1st Vegan Gluten-free Thanksgiving

Yesterday, I enjoyed my first

Vegan Gluten-free Thanksgiving Feast! 

And it was delicious.

My menu consisted of the following:

Baked Sweet Potato

Vegan Gluten-free Stuffing (which I made! See picture to the left.)

Vegan Gluten-free Gravy (which I made!)

Salad (lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli) w/ lemon juice & fresh ground pepper

Steamed Broccoli

Baked Apples w/Roasted Pecans

Did I miss the Turkey? Actually, no! I thought it would be the hardest part of the day. It sure smelled great, but with all the yummy stuff on my plate, I didn't miss it at all. This was the first real test of my Vegan diet. Since I don't buy meat anymore, I don't have it in the house. But even though the turkey sure smelled great, I wasn't even tempted to have some.  

Some have asked, why not just "cheat" a little on a special day like Thanksgiving? Because, if I make excuses one day and cheat, that can begin a pattern of cheating. The goal of eating Vegan and gluten-free is to reduce my pain level. If I start cheating, that just hinders me from reaching my goal. 

Will the Vegan Gluten-free diet really lower my pain? It's a wait and see. I've been on the diet for about 15 weeks. I feel better overall, but my pain level remains high. I figure I was on pain medications for 9.5 years, I should give this diet longer than 15 weeks.

So, my first Vegan Gluten-free

Thanksgiving was delicious!

And the fellowship and laughter

with friends made the day EXTRA special!

Creating a positive day isn't about the food—Vegan, Gluten-free or Turkey and all the trimmings—it's about spending time with those who are special to you.