Episode 71: Gluten-Free Thanksgiving 2025

It's turkey time! Or, in Jules' case - tofu time??? It's time to talk about Thanksgiving. One of the most beloved holidays, and one of the most feared by people who are gluten-free. But trust us, you can easily make your holiday favorites safe for yourself and others avoiding gluten this Thanksgiving. And don't forget to purchase Jules' Thanksgiving e-book so you can make all these great recipes!

RESOURCES

gfJules Crash Course for Gluten-Free Thanksgiving

gfJules Thanksgiving e-book

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Transcript

Erica [00:00:13]:
Hey, I'm Erica.

Jules [00:00:14]:
And I'm Jules. Most people have at least one thing that they can't or won't eat.

Erica [00:00:19]:
Yeah, we're definitely like that.

Jules [00:00:21]:
We started this podcast to talk about the gluten free food industry.

Erica [00:00:25]:
Like new products and some of the.

Jules [00:00:27]:
Stories behind your favorite brands and living life with a specialty diet and also some important healthcare topics.

Erica [00:00:34]:
Since we're basically both broken inside.

Jules [00:00:36]:
You had me at Eat.

Erica [00:00:43]:
Hello and welcome to another episode of You Had Me at Eat. I'm Erica.

Jules [00:00:47]:
And I'm Jules.

Erica [00:00:49]:
And we have returned from the dead. I mean, I'm still dead, but I've returned. I have risen. Hi. It's been a long time. I'm so sorry. I've had eight to 12 mental breakdowns between Expo West and now, which is November, which is terrifying. Usually we take a little break around August, September, because that's usually when I plant mental breakdown.

Erica [00:01:13]:
But this just kept coming. So we're sorry, but at the same time we're not because we believe in self care and self preservation and always putting yourself first, which is what you should be doing. Dear listeners, so sorry, not sorry. We have missed you though.

Jules [00:01:33]:
Yeah. To be fair, like, it was pretty hard to keep track of where Erica was. I felt like I was doing a map of like, you know, what was that? What was that thing that. Where's Waldo? Where's the where Waldo? Carmen of San Diego. Yeah, I felt like I was doing that with Erica's travel life in the last several months. I mean, I don't know how you kept track of what time zone you were on.

Erica [00:01:53]:
Well, I'm in a hotel right now.

Jules [00:01:55]:
I can see that.

Erica [00:01:56]:
I think that, that really, I mean, part of it.

Jules [00:01:59]:
Yeah.

Erica [00:02:00]:
You know, I was traveling up to once a week. We traveled a lot right after Expo west. Just doing go, go, go, go, go. I was home for a couple months during the summer and I was mentally unwell. And Jules also had a bunch of things going on. So it wasn't just my mental illness. It was also. Jules is also gone.

Erica [00:02:25]:
And then, you know, this, this fall, literally once a week, so sometimes twice a week. And I actually ended up having to cancel a trip because I was like mentally unwell to go and I am here. I don't know if I'm mentally fit yet.

Jules [00:02:43]:
But you also got Covid and like.

Erica [00:02:47]:
I mean, yes, I got Covid twice. So this year has been a real, real fun time. I mean, I feel like we could do like an hour long, just like update of going through the months and being like here's what bullshit happened here.

Jules [00:03:02]:
I was gonna say, I think the technical term for this has been shit show.

Erica [00:03:05]:
Yeah. In May, I was in Chicago doing my once a week travel. I fell. I had a really bad fall. I really hurt myself. And then I also got Covid and that was just like not good. And then that some things in the summer and then I just got Covid again in October and I'm like, wow, twice in a year is so not good for your immune system. Yeah.

Erica [00:03:35]:
And I kept putting off my Covid shots. I'm like, oh, wait, I have to wait like a couple months after Covid so I don't get it. Again with the shot. I just like need to like peak immune system. Right. So I kept waiting. I kept waiting and I got Covid again. So get your Covid shot.

Erica [00:03:54]:
The lesson you bad, but it also wasn't good. And I'm pretty sure the long term damage enough that you can get from COVID is not really worth it. So don't skip your shots. I have a flu shot scheduled for actually tomorrow in Phoenix. So I fly home today and just trying to get my immune system back on board from being exposed to all these germs. Because at home I'm like a, like a little snail. Like I don't really have exposure to a lot of people's germs and now I'm just like, germs, germs, germs, germs, germs. And my body is just like not, not feeling it.

Erica [00:04:32]:
So.

Jules [00:04:32]:
Yeah. Well, we're back and we're so happy to see you again.

Erica [00:04:36]:
We're back, we're back. And can we, can we say this? Yeah, but I'm, I'm just gonna say it. I'm just gonna say it.

Jules [00:04:43]:
Lay on us.

Erica [00:04:45]:
While we were gone and we have our annual voting because we were still humans, we were still promoting the podcast, doing stuff, and I was in fact in recording some podcast episodes, which is probably what you heard last week about Alpha Gal, which is so good. And I have a couple of these other minisodes. But while we were gone, we promoted us for some more gluten free awards and we are again number one. So.

Jules [00:05:14]:
Yay.

Erica [00:05:15]:
Thank you all.

Jules [00:05:15]:
Yay. Thank you.

Erica [00:05:16]:
It's up to you guys to vote and we really appreciate it.

Jules [00:05:19]:
Yes. Thank you all so much for voting. That incentivizes us to want to rejoin the world and come back to you. So thank you.

