day. By the way, we love the Himalayan Sea Salt Grinders at Costco. (For more information on salt, see here for health information and here for cooking information.)

9) Super Green Smoothie-- What to do after the big day? We love our morning super green smoothies. They help us stay energized, clear headed and slim. If you're feeling a little sluggish the morning after, whip up a batch of these babies and give your body a chance to recover. (Recipe here.)

Super Green Smoothies! Healthy ingredients in the food processor, ready to blend.

Follow these tips for a healthy, anti-inflammatory and healing Thanksgiving. We promise, your guests will never know the difference. And you'll feel so much better afterward.