Wheat Allergy Relief for Your Thanksgiving Dinner

With the impending Thanksgiving holiday, we find ourselves struggling to decide what to cook. With the emergence of food allergies and health conscious eaters we find ourselves longing for the traditional meal without the trimmings. Wheat allergies cut out on a lot of things such as gravy, dressing, and pie. You may think that there is no way you can even have dinner let alone cook to satisfy everyone's needs. Since the discovery of my son's own allergy to wheat, I have discovered that those are all myth and with a little playing around you can still make the things you love and in some cases a little less fussier.

Such is the case with gravy. After many trials I have discovered that rice flour is a perfect substitute for the flour in gravy. You have to be sure to season as desired and salt accordingly, but that is about it. If you stir it continuously, you can't go wrong. It only takes approximately three to four tablespoons per small skillet. As you get comfortable making this you can learn to proportion better. I often use this in other dishes. If you put the left over gravy in a crock-pot with vegetables it adds a wonderful texture to the meal. After you cook a pound of ground meat of you choice add milk and then add two to three spoonfuls of rice flour to it, stir it until it boils and thickens, you will have a perfect meat gravy for mashed potatoes. It is easy to learn to do and on Thanksgiving you just may find that this gravy is healthier, delicious, and will satisfy everyone.

Every year I poor my heart into a homemade dressing for the turkey. The first step to a wheat free dressing is to make cornbread. I use the traditional method except I replace the flour with rice flour. The only problem rice flour tends to have is that it does not fluff as well. You may use soy flour for a cake like cornbread but for the stuffing I prefer to use rice flour. After the cornbread is made let it set while you boil two stalks of finely chopped celery, one finely chopped small onion, and your favorite seasoning in two to three cups of turkey broth. In a large bowl, mix crumbled up cornbread, one cup of dried minced onions, and the warm broth together. Place mixture in a small baking dish and bake in oven for fifteen minutes. You may have you own variation on the broth or want to throw in other ingredients. What you have in your dressing is up to you. The cornbread is just the beginning and with rice or soy flour everyone can enjoy the end.

Now what about the pumpkin pie? Thanksgiving would not be right with out pie no matter what type it is. Finding a piecrust without wheat is nearly impossible. At a large health food store you may find one already packaged, however many of us do not have that option. I make my own crust. I replace regular flour with rice flour. You can treat it just like any other crust. The end result is somewhat like a graham cracker crust in texture, but with the appropriate measurements, according to your recipe, you will find the taste in wonderful with the delicious filling of your choice. Soy flour can also prove to make a delicious bread like crust that will support you favorite filling it really depends on what you like in a crust. Try them mixed together half rice and half soy. It' s all up to you and you taste buds.

Thanksgiving dinner is not an impossible meal. You can find that by simply replacing rice or soy flour in place of regular flour your meals may still turn out well. This philosophy can be attempted and applied to many of your favorite meals. I do and I am still learning, but food allergies can be harmful to an individual internally and externally. So give these ideas a try and discover your own. Don't feel helpless when it come to cooking for everyone it can be done. So enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving