Thanksgiving with food allergies

I know Thanksgiving is over, but I thought I'd share some recipes from my family's allergy free/gluten free feast.

I was in charge of the appetizers and everything I brought was not only soy and dairy free, but also gluten free.

Avocado/Tomato Dip

You'll need:
4 Avocados (diced)
3 Roma Tomatoes (diced)
1/2 A Head of Garlic (finely chopped)
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
2-3 Green Onions (finely chopped)
About 1/4 of a bunch of Cilantro (finely chopped)
(For those not familiar with Cilantro - you cut the stems from the leafy portion, chop up the leafy bits and use them. Discard the stems, but don't worry if you don't get all the stems. They aren't coarse or bitter so they won't ruin the texture of the flavor.)
1-2 Pinches of Salt (to taste)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and serve with chips.

I made my own chips with corn tortillas.  I chop them up into chip size pieces and bake for 10-12 minutes on 350 degrees. You can sprinkle with salt if you like them salty.  Or to give them a little extra flavor, add some from chopped garlic before baking. Yum!

Here are the results.

Stay tuned for more appetizers and short cuts.

Preparation

One of the hardest things about eating with allergies is convenience.  We’re all busy people and when you’re running a 100 miles an hour, juggling 17 different things with 12 people pulling you in just as many different directions, it can be nearly impossible not to go for what is quick and convenient and end up paying the price.

If life moved at a slower pace, maybe we could eat the way we’re supposed to.  But it doesn’t, so the next best thing is to be prepared.

Easier said than done, though.  Right?

Where is it that you get in the most trouble?  For me, it’s snacking.  I need to have things readily available or I’ll eat the quick easy snack food, like chips soaked full of oil (soy) or chocolate (soy and diary) or my very favorite – cheese (which I don’t keep in the house anymore).

So this weekend I spent the day playing video games with my boyfriend.  While cutting up fruit for breakfast, we decided to cut up enough for the whole day and found it only takes an extra couple minutes.  Then if you put it in a storage container and stick it in the fridge, you’ve got safe snacking for the day. 

My boyfriend, the chef, had to make it pretty for its photo shoot.

Any Ideas? Tips to help keep from snacking on bad stuff?  Please share.