- Spencer Lee ’20
Thanksgiving is almost here, and as you’re planning out your family’s meal, remember to keep in mind the following advice. We want you to have a great American celebration, but for the vegan community, it’s often difficult to find delicious, organic, and healthy food. This is how you can make a scrumptious vegan feast worthy for the pilgrims.
First off is the turkey. The iconic centerpiece of Thanksgiving is almost impossible to replace, but we recommend a high-quality tofu dish. After a quick google search, we’ve found tofurky, a fake version of turkey. Yum. This is the perfect thing for vegans to eat during the holiday season. You can make your own delicious tofurky by creating a blend of vegetarian protein, such as tofu or wheat. Enlightened vegan Lance Chou explains “I prefer growing my tofurky from soy proteins in my backyard garden. I water my soybean plants four times a day, creating some palatable and piquant tofurkey. I love soybeans and tofurkey!”
Stuffing is the next aspect of the meal. For the most part, regular stuffing is not prepared vegan, but with only a few quick changes, that can be fixed. The three main ingredients are bread, eggs, and chicken broth. Make sure you are using vegan-friendly bread when you begin. When prompted to add eggs, make sure to use flax eggs, and substitute out the chicken broth with veggie broth. This may take away from the delicious hearty taste of stuffing, but it’ll be vegan so that makes up for the bland taste…kind of. And, as vegan specialist Charlie Selna says, “Once you go vegan, you never go back”.
If you really want to go full vegan, then it is best to avoid all wordly food options, and turn to spiritual Thanksgiving meals. Sit in a dark room, light some candles, and imagine eating the best Thanksgiving meal of your life. With this style of Thanksgiving meal, which your humble reporters strongly recommend, you can be vegan, while enjoying all the delicious tastes that come with a Thanksgiving meal. It’s the best of both worlds!
There are plenty of other dishes in a Thanksgiving meal that could be areas of concern. These include mashed potatoes, gravy, and every type of pie. For vegans, all you can eat is cranberry sauce and green beans. However, with the options presented in this article, vegans can have a happy and tasty Thanksgiving with their families.
Photo from Stacey Homemaker
