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Vegetarian/ Vegan Thanksgiving?

post #1 of 59
Thread Starter 
Are there any other vegetarians or vegans on the boards? Or are any of you married to or dating a vegetarian? I'm considering trying Tofurky for the first time this Thanksgiving, though I'm not sure what to expect. My family are all carnivores, so I'm not really looking forward to the holidays unless I can find some way to join them at the dinner table. Any advice?
post #2 of 59
Celery sticks + peanut butter
post #3 of 59
I've actually always found Thanksgiving to be one of the friendliest holidays to vegetarians, as long as you have some understanding family members. A standard thanksgiving plate consists of Turkey (obviously a no go), Mashed Potatoes (should be fine unless you're vegan, and even then not too hard to make a separate batch), Stuffing (fine as long as it's not made with broth, though that's the best tasting kind), Green beans (or the even more delicious and veggie-safe green bean casserole), cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes. I've talked to some people who've tried tofurkey, and the advice I've heard is simply don't.
post #4 of 59
Never had Tofurkey, never felt the need. It's easy enough to make vegetarian gravy, stuffing, etc... A side dish and dessert paradise is not a bad way to spend a holiday.

Still, even as a vegetarian, the worst animals paraded out on Thanksgiving are the Detroit Lions. Somebody get rid of those guys.
post #5 of 59
Just give in. My wife was a vegetarian for something like 8 years before she broke down one Thanksgiving, succumbing to her drunken hunger for turkey.

She eats beef jerky and pork rinds now.
post #6 of 59
Same thing happened with my wife; minus the pork rinds. Probably happens a lot.
post #7 of 59
Thread Starter 
Unfortunately my family is not understanding at all. They try to make me eat meat every chance they get. (I've been having some serious stomach trouble since dinner and I suspect the spaghetti sauce my dad "set aside" for me.) What side dishes they do make often make use of chicken broth, which grossed me out even when I did eat meat. My sister did say that she and her husband would help me eat the Tofurky if I made one, so at least there's that. I'm lacto-ovo but prefer to eat vegan dishes whenever possible. Maybe I should say I want all vegan dishes so they'll meet me in the middle with a few vegetarian dishes. ;p

That's a shame about the Tofurky. I've been in Trader Joe's twice this week already and it looks SO yummy on the box! There's seriously nothing good about it? Even if you don't expect it to taste like meat?

I won't ever be going back to beef jerky, and I NEVER ate pork rinds. For years I would only eat chicken or turkey once in a while and very very rarely a couple of bites of steak. I don't miss it.
post #8 of 59
I dated someone who turned Vegan about 8 years into a 10 year relationship. She used to like going to the zoo, but then suddenly suggesting a trip resulted in a sneer and 'I don't want to go look at animals in cages!" I was also told once that she wouldn't love me any more if I kept eating meat. A planned trip for two to Switzerland suddenly turned into a trip for one when this diet arose because Switzerland is made of cheese. Veganism didn't ruin the relationship, but it helped. The diet did her a world of good, though. There's no denying that.
post #9 of 59
Flexitarian here. Mostly lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, but still love sushi, and I'm okay with free range chicken when i can get it.

As for your family situation Jennifer, there's far than a fair share of meatless dishes that would be welcome at any sane table, and Morningstar Farms stuff, expensive though it may be, has picked up a lot of the slack in keeping my meat cravings met.
post #10 of 59
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
Flexitarian here. Mostly lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, but still love sushi, and I'm okay with free range chicken when i can get it.
I might, someday, be somewhat okay with free range chicken. It's certainly a compromise I could probably make for a relationship- allowing it in the house occasionally, I mean.

Quote:
As for your family situation Jennifer, there's far than a fair share of meatless dishes that would be welcome at any sane table, and Morningstar Farms stuff, expensive though it may be, has picked up a lot of the slack in keeping my meat cravings met.
I LOVE Morningstar Farms' food. It's not really what I had in mind for Thanksgiving dinner, but I might just have to have a big plate of veggie corndogs or breakfast links if nothing else works out. The funny thing is that I know at least one of those freaking carnivores will try to steal one from me!