Erica [00:05:28]:
I mean, it was always on our game plan. It was just really, did I have enough capacity? And we're recording this at seven in the morning in California time and I have to drive two hours to a store demo today. So, yes, that's how much I care about you guys. I even packed my microphone. That's how much I knew. I was like, I'm going to find time to record. So here we are. And what's terrifying is today's Sunday, November 23rd.

Erica [00:05:57]:
What's this week, Jules?

Jules [00:05:59]:
Thanksgiving.

Erica [00:06:01]:
How did that happen?

Jules [00:06:02]:
I know.

Erica [00:06:03]:
I feel like January was like eight months long and then the rest of the year was just like.

Jules [00:06:11]:
You know, so quick. It feels like it's so quick. But also.

Erica [00:06:13]:
Not also. Every day is a new hellscape.

Jules [00:06:17]:
It's so true.

Erica [00:06:20]:
Every day is so fun.

Jules [00:06:22]:
Yeah. Every day is just a new, like, what? What?

Erica [00:06:28]:
Every day is like, oh, we don't have another. Oh, we lost the CDC and the nih. Oh, no, no, that's really cool. So, yeah.

Jules [00:06:36]:
Didn't think that could happen, but it just did.

Erica [00:06:39]:
But it happened. And here we are. And we're still here. So I'll be continuing to advocate for public health. Why we no longer have public health agencies that have not been compromised. But besides that, let's talk about Thanksgiving, which is so fun because I cannot wait for my family to say some crazy shit from maybe some, I don't know, RFK Jr. Things. Who knows?

Jules [00:07:04]:
Brainworm things. That's the best part about Thanksgiving is that all these people that you don't see very often come together in the same room and they say crazy stuff and then you just go, oh, that's why I drink. Yeah.

Erica [00:07:16]:
And you're like, oh, can you pass.

Jules [00:07:18]:
The bottle of wine, Thanksgiving?

Erica [00:07:19]:
Yeah.

Jules [00:07:21]:
Love that.

Erica [00:07:21]:
All my friends that are sober, like, just like, do not drink at all. I'm just like, how are you surviving Thanksgiving? Like, it's horrible. And I'm like, I know.

Jules [00:07:31]:
Yeah. It's like, maybe I shouldn't drink wine during Thanksgiving because it lowers my ability to tolerate like, crazy. But you know what? On the other hand, it makes me think I can get through it. So.

Erica [00:07:44]:
Yeah. And that's all we can do. I for one, don't have anything planned because I have been traveling. So I. I was just gonna ask you what.

Jules [00:07:52]:
What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

Erica [00:07:54]:
Nothing. Everything. Nothing. I bought like a month ago. I signed up for some pre made stuff at Intentional Foods, which is at Top 9 Free Cafe. And I got some mashed potatoes, some kale salad, some vegetables, like with their vegan ranch, which is really good. And Matt's like, I don't think we should do anything. So we should just stay home and eat.

Erica [00:08:18]:
I'm like, great, but that still means I have to cook. So I'm picking up that stuff and I feel like I'm gonna maybe make one of those, like, Cornish game hens, like the tiny little things and we'll see. I don't even know. I don't know if I'm going anywhere. I don't even know if I have the mental capacity to go somewhere. But I did pick up a couple bottles of wine from Napa, so at least I'll have that.

Jules [00:08:42]:
Sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving, actually.

Erica [00:08:45]:
Yeah, it's. Which is a stark difference on how I celebrate Thanksgiving and how Jewel celebrates Thanksgiving, which is where she makes 100 things and, like, hosts a million people, which. Are you traveling? Are you staying home? What are you doing?

Jules [00:09:02]:
No, we're staying. We're staying. We're hosting. And the RSVP list just keeps growing. So we've kind of fully recovered after Covid, apparently.

Erica [00:09:15]:
So. I don't know. It's gonna.

Jules [00:09:18]:
It sounds like it's gonna be over 20 again this year.

Erica [00:09:22]:
Start making cuts.

Jules [00:09:24]:
Sorry. I know you were invited, but you're uninvited. Yeah, yeah, no, that's fine. It's good. We like having a full house. It's just. It gets. It gets interesting because unfortunately, it doesn't matter.

Jules [00:09:40]:
People. People are always surprised when they hear this from me, but unfortunately, even in my house with my extended, you know, married family, you know, there's two of everything. Like, they just don't understand that, you know, if there's a gluten free stuffing or gluten free rolls or gluten free this casserole, whatever, they're still gonna bring theirs, you know, because they. They never even try mine. It's not that they tried mine. They didn't like it. Like, they're just gonna bring theirs anyway. Like, so it just gets to be that the hard part gets to be like, how do you have enough room to set them all out? Because there's the gluten free stuffing and the regular stuffing, the mashed potatoes with dairy, and the mashed potatoes without dairy.

Jules [00:10:28]:
There's the regular rolls, the gluten free rolls. There's the pumpkin pie that's gluten free, dairy free, and there's a pumpkin pie that's full octane dairy and has gluten in the crust. You know, and if you ever considered it's really annoying to me, this is.

Erica [00:10:44]:
What I would do because I no longer care about anyone. Yeah. Have you ever considered being like, hey, take it or leave it. You're going to come here, you're going to eat my food. No one's going to bring anything. You bring anything in my house, I throw it out on the patio.

Jules [00:11:00]:
Throw it out on the patio. Well, here's the thing. They're my, they're my in laws. So, you know, that's. If it was my family, I think I would have more a greater purview above saying that to people and being like, dude. But it's the people that I married and like that extended family, and they just don't get it. Like, and, and, and, and I think, you know, it's just. They're going to do what they do, right? So I just keep doing what I do, and that's just the way it is.

