Whether it be vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten-free, Kosher, low-sodium or anything else you can think of, it likely applies to someone in my family. When we come together for any holiday, let alone Thanksgiving, there are few things that tend to happen.
1. There are many foods that aren't normally associated with Thanksgiving, which are present at the Thanksgiving meal.
Because of all the various dietary needs, we never have the "conventional" Thanksgiving dinner. There are many dishes that appear which aren't "traditional" Thanksgiving dishes.
2. There is a ton of food. No one is going hungry at this meal.
There is such an abundance of food in order to suit everyone's needs. Leftovers for days.
3. Relatives always have a lot of questions about your diet.
You can always expect questions on what you do eat and what you don't eat. And as expected, people make some assumptions about your diet that are drastically wrong.
4. There are unspoken rules about who can take from and finish specific dishes.
There are invisible labels on certain dishes and platters that say "made for Uncle Steve" or "don't touch unless you are vegetarian." Invisible as they are, everyone knows these labels are there, somewhere on the dish.
5. There's always one dish that is especially popular, which means less of it actually goes to the person it was intended for.
6. Actually, the turkey ends up being the least popular of all the dishes there. It's almost unnecessary.
People might like turkey, but it doesn't really stand a chance against the mac and cheese.
7. All boxes, wrappers and food labels are kept so that the ingredients
can be inspected by the person it was meant to feed.
People always need to double check that they are being served the right thing.
8. Despite all the dietary restrictions, the pickiest of all eaters and the people who are the hardest to feed are the kids who are below the age of five.
As hard as it might be to feed the gluten-free, Kosher or vegan people, we all know that it's way harder to feed these little tiny people.
9. There's always that awkward situation where a person doesn't like the food that was made specifically for them.
10. Desserts are a whole other story.
When it comes to cake, the gluten-free fend for themselves. No one can be expected to make a sacrifice that big.
11. In the end, it's all good because it cuts the turkeys a break from their Thanksgiving duties.
There are many benefits to having a family that has different food requirements. The first is there will be tons of options, especially for those among us who don't have any dietary restrictions. The abundance of options will leave people feeling very full and make for a very satisfying meal. And everyone will be taking home tons of leftovers, which is what the holidays are all about anyway, right?
