Preparing for a Vegan Thanksgiving

With only two weeks until Thanksgiving, it isn't too early to start planning what you and your family are going to eat.

Yes, it is possible to have a filling, delicious, and fabulous Thanksgiving dinner that is vegan. My friends and family have been having one for years. We eat many traditional Thanksgiving foods, we just veganize the recipes. To me, Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without green bean casserole, stuffing, and a pecan pie. My husband and oldest daughter expect a pumpkin pie. We've learned (quite easily) how to make these foods healthier, tastier, and vegan.

veganize (Do Life Right's definition): To change a nonvegan recipe into a vegan recipe by substituting and/or replacing animal products with vegan items. Examples include using soy or rice milks instead of cow milks, using tofu instead of eggs, and using tempeh bacon instead of pig bacon.

Out of curiosity, I plugged "vegan Thanksgiving" into google.com and found hundred of recipes and how-tos on how to hold a vegan Thanksgiving meal. It isn't hard and it is humane. Consider checking your local vegetarian restaurants to see if any are serving a special meal. Lovin' Spoonfuls, in Tucson, is having their yearly "by reservation only" Thanksgiving dinner. Friendly Feast is also offering a class on how to cook a vegan Thanksgiving that satisfies everyone, including the meat eaters in your family. If you really want to have an easy meal, try buying a Tofurky kit.

Why do we not eat turkey? The better question is: Why would we?

For more information check out these great sites:

• GentleThanksgiving.org (they have their own top 10 list)
• GoVeg.com's Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Turkeys
  

Vegan Recipe Websites

I've been asked for my favorite sites with great vegan recipes. Here they are:

• Fatfree Vegan Site
• McDougall Recipes (you have to use their search to find specific recipes in their archives)
• Fatfree.com Site (both vegetarian and vegan recipes)
• Vegweb.com site (both vegetarian and vegan recipes)
  

However, when I really want to make a particular meal (and don't already know how), one of the first things I do is go to Google and type in "Vegan" and whatever the meal is (I also often add "lowfat" or "fat free" to my search). I've read a variety of awesome advice this way, including finding tips and suggestions on how to prepare various foods (like tofu, which I originally hated and now love since I know how to use it correctly).

Most vegans I know still use all of their regular cookbooks. They just veganize the recipes.

I also often use premade ingredients, such as jarred pasta sauce and Boca products. Here is an example of a super easy "Vegan Chicken Parmesan" I made last week (we cut out a piece so the layers could be seen):


2 packages Boca "Chicken" Patties
1 jar of your favorite fatfree vegan pasta sauce
2-3 chopped tomatoes (optional)
1/2 chopped onion (optional)
misc. chopped up veggies (optional)
1 package of WHOLE WHEAT pasta (I used spaghetti here)
1 package vegan Mozzarella cheese (shred for best results)
few sprinkles of vegan Parmesan cheese
sprinkle of your favorite spice (we used oregano)

Cook pasta as directed, heat patties in oven (not necessary, but I like them very crisp). Assemble in this order: pasta, sauce, veggies, patties, vegan Mozzarella, vegan Parmesan, spices. Bake at 400F or so for about 30 minutes. Actual preparing time is very minimal (less than 5 minutes, not counting boiling time). Makes 8 servings, tastes delicious, and is only 5 Weight Watchers POINTS per serving.

Cholesterol Free Diet

I keep hearing (and reading) about cholesterol lowering drugs. Random strangers at parks, checkout lines, and luncheon meetings tell me their woes about having high cholesterol. It makes me feel like climbing on a rooftop and screaming at the top of my lungs, "A VEGAN DIET IS A CHOLESTEROL FREE DIET."

As my friend Peggy from Lovin' Spoonfuls says, "Heart Disease is a Meat Disease." This is a proven fact.

If you don't eat cholesterol, you don't have high cholesterol. It just isn't physically possible.

Would you rather be burdened with drugs and constant worry over your diet and the quantity you consume, or would you rather be drug-free and eat a virtually unlimited McDougall style lowfat vegan diet that is full of all the flavor you are used to and MORE? It's a non-question to me. It doesn't surprise me that the people with the most bodily health complaints are the ones with their plates full of the most meat and dairy.

I hear it all the time: "But, I love flavor. I could never eat a bland vegan diet." This is another silly myth about vegan diets!

I love food. I love a wide variety of flavors and textures and I demand to eat only food that is high quality and tastes fantastic. No mediocre foods for me and my family, yet we always have more delicious food in our house than we could possibly eat in one sitting. We seldom have problems eating out, either. We've just learned HOW to order and HOW to prepare food. It really isn't that hard once you are used to it. We've actually found that all of our previous foods' flavors actually came from the toppings and sauces anyway. We still eat those toppings and sauces (some needed to be "veganized"), we just now put them on vegetables, grains, seitan, and tempeh instead of cholesterol laden meats.

Try it for a month. Get your cholesterol tested today, then eat according to PCRM's guidelines for a month, then get your cholesterol tested again. You just might be shocked with delight at how a simple change in diet can improve your health so drastically!

What do you eat?

Some of the questions I get asked most frequently, are: "What do you eat?", "What do you eat in groups of omnivores?", and "What does your family do with all that time with your children since they aren't in school?". With this blog, I am going to attempt to answer these questions over time and I'll mention our most recent great finds.

Check out Vegan Done Light's new cookbook. You can purchase it here. This cookbook is downloadable and can be purchased for only $9. You can see wonderful interviews of Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Neal Barnard, two of my ultimate favorite vegan advocates, on Vegan Done Light's website. While you are at it, be sure to check out the McDougall Program and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Both are life changing for a person that wants to live the healthiest life possible.