Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. And this post isn’t about wonderful gluten-free foods. This post also (probably) isn’t for people who are 100% looking forward to tomorrow. This post is for gluten-free eaters who are feeling a little anxious or sad about the Thanksgiving meal.
In my opinion, when the gluten-free diet hit the mainstream, one thing got left behind: that sometimes it stinks to live on the gluten-free diet or any special diet. Holidays remind me of this.
Although I was born with severe food allergies and have lived on a restricted diet my entire life, I didn’t always need to eat gluten-free. At Thanksgiving, even though my mother filled the table with amazing homemade food, those squishy Pillsbury Crescent Rolls were my favorite. Even after graduating from culinary school and learning how to laminate real croissant dough, I still loved the Pillsbury rolls. Why? They tasted like tradition.
What food tastes like tradition to you? Your mother’s stuffing? Gravy? Pie? Before you leave a comment telling me that these foods can be made gluten-free, hear me out. Some of us sometimes just want the original. And if the original was made with a stuffing mix or rolls from a tube, let me tell you, the homemade gluten-free version tastes different. On a holiday, sometimes different tastes bad even if it doesn’t really taste bad. Know what I mean?
There’s no great takeaway from this piece other than I want to say to folks who are feeling a little down about Thanksgiving that I totally understand. Living on a restricted diet sometimes feels really hard—even when the table is full of wonderful gluten-free food.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Elizabeth
Vickie says
Thank you , Elizabeth. I really really miss my mom’s dressing. She taught me to make it and I always loved the time in the kitchen when she would supervise my making it for the holidays when she was no longer up to the task. Now that she’s gone I miss it even more.