vegetarian thanksgiving?

Question

i have been a vegetarian for 10 months or so and this is my 1st thanksgiving i have a friend who's been a veggies since she was born she says that tofurky is terrible,nasty,gross and horrible. i live with meat eaters but they support me and my choice (they eat gravy made from animal fat,meat with EVERY meal ect) and i was woundering if eating chicken/turkey broth is considered meat and if you could give me ideas on what would be good to eat on thanksgiving

Answer 1

Congratulations on your choices and yay for your family being so supportive! I was a vegetarian for about 8 years but had a few other problems that became complex and I ended up anemic. I had to return to a meat diet but have been moving back to a primarily plant-based diet because I feel better.

To answer your question about whether broth is considered meat. YES, because the broth is made from a meat source, so it's not considered vegetarian.

As for what to make to eat on thanksgiving, I stick primarily to whatever vegetables are on the table, but I do still eat turkey. But here's a recipe from the Linda McCartney book. It looks a bit difficulty but I've never tried it:

FESTIVE OR SUNDAY ROAST WITH SAVOURY STUFFING
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 oz vegetable sausage mix
1 egg
4 vegetable schnitzels or 5 veggie burgers
1-4.5 oz packet TVP mince, unflavored (available at whole food markets, etc)
4 tbsps soy sauce or vegetable extract
3 tbsps vegetable oil

Start preparing roast the day before it is needed. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a large casserole dish. Sprinkle one half of the garlic all over the inside of this dish.

Measure the sausage mix, egg and 1 pint of water into large mixing bowl. Stir well and leave for 5 minutes so liquid is absorbed.

Measure 1/4 pint water into a food blender. Add veggie burgers and blend to an even consistency.

Mix the TVP mince and 1 pint of water in a bowl. Stir well and leave to stand for 5 minutes.

Combine the sausage mix, pureed burgers and the soaked TVP mince together in a large bowl. Add the remaining garlic and the soy sauce. Mix well. Coat the casserole dish with the vegetable oil, and pour the mixture into the dish, pressing it firmly on to the sides and bottom. Leave a large cavity in the middle for the stuffing. Firm the mixture with the back of a spoon or your knuckles.

Bake for 1.5 hours in the hot oven. Allow to cool, then cover and place overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, make the savoury stuffing.

SAVOURY STUFFING
1 loaf brown bread, cubed
6 tbsps margarine
5 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp mixed dried herbs

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Place the cubes of brown bread in a large mixing bowl. Melt margarine in a large frying pan. Add the celery and onion and, stiring frequently with a wooden spoon, sautee for 5 minutes until lightly brown.

Pour the sautee into the mixing bowl with the bread cubes. Add 1/4 cup water, the sage and teh mixed herbs. Mix very well and use.

Fill the roast cavity with this stuffing. Any remainder may be placed in a baking dish and baked separately later.

Turn the casserole dish upside down onto a baking tray or roasting pan without removing the dish. Place into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove casserole dish and continue to bake for 1 more hour. After 30 minutes, place the extra stuffing in the oven and bake for the remaining 30 minutes.

Serve with gravy

Answer 2

I have been a vegetarian for 25 years. I disagree about Tofurky. My family loves it, especially my 8 year old who has been a vegetarian since birth. I wonder if maybe the Tofurky your friend had wasn't cooked properly. It is very easy to overcook it (and then it is not so great).
This year for Thanksgiving my wife and I are making Tofu Loaf to put next to the Turkey at my mother's traditional family Thanksgiving. It is delicious and pretty much fool proof. Even non vegetarians will like it. And it goes great with vegetarian gravy.
Tofu Loaf:
1 med. onion grated (or processed in food processor)
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 pounds of tofu, mashed well
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
2 TBL Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black papper
1/4 tsp garlic powder (can add minced garlic)
Mash everything together, mix very well, and press into a cake pan. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. (It will look cooked. brownish red from the ketchup.) Make sure the center is not mushy. You can't really overcook it (as long as you don't burn it which is hard to do). Cool before cutting into squares. You can also cook it in a meatloaf pan but then you have to cook it for like an hour and a half and it is much more likely to fall apart when serving.
As far as gravy: Vegetarian gravy is so good and very easy to make. Most non vegetarians won't notice the difference. Just take any gravy recipe and substitue veggie broth (made from veggie bouillion cubes is fine) for the meat broth. Everything else about it is the same.
You can have a delicious vegetarian thanksgiving with tofu loaf, mashed potatoes, veggie gravy (make sure to make a lot), baked sweet potatoes or acorn squash with butter and maple syrup, bread stuffing made with onion, celery, rosemary and sage (and veggie broth), green salad or green beans, and of course pies.
Have fun and Happy Thanksgiving!

Answer 3

Vegetarians generally do not eat chicken or turkey broth because it is made from dead animals. Most health food stores and some grocery stores to carry meatless gravy though or it can be made using vegetable stock.

