Guest guest Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Great advice. Mine was to sit out a year if they cannot support your requirements to stay healthy and see if they miss you enough to consider being a bit more flexible. A bit extreme and I would in the end take the approach of offering some healthy alternatives as others have suggested. Our daughter was diagnosed with celiac in May and my in-laws announced that it was now My responsibility (if we wanted enough food present for our daughter to eat) to make all of the food for family gatherings and haul it all out to their house (hour drive) and serve fifteen relatives. They came to our house instead which worked out fine but we do have the challenge of future gatherings of having to possibly ‘pack’ our daughters food if they choose to not be supportive. I have to say, it’s not that hard to make mashed potatoes and turkey GF or anything else for that matter. It’s also not that hard for relatives to make a little extra effort on special occasions so their loved ones do not feel left out or different. From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of rio_robbins Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 10:18 AM Subject: [ ] Re: Thanksgiving question , What a drag! Perhaps your family will get it next year after you really don't eat the turkey and whatever else is contaminated. I would consider this year a diplomatic mission. May I suggest making some delicious cornbread stuffing and letting everyone taste it and love it. Its too bad that you have to lobby for your own health. I would use this year to educate them and offer some delicious alternatives. It's been 20 years for me without gluten and my family is up to speed by now but I can remember what a loss it was for me, and for them. These days special diets are very trendy and while we benefit from this with increased awareness and more products it can be confusing for people to understand that is really not a choice on your part. Have your read the Gluten Free Bible by Jax s Lowell? Get it immediately if you haven't, it really has lots of ideas for this kind of situation. Good luck in there, it really does get better. best, Ruth > > This is my first Thanksgiving after being diagnosed Celiac. First, I offered to make Thanksgiving dinner at my house, but the traditionalists in the family wouldn't go for that. So it's the usual dinner at my family home. I thought my father might make the turkey without dressing, but he's won't do that. It's the traditional dressing, his family recipe, cooked in the turkey. When I realized this, I told him I would bake a turkey breast at home and bring it for myself. He said not to do that , I can eat the turkey that the dressing isn't touching. Well, I just don't think that's safe. What do you folks know about this? > > Valenza > Art for Change > Sausalito, California, USA > > 415-336-2204 > > www.christinevalenza.com > > Ars long > Vita brevis > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 I always pack food for my family and with really supportive friends, I take saucepans so that they can cook in pans that have never had gluten in them. We're going to friends this year and I'm lending her my cookware so that she can cook and it will be safe for us. From: Sent: Tue Nov 10 10:38:29 2009Subject: RE: [ ] Re: Thanksgiving questionGreat advice. Mine was to sit out a year if they cannotsupport your requirements to stay healthy and see if they miss you enough toconsider being a bit more flexible. A bit extreme and I would in the endtake the approach of offering some healthy alternatives as others havesuggested. Our daughter was diagnosed with celiac in May and myin-laws announced that it was now My responsibility (if we wanted enough foodpresent for our daughter to eat) to make all of the food for family gatherings andhaul it all out to their house (hour drive) and serve fifteen relatives. Theycame to our house instead which worked out fine but we do have the challenge offuture gatherings of having to possibly ‘pack’ our daughters food ifthey choose to not be supportive. I have to say, it’s not that hardto make mashed potatoes and turkey GF or anything else for that matter. It’salso not that hard for relatives to make a little extra effort on specialoccasions so their loved ones do not feel left out or different. From: [mailto: ] OnBehalf Of rio_robbinsSent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 10:18 AM Subject: [ ] Re: Thanksgiving question ,What a drag! Perhaps your family will get it next year after you really don'teat the turkey and whatever else is contaminated. I would consider this year adiplomatic mission. May I suggest making some delicious cornbread stuffing andletting everyone taste it and love it. Its too bad that you have to lobby foryour own health. I would use this year to educate them and offer some deliciousalternatives. It's been 20 years for me without gluten and my family is up to speed by nowbut I can remember what a loss it was for me, and for them. These days special diets are very trendy and while we benefit from this withincreased awareness and more products it can be confusing for people tounderstand that is really not a choice on your part. Have your read the Gluten Free Bible by Jax s Lowell? Get it immediatelyif you haven't, it really has lots of ideas for this kind of situation. Good luck in there, it really does get better.best,Ruth>> This is my first Thanksgiving after being diagnosed Celiac. First, Ioffered to make Thanksgiving dinner at my house, but the traditionalists in thefamily wouldn't go for that. So it's the usual dinner at my family home. Ithought my father might make the turkey without dressing, but he's won't dothat. It's the traditional dressing, his family recipe, cooked in the turkey.When I realized this, I told him I would bake a turkey breast at home and bringit for myself. He said not to do that , I can eat the turkey that the dressingisn't touching. Well, I just don't think that's safe. What do you folks know aboutthis? > > Valenza> Art for Change> Sausalito, California, USA> > 415-336-2204> > www.christinevalenza.com> > Ars long> Vita brevis> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 You don't take the easy road, do you! If yu chicken out, Whole Foods sells frozen GF pie crusts. They also sell frozen biscuits that aren't bad -- very rich. Not every location stocks them all the time. I volunteered to bring the pies, so get to try my hand at gf piecrust. H. -----Original Message----- From: <changeartist88@...> Sent: Tue, Nov 10, 2009 2:38 pm Subject: Re: [ ] Re: Thanksgiving question Thanks you all for your great suggestions and support. I hadn't even thought about pans! After getting a new toaster and cutting boards! I guess it's hard for people to grasp the implications of gluten free.It's hard enough for me to get all the little details! And my step father is kind of stuck in his ways, so I'll just take my own turkey along with some cornbread dressing and gf gravy for everyone to try. Great suggestion. I volunteered to bring the pies, so get to try my hand at gf piecrust. Again thank you so much for the outpouring of suggestions and support. ValenzaArt for ChangeSausalito, California, USA www.christinevalenza.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Wow, clearly this strikes a note with everyone. I will add my own concurrence with the thought that you should not eat the turkey if it was stuffed with regular stuffing. I think it is a good idea to bring your own food. One thing to consider about stuffing turkeys in general is that this makes it much harder to properly cook the turkey, and that the recommendation these days is not to stuff the turkey at all to avoid the risk that the stuffing may not get cooked enough to kill the bacteria. From http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Lets_Talk_Turkey/index.asp For optimum safety, stuffing a turkey is not recommended. For more even cooking, it is recommended you cook your stuffing outside the bird in a casserole. Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the stuffing. The stuffing must reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. I have been making my turkey this way for years not because of the gluten issue (our house is GF), but because the turkey comes out much nicer. I brine the turkey and put aromatics (apple slices, herbs, spices) in the cavity to flavor the turkey. I cook the stuffing separately, using drippings from the pan to flavor the stuffing, and it comes out fabulous. I make stuffing with dried bread cubes; you can use any kind of GF bread to make stuffing this way. (Anyone who wants the stuffing/turkey recipe can E-mail me off list.) I agree with Harper on the pie crust; GF pie crust is one of the hardest GF items to make. The frozen crusts are great if you can get them; otherwise consider a mix (GF Pantry makes a good one). Whatever you do, make enjoying the holiday with family your priority. Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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