Erica [00:11:36]:
Good for you. Because Jules has the heart of just like, I don't even know what's the sweetest, nicest, like, puppy you can even imagine. Those day old puppies were just like, oh, my gosh. Just the sweetest, nicest, caring human being. And I don't know how she met me, honestly, because it's like, I just like, put it on the patio, let the raccoons eat it, because it's not coming into my house.

Jules [00:12:06]:
You know those like, gluten free. I have them on my website because my dear friend Kim and Mike, they, they have this words with boards company.

Erica [00:12:14]:
Oh, my God, I love words with boards. Yeah.

Jules [00:12:16]:
Right. And so they do all the glute, the cutting boards, and all these things they carve out gluten free on all this. I love them. And they have those little wooden tags that say gluten free. And so I have a pack of those and I just shove one of those and all of the things on my Thanksgiving sideboard so that everyone knows. And you know, some people are a little more, you know, adventurous than others, and they'll try mine, but some people won't. And I'm like, good. More for me.

Erica [00:12:51]:
Do you end up having a lot of leftovers for yourself?

Jules [00:12:56]:
Yeah, it depends on what it is. You know, some of the people, we also have, like, some of my friends come to our Thanksgiving and they all, they all know my food and they love it, and so they'll eat my food as well. And so it depends on how many of my friends come. And then, you know, if my family comes, like, if my dad is here or not and he's not here, then he'll eat my food. And so it just depends, like, I'll. So I Know who's coming, who's not, and who's going to eat my food, who's not going to eat my food, and that I sort of base how much I'm making on that. But that's why I created that one recipe that I have, the Thanksgiving leftover quiche, and I use the stuffing. Yeah, it's so fun.

Jules [00:13:40]:
There's been a couple magazines that have republished that recipe with my permission, obviously, because it's like a creative recipe for using your leftover stuffing to. As the. The crust of a quiche, and then you throw whatever else you want. I love quiche because it's. Honestly, it's a foundational recipe that you put anything you want to in there. So you could put turkey in it if you wanted to, you could put the vegetables in it if you wanted to. Anything. It's just the egg holds it together.

Jules [00:14:07]:
And you can use vegan egg subs, too. But it. The stuffing is the crust. You sort of mash it in there and form the crust and then put all your Thanksgiving leftovers into the inside of the quiche. So if I do happen to have a lot of the stuffing leftover, then I'll just end up using that as the quiche, and that's great. But if I. If I'm not like, feeling it that year and I don't really want to have a lot of stuffing, I'll just make a smaller stuffing and stuffing. So easy to make a lot or a little, because the recipe is, you know, really easy to tailor for a larger, small pan.

Jules [00:14:45]:
And stuffing's actually one of the things I was thinking about doing a live in the next couple of days just to show people how to make that well in advance. It's one of those things that I encourage people to make it the day ahead anyway, just to get it out of the way. But you should really actually think about making it even like today, because you could make it today and then put it in your freezer and then bring it out the day before and make it because you really just take the cubes of bread, which you want to have to be, you know, stale and everything anyway, and cut up all your veggies, all your spices and all that, put it in the pan, don't add your broth to it. But all of the. The part that takes time to make the stuffing is just, you know, cutting up all the little pieces and. And, you know, the vegetables and anything you're going to put into the stuffing and. And put that all in the pan, cover it up and Then just put it in the freezer. Because the only thing you have to do after that is add your broth to it and then bake it.

Jules [00:15:48]:
I mean, that doesn't take any time, you know, except for the bake time. But you're not actively doing anything. So that's one thing you could be doing right now just to get that out of the way. So I was thinking about doing like a live. Just showing people to do that, you know, in advance. Maybe doing that earlier this week. I might do that. But anyway, so you can make a lot or a little of stuffing kind of pre planning.

Jules [00:16:08]:
Knowing how much do I want to have left over, if I want to make a quiche or if I don't, knowing who's going to eat that.

Erica [00:16:14]:
We do like a pot pie with our leftovers, so I always try to have leftovers.

Jules [00:16:18]:
I love pot pie.

Erica [00:16:20]:
Yeah. So we'll see what we do if we even have Thanksgiving leftovers. So again, since I have no idea.

Jules [00:16:27]:
What pie, I prefer it with the crust because I love making the pie crust with it. But you don't have to even make it with a crust. You can make a pot pie without a crust, which is, you know, I.

Erica [00:16:39]:
Do like a shepherd's pie variety where.

Jules [00:16:40]:
It'S like the mashed potatoes on top.

Erica [00:16:42]:
So good. Matt says it's always his favorite part of Thanksgiving.

Jules [00:16:47]:
Yeah.

Erica [00:16:47]:
Is like the two days afterwards where we eat it. Because I made two of them last year because we had so many leftovers.

Jules [00:16:53]:
Yeah.

Erica [00:16:54]:
And he's like, this is the best. I'm like, I know. It is just great.

Jules [00:16:57]:
It's like that savory comfort food that just sort of keeps you going. I love that. Yeah. Yeah.

Erica [00:17:03]:
But we'll see again if we even have Thanksgiving and the Thanksgiving leftovers.

Jules [00:17:07]:
So you're going to Thanksgiving. It's just. What does Thanksgiving look like for you this year?

Erica [00:17:12]:
It's a great way to put it because Thanksgiving can look like however you.

