Thanksgiving and Food Allergies

"Did you have a great holiday?"

"What did you eat?"

As someone with food allergies, some people don't even want to ask me those questions for fear that I couldn't eat a thing on Thanksgiving! Far from it, I went back for fourths. It is true, however, that eating away from home with food allergies can be an anxiety-producing prospect. Add the excitement of a family get-together where a traditionally nutty-wheaty-dairy-sugary meal is served, a lot of which you cannot eat, and this could send anyone with food allergies or intolerances into a food panic.

Here's a picture of both my Thanksgiving dinner and my cousin's plate: can you tell a major difference?

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My plate ---- Cousin's plate

As my cousin took the photo he said, "Why am I taking this? They look the same." That was my thought exactly. When I tell people I have food allergies, they usually say, "Oh I know someone with food allergies and they have to be so careful." Then when I add that I also have some food intolerances, they invariably ask, "What DO you eat then?"

"I eat everything," I breezily reply, "minus a few things." I work on focusing on all the yummy things I CAN eat, not what I CANNOT eat.

In last week's interview with Alice Sherwood, she made some excellent points about how to discuss your food allergy needs with your dinner host BEFORE the dinner happens. Depending on the severity of your allergy you may need to know what's in every dish, which could necessitate a series of conversations and emails.

Also, it never hurts to offer to make a dish or two that everyone could enjoy, allergen-free. For example, this Thanksgiving, I brought roasted root veggies (beets, carrots and rutabaga) and a parsnip puree knowing that the mashed potatoes served would probably be loaded with dairy and, thus, a no-no for me.

Frankly, there were a few years (17 years to be precise), when I maintained a vegetarian diet that I simply brought my own yummy dinner from home and ate at the table with everyone else. And it was no big deal, really.

This year, my Thanksgiving dinner was so delicious I wanted to extend that goodness. So I threw together a quick cranberry relish mainly from memories of recipes I've seen and what my cousin made last Thursday [hers included apricot jam which thickened the relish and gave another layer of fruity sweetness and texture]. I can't wait to swirl this into my hot Quinoa cereal or lace it with butter on a baked sweet potato.

Cranberry Relish

1 package of cranberries, washed and drained

1 orange, zested then juiced

½ cup raw brown sugar [to taste]

1 cup water to cover berries

Bring to a boil then simmer until berries pop and sauce thickens approximately 10-15 minutes.

Cranberry Relish

Hot morning quinoa