Is a Vegan Thanksgiving Completely Absurd?
There's nothing ridiculous about a Thanksgiving dinner sans animal protein. In fact, plenty of people -- vegans, vegetarians, and even people who don't fall in those categories -- do it every year. Sure, it might seem a little strange to celebrate without a turkey. But there are plenty of delicious, festive dishes to serve in its place.
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Here are some of the things people who follow a vegan diet eat for Thanksgiving ...
The trick to a satisfying vegan Thanksgiving is to serve a rich variety of hearty vegetable dishes; and in-season veggies are definitely the tastiest. Dishes such as pumpkin soup, garlicky greens, mushroom pot pie, and roasted squash salad sound so amazing, even your carnivore guests won't realize something's missing! Here are few recipes to tantalize your guests with this year:
Pumpkin lasagna made with whole wheat noodles, fresh sage, and nutmeg will fill your guests up in no time.
Maple-roasted Brussels sprouts with toasted hazelnuts is a fun, fancy twist on a classic side dish.
Kale and olive oil mashed potatoes sound simply divine.
Now, if you absolutely must have the taste of turkey but want to abstain from animal products, then by all means partake in the tofurkey tradition -- that's precisely why it was invented.
Also, there are plenty of vegan pumpkin pie recipes out there -- most substitute silken tofu in place of eggs.
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And, obviously vegans can eat the standard favorites like green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. -- provided they don't include any animal-derived ingredients, of course!
Are you having a vegan Thanksgiving?
Image via moria/Flickr
Written by Kim Conte for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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