Hi Everyone,

I was hoping you could help me? I have been vegetarian but mostly vegan now for almost 3 years. The problem is my husband and myself are the only non meat eaters, and i host thanksgiving every year, so every year i find myself buying a turkey to make all my meat eating friends/family happy, but i am going against everything i beleive. This year i really dont want to support buying a turkey for others, as i dont beleive in killing an animal at all (i just adopted a turkey named victoria at farm sanctuary!!) Can anyone please give me some suggestions on A. what i could replace the turkey with for the meat eaters? and B. what do i tell them all when they are disapointed in not having turkey on thanksgiving?

I would appreciate any help i could get!!!! and Happy thanksgiving day!!!

A. Gardein's Turk'y and Stuffing or Field Roast Celebration Roasts are pretty good. Just make sure you keep them moist by basting often. The other thing you can make is a seitan loaf (dress it up like a ham).

B. 1) They know you're vegan right? Would they expect you to serve them non-vegan fare? 2) Don't say anything about turkey! I wouldn't. Since thanksgiving is a happy, family time, I would save the "save the turkeys" talk for after dinner or another time.

Last thing, make awesome side dishes! There are so many delicious, exciting things that have nothing to do with dead birds.

I'm Canadian, so we did our Thanksgiving dinner last month. I made a bunch of things; here are the recipes: http://www.marystestkitchen.com/2011/09/vegan-thanksgiving-project-2011/  The crowd favourite was the roasted eggplant with cornbread stuffing & everyone loved the mushroom gravy too.

Hope that helps,

Mary

http://www.marystestkitchen.com

I ordered a vegan stuffed holiday roast by match meats this year on www.veganessentials.com, they are still available on their website , so please hurry, this is my first year buying this because they are new but they looked yummy!!

vanillabeanvegan.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for all the awesome tips!!!!!  And Happy Belated Thanksgiving to you Mary!

Make a tofurky this way http://planthappylife.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-with-friends-2011-recipe.html There is no reason to compromise your beliefs!

I made this last year and it was a huge hit.  Even with my dad who eats meat and very few veggies:

http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/10/seitan-roast-with-wild-rice-and.html

Gravy is key:

http://www.theppk.com/2010/10/savory-mushroom-gravy/

Another option is to make a pot pie or stuffed acorn squashes.  There are tons of recipes and I've never made any of them but I think omnivores like naturally vegan meals and it avoids the stigma of the tofurkey (even though they're delicious)

my tofurky was a huge hit with all my omni friends, and the key is how i make it. i have always been well known amongst my friends as a great cook, and now that I'm vegan, I continue to be a good cook. My gravy is a huge hit too. I don't use the gravy that comes with the tofurky because its not good enough for my guests. I usually don't use fake meats, but the tofurky is like a tradition, and it doesn't have to be scary.

I have mixed feelings about fake meats in general. I like them, they're fast and easy, but.... I feel like serving them to non-vegetarians is tricky. It seems to reinforce this idea that vegans are just pining away for meat, and cheese, and dairy and all of that. I tend to like to serve other things just to dispell that thinking.

This year I am making a chard and sweet potato torte (recipe from Vegetarian Times). It's pretty and will look very fancy, and yet its super easy (I am on-call for work on Thanksgiving and don't want to get stuck having to leave things half done!). The original recipe has Taleggio cheese in it, but I'm going to replace it with a tofu "ricotta". I'm going to do mashed potatos and gravy, my own green bean casserole, baby carrots, and pumpkin pie.

I wouldn't apologize for the lack of turkey. Its your home, your vegan, they really shouldn't expect turkey! When I go to other people's houses for holidays, I never expect them to make something special to accomodate me! If someone offers to bring it, let them, but otherwise I just wouldn't even mention it!

And by the way - our family also adopted Victoria the turkey at Farm Sanctuary!!

Starflower, I feel the same way about fake meats. My meat eating friends are so open minded that not only do I serve it, but I joke around and call it a "beige ball." I actually called my thanksgiving party the "beige ball blast." Really, they all said it was better than real turkey, but the major hit was my sweet potatoes. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to cook good plant based food for my friends, because its the only thing that keeps me sane in this meat eating world. Throwing a thanksgiving party for my friends every year is how I deal with a depressing holiday. When I first starting going vegan, I already knew that we were hosting thanksgiving that year and that I wouldn't have a turkey, because it didn't feel right. What I'm saying is, don't compromise your beliefs. Follow your heart. I hope you could at least get some ideas from the link I provided with all my recipes and pictures. Good luck and have a great thanksgiving.

I make dressing with veggie broth and home made vegetarian gravy.  A typical vegetarian Thanksgiving menu when I am cooking for vegetarians would be mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, a green salad, roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes, relishes, a broccoli and rice casserole, home made rolls, cranberry sauce and two or three pies.  I've never had anyone complain about not having any turkey.

Thanks.
John Smith
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[url=http://www.dessertdarling.com/]Easy Delicious Desserts[/url]

I make dressing with veggie broth and home made vegetarian gravy.  A typical vegetarian Thanksgiving menu when I am cooking for vegetarians would be mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, a green salad, roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes, relishes, a broccoli and rice casserole, home made rolls, cranberry sauce and two or three pies.  I've never had anyone complain about not having any turkey.

Thanks.
John Smith
________________________
http://www.dessertdarling.com/