Jules [00:17:16]:
Want to make it. And I've actually gotten a lot of questions this year. I get them every year. But I feel like I've gotten more this year from people who say I'm the only one who eats gluten free. So it's almost like what I'm describing in my Thanksgiving here. But it's a little bit different for me. But I'm the only one. So how do I make only one small thing of this or this or Thanksgiving for one.

Jules [00:17:42]:
Right. So I have a post on my website, the gluten free Thanksgiving post. And also my Thanksgiving ebook that's on my website where I talk about. There's a section on there. How do you do, you know, only one or small Thanksgiving portions of things? And I have a few different ideas on there, which I think are kind of creative for doing just smaller portions of things like that. Because people do find that, you know, if you're sitting in a family like mine, or if you. Or maybe like, going to someone else's Thanksgiving and you're bringing just one or two things and you don't want to make a large portion of something, you know, how do you do that? And one of the things that I suggest is, you know, maybe. Well, first of all, backing up.

Jules [00:18:31]:
I think you need to think about what is the most important thing for you out of Thanksgiving. You know, what's your favorite type of dish? You know, that if you would be really sad if you didn't have it at Thanksgiving, you know, and that's the first priority for you because you want to make sure that's definitely on the Thanksgiving table. Pie. Yeah. Is it pie? Is it bread? Is it mashed potatoes? You know, what is that? And make sure that you have that for your Thanksgiving. What is that for you, Erica?

Erica [00:19:00]:
I mean, I would say it's pie, but honestly, sometimes I have pie, I'm kind of like, that's not that great. When I make my own, like, if I buy pie, if I make my own, like, apple pie from scratch, like, yeah, that's gonna be it. But I don't know. I just for me, like, if I don't have mashed potatoes, I'm very sad. But we're getting those pre made from intentional foods, which they're always so good. So I know that I don't have to care about that. I do have to worry about pie, and I kind of still have to think about what I want to do.

Jules [00:19:37]:
So apple pie is your favorite?

Erica [00:19:38]:
I mean, I really like pumpkin pie, but then I get one piece of pumpkin pie, and I'm like, I'm done. But apple pie I could eat for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner. So I don't know. It just feels like I. I think I'm just gonna have to gauge my happiness levels on how much I really want to do.

Jules [00:19:54]:
Yeah, I see. I could eat apple pie for breakfast. A hundred percent.

Erica [00:19:57]:
Oh, my God. It's my favorite. I love it.

Jules [00:20:01]:
Pumpkin pie, breakfast, lunch, dinner. I can. I could do that. I'm all in.

Erica [00:20:06]:
I.

Jules [00:20:07]:
We.

Erica [00:20:08]:
I don't really know. I just. I've been so disappointed with the pies that I Purchased besides raised, gluten free. And they make a peach pie, which is not very Thanksgiving y. So, like, we don't get it for Thanksgiving, but we eat their apple pies. But I really want to make my own. But again, it just depends on how much time I think I want to put into this. Especially if it's just gonna be us.

Erica [00:20:29]:
Like, I don't know. I don't know.

Jules [00:20:32]:
Yeah. Well, again, an ahead of time tip for the pies. I find when you make your pie crust ahead of time and freeze them and then bring them out, especially like with a pumpkin pie where you only need the bottom layer, it makes an even better pie crust. So if you have time now, like when you get home and just make the pie crust, stick it in the freezer and then, you know the day before.

Erica [00:20:56]:
Yeah.

Jules [00:20:56]:
And the pumpkin pie is better if you make it the day before as well, because then the spices and everything infuses and it tastes better.

Erica [00:21:04]:
So I know I bought a bunch of pumpkin puree. I don't know why I looked at my cabinet. I'm like, who did this? Who bought this?

Jules [00:21:15]:
I always have pumpkin in my cabinet.

Erica [00:21:18]:
But. And then like the one time I was actually looking for it for something, I didn't have any. Which is why I think triggered like my hoarding now where I'm just like, I at least always have two on hand. Why? No idea. So I don't know. Maybe I'll see if I can make one this year. What else am I gonna use that for? Wants to use pumpkin puree throughout the year. You don't?

Jules [00:21:38]:
Oh, my God. I use it all the time. I totally use pumpkin all the time. So I have an open can in my refrigerator right now.

Erica [00:21:44]:
Soups. You love making soups.

Jules [00:21:47]:
Curry. Curry, yeah. Pumpkin curry.

Erica [00:21:50]:
So good.

Jules [00:21:51]:
I make a pumpkin roll that's in the shape the pumpkins. They're in the shape of pumpkins. So, like, you make the dough and then you cut them in the little, like little snip around the edges. Or you use baker's twine and you.

Erica [00:22:06]:
Yeah.

Jules [00:22:07]:
Like, and then you put like little pieces of freaking cute of like pretzel in the top of them and they look like little pumpkins so that you put pumpkin puree in the dough. Or you can make pumpkin bread, which I totally could eat year round. I love pumpkin bread. I know pumpkin scones, pumpkin cookies. I have great pumpkin cookie recipe. Obviously you know pumpkin pie, but I use it for pumpkin curry. Yeah. I mean, it's great.

Jules [00:22:35]:
Oh, pumpkin is a. As an egg substitute. I mean, it's.

Erica [00:22:40]:
Oh, like banana. Yeah.

Jules [00:22:41]:
Yeah. It's so. It's just awesome. I always have pumpkin in my cabinet.

