What do vegetarians eat on Thanksgiving?

Question

I have been a vegetarian for over 2 months now. On thanksgiving my family usually have meat in almost everything so I plan on making my own meal so can you please give me some ideas.

I plan on asking a similar question for Christmas meals soon.

Thankgiving is a celebratrion of the harvest season. It was first celebrated between Native Americans and Pilgrams. Usually all we do is get together as a family and eat.

Answer 1

If your family is planning on cooking stuffing (dressing), inside of the turkey, save a portion to be baked in a separate pan. This will make the stuffing more suitable for vegetarians. You can easily substitute vegetable broth for a meat-based broth in your recipe if needed as well.

Making mashed potatoes? Try using soy milk and a vegan or soy margarine instead of dairy milk and butter. You can substitute the exact amount of soy milk for dairy milk, but you may want to add about a tablespoon more margarine than your recipe calls for when substituting for butter, in order to add more flavor.

Candied yams or sweet potatoes are a great Thanksgiving tradition and an easy vegetarian or vegan side dish, just omit the marshmallows (they contain gelatin, which vegans and most vegetarians will not eat), or add to a portion after cooking.

Whenever possible, set aside a portion of a dish to be prepared meatless. For example, if you're preparing a sausage and potato casserole, save a portion to be baked separately before adding the sausage.

This way you dont have to make your own meal you are eating what everyone else is just meatless hopefully your family will help you save protions before they add meat
Good Luck Best Wishes and Happy Holidays!

Answer 2

Since you are vegetarian and not vegan, you can eat dairy and eggs, correct? Then you can try a huge variety of chicken substitutes, like fake chicken fingers or chicken breasts in the place of the turkey on your plate; most chicken substitutes are meat-free but do have either dairy or egg ingredients.

You can make your own stuffing to make sure that no meat-based broths go in, stuffing is probably the easiest thing to adapt from the Thanksgiving menu. Use a vegetable broth and dried little bread cubes and add what you wish - bits of cut up veggies, cranberries, dried fruit, nuts... lots of different kinds of stuffing.

You can enjoy sweet potatoes and any number of vegetable side-dishes, as they are more than likely not to have meat in them. (Again, if you are vegan, watch out for butter or cream sauces and stuff like that).

It would be a bit harder if you were a vegan, like I am, but you can pull it off. I'd recommend these vegan recipes:

http://www.vegan.com/issues/1998/nov98/thanks.htm

If you have a Whole Foods store nearby, you can purchase a 100% vegan fake turkey stuffed with cranberry stuffing, it's all vegetable sourced. They're on sale now for 2.99 a pound, I think.

Answer 3

Pollo or flexitarian vegetarians eat a sparing amount of turkey if that is the family's tradition. No sense on being a social pain in the butt on a day when the emphasis is on the family being together and thankful for ALL the food the Lord has provided.

Answer 4

SOURDOUGH STUFFING WITH PINE NUTS AND RAISINS
6 to 8 servings

This versatile stuffing is good on its own or stuffed into winter squashes, or green or red bell peppers.

* 6 cups firmly packed diced whole grain sourdoughbread
* 1 1/2 tablespoons light olive oil
* 1 cups chopped red onion
* 3 scallions, minced
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1/4 teaspoon each: dried thyme and rosemary
* 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, more or less to taste
* 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
* 1/2 cup dark raisins
* Freshly ground pepper to taste
* 1 cup apple or orange juice, or as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the diced bread on a baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until dry and lightly browned.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden.

Combine the bread cubes with the onion in a mixing bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients except the apple juice and toss together. Sprinkle the juice in slowly, stirring, to moisten the ingredients evenly.

Transfer the mixture to an oiled shallow 1 1/2-quart baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until browned and still slightly moist.

PEAR AND APPLE CRUMBLE
8 servings

If you'd like an alternative to pumpkin pie, or an additional dessert, here's a good one. It's especially tasty served warm over vanilla frozen yogurt or nondairy dessert.

* 4 medium bosc pears, cored and thinly sliced
* 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons natural granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup finely chopped almonds
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

* 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
* 1/2 cup wheat germ
* 2 tablespoons natural granulated sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 2 tablespoons safflower oil
* Nondairy vanilla frozen dessert or organic vanilla frozen yogurt, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine the fruits with the next 5ingredients and stir together until evenly coated. Pour into a lightly oiled 9- by 13-inch baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine the first 4 topping ingredients and toss to coat. Drizzle in the oil and stir until evenly coated. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the fruit mixture. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the fruits are soft and the topping is golden. If desired, serve warm in bowls over frozen dessert

Answer 5

I'm making myself a broccoli, (soy) cheese, rice and (fake) chicken casserole for Thanksgiving this year. It's hearty and still a cold-weather food. :-)
You could always make spinach lasagna, your own stuffing and potatoes, (or just your own sides in general), your favorite stir-fry, or some fancy stuffed pasta.
The possibilities are endless! I love the idea of having "non-traditional" foods at Thanksgiving and being a veggie is the perfect way to do this.
Good luck! :-)

Answer 6

Tofurkey! You can buy a whole loaf of it, complete with gravy and stuffing, or you can buy just slices. There are also a few other brands that make a fake turkey. Check health food stores, Wild Oats, or Whole Foods type places in your area.

Answer 7

Will depend on on the context really. Which is better as a snack - fresh fruit to me. It's tastier and gives you that little bit of sweetness. Which can be better as a snack if you are trying hard to lower back on sugar and lose weight vegetables

Answer 8

Tofu Turkey, of course!

Answer 9

what actuaslly is thanksgiving, we dont have it in england and iv always been curious.

as for christmas i have everything but the turkey which i replace with tofurkey

Answer 10

Fake Turkey.just kidding.they do not eat turkey