On the last Thursday of November, every family in the USA celebrates Thanksgiving. We adopted this tradition when we moved here in 2012, and besides Christmas, this is my favorite holiday. I love this tradition because it reminds us of how blessed we are.
Like most American families, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving by having a special dinner. However, because of food allergies, we have to be very careful. My daughter is allergic to eggs, milk, tree nuts.
We created a menu ahead of time so that we can provide allergy-safe versions of commonly served sides and have asked others to save food labels so that I can check the ingredients.
This year I will be making a few special allergy-safe sides for my daughter to enjoy, besides the turkey.
Vegan Spinach Puffs
This puffy spinach appetizer is perfect for your picky eaters!
Ingredients
2 cups of Daiya cheese
2 cups of unsweetened coconut or almond milk
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of salt
1 puff pastry (2 sheets, read the label to make sure it is vegan)
1 small onion, chopped
1 small sweet red pepper, chopped
Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Lightly oil 1 standard-size muffin tin (you will need 1 tin of 12 muffin cups).
- Drain the spinach and squeeze it to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Place the spinach, cheese, milk, onion, red pepper, cilantro, lemon juice, garlic, and salt into a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 4 strips of equal length, and then cut each strip into thirds, making 12 squares. Place a square into the bottom of each muffin cup, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides, leaving the corners pointing up. Put about 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture into each puff pastry square. Fold pastry over filling, pressing corners together to meet in the center.
- Brush the top of each puff with a bit of olive oil.
- Bake until the puffs are lightly browned and puffy, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow them to cool before removing them from the pan.
- Enjoy!
Vegan Pumpkin Mac ‘n Cheese
This mac and cheese is full of flavor and veggies. You will need one large sauce pan and one large pot.
Ingredients
1/4 cup of vegetable broth
1 small red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups of Daiya cheese (cheddar)
1 teaspoon of salt
16 oz pumpkin puree (you can use the one from the can or make your own)
1 can of coconut milk
Instructions
- Sautée the small diced onion, vegetable broth, and garlic in a large pan until translucent and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
- While you sautée the onion, bring water to a boil in a separate pot and cook the pasta.
- Add the coconut milk, Daiya cheese, and pumpkin puree to the pan and stir until combined and the cheese has melted into the sauce. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce heat up for 5 more minutes.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the cheese-pumpkin pasta sauce. Toss to combine.
- Enjoy!
Raising a child with food allergies has shown me how kind and generous people can be. I’m so thankful. Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
Thanks for sharing these! They sound so good.
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