Erica [00:22:46]:
Well, there you go, folks. In case you're wondering about how to use your leftover pumpkin, why do you have pie?

Jules [00:22:52]:
That's why you have pumpkin year round.

Erica [00:22:53]:
Yeah, yeah.

Jules [00:22:55]:
And cranberries, too. Like, I. There was one time when my mom didn't have cranberries one year, and it was devastating. And I think that left, like, an imprint on my brain. And so I always have cranberries in my freezer. And last year, the friends that came to our Thanksgiving, they were assigned to bring cranberry sauce, and they couldn't find cranberries the day before Thanksgiving. And I had cranberries in my freezer, so they had to come get my cranberries out of the freezer to make the cranberry sauce they had to bring to my. Thanksgip.

Jules [00:23:26]:
So just a little lesson. Everybody go buy cranberries.

Erica [00:23:31]:
I also love making cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries, so I may go do that myself because I put blood orange in it and a bunch, like, a little zest and stuff. Oh, I love it so much.

Jules [00:23:41]:
There's nothing like. I love cranberry sauce. I would be very sad if cranberry sauce was not on my Thanksgiving table in some way, shape, or form. I mean, I. I would eat three if. If three different people brought their own cranberry sauce recipes to Thanksgiving, I would eat all of them, because, I mean, every different way of making cranberry sauce makes me happy.

Erica [00:24:03]:
Ew. I'm not. I'm not that big. Listen, I'm just saying I love my cranberries, but, like, there are some people where I'm like, no, thank you. It just also reminds me of, like, the 70s cranberry jello salads, and I feel like I was maybe traumatized from my grandmother still making those when I was a kid and remember them.

Jules [00:24:20]:
So, okay, so both of my grandmothers made cranberry jello salad, and they were a staple in our families. Like, was it, like.

Erica [00:24:34]:
We had to have cheese one? I feel like I have to look at this recipe.

Jules [00:24:36]:
The cream cheese one was in the pistachio green jello salad. Oh, yeah. We had to have that one, too. And so my dad always wants me to make the cranberry Jell-O salad when he comes for Thanksgiving. And this is like a running joke in my house. I mean, you know me. I can bake pretty much anything. Jell-O is my nemesis.

Jules [00:25:04]:
I cannot make Jell-o set up to save my life. Like, I can't make it work. And I, I. I think part of the problem is because, A, I don't like buying jello, so I buy, like, the vegan jello that's probably. Check one. That's not gonna work real well. And B, I'm trying to follow my grandmother's jello salad recipe, and it's, like, based on, you know, she didn't write the recipe out very well. You know, she's like, a smidge of this and a box of that and whatever.

Jules [00:25:42]:
And the boxes aren't the same as they used to be.

Erica [00:25:45]:
No.

Jules [00:25:45]:
And they maybe didn't have sugar. Sugar in them then, and they do now. And, like, so how do you know how much to add? It doesn't set up. It doesn't. It's not. Doesn't taste the same. It's, like, watery. It, like, never works.

Jules [00:25:58]:
Every year I try, it never works.

Erica [00:26:01]:
Are you using nox gelatin at all, or is that just pork? Is that pork?

Jules [00:26:05]:
No, that's pork. Yeah.

Erica [00:26:07]:
So what's vegan? What's a vegan alternative to Knox gelatin?

Jules [00:26:11]:
It's pectin.

Erica [00:26:11]:
Pectin, yeah. Okay.

Jules [00:26:13]:
Yeah. And so it's just this sad, like, glass Pyrex thing of watery cranberry.

Erica [00:26:22]:
No, that's not true.

Jules [00:26:23]:
And my dad's always like, I'm like, I'm sorry I failed you again this year. And it just, like, jiggles and, like, ends.

Erica [00:26:33]:
Just, sorry, no pigs were harmed in the making of your cranberry jello.

Jules [00:26:37]:
And he's like, you didn't make it.

Erica [00:26:38]:
Like my mom.

Jules [00:26:40]:
No, I did not.

Erica [00:26:41]:
Animal products. All animal products.

Jules [00:26:44]:
Yeah, but I'm like, I didn't know if I should add sugar or if I'd not add sugar. And then some years, I add too much sugar because I didn't know. Because when she says, add two boxes, I'm like, I don't know if her boxes had sugar in them. I like, I just don't know.

Erica [00:26:59]:
It's.

Jules [00:26:59]:
It's such a mystery. Call Grandma. She's, you know, I can't. Anyway, she's dead. It's so harsh, Erica, you know, just so hard.

Erica [00:27:12]:
I have a bunch of, like, vintage home magazines that I love from the 50s. It's like one of my collector things. I have this giant box of it. One of my favorite ones is just, like, all the weird recipes, and I'm just like, one Thanksgiving, I feel like I just need to host, like, a vintage. Oh, my gosh. Holiday or Vintage Thanksgiving.

Jules [00:27:29]:
Get out all your vintage aprons.

Erica [00:27:31]:
Yes. Like weird. Just the weirdest stuff possible. Like all the weird jello salads and like the shrimp trees and all the things that people are starting to bring back. And I'm just like, this is so gross. I like. And I don't want to eat anything.

Jules [00:27:45]:
And they made, they made like jello things with, with like spam and stuff in them.

Erica [00:27:51]:
Oh, like full cocktail weenies. Yeah, no one's gonna eat anything also because most of my friends are vegetarian, so I'm like, no one's gonna eat any of this. Matt wouldn't eat that. So I'm gonna make all these things and totally just like, they're such a waste, which would make me sad. But it would be really cute for pictures and a video of vintage Christmas. Vintage Thanksgiving. But anyway, I will not be doing any of that this year, so. So tell me, so how you're setting up things now.

