Hints for a Vegetarian Thanksgiving Day

If you’re hosting Thanksgiving Day at your home and are expecting vegetarian guests this year, don’t fret about preparing one large meat eating meal, and a different separate vegetarian meal. Most vegetarians don’t require a ‘meat equivalent’ at Thanksgiving. Yes, traditionally Thanksgiving Day has largely been about the food. But more significantly it’s about loved ones, togetherness, happiness and serenity. And if this is your 1st Thanksgiving Day after transitioning to a vegetarian life-style, try a few of these ideas to incorporate healthy food preparation into your meal that your vegetarian guests, and you as host, will be grateful for this Thanksgiving:

• Bake a little stuffing outside of the turkey.
• Make a little portion of vegetarian gravy.
• Keep cooking utensils separate to forestall “cross-contamination” between meat foods and vegetarian foods.
• When recipes are adaptable, utilize substitutions like vegetarian broth, soy margarine (the preparations without whey are suitable for vegans), soya milk, and kosher marshmallows which are made without gelatin.
• Utilize vegetable oils rather than animal fats for frying, and veggie shortening like Crisco for pie crust.
• Read ingredients lists cautiously on pre-packed foods, being aware of terms like gelatin, whey, and “natural flavors” that may be animal-derived.
• Fix plenty of veggie and fruit side dishes, but leave them plain.
• Provide plenty of breads, beverages, fresh fruits, and non-gelatin desserts, which are appropriate without modification for most vegetarians.
• Invite your vegetarian guest to cook a “Tofurky” or vegetarian ‘turkey equivalent’ entrée to share with you the rest of your guests, or if you’re hosting Thanksgiving Day, fix a small one. Your meat-eating guests may just be curious enough to wish to try it!
• Ask your vegetarian guest for assistance, tips, or recipes that would complement their vegetarian choice. You might find that your guest offers to help out in the kitchen or bring a dish from home. Please don’t take a dish from home as an insult to your cooking; take it as a want to share traditions at Thanksgiving Day. Even meat-eating homes put up benefit from a healthy, nutrient-dense vegetarian recipe idea any time of the year!
• First and foremost – make gobs of new, delicious (not overly cooked) veggies that are perfectly in season like squashes, sweet potatoes, and green beans, and so forth.