What can you eat with a strict diet on Thanksgiving?

Sorry I can’t eat dairy, citrus, fatty meats, tomatoes, and onions

Everyone knows the most important part of Thanksgiving is the food, no matter how much we try to pretend it’s the family time, or something that sounds less food-obsessed.

But what happens when you have a laundry list a page long of foods you can’t eat? “I can’t eat that” becomes your catchphrase and Thanksgiving becomes…interesting.

Above is the list of things I can’t eat. And to be honest, I probably forgot a few. I do still eat a few things on the list because let’s face it, who could possibly live without chocolate?

But there are still a lot of things which remain 100% off limits. The big question is, can I actually have a Thanksgiving meal?

Turkey, stuffing, and gravy

We’re starting off on the right foot here. Turkey, as long as no one goes wild and fries is, is actually a perfectly acceptable item for my stomach. The stuffing and gravy on the other hand, aren’t quite so me-friendly. Typical stuffing and gravy recipes have lots of onions and butter, both things my fussy stomach will not appreciate.

Current Thanksgiving plate: Turkey.

Cranberry sauce

Another good sign! As long as it’s basic cranberry sauce, with nothing fancy like orange peel added, my stomach is pretty cool with it.

I think. I haven’t actually tested it out yet.

Current Thanksgiving Plate: Turkey, cranberry sauce.

Yams and mashed potatoes

This is where is gets sticky. Mashed potatoes involve a lot of milk and butter, so they’re out. Yams themselves aren’t out, but the tradition in my family is to prepare them with lots and lots of marshmallows, so on Thanksgiving, they’re out too.

Current Thanksgiving plate: Turkey, cranberry sauce.

Green beans

Just like the yams, if you put as much butter on the green beans as people normally do (i.e. as much butter as there is vegetable), they’re a no go.

Current Thanksgiving plate: Turkey, cranberry sauce.

Pumpkin and pecan pie

PIE. Even if you’re a cake person, you have to admit pie is pretty nice too. While pecan pie is out of the question thanks to the sugar, I can probably swing pumpkin pie for one day. However, the whipped cream on top  has to be tossed to the curb.

Current Thanksgiving plate: Turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie (!!!!!)

The giant feast

Here’s the biggest catch: I cannot eat large meals. No matter how much of the Thanksgiving feast my stomach is actually OK with, it’s not going to be happy with an amount that’s bigger than a large snack in one go.

Final Thanksgiving plate: A small one, with turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie

While it might seem like a sad Thanksgiving feast, being able to somewhat deal with major stomach problems is definitely something to be thankful for. And after all, turkey and pumpkin pie are the most important parts of a Thanksgiving meal, right?

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Syracuse University