Erica [00:28:21]:
You're doing things in advance?

Jules [00:28:23]:
Yes.

Erica [00:28:24]:
What are some other time saving tips and tricks for people?

Jules [00:28:29]:
Okay, well, so we talked about the stuffing for sure. And a lot of the pies, again, should be made in advance. I think another time saving thing would be that if you can do any of your prep for vegetables and all of that kind of stuff, just prep all of that kind of stuff and put it in the fridge, get that out of the way. There's only a few things that have to be done on the day of. And you know, casseroles, all usually that kind of stuff can be done in advance. So the only things that I really absolutely prefer and you don't have to do them the day of, but I really say I prefer and that is the bread. And I even have like from my pull apart dinner rolls, I have directions on the pull apart dinner rolls for how to make those in advance if you really need to do those in advance as well.

Erica [00:29:26]:
I love those rules.

Jules [00:29:28]:
Yeah, they're really. They're like kind of a must have. And they don't take long. It's so funny. A lot of people are just so intimidated about Thanksgiving and I 100% understand. But if you read any of the comments, like take the pull apart dinner rolls, for example. If you read any of the comments on that, people are all like, oh my gosh, I can't believe how easy these were, you know, and. And then people start making them again after that and they're like, this only took this long, you know what? And it's the intimidation factor of because you don't do it regularly.

Jules [00:30:03]:
And Even making pie crust. Pie crust. Once you get the hang of a pie crust, it's super easy. It's only, like, a couple ingredients, and it's really, really easy to make. But because Thanksgiving only comes around once a year, thankfully, you know, and it's because it's so many things at once. People are just intimidated and overwhelmed. And so it just seems like it's so.

Erica [00:30:27]:
There's just so much pressure of just, like, everything. Especially if you're a woman and you're like, in these, you know, patriarchal households where it's all the women in the kitchen and men are watching football and, like, you don't have help and you just feel like you're alone. There's this added. Not to be like a feminist, but there's also all this added pressure on you to perform.

Jules [00:30:53]:
Right.

Erica [00:30:53]:
And to, like, be that person, to juggle all these things and weigh hand on foot. Foot for all these people. We need a cooking Viagra. Like, just like. I think that's actually. I think that's actually. I think that's actually how the 1950s housewives did it. Right.

Erica [00:31:11]:
Cause they were all on lithium, so it's like, that's how they did it. That's how they performed with a smile on their face.

Jules [00:31:16]:
We need a cooking Viagra. A cooking Viagra. I just think there's.

Erica [00:31:21]:
That will be all these performative things that are also happening in the background. And you've got the stress of family. So, like, it literally, it's not just the food. You have all these other stressors on top of you. So of course you're gonna feel like this is the hardest holiday, but it doesn't need to be. No, you can at least get some of the. Some of the cooking and some of that stress out first and then deal with your horrible family and whatever.

Jules [00:31:49]:
I agree. No, and I think, like, I have checklists on my Thanksgiving post so that you can. If you scroll down to the end of the post, you'll see it. And when you look at it, it's really quite amazing how many things can be done in advance. And you really should do them in advance. Some things are way done, you know, done, like, much better in advance, like we talked about. And if you make your sauces, if you make your vegetables, if you make your stuffing, if you do your pie crust well in advance, and then you make your pies and your casseroles and things like that the day before, then the day of all that you're left with, honestly, is maybe reheating something or that Kind of thing. And then you make your rolls and that's literally the one thing that you make the day of that's totally doable.

Jules [00:32:41]:
And then, you know, all that you're, you have to really do is like set up the tables and you know, make the arrangements and things like that.

Erica [00:32:47]:
Deal with family and drink and then.

Jules [00:32:50]:
Pour yourself glass of wine.

Erica [00:32:52]:
I think a lot of other things too. What's annoying is like for those of us who do eat meat, there is this like concept of like the turkey and the turkey hogging the oven. So as much as you can get done and move around. Can something be on a stovetop heated versus an oven? Heated heating, can it be microwaved? These are things that you can think about in advance. Not saying make an oven schedule, cause dear God, like let's not add more stress to your plate. But just think about things like hey, if this isn't, if the oven isn't available cause the turkey's taking too long, can this be reheated on the stovetop or on a microwave? Heaven forbid a microwave is used on Thanksgiving, but I use it all the time. You know, like, can this be done in a different way? Because that adds the layer of stress too because you know you're never gonna have turkey done on or it's gonna be done way earlier and then you have to like speed things up. So it's like that is a big time component as well.

Erica [00:33:49]:
And I think that just kind of thinking about things ahead of time will ease your time on the day. And honestly I like little post it notes. It's like this only needs to be repeated for 30 minutes or it can be eaten cold. I'm not, I don't care, you know, or like this can be microwaved or this can be whatever. Like I think that that's gonna help you out on the day because things.

Jules [00:34:13]:
Never go as planned ever. No, no, they don't, they don't. They really don't. And there are a lot of things, you know, even like roasted vegetables, which I love, can totally be done on a stovetop instead. You know, just sauteing just a tiny little bit of olive oil. You know, if you're doing like Brussels sprouts or something, you know, broccoli or things like that. There are different, there are alternatives and it's really easy to just pivot. And that's a good point about the turkey.

