As a vegetarian, what should I eat for Thanksgiving?!?!?

Question

I am a new vegetarian and my entire family eats meat. i was wondering if anyone has any ideas what I could eat for Thanksgiving without making anyone go out of their way to cook something special just for me.

Answer 1

I'm planning on eating salad and the yummy side dishes! That's what I have always loved most about Thanksgiving anyway! Most of the sides are already vegetarian... mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, yams, corn bread, etc. I'll probably make one of them and take it to the dinner. This will be my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian also... good luck! :)

Answer 2

As your family to make the sides vegetarian, to make stuffing without meat and cook some outside the turkey so you can eat the sides. I'm not a big Tofurkey fan, but it's certainly worth a try. There's a website called the Vegetarian Loaf Studio where you pick the ingredients you have on hand and it gives you a recipe for a veggie loaf. You can also find recipes on www.vegweb.com, including gravies to pour over your sides.

If you're old enough (you didn't indicate your age), maybe you can help cook some of the sides to take the burden off.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I was 16 when I stopped eating meat (have since added back poultry) and so I had a good 5 or 6 years where I skipped the turkey part. If your family is anything like mine, there will be PLENTY of other food to eat to the point that you wont' even need the turkey. Stuffing can be made meatless, broccoli or green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies, salad, bread and butter, pumpkin pie, apple pie....basically you can have ALL of it except the turkey and gravy :) It's not that big of a deal and you certainly don't have to ask anyone to cook differently. I don't eat pork and my mom puts bacon in the stuffing. Sometimes she will use turkey bacon just to be nice so I can eat it but I certainly do NOT ask her to do that. There's always SO much food I'm sure you won't miss turkey!

Answer 4

I looked back at your other questions and you are actually Lacto-Vegetarian since you don't drink milk.

It might be best for you to make something special for yourself since mashed potatoes,yams,cakes,pies etc. have milk/dairy in them.

Here is a recipe for you =)

Vegan Lasagna

2-3 c Italian tomato sauce, warm
1 pound dry lasagna noodles
2 pounds firm tofu, drained
2 T garlic, minced
¼ c basil, chopped
1 T fresh oregano, chopped OR 1½ t dried
½ t salt
black pepper
2 pounds fresh spinach, de-stemmed and washed

If the lasagna noodles need to be cooked before use, do this first, following the instructions on packet, and then set them aside to cool slightly. It's a good idea to cook with a T of oil, to prevent them sticking together.
Place tofu in a bowl and mash with a potato masher or your fingers. Combine with garlic, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400.

Ladle a bit of the warm sauce into the baking dish and spread it around so that the bottom of the dish is lightly coated.

Place lasagna noodles in the pan to form a single layer. If necessary, break noodles to fill gaps.

Sprinkle 1/3 of the tofu mixture on the noodles, then lay out 1/3 of the spinach on top of that. Cover with tomato sauce.

Repeat twice, using 1/3 of ingredients for each layer, saving a sprinkle of tofu to garnish the top.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until sauce is bubbly. Let cool slightly and serve.


Good Luck and Happy Thansgiving Early =)

Answer 5

Just eat the sides. I know this isn't the most healthy, but in my opinion this is the best etiquette. Asking someone to cook something special is not polite - glad you don't want to do that. Perhaps if you wanted to make a vegetarian dish and bring it...for everyone to share as well.

Answer 6

At my family's home for the holidays you would have no problem finding something to eat.
We have several veggie casseroles, mashed potatoes, wild rice with pecans, sweet potatoes, etc.
Just eat sides or ask your mom if she would make a casserole that you can eat that has no meat products but that will give you the feel of a traditional Thanksgiving.....maybe a green bean casserole with green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and crunchy onions on top....

Answer 7

Pumpkin pie is vegetarian, normally. You can also get some meat substitutes like Quorn products for example. Or Redwood (they are the best!). I don't do Thanksgiving, but I enjoy Sosmiw roasts on Christmas day, with roast potatoes and veg.

Happy Thanksgiving anyway ;-)


Go vegan!

Answer 8

If you are not vegan, just avoid the turkey. At any Thanksgiving dinner I have ever been to (and none were vegitarian oriented) there is more veggy dish than one can shake a stick at. Squash, potatoes, salad, beens, pasta, rice, etc

Answer 9

I don't think God is going to care what you eat, so eat whatever you want. A vegetarian "meatloaf" would be something to consider. I've seen recipes for butter bean and cashew "meat" loafs. You can make it if you don't want to put anyone else out. Do a net search or check your library. I've got Chris Hardisty's book. Great if you can find it, and it has the best ever apple crumble recipe!

(If anyone gives me a thumbs down for mentioning God, I'm going to laugh at you. If you are American, I'm going to laugh louder because I'm an Aussie so you should know your history better than I do!)

Answer 10

I know they have Tofukey in the grocery stores where I am. And gravy. Sounds good, but haven't tried it yet. Its about 12 bucks, so I'm waiting til Thanksgiving to try it.