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Feasting on allergy-free food this Thanksgiving
Cook holiday meal without wheat, dairy and eggs
1119Squash3
I love experimenting with quinoa because it’s such a versatile food. Quinoa is the seed of a plant related to spinach and originates from the Andean region in South America. The great thing is it is completely vegan and you can make substitutions. Quinoa can be found in your grocery store’s health food section or in the rice section. The recipe calls for ghee, which is clarified butter made from the milk of a buffalo or cow. To make this recipe vegan friendly, I would use olive oil instead. I added baby bella mushrooms — the original recipe doesn’t call for them — because I had them on hand and thought they would bring flavor to the dish. For the original recipe, visit Healy Eats Real at healyeatsreal.com/quinoa-veggie-stuffed-acorn-squash-vegan. - photo by GILLAN LUDLOW

For all of the recipes, click here.

When I was a kid, I always looked forward to holidays because it was a guarantee that my mom served all the dishes I loved. I always counted on a turkey, a sweet potato dish and green beans at Thanksgiving for example.

Unfortunately, that’s all changed now.

More than three years ago, I was diagnosed with adult onset food allergies. And after multiple consultations with a doctor, I cut gluten out of my diet in February.

Adjusting my everyday menu has been a struggle, but nothing compares to anxiety and stress I have felt over the upcoming holidays. My family and I have to break away from traditional recipes and extend the food choices for my new diet.

To assuage my discomfort as well as my family’s, I tried new recipes before the big family dinner of Thanksgiving. I tested various recipes of side dishes ranging from gluten-free to dairy-free and in some cases, vegetarian.

Thanks to those dishes and others, I have become more comfortable with the idea of cooking for the holidays, especially for loved ones.

Knowing several other adults and children suffer from the same allergies I do, I am sharing some of the new gluten- and dairy-free recipes that are allergy friendly.

Happy cooking!

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