Jules [00:34:46]:
We don't worry about the turkey because I obviously am not making a turkey, but my brother in law usually brings the turkey and he has a smoker which standalone thing. And so he'll either bring the smoker or he'll have it. You know, he'll bring it having smoked it himself. And so that's a. You know, we don't have to worry about that in the oven, which is nice. And there's so many different ways to cook turkeys now. I don't worry about that, but I'm like learning that there's different ways to cook turkeys. But the smoker seems to be a popular option now.

Jules [00:35:23]:
A lot of people have those smokers and people seem to really like them. But yeah, if. And maybe it doesn't need to be right out of the oven or just don't have a turkey, that would be my preference. But do you have any piece with.

Erica [00:35:39]:
Do you have like a main. Do you have like a. I.

Jules [00:35:43]:
No, we don't. For Christmas we. We do a salmon when we. And we go to our in laws, like you know, for Christmas or dinner and we bring like a salmon filet and they have ham or whatever. And our salmon gets eaten faster than the ham. Yeah, it's so funny. So we have. Every year the salmon gets bigger and bigger because we had started like just bringing it for ourselves so that we would have something and then everyone just dove into the salmon and whatever, but.

Erica [00:36:20]:
Because it's something unique.

Jules [00:36:22]:
Yeah, I guess so. But no, I don't. I am all about the sides at Thanksgiving.

Erica [00:36:26]:
Girl, I can eat my fill on Thanksgiving.

Jules [00:36:28]:
Give me those potatoes.

Erica [00:36:30]:
And main either, so it doesn't matter.

Jules [00:36:32]:
Yeah, there you go. I don't know, I mean, there's just so many yummy side dishes. And then of course you gotta save room for the pies. And then, you know, I started making pecan pie. Cause my dad loves pecan pie and I never really liked it until I came up with that. Pecan pie without the Karo syrup.

Erica [00:36:51]:
Yeah.

Jules [00:36:52]:
And I love it. It's so good. It's a vegan pecan pie and I use coconut nectar and I use maple syrup. And it is so good. Is like really, really good. So I might make that again even though he's not here. But I just.

Erica [00:37:13]:
Seems like a lot of work Jules.

Jules [00:37:16]:
The only work really involved with that is like I like to lay the pecans out in a design and that's really the only.

Erica [00:37:23]:
You would. You would. I would roll. Well, no, I mean, I'm sure it's beautiful.

Jules [00:37:28]:
It is. It's really pretty. But I, I just, I. I'm all about the pumpkin pie.

Erica [00:37:36]:
Yeah, well, we'll see. I mean, we'll see. I feel like every year I'm kind of like, oh, I don't know what I'm doing. But like, this year I think is the. The least prepared I am. And it's so funny doing grocery store demos. So I've spent the last four days, which is. This is the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Erica [00:37:56]:
So everyone's prepping in a grocery store and I'm just like, looking around, being like, oh, I feel like I should probably be doing what these people are doing right now. And everyone has their lists and I'm just like, oh, man, I'm getting stressed out for them. Like, and this is only four days before and I don't even land until Sunday night. And then Monday I'm busy. So it's like, oh, yeah, you could.

Jules [00:38:19]:
Send them out with a list.

Erica [00:38:21]:
Yeah, right. Yeah, right. To get him in a grocery store. Like, you don't want to talk about a panic attack like that. He's like, I don't understand. And he's not, like, not capable. But he's also like, I. He has this thing where he doesn't look with his eyes.

Erica [00:38:37]:
I feel like he just looks with his heart. And he's like, I didn't find it. I'm like, did you look with your physical eyeballs? Because it's there.

Jules [00:38:47]:
So that's so funny. Wow. I don't know. I think the main thing that people need to keep in mind about Thanksgiving, especially when you have dietary restrictions and if you're going to someone else's house or if you're hosting, either way, what is it that you absolutely want to have?

Erica [00:39:08]:
And focus on that.

Jules [00:39:09]:
Focus on that first, because it can be made. It absolutely can be. And then after that, the rest is gravy. Right. And then have that in addition. And, you know, if you can find unintentional foods near you, you are blessed if not.

Erica [00:39:28]:
And there's. Yeah. And there's so many different things where if you absolutely need to, you can go to a Sprouts or Whole Foods or whatever and find gluten free alternatives. You can find individual cats gluten free pumpkin pies. They're not that great, but they will.

Jules [00:39:41]:
But they exist. Yeah, there's. You can find dairy free whipped cream.

Erica [00:39:45]:
You can find Aaliyah's. Like, really, you can find things to make it work. It doesn't have to be a make from scratch. And I know that a lot of you are just like, so intimidated by cooking, which you shouldn't be, but if you are and you don't Want to stress. And you don't want to have that on your plate. Buy it. There is no judgment, right? Especially for me. There is no judgment.

Erica [00:40:03]:
I'm not Jules, where I can just, like, make everything, and I'm just, like, magical. No judgment here. Get it, buy it, whatever. Like, everything I do is gonna be bread. Seriously. Like, if we make any stuffing, it's gonna be toasted bread. Seriously, what's unmade.

Jules [00:40:16]:
The thing about stuffing is literally, like, I make bread all the time. You know that, but I don't finish the loaf all the time. So what do I do? I do frozen loaf covers, I chop it up into cubes, and I stick it in the freezer. And that's gonna be my stuffing for Thanksgiving. Because your Thanksgiving stuffing is supposed to be dry bread. So mine is like bread from three months ago, five months ago, six months ago that I pull out of the freezer and toss on a baking sheet. So if it's supposed to be dry bread, then bad bread from the grocery store is probably gonna be okay because it's dry anyway, right? I mean, mine's gonna be better because it's like. Like started out better delicious.

