The holidays are often stressful, but being a vegan/vegetarian at
Thanksgiving, traditionally an orgy of animal foods, can be miserable if
you don't have a supportive family. Here are a few suggestions on how
to make it more enjoyable:
Discuss your diet with the person or
people cooking in advance. Explain that you can't eat stuffing that was
inside the turkey or vegetables cooked with meat. Something as simple as
leaving the marshmallows off the sweet potatoes or the ham out of the
collard greens might open up several more options for your meal, and
your host may be happy to oblige. For vegans, see if it's too much to
ask for mashed potatoes or squash to be made with non-dairy milk and
butter.
If your host won't oblige these requests or you still
feel your options will be too limited, bring your own food to the party.
Offer to be in charge of the vegetable dishes to take some of the
pressure off the cook. Suggestions include butternut or acorn squash
baked at 350 with Earth Balance, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of sugar;
potatoes mashed with Earth Balance, almond milk, and fresh dill;
collard greens or kale sauteed in olive oil and garlic; baked yams;
barbecue blackeyed peas; homemade bread; lentil walnut pate... The
possibilities are endless and chances are, your guests will not miss the
dairy or meat traditionally in these dishes after gorging themselves on
turkey and gravy. You'll actually be performing a public service. Too
lazy to cook? Check out Whole Foods and Trader Joe's for a host of
premade vegan foods, or go super gourmet with The Cinnamon Snail's
Thanksgiving menu. Most health food stores also carry vegan pies and
pastries.
Finally, have a discussion with someone you're close
to who will be at the gathering and explain that being singled out as
The Vegan or having your diet critiqued or analyzed makes you
uncomfortable and unable to enjoy the celebration. Announcing to the
whole room "These green beans are for Suzie because she's A VEGAN" is
not nice, nor is saying "come on, just eat the pie, it's Thanksgiving,
it won't kill you," nor is getting all huffy because Suzie won't eat the
nice souffle Grandma spent all day making, nor is asking where you get
your protein, etc etc etc. You are going to politely refrain from
talking about the miserable life and death of the poor turkey and how
high everybody else's cholesterol probably is, so everyone else can
refrain from making you a pariah or a conversation piece. Enlist
supportive family and friends to intervene on your behalf if these
remarks come up. Or you can just send people this article.
Finally,
if you aren't obligated to go to someone else's house, consider hosting
your own plant-based Thanksgiving and inviting others to join in the
feast!
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