I'll tell you what my menu will be:

Baked homemade Mac and cheese
Green Beans w/ almonds with garden herb sauce
Garlic mashed potatoes
Gravy
Quorn garlic and herb cutlets (to make the omnivores happy)
Homemade cranberry sauce
Homemade stuffing

Here's a recipe I found that I am going to try out today and if it's good, I might add it to my menu:

Soy Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients

1 acorn squash
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup chopped Onion
Gimme Lean Soy Sausage
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 tbsp. fresh sage
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
grated cheddar cheese/soy cheese

Preheat oven to 350°. Place squash halves, cut side down, in a baking dish. Add enough water to dish to come 1/2" up side of squash. Place baking dish in oven and bake squash 25-35 minutes, till soft. While squash is baking, heat oil over medium heat in a skillet. Sauteonions until translucent. Add sausage and sauté, breaking it up, 5 minutes.
Add apple, and seasonings. Stir to heat through, about 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Remove from heat and allow to cool somewhat.
Remove squash from the oven and cool. Scrape flesh out of squash into a large bowl. Reserve the shells. Mash the squash flesh with a fork or spoon. Add the sausage mixture and breadcrumbs. Mix all well. Add a little water if needed to moisten the stuffing.
Place the stuffing in the squash shells. Put the shells back in the baking dish without the added water. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of baking time, top each squash with some cheddar cheese and return to the oven to melt.

Answer 4

Chicken/turkey broth are meat products, so they're not considered vegetarian. I've tried tofurky and many other vegetarian turkey substitutes. All I've had are terrible. For Thanksgiving, we just make a nice decadent meal like vegetarian lasagne or roasted tofu with stuffing. Since our main dish tends not to be a traditional Thanksgiving dish, we tend to make our sides and desserts more traditional like cranberry sauce, roasted squash, and apple pie.

BTW, you can make a delicious vegetarian gravy by sauteing nutritional yeast or vegetarian browning sauce with onions in oil and then adding flour and water in the usual way for making gravy.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Answer 5

I've been a vegetarian for two years now, so I can relate to your situation. I understand it can be hard to give up some things sometimes, but it also depends why youre a vegetarian and what your views are. If you are a vegetarian because you wanna watch your weight or want a greener diet, then the chicken broth is ok. But if youre a Vegetarian who stands up for animal rights, chicken/turkey broth isnt meat, but it still has the contents of an animal who was murdered and cooked, so if YOU think thats wrong then dont eat it.

Personally I agree, Thanksgiving can be harsh for a vegetarian, but you can completely the ignore whole thing and just eat what you regularly eat for dinner, you might feel left out, but atleast youre standing up for your beliefs and thats what really counts, what someone else says doesnt matter.

Answer 6

Don't try to convert them. Thanksgiving, especially, is not the time. :-) If they don't know you're a vegetarian, now is the time to tell them. Be prepared to do some of your own cooking, too. There are really only two things you'll need to take care of (out of the things you'll share with your family): the gravy and the stuffing. For stuffing, just make sure some of it is made with veggie broth rather than birdie broth and put it in a small casserole to cook rather than inside the bird. For gravy, make a roux: melt butter if you're a veggie, margarine if you're a vegan, saute in some mushrooms, chopped onion, pressed garlic (if you want it) until it's soft. Sprinkle in some flour. (Use the same amount of flour as you did fat.) Stir it up a bit to get it distributed. It'll be thick. Pour in a little bit of veggie broth. It'll hiss and bubble and be scary, just stir until you have a smooth mixture. Pour in more broth until it's pretty runny. Season lightly and continue to cook and stir until you have the consistency you want. Boom. Veggie gravy. (Use some soy sauce or Marmite/Vegemite if you want it to be brown and have extra depth... caramelizing onions at the beginning will do it, too.) For your "main dish" you have a ton of options. Can you hit the library? Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian has tons of great ideas. Try a timbale. If you're brave and have lots of time (and patience... and room to make a mess) try your hand at seitan. Check out The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes cookbook while you're at the library as well. They tell you how to make and prepare seitan.

Answer 7

Chicken and Turkey broth isn't meat. They use some parts of the animal and use it to season it. My family loves tofurky! Maybe your friend didn''t get a good brand or didn't cook it correctly. But broth is a meat product and so yeah I change my mind in some way its meat I guess......

Answer 8

I've been a vegetarian since I was five approx 30 years ago. My mom has always made potato Dumplings. recipe below.
10 medium potatoes
5 eggs
1 tbs salt
enough flour to stick it all together
peel and boil potatoes they should still be a little hard in the center.
grate them with cheese grater. Mix ingredients. Keep adding flour as needed.
Kneed into balls 1-2 inches
Boil big pan of water.
dump balls into boiling water for exactly fourteen minutes.
Put in big bowl with small plate turned upside down in the bottom of it to drain water off of them.
left overs may be diced and fried up in butter.
Loma Linda makes some "Fake" meat substitutes that are 110% better than any tofu product out there, these you might find on-line. Morningstar Farms also makes some and they are often sold in Super Walmart stores.

Answer 9

For years my sister made an awesome vegetarian Thanksgiving feast by stuffing a huge butternut squash, which kind of looks like the main body of a roast turkey, and making paper "legs" and "wings" that she'd arrange around the squash. The squash itself is delicious...just clean it out and rub a bit of salt and a palmful of brown sugar on the inside. Then make a vegetarian stuffing, stick it in there, and roast it. You can actually carve off slices, like you would with a turkey. Serve with mashed potatoes and all the usual fun things (cranberry sauce, a greenbean/pearl onion/mushroom soup casserole and whatever else cranks your tractor), and you'll hardly miss the turkey. Skip the fake meat stuff, it's awful.

Answer 10

I'm not a vegetarian, but I would say that any meat dripping gravy would be a no no if you are truly a vegetarian. You might get some really good recipes on the food network web page. That is where I get a lot of recipes. Maybe a vegetarian lasagna would be a nice dish to make.