Thanksgiving Menu

For the first time in a few weeks, I actually slept in past 7am!  I was disappointed that I didn't get up earlier in enough time to help cook Thanksgiving, but I am extremely thankful that I have a wonderful family who made 2 of almost every dish to make sure I could it it.  It's the little things in life, taking the extra step to make sure that nothing contains dairy or gluten that means the world to someone with a food intolerance.

So, you might be wondering whats on The Carnivorous Vegan's Thanksgiving Menu...

• Turkey and Ham from HoneyBaked Ham is by far my favorite!  We have been getting this for every Thanksgiving and Christmas in my family for years.  Since this is only my 2nd Thanksgiving knowing my food intolerance's, I loved finding out from one of the sales associates last year that all of the Ham and Turkey that they sell is gluten-free (I might have purchased 2 Turkey's)!
• Green Bean Bundles - This is a staple for any Holiday meal at my house.  Its green beans, wrapped in bacon, covered in "fudder" (fake butter) and brown sugar.  Now tell me, how could ANYTHING taste bad with bacon and brown sugar?!  My favorite butter alternative that is a staple in my fridge is Earth Balance Buttery Spread.  It is made from Olive Oil but I think it tastes just like butter.  I always purchase the Soy Free kind - I try to limit my soy intake due to health reasons (would much rather save it for a venti soy caramel macchiato from Starbucks or gluten-free soy sauce).
• Garlic-Roasted Cauliflower - We have made this a few times at my house but for some reason the batch we made for Thanksgiving was THE BEST!  Here is the recipe I follow from Ladies' Home Journal - it's even better the next day. 
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Onion and Olive Oil - As you can probably now tell, I love veggies!  I try to always have an abundance of vegetables on the table to fill up on, especially because vegetables are gluten-free!  I was at Burger Up in Nashville one afternoon and got the vegetable of the day, which happened to be brussel sprouts.  Growing up, my parents never made brussel sprouts so I never liked them.  Over the past year, they have become a staple in my diet.  The recipe I made for Thanksgiving was inspired by the side I had at Burger Up - brussel sprouts, olive oil, onions, salt, and pepper.  Simple, yet delicious! 
• Mashed Potatoes and Gravy - I use coconut milk (SoDelicious Unsweetened Vanilla is my favorite) and "fudder" in my mashed potatoes with a little salt and pepper.  Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done in holding the many ladles of gravy I put on top (mini-volcano's are a must on anyone's Thanksgiving plate)!  The gravy - my mom makes this and its delicious.  All I know is that its "Maureen friendly" and has mushrooms.
• Dinner Rolls - I usually buy the Udi's Classic French Dinner Rolls.  I haven't ventured out into baking my own dinner rolls, so for now, these are my go to dinner rolls!  It's on my list of Christmas Break projects to try some of the recipes I have in my "pile" of recipes that seems to keep growing by the day!
• Stuffing - Last year, my mom was at Whole Foods and there was a cooking demonstration for gluten-free stuffing.  Being the great, supportive mom that she is - she watched the demonstration, bought all the ingredients, and made it for me.  It was so yummy!  She even remembered to get gluten-free chicken stock.  Yes, you even need to look at those labels to make sure they are gluten-free.  My favorite brand I have found is Imagine.  
• Gluten-Free Cookies from Whole Foods were our dessert this year.  Baked goods are my weakness, so I was completely content with 2 individually wrapped cookies as my dessert for Thanksgiving.  I loved that they were individually wrapped so that they weren't in contact with gluten cookies - again, it's the little things that food intolerant people truly appreciate!

I am planning on cooking a massive gluten-free and dairy-free Christmas dinner for my family with all of the great recipes that I have found (and a few that I have come up with myself).  Stay tuned for recipes and links to be coming soon!  

Thanksgiving

Holidays can be a very difficult time of the year for anyone with food intolerance's.  Going to family events, friendsgiving, and office potlucks - where you are the only (or one of the few) with food intolerance's can be nerve wrecking!  I know I have been known to have a bite or two (alright maybe 10) of food that I know either has dairy or gluten in it and the next day is torture.

Here are a few of my tips to have a fun, healthy, food intolerant friendly Thanksgiving!

1) Plan ahead!  If you know you are going to be the only person at an event with your food intolerance's, bring something that you can eat so you can join in the festivities.  I also try to make sure that I bring my own dinner rolls because rarely there is any gluten free bread.

2) Talk to your family/friends/co-workers and see if someone else might want to get together and cook with you so that you each can bring a food intolerance friendly recipe.

3) Ofter to host the event at your house! Entertaining is fun and if it is at your house, you have more control over the menu.

4) Eat before you go and then just snack on the veggie or fruit tray (not my favorite option because I LOVE food, but still an option)

5) If it's a potluck (or an event where you are bringing a dish), bring more than one so you know that at least a few dishes are 100% food intolerant friendly.

Thanksgiving is about spending time with people and being thankful all your blessings!  Food is a big part of community and you don't want to feel excluded/leftout - I hope these few tips help make Thanksgiving a great time of year for you!  What are you suggestions for the holidays?

