Gluten-Free Honeybaked Ham and Turkey

The holidays are an especially difficult time for many people trying to stick to a gluten-free diet.  Last year I heard rumors that my favorite holiday dish was reformulated to be gluten-free.  The word from the Delphi Forums was the Honeybaked Ham Company had changed their glaze recipe so that it no longer contained wheat starch.  I was so excited I immediately emailed my Mom to tell her what we were having for dinner when I came home in December.  Unfortunately when I got home I discovered that only certain locations had the newly reformulated glaze and California still had the version with wheat starch.

I didn’t post any of this info to the blog because I want to make sure I only provide info that I have confirmed to the best of my ability.  I don’t want to add any further confusion to this already difficult to navigate gluten-free diet.  After letting another year go by, I decided to check once again on the status of the glaze for my trip to Texas this Thanksgiving.  The web site for the Houston Honeybaked Ham Company still listed ‘wheat’ as an ingredient though phone calls to the particular store claimed that it was allergen free.  I decided to reserve a ham and turkey combo and double-check with the store once I arrived in Houston.  The woman helping me went back to confirm the ingredients with her manager.  When the information I received was not clear enough to make me feel comfortable, she brought out the glaze packaging that listed all of the ingredients and had a big label “ALLERGEN FREE.”  Eureka!  I would once again taste the wonder that is Honeybaked Ham and Turkey.

While I was lucky to find the Allergen Free glaze at this Honeybaked Ham store, an email from the Celiac Listserv today revealed that the Illinois locations still use a glaze with wheat starch.  So please double check with your local store before ordering.  You can always get the turkey or ham without the glaze, though to me that kind of defeats the purpose….

While the Honeybaked Ham was great, the turkey actually didn’t live up to my memory of it. Though the disappointment actually served as a reminder of all of the discoveries I’ve made since starting the gluten-free diet.  Even though sometimes the gluten-free diet just sucks, frequently the new versions of gluten-free dishes are actually better than what I was eating before I was gluten-free.

Here are just a few of the gluten-free discoveries that are better than the gluten-filled versions I enjoyed pre-Celiac:

Gluten-Free Cheesecake with a Pecan-Nut Crust Recipe
Gluten-Free Stuffing with Hazelnuts and Fennel Recipe
Gluten-Free Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Gluten-Free Brownies Recipe
Gluten-Free Roasted Turkey Recipe

And here are a few of my other favorite recipes for this holiday season:

Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls Recipe
Gramercy Tavern Spiced Nuts Recipe
Gluten-Free Cocoa-Spiced Pork Tenderloin Recipe
Barefoot Contessa Rosemary Roasted Cashews Recipe
Gluten-Free Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe
Three-Bean Turkey Chili Recipe

And don’t forget to check out my top 10 tips for a gluten-free holiday on MyRecipes.com.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends, laughter and a few gluten-free goodies to fill your belly.

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