I just recently decided to go vegan, and now that Thanksgiving is coming up, I was wondering what I can eat instead of turkey. Yes, I know I can completely skip it and make something else for myself but I'm going to have to do that anyway. I'm going to a relatives house and...lets just say it's going to be interesting. -_- I've heard that Tofurky things taste really gross, and I was just wondering if that's true or not. But--PLEASE--only actual answers, no "why don't you eat meat, you weirdo" kind of things. It's a personal choice. Thanks in advance!
2006-11-14 07:59:06 · 20 answers · asked by lizzy_sama 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Vegetarian & Vegan
Making the choice to change your eating habits is really hard at holiday time because of the other way people react. I'm coming up on my third year of meat free at the holiday table.
The first year I did tofurky, but honestly although it's totally a personal taste, I really didn't like it. It didn't have the right texture for me, and honestly because eating for me is a lot about community I didn't like my entire family eating something different then I was.
Last year I made vegan stuffing that beat the pants off of my mom's turkey stuffing (so I was told) and a "creamy" butternut squash soup. That way the rest of the family could enjoy what I was eating as well as their own food and I didn't feel so odd man out.
This year I plan to make squash stuffed pasta in a rich vegetable sauce and plate it in a half a oven roasted squash, and the same vegan stuffing I made last year.
If you like tofu, and the other fake meat products you have tried then go for the tofurky, but keep in mind there are a lot of really great vegan dishes you can make, that also help break down some of the stereo types that all vegans and vegetarians eat is tofu, and that most of us starve. :)
Happy thanksgiving!
2006-11-14 13:11:25 · answer #1 · answered by chickennosenshi 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
On behalf of turkey's everywhere -thank you for going vegan. Tofurky doesn't taste gross. It is delicious, tastes a lot like like turkey and most importantly is 100% vegan. Tofurky comes with stuffing and gravy. I would suggest you try the Tofurky Slices sold at Whole Foods Markets. Turtle Island Foods, the makers of Tofurky, also sell the stuffing and gravy seperately also sold at Whole Foods Market.
If you don't like Tofurky, you can always try the plethora of other vegan/vegetarian poultry-like products available. Check out the following websites, book and search the web for vegan food products and vegan recipes.
The Vegetarian Resouce Group(VRG)-Food and Product Guides
VRG also has recipes.
http://www.vrg.org/journal/#Food
United Poultry Concerns-Books
Instead of Chicken, Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless Poultry Potpourri-By Karen Davis
http://www.upc-online.org/merchandise/book.html
VegCooking.com
http://www.vegcooking.com
Regarding your Relatives:
Let your relatives know you are a vegan and if you're lucky they may live near a Whole Foods Market, like mine do, and have all vegetarian meals--even though they are not vegetarians. That's what my carnivorous midwestern relatives did for a whole week when I visted them!
Happy 'Turkey-less' Thanksgiving and Best of luck to you.
2006-11-14 08:46:24 · answer #2 · answered by Urla 2 · 14⤊ 1⤋
I haven't tried Tofurkey, but I did try a "vegan holiday roast" and it wasn't very good.
I think what I'm going to do this year is take some Yves (maybe Ives?) Veggie Turkey Slices... put them in a pan (without taking the slices apart), throw on some spices and see what happens. :) I did the same thing with the Yves Veggie Ham (putting brown sugar glaze on it) and it was REALLY good... so we'll see how the turkey comes out. Oooh... actually... I'm not sure if Yves stuff is VEGAN or not... I know it's vegetarian, but you might check the label first.
Other than that... you might try Quorn Naked Cutlets. They're shaped basically like a boneless chicken breast and have a very meat-like texture and good flavor. I'm pretty sure their stuff is vegan (it's fungi-based).
2006-11-14 11:48:56 · answer #3 · answered by kittikatti69 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
It is all a matter of taste. As you can see, some like it and others do not. I myself do not mind it, but it is quite expensive for the entire meal, or even just the tofurky loaf. I have been eating Quorn products lately, and they are quite good. I bought a turkey loaf from them that I have not tried yet, but will cook it up for Thanksgiving.
http://www.quorn.us/
2006-11-16 07:07:17 · answer #4 · answered by BG 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No, it tastes a lot like wet wheat bread.
Your best bet on thanksgiving is to enjoy all of the other options. Although the Tofurkey brand makes a really good deli slice turkey- you could probably get slices of that along with their gravy and have yourself a grand old fashioned Thanksgiving dinner.
2006-11-14 17:13:18 · answer #5 · answered by britt 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No I really don't like the taste of it but if you're curious than it's worth a shot for you to try it.
As for me I usually make lazzanga, Zit or some other alternative when We have large family meals. My suggestion is to try the tofu Turkey before thanksgiving and you can always microwave or bake something for thanksgiving dinner for yourself. Trust me that my nephews love that I'm a vegetarian. They don't like Turkey much and prefer Italian.
Good luck and I hope you find some alternative! Bye.
2006-11-14 09:19:52 · answer #6 · answered by mistyfan69 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I haven't had the whole tofurkey, but the slices are very good. I eat them plain, on sandwiches, wraps or salads. I would suggest taking those and making a veggie stuffing. Roll up the stuffing in the rolls and then bake them. Try adding cream of celery soup on top or a veggie gravy.
That's what I'm gonna have for T-day!
Happy Thanksgiving and good on you for giving the turkey's a break!
2006-11-14 14:35:03 · answer #7 · answered by kewlkat103 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I have eaten it at every Thanksgiving the past five years. Sadly. Because it tastes awful. (I don't make it, my friend does.)
What I suggest if you make it, is to marinade it two or three days, to give it flavor. It will not have the "fleshy" texture of meat.
I prefer Vegetable Loaf, which tastes a lot like meat loaf and is very tasty. http://vegweb.com/index.php/topic,7408.0.html This site has lots of better tasting Thanksgiving recipes than others I've seen.
2006-11-15 04:49:48 · answer #8 · answered by fatjunkcat 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Tofurkey Slices
2016-11-02 23:15:49 · answer #9 · answered by hollman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My best friend is a vegetarian so she makes me try ALL that stuff to pursuede me to be one too. Ive tasted all of it and that tofurky stuff tastes different depending on your taste. Like me, i thought it wasnt bad...but my friend thinks its the best thing in the whole world..soo...who knows...
2006-11-14 09:55:22 · answer #10 · answered by Brii 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