Thanksgiving while Gluten Free?

Every year it is always a challenge to be able to sit down to a nice Thanksgiving meal with family and or friends and remain gluten free…at least to remain gluten free and not cause such a big deal about it.  It is pretty much the only Holiday that is solely centered around the dinner…not my favorite.  Even when I was younger and my family would go visit family it was always somewhat challenging to bring gluten free foods that I could eat…yet had to be separated so as not to cross contaminate anything (talk about feeling high maintenance).  So usually I would just microwave a hot dog or eat anything that I could read what ingredients were put into it before we sat down to eat.  When I met my husband and I went over to his place for Thanksgiving dinner I know I must of looked pretty rude when I had to turn down all their dishes they had put time and effort into, even when I explained that I could not eat gluten.  And of course this only encourages more questions about what is gluten, why can’t I eat it, why isn’t there a pill I can take so I can eat it, what happens if I eat it, etc.   Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind answering all these questions it’s more of the blank stares of those who still don’t understand why I’m not trying their dish and my plate has a hot dog or maybe some ham along with mash potatoes…and that’s it.

So this year my husband and I were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner with some of the people he works for.  I ended up making a big salad and I ate some of the mash potatoes and then some of the salad I brought dressed with Heinz “Honey Mustard” sauce that is gluten free.  Thankfully everyone was very understanding why I couldn’t eat almost all the foods plus desserts (I know I could have brought a gluten free pie…but I was lazy ).  I wonder what other Celiac’s do for their Thanksgiving dinners when they are invited to family/friends?