Jules [00:41:02]:
But it's probably gonna be okay if you buy some crappy bread from the grocery store and you chop it up because it's already dry. So make it. Just make it yourself. Like, it's gonna be okay because what's really great about stuffing is what you add to it. And so my stuffing, I add, like, carrots and apples and, like, all kinds of yummy stuff to make it, like.

Erica [00:41:25]:
A harvest stuffing, snake stuffing. So much better.

Jules [00:41:28]:
I know. And really delicious, you know, broth and, like, so it's. It's about. It's a conduit for, like, all these other flavors that you add to it. And, you know, it's not hard to make stuffing. It's really easy to make stuffing. But if you don't have the time or you don't, you're still intimidated by it. There are brands like Aaliyah's that make gluten free stuffing.

Jules [00:41:53]:
Just buy it. Like, yeah, so. But don't go without stuffing just because you're gluten free. That's the point.

Erica [00:41:59]:
Unless you hate stuffing, and then I also won't judge you for that, and.

Jules [00:42:03]:
Then we won't have no judgment. It's fine. Don't do that. Don't.

Erica [00:42:06]:
I don't.

Jules [00:42:07]:
I don't.

Erica [00:42:07]:
I don't like stuffing, but I make it because it's really good for the leftover pie.

Jules [00:42:12]:
Right.

Erica [00:42:12]:
You know, the leftover little Thanksgiving.

Jules [00:42:15]:
I, I'm not like a huge stuffing fan. Like, that's why I'll have like a little bit of stuffing. If I'm the only one eating stuffing sometimes I won't make it like. Cause I know I'm gonna have the bread and a bunch of other stuff. But I do like to have the leftover stuffing to make all this other stuff. So maybe I'll make a little bit. So it's just whatever, Whatever's important to you. But the point is, if you want something on your table, it can be done.

Jules [00:42:42]:
And it's not that complicated. None of these things are hard. They really are not hard to do.

Erica [00:42:48]:
Jules, give them your website for your Thanksgiving post and your ebook.

Jules [00:42:54]:
So GFJules.com and if you use the search bar at the top and just type in the word Thanksgiving, you're going to get a load of choices. One of them is this post called Crash Course for a Gluten Free Thanksgiving. And it's this post. It's got 39 gluten free recipes in it. And at the bottom is the, the. What am I trying to think of?

Erica [00:43:21]:
How are you saying English isn't our first language.

Jules [00:43:25]:
The checklists.

Erica [00:43:25]:
Yes, the checklist.

Jules [00:43:27]:
Yes, the checklists. And then also in there you can link to the full ebook or you can also probably. And when you type in Thanksgiving, the ebook will probably come up too. And the ebook has even more recipes and more tips and information. It's more comprehensive than just that one post. But the post itself is pretty comprehensive. It's got, you know, all the pies, all the stuffings, all the, you know, side dishes, casseroles, you know, anything like that that you would need. It's all in there.

Jules [00:43:58]:
So.

Erica [00:43:59]:
And it's probably past the last time that we can order for Thanksgiving.

Jules [00:44:03]:
Yeah, for your flour, probably.

Erica [00:44:05]:
Yeah, look on Amazon, see if it's there.

Jules [00:44:10]:
Yeah, you can order on Amazon or GFJules.com depends on where you live. But you know, if you're, what kind.

Erica [00:44:17]:
Of clothes, y', all, if you're a.

Jules [00:44:18]:
Customer and you already have it, then you have it. But like I said, there's a lot of these things that, you know, if with like stuffing you might just be able to just use regular bread and use the recipes or something like that, the, you know, green bean casserole recipes, there's a lot of things in there that you could just use the recipes without having to use, you know, flowers or things. So. Yeah.

Erica [00:44:42]:
Well, we believe in you. I need someone to say that they believe in me because it's not getting done.

Jules [00:44:47]:
I always believe in you, Erica.

Erica [00:44:49]:
Thank you. Well, listeners, we believe in you. We hope you have the most magical Thanksgiving.

Jules [00:44:57]:
With or without your relatives.

Erica [00:45:00]:
With or without your relatives.

Jules [00:45:01]:
Do your honest, your crazy uncle or.

Erica [00:45:03]:
You don't need them, do it yourself. I'm giving you permission. I'm giving you a permission slip. If you want to have Thanksgiving by yourself or with your partner, do it.

Jules [00:45:13]:
That's right.

Erica [00:45:14]:
You owe. No, you know, you owe nobody anything.

Jules [00:45:17]:
That's right.

Erica [00:45:18]:
Put yourself first.

Jules [00:45:21]:
Self care.

Erica [00:45:21]:
That's. That's self care.

Jules [00:45:23]:
This is self care Thanksgiving.

Erica [00:45:25]:
Yeah, I know. Seriously. All right, well, thank you again for putting up with us and we appreciate you gently loving us during our time off. We will hopefully be back to your regularly scheduled program now that I am home. So thank you again for Jules for just being the most amazing podcast partner friend. And she just celebrated a birthday. So wish her a happy belated birthday and we'll see you next time on You Had Me at Eat.

Jules [00:45:57]:
Yeah, see you next time. Thanks for tuning in to have me to eat the number one voted gluten free podcast in the country. Remember to like and subscribe. Tell all your friends and we'll talk to you next time.