Everything Happens For A Reason

Back in January of 2013, I was overweight, unhealthy, exhausted, and miserable.  I chalked it up to graduating from Undergrad in 3.5 years, going straight into my Masters program, AND THEN studying for the CPA exam.  Lets be honest, in college my main source of food came from highly processed, sugar packed, GMO rich foods (normally from Taco Bell) - so I don't have anyone to blame but myself for the weight gain.  Add being stressed out about college classes on top of that, my health was a mess.  When I finally graduated and started studying for the CPA exam, I began seeing a personal trainer 3 days a week because I was determined to lose the roughly 50lbs (*cringe*) I gained in college before I started work.  With each passing workout session, I didn't feel like it was getting any easier.  I was still always exhausted and always wanted to lay around and do nothing because I didn't have the energy to do anything else.  Flash forward to January 2013, roughly 2.5 years after I started working out with my personal trainer - I was the most I had weighed in my whole life.  Those 50lbs didn't go anywhere and the little bit I did lose was back with reinforcements.  That 50lbs from college plus the 20lbs I gained during my first 2.5 years in the working world while studying and passing my CPA exam meant that I now was at 70lbs over what I wanted to be.  

My mom had been telling me for the past couple years that I had been looking "pasty" and when I ate certain things I would "puff up like the Pillsbury dough boy" but I didn't take her concern seriously.  One day, I was talking to my very frustrated trainer and he mentioned a conversation he had with his mom about a PBS show that had been on the air recently that talked about people with gluten intolerance. I remember him standing there and asking me to give this diet a try and that I could find the book at WalMart.  I still don't know why to this day I decided to not be difficult and actually went straight from the gym to WalMart to buy the book - but I am SO incredibly thankful that I did.  The book was called The Virgin Diet by J.J. Virgin and I still have it on my kitchen counter today.

In a nut shell, the book says to eliminate 7 foods (gluten, dairy, eggs, sugar, peanuts, soy, and alcohol) for 21 days and then slowly introduce 1 food category back in at a time and see how your body reacts.  After reading the book, my mom and I cleaned out ALL of the food in my house (probably 85% of what I had contained one of the 7 foods) and I went to Whole Foods and started reading labels.  The first 3 days of the diet were TERRIBLE - I felt like I was going through withdraws, which I was.  All of the food I had been eating on a daily basis were processed, sugary, GMO foods.  I thought about giving up everyday because I just wanted chocolate cake or a cheeseburger, but when I got on the scale on day 2 and saw that I had lost 2lbs over night I remember thinking to myself "hey at this rate I can lose 42lbs and be over halfway to my goal in 21 days" (highly unrealistic to actually happen, but a girl can dream right?). 

On day 16, I could have killed someone for a glass of chocolate milk.  I remember talking to my trainer about how I would DO ANYTHING for chocolate milk.  He encouraged me that I had got so far and to not give up!  On day 21, I was down 16lbs - yes 16lb in 21 days and I felt better than I had in years.  The first food category I reintroduced was gluten - it gave me the worse stomach ache and I knew that I had an intolerance to it within about 24hrs. I am very thankful that I do not have celiac's disease (I got tested and the test came back negative) but I do not eat gluten still (well, on rare occasion).  The way it makes me feel is horrible.  I described it to my friend this way - have you ever gone #2 and it BURN like crazy afterward in your intestines, well that's what I feel like the morning after I eat gluten or dairy (the second food category I tried). I stayed tight on the diet for several more weeks until mid March, I went to a friends wedding and ate my weight in cake and homemade cheese ball (and would probably do it again today because it was DELICIOUS).  I woke up the next day sick as a dog. My stomach was cramping bad and I felt like I had food poisoning.  I wasn't sure why it was hurting to this extreme (probably had nothing to do with the fact that I ate the WHOLE cheese ball BY MYSELF).  After my day in terrible stomach pain, I realized that I can't go back to the way I use to eat and this was going to be my new "normal".  

Fast forward to today, I am still working on my weight-loss goal and clean eating.  After about 10 months, my healthy eating fizzled out because it takes HARDWORK and PLANNING to lead a healthy lifestyle.  People take for granted that they can go into an airport and have tons of options of different things to eat - I, on the other, hand will always get a grilled chicken salad with no cheese or croutons or butter on the chicken w/ oil and vinegar as the dressing, not exactly the easiest thing to eat on the go but at least I don't feel sick afterwards!  

The purpose of me starting this blog is 2 fold.  

One - I wanted to do it as a commitment to myself and the healthy lifestyle I want for myself.  I want to hold myself accountable and I would love for my readers to hold me accountable too. 

Two - I LOVE to cook and try new recipes.  Gluten-free and dairy-free foods don't have to be bland and boring.  I want others to love eating this way and feel healthier by doing so.  I want people who can get gluten and dairy to not even be able to tell that a meal that I make is gluten-free and dairy-free.  

Food should be judged based on how it tastes and makes you feel, not by the label of "gluten-free so it must be bad" or "dairy-free, but butter makes everything better".

Here is to a delicious journey together!
Maureen