Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner

Tofurkey and Vegetarian Holiday Sidedishes

Oct 2, 2008 Elizabeth Bastos

Throw a vegan Thanksgiving feast with tofu-turkey and heart-healthy sidedishes that are milk-, meat-, and egg-free like vegan garlic mashed potatoes and pecan pie.

Vegans don’t eat meat or use or consume animal products of any kind. No leather shoes. No milk. No turkey. No honey. According to Wikipedia, “the most common reasons for becoming a vegan are an ethical commitment or moral convictions concerning animal rights, the environment, human health, and spiritual or religious concerns. Of particular concern are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources required for animal farming.”

Factory-Farmed Turkeys

It’s time we should all consider the ills of factory farming. After all, its factory farming that brought us the bland, white-meat heavy Broad-Breasted White, the “traditional” and tasteless turkey found around Thanksgiving in supermarkets everywhere. Hours are spent brining, basting, and hovering over these birds to try to get them to be rich and moist-tasting. It's a lot of work for a little flavor.

For a more naturally flavorful holiday turkey, click here for information on heritage birds, including the colorful, rich-tasting Bourbon Red turkey. Heritage birds won a recent Cooks Illustrated Magazine Taste Test.

But for the vegan dinner guests around your Thanksgiving table who want to celebrate the convivial holiday with delicious food, too: What do to? Enjoy the challenge and expand the family’s food horizons and maybe learn something about the incredible smorgasboard of healthy vegan Thanksgiving options out there. Conversion is possible.

Tofurkey

Tofurkey is a seitan and tofu loaf with a texture similar but not the same as turkey and with a nice, natural turkey flavor. Several brands of faux turkey are available including:

  • Tofurkey by Turtle Island Foods
  • Celebration Roast by the Field Roast Grain Meat Company
  • Stuffed Holiday Roast by Match Foods

Sidedishes for a Vegan Holiday Dinner

Meat, cream, milk, butter and eggs are out. And anyway, they’re not so good for your arteries. The things that are in are better for you and heart-healthy and greener, as in more ecologically sustainable: milks made from nuts, all kinds of delicious vegetables, nuts, beans, legumes, a rainbow of tofu products.

For traditional favorite Thanksgiving recipes vegan-style try:

Consider Vegan Thanksgiving a heart-healthy change from the traditional dinner of creamy peas and onions, fatty bacon with brussel-sprouts, and the dry centerpiece turkey that more often than not disappoints. Celebrate the bounty of the season with vegetables from the farmer's market and with a smaller carbon footprint this holiday.

The copyright of the article Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner in Vegetarian Cuisine is owned by Elizabeth Bastos. Permission to republish Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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