Celebrating Thanksgiving on The Body Ecology Diet
Tara Carpenter, NC.
Specialized in therapeutic nutrition for people regaining natural gut microbiome after yeast, bacterial, viral infections and people healing with Body Ecology Diet.
Originally published on November 14, 2018.
Celebrating Thanksgiving on a restrictive diet is challenging and The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) is no different. My experience eating “this way to heal” lasted 3 consecutive years, and 3 Thanksgivings. Each one further tightened my disciplinary muscle to say no, thank you to familiar foods like jello with custard sauce that my grandmother made or the sweet potato casserole topped with golden roasted marshmallows or the bread stuffing. All needed reconsidering if I were to remain aligned with stage 1 foods.
Eat half, walk double, laugh triple, and love without measure ~ Tibetan proverb.
Our first Thanksgiving on B.E.D. was only two months into the diet and by far my hardest because both my kids were eating this way and I felt compelled to help them have as normal a holiday as possible while celebrating with my family down south. What I should have done is practice the diet long enough to feel grounded before bringing the boys on board; this is what Donna Gates (founder of B.E.D.) suggested I do when I met her for a personalized consultation. Yet, there I was new to the diet and anticipating a road trip for our first holiday on a major healing diet, worrying my boys would be sidetracked and want sugar, etc. on the table.
Thanksgiving is a holiday centered around food and family.
Thankfully the holiday was a success with love and fun to keep the day moving without much focus on the meal itself. My ability to relax on the day is primarily owed to sitting down weeks in advance to plan our menu and ways we would contribute to the shared meal so that others could also enjoy the dishes of food that we brought. My hometown resides a few minutes from Plimoth Plantation where the 1st Thanksgiving was had in 1621 between the pilgrims and Wampanoag Native American tribe and where my sisters and mother continue to live. My brothers come in from nearby cities and we play a game of Gobble Bowl with neighbors outside before coming in to light candles and eat together.
My son’s plate (far corner) does not appear so different then others minus a bread roll; he has grain-free stuffing, gingery cranberry sauce, and mashed cauliflower.
Practice makes perfect and you will truly be tested with every holiday on this diet, whether Halloween, Easter, or Christmas. As if figuring out how to eat a full day’s worth of meals with foods allowed on the diet is not hard enough! I am grateful for my kids to inspire me to help them feel accepted on holidays with customs and foods made with ingredients that we could eat and heal with. You will get creative! You will get in kitchen! You will do this because you want to feel better in your body! The trick is to find your incentive, keep your eyes on the goal, and take one step at a time ….
Eyes on the Prize
Celebrating Thanksgiving on The Body Ecology Diet
The menu ideas below assume you eat turkey as your main dish. If you are vegetarian, you will want to improvise. Most of what is here is fine for stage 1 of Body Ecology Diet, unless marked with an (*).
Beverages
- Pellegrino with splash of unsweetened cranberry concentrate, stevia, slice of lime, and young coconut kefir
- Pure water
- Tea without citric acid (esp. pau d’arco, ujido matcha, ginger, echinacea, kukicha, raspberry leaf)
- InnergyBiotic
Appetizers
- Artichoke dip with baby carrots and snow peas
- Guacamole with cucumber spears and jicama chunks
- Meatballs served with toothpicks and pesto
- Olives (rinse to remove citric acid)
- Deviled eggs
Main Meal
- Turkey, free-range and hormone-free (brine for great flavor)
- Carrot-ginger soup
- Sauteed green beans with shiitakes ‘n garlic
- Tossed salad with herb vinaigrette
- Grain-free stuffing
- Mashed cauliflower
Condiments
- Gingery cranberry sauce
- Cultured butter
- Starch-free gravy (or onion gravy*)
- Unsalted cultured vegetables
Dessert
- Coconut “pudding”
- Lemon pudding or pie
- Spiced chocolate flourless torte*
- Whipped cream* (dairy or non-dairy)
- Coconut roll-out cookies*
- Cinnamon kisses
*Foods marked with (*) best used sparingly during stage 1 of B.E.D.
I want to say that though this is a BIG day of food, do your best to adhere to B.E.D. principles. Maybe this year you are mindful on how high you fill your plate or you practice food combining. No fun to get a tummy ache on such a special day so if you get bloated, try a spoon of cultured vegetable “juice” or Assist digestive enzymes to give cheers for all you do have.
Save those bones to make stock!
How My Family Uses Meat Stock
Benjamin’s Breakfast on B.E.D.
Tara Carpenter, NC.
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May all bellies be happy!
