One of the struggles with being on a whole-food diet during the holidays is when you spend time with friends and loved ones. You might want to have family over for Thanksgiving or other events around this time of year, but you also want to cook foods your own family can eat for Whole30 or another version of this type of diet. While it does take some extra planning, it is possible to cook a meal that everyone is happy with.
Start With Dishes They Would Eat Anyway
There are some dishes for Thanksgiving that your non-whole food diet friends and family would be eating whether they were on this diet or not. Make a list of those food items and make sure to include them on the list. Your family will be familiar with these foods, so it will feel just like any other Thanksgiving dinner to them. This of course begins with the main course of turkey, as well as ham or chicken if your family likes serving that instead. Some of the vegetable side dishes are also not changed, such as if your family has a tradition of serving butternut squash salad or sautéed Brussels sprouts.
Do Different Variations of Classic Thanksgiving Dishes
The next thing you can do when you are cooking a Thanksgiving meal for your family is to think of simple variations of the dishes your family will eat. There are quite a few different variations that will keep them happy and will also be within the whole foods diet for you.
One example is to make cauliflower rice stuffing instead of regular bread stuffing. You will start by making cauliflower rice by using a head of cauliflower that is put into the food processor. You mix in a lot of the same seasonings and vegetables that are in traditional stuffing so that it has the same flavor, such as onion, celery, sage, basil, clove, salt and pepper, and some poultry seasoning. This rice stuffing is easy to make and the final result looks just like regular stuffing. Most people won’t notice a huge difference, and even if they do, they still like the taste of it so the regular stuffing isn’t missed all that much.
You can also make your own version of pumpkin pie for dessert. Instead of a regular crust, you will use chopped raw nuts along with dates and some cinnamon. The pumpkin pie filling is very similar to regular pumpkin pie, but with a few minor changes. You are going to use homemade pumpkin puree, along with honey, eggs, and coconut milk. You can also add in any spices you like.
Cook Some of Their Favorite Foods
If you are planning a big holiday feast, also have a couple of dishes that your guests want but aren’t whole-food friendly. You can skip these, but let them have their favorites. For example, bake some rolls and offer them with butter, and make some real mashed potatoes.
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