Dairy-Free Cooking: Thanksgiving Edition

Since I’m not eating dairy this Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking about how to make dairy-free versions of some of my favorite dishes. I’m glad the holiday is about eating turkey and not, say, cheese fondue, because it’s actually pretty easy to make dairy-free versions of popular dishes.

Turkey: Most turkeys that you buy from the store should be dairy-free, but you should check to make sure that they are not, for instance, injected with butter by either the manufacturer or your Thanksgiving host. Despite the name, most Butterball turkeys are safe. Any kosher turkey will be safe. As always, if in doubt, it’s a good practice to read the label.

Dairy Free Cooking: Mashed Potatoes

If there’s one thing my Irish Catholic upbringing and my husband’s Jewish upbringing have in common, it’s potatoes. (Okay, two. Potatoes and guilt). So when I started eliminating dairy from my diet, one of my first cravings was mashed potatoes. I love them so much that I once cried at Thanksgiving when the relative in charge of the potatoes made them a way I didn’t like!

Nothing can quite replicate the fluffy, buttery taste and texture of potatoes made with real milk and butter. So the best option is to blast them with so much flavor that you won’t notice the absence of real butter.

Surviving the Dairy Elimination Diet

While I was pregnant, I enjoyed casually reading everything on the Internet about babies and so of course I came across articles and blogs that mentioned the Elimination Diet. At the time, I assumed it was something I would never have to deal with and if it came to that, I would definitely just formula feed.

A few months later, I had an adorable baby girl who ate constantly without gaining much weight and hardly slept for more than a few minutes at a time. After extensive googling, I decided the problem was most likely silent reflux and convinced the pediatrician to give me a prescription after a bout of hysterical crying in her office. Me crying, not the baby, of course.