The menu is usually pretty standard.  Turkey, dressing, and all the fixings.  However this is our Thanksgiving on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).  So, the menu calls for more attention to ensure that the foods are legal and follow the diet protocol as well as are delicious and Thanksgiving-worthy.

After much discussion as a family we have finalized our menu for that special day.  It is as follows:

Turkey
Dressing (I am using the recipe from Lucy’s SCD Cookbook.)
Gravy (I am boiling the neck in water and thickening the broth with onion.)
Steamed Carrots with butter
Green Beans with legal bacon
Roasted Squash and Zucchini
Mashed Cauliflower with butter and parsley
Homemade Cranberry Sauce (I am torn between two different recipes.  One uses orange and the other grape juice.)
Biscuits (I am using the drop biscuit recipe from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook substituting honey for agave nectar.)

Pecan Praline Shortbread (Also from the above cookbook.  Are they cookies? Candy?  Who cares?  They are delicious and close to  pecan pie.)
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Incredible Icing (These cupcakes are in Gluten-Free Cupcakes again with the same substitutions as above.)
Apple Pie (I am still working on this recipe.)

We are going to have a wonderful feast in spite of our dietary restrictions.  I cannot wait!  It just goes to show that you are not deprived while on SCD.  You might not get to eat whatever you want, but with a little planning and creativity, you can still eat like a king.

I wanted to make my menu available in case some of you were struggling with what to prepare.  A Thanksgiving dinner that is completely gluten-free, legal on either SCD or GAPS diet, and easy on your tummy.  It is full of fresh vegetables and fruit.  It relies on almond flour for the baked goods.

The best place to order blanched almond flour is Honeyville Grain. Sign up on their email list and they send you coupon codes from 10% to occasionally a 15% discount.  These codes combined with their low shipping equal a good price per pound.

As thankful as I am to have my menu selected, I was even more grateful for the way my older children enthusiastically volunteered to be in charge of several dishes.  My husband is heading up the preparation of the turkey.  That means that mom won’t be in the kitchen by herself for a couple of days.  Yeah!!  I will have to add this to my growing long list of blessings this year.

The Texas Homesteader Wheat-Free Cookbook is in print.

Hoping to bring the joy of food into the lives of those who cannot eat wheat, I decided to write the Texas Homesteader Wheat-Free Cookbook.  I know what it is like to receive the diagnosis of a food allergy.  It is a sad moment.  I have said it before, but you truly do go through a grieving process.  You begin thinking about all the bread, cookies, and cakes that you will no longer be able to eat.  You stress over meals, especially when you are away from home.  The holidays with all the different traditional foods like dressing, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie seem completely off-limits.

Now you can look forward to special occasions and holidays again.  It has been a labor of love.  I have spent so much time converting my family recipes into ones that my family could still eat after being diagnosed with a wheat allergy.  I grew so tired of wasting money at the supermarket buying expensive name-brand mixes and products only to find out that they were inedible.  The last time we purchased a chocolate cake mix and made it, I could not finish it.  When I cannot finish a piece of chocolate cake, then you can rest assured there is something majorly wrong with it.

At that moment, my husband really encouraged me to write my own cookbook.  He said, “People like us (with food allergies) need to know that they are not deprived.”  You can still enjoy waffles, pancakes, and biscuits for breakfast.  You can still have dinner rolls and bread.  You can still enjoy cakes, pies, brownies, and cookies.  With my combination of blanched almond flour and sorghum flour, you can enjoy the foods you thought you would never eat again.

The Texas Homesteader Wheat-Free Cookbook not only includes delicious and easy to make recipes, but it includes holiday menu ideas, resources, links, and my favorite gluten-free items.  Months ago when I announced that I was working on a cookbook in “Writing an E-Cookbook,” I explained why I did not call it a gluten-free cookbook.

Most of my recipes are gluten-free.  Just a few include oats, which is a controversial grain for anyone with Celiac disease.  There are gluten-free oats available to purchase.  I do not want to argue either side; however, you know what you can tolerate.  If you cannot eat oats, then there are only a few recipes in the entire book to avoid.  If you can, then enjoy each and every recipe.

As promised, I will be sending my first 10 subscribers their e-cookbook free of charge this coming week.  Thank you for supporting me from the beginning.  For a hard copy or a downloadable e-book, click here or go to my “Fresh from the Farm Store” page.  You can also go directly to my Texas Homesteader’s Storefront on Lulu.

If you do not have a problem with wheat, then please be excited with me.  I would appreciate any support either through a kind word through my e-mail or comments or spreading the word for me.  Word of mouth has tremendous power.