Vegetarian Thanksgiving

About 5 months ago I made the decision to become a vegetarian. When I broke the news to my extended family, a look of panic crossed their faces. This panic was derived soley from the fact that it is my year to host Thanksgiving dinner. The questions started with "What will you eat?" and "Will there still be turkey?"  I assured them that our Thanksgiving meal would be safe from the dreaded tofurkey and that I would in no way starve.

When I started planning our meal, I was a bit overwhelmed. After all, Thanksgiving is not the most vegetarian friendly holiday around. From the turkey to the ham to the roast beef to the side dishes filled with milk, butter, and cheese, vegetarians and our more dedicated vegan counterparts do not have an easy time finding what to eat. But in researching recipes for my family's meal, I came up with a few solutions that give vegetarians enough to eat and protect our families from a meatless holiday.

The first solution is to take the attention off of the turkey and ham and put the focus on the side dishes. As there are 7 adults and 1 tablefood eating toddler, there was no need for an enormous turkey; we settled on a turkey breast. It is my husband's job to cook the turkey and he is allowed to cook it as he pleases (however, deep frying is forbidden...nothing ruins a good holiday like a trip to the emergency room). This leaves me time to create masterful side dishes such as stuffing muffins (thank you, Rachael Ray), sweet potatoes with pineapple and marshmallows (thank you, Nanny), and homemade cranberry sauce.

The second solution is to replace ingredients such as chicken stock with vegetable stock. There are a number of vegan butters that can be used, but for the lacto-vegetarians, regular butter can still work. Soy cheeses are a good replacement for any recipes that call for cheese (I have tried the soy cheeses...they are good).  There are also a number of egg replacments available at most grocery stores (the co-op on Main Street in Newark has a lot of these products).

The third solution is to have a variety of alternative snacks available throughout the day. Raw veggies, crackers, and nuts make for good vegetarian snacks (and they're a lot healthier than cream based dips and assorted other snacks). 

It is possible for vegetarians to enjoy Thanksgiving while not giving in to all of the meaty temptations lining the table. With a few modifications, you can enjoy a "no animals were harmed in the making of this meal" Thanksgiving. And you, too, can assure your mother that there will be plenty for you to eat.