Have you ever gone vegetarian for Thanksgiving? Jared and I know a guy whose daughter started college a few years ago and not long after decided to go vegan. Suddenly the impending holiday season was a whole new kind of challenge, with her parents trying to figure out how to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal that would be acceptable (and edible) for their 18-year-old kiddo. But there were the other two kids, their significant others and the parents themselves who were all turkey-loving traditionalists, so serving all-vegan cuisine would have fallen quite short of a crowd-pleaser. If I’m remembering correctly, I think they ended up cooking a Tofurky and a real turkey that year, along with a few other meat/no-meat (or animal product) pairings to ensure everyone ended the meal happy and filled. I’m sure it was a ton of work (it basically sounds like they did two Thanksgiving meals in one day), but what great parents, right? And the dad even gave the daughter’s Tofurky a whirl. He said it wasn’t so bad.
I can’t say that I’ve ever partaken in a turkey alternative for Thanksgiving. I’m allergic to soy (I know, it’s weird), so Tofurky is no-turkey for me. But I’ve always wondered if it’s as, um, interesting as everyone says it is. And with my decidedly underwhelming love of meat, I’m intrigued by the idea of going veggie for Thanksgiving (though my carnivorous family might not be so keen on that plan). The New York Times had a great article this week filled with vegetarian and vegan dishes for the holiday. You can read it here. The cranberry chutney, mini brie and apple quiches and maple-roasted Brussels sprouts look and sound particularly amazing to me (stay tuned to see if they make it on our Thanksgiving spread this year). And the recipes appear fairly simple, so that’s always a plus.
Now have no fear, my friends. We will most certainly still be tackling that mighty turkey challenge I talked about last week. But there’s always room for more veggie action in the mix. My plate typically ends up filled with about one-third veggie to two-thirds carb anyway, though I do always throw in a teeny dot of turkey, just for tradition’s sake. But overall, I think an all-vegetarian meal would keep my taste buds happy as clams. Wait, scratch that. Happy as pie.
My biggest challenge in all of this (and probably my biggest challenge in most meals) is finding places for non-meat protein amidst all the carby, veggie goodness (lack of protein = sleepy, loopy and/or grouchy = no gooda). Do any of you deal with the same thing? How do you pack more protein into vegetarian meals (without using soy-based protein as an alternative)?
And in other questioning news, are you planning any delightfully vegetarian dishes for the holiday this year? Anything new and adventurous that you can’t wait to try? Or do you have any stories of vegan/vegetarian Thanksgiving meets traditional Thanksgiving? Gobble, gobble!
XO,
Katrina
Opening photo courtesy of photos.com. Tofurky photo courtesy of peta.org.
As a vegetarian in a meat eating family I often struggle with how to handle holidays. I normally enjoy the side dishes trying to get more veggies than carbs. As for how to add protein, I’ll try to have eggs or oatmeal for my breakfast.
One of my favorite non-soy proteins is black beans, I find them to be good in a variety of ways.
What a great post!
xx
Thanks, Ashton! Black beans are delicious for sure; it’s probably high time I branch out and use them in things besides Mexican food. I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving filled with yummy vegetarian cuisine!
seitan is a delicious form of non-soy vegetarian protein. lentils and beans are also great!
I’ve never cooked with seitan before, but now I’m very intrigued. I didn’t realize how much protein it has! Amazing! Thanks so much for the suggestion, Ellen!