Thanksgiving Dessert For All

Thanksgiving, a day of stuffing our faces. Undoubtedly the number one diet cheat day of the year. However for some it can’t be a cheat day. For those with food allergies and diet restrictions, this time of year can be difficult. Imagine having to skip some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditional sides or saying no to dessert. It’s tough to have food sensitivities in general but around the holidays it can be extra hard. Luckily advances have been made over the past few years in the culinary world that have enabled us to create gluten, dairy and sugar-free recipes that are delicious.

There are tons of great websites out there dedicated to people with food restricted diets or allergies. I pulled three recipes from popular websites below that are great for people with gluten allergies, dairy intolerance and diabetes. I have tried them all and they are delicious.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies

This recipe comes from amyinthekitchen.com

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

frosting

• 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, sugar, canola oil, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
4. Pour 1/3 of the dry mixture at a time into the wet ingredients making sure to fully combine before adding more.
5. Use a small cookie scoop to place mounds of the dough onto the parchment paper.
6. Flatten out the mounds by smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. (The shape they are going into the oven is pretty much the shape they will be when they are done)
7. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven, transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool before glazing.
9. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and yogurt until smooth. (I like to make my frosting thicker so I use less yogurt)
10. Frost each cookie and enjoy!

Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Pie

This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com

• 1 – 9 inch pie crust
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice
• 6 packets of granulated artificial sweetener ( I recommend Truvia)
• 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
• 1 cup evaporated milkPreheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. In a medium bowl whisk together egg, sugar substitute, and pumpkin pie spice until well blended. Add pumpkin and milk to egg mixture, and stir until smooth. Pour mixture into pie shell.
2. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until set in center.

Dairy free pumpkin mousse

This recipe comes from laurenkellynutrition.com