I am going to try to get more involved with the cooking this year and focus on the side dishes. I bet I could use vegetable broth instead of any meat broths and they'd never even know the difference. And I'm still tempted to try the Tofurky.
post #11 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Riviello View Post
Just give in. My wife was a vegetarian for something like 8 years before she broke down one Thanksgiving, succumbing to her drunken hunger for turkey.

She eats beef jerky and pork rinds now.
Good God! You really DID marry a keeper, didn't you?
post #12 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Miller View Post
I've actually always found Thanksgiving to be one of the friendliest holidays to vegetarians, as long as you have some understanding family members. A standard thanksgiving plate consists of Turkey (obviously a no go), Mashed Potatoes (should be fine unless you're vegan, and even then not too hard to make a separate batch), Stuffing (fine as long as it's not made with broth, though that's the best tasting kind), Green beans (or the even more delicious and veggie-safe green bean casserole), cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes. I've talked to some people who've tried tofurkey, and the advice I've heard is simply don't.
You forgot the turnips! HOW could you forget the turnips!?

Also, some stuffing is made w/ sausage. That a danger at your folks', Jennifer?
post #13 of 59
Hi. I've been a vegetarian of one sort or another for... well, 29 years. And, yeah, Thanksgiving is kind to vegetarians, as you can side dish your way around the table, but it can be more fun if there's actually a main dish for you. My husband and I have been hosting Thanksgiving at our house for a few years now and, when we do it, everything on the table except the turkey is vegetarian (before anyone says anything, tell them how awesome the stuffing is, Dave) and we make a vegetarian main dish that others can treat as a side if they want. We made leek tarts with feta cheese in a butter crust a couple of times, butternut squash ravioli one year, and, this year, we're making white beans in an herbed butter sauce on polenta. This isn't just for me, mind you - my sister is also a vegetarian.

I've never tried Tofurkey, because, frankly, why? I don't eat meat, don't want to eat meat, and don't really get pretending that I am. I do like tofu, but I've heard nothing but bad reactions to Tofurkey from my vegetarian friends.

My advice to you? There are some great vegetarian cookbooks out there and this month's issue of Gourmet has an entire section on vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes. Learning how to cook can make life as a vegetarian so much more interesting and healthier, as fake meat can be full of sodium and ingredients that don't exist in nature.
post #14 of 59
My wife was a vegetarian until 4 months ago. She now had her first rack of lamb and pork babyback ribs last weekend and she's positively cured.

The reason why she quited? The baby. You can't tell a kid to eat his meat if you can't do the same, or so she thinks. And bacon. She splurged on it right off the bat.

Still, we ate pretty well, and we'd do recipes that could be meatless, or I could add the meat on it's own. And some vegetarian recipes are without tofu or mock meat, so there's that. If there's one vegetarian book I'd recommend, it's Celia Brooks Brown's Entertaining Vegetarians. So far, all the recipes in this book are awesome, and I'm telling you this as a meatlover.
post #15 of 59
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Savage View Post
My wife was a vegetarian until 4 months ago. She now had her first rack of lamb and pork babyback ribs last weekend and she's positively cured.
Eeew. Keep that kind of talk out of this thread! ;p

Quote:
The reason why she quited? The baby. You can't tell a kid to eat his meat if you can't do the same, or so she thinks. And bacon. She splurged on it right off the bat.
That reasoning doesn't really make sense to me, but to each her own. Have you seen the Kiwi Bacon Ad? heh

Quote:
Still, we ate pretty well, and we'd do recipes that could be meatless, or I could add the meat on it's own. And some vegetarian recipes are without tofu or mock meat, so there's that. If there's one vegetarian book I'd recommend, it's Celia Brooks Brown's Entertaining Vegetarians. So far, all the recipes in this book are awesome, and I'm telling you this as a meatlover.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out! If
post #16 of 59
Thread Starter 
Zooey, the point of fake meat is that it can be very helpful for those of us in transitional phases. I was raised on meat and potatoes and when I first tried to go vegetarian back in middle school I got absolutely no support. So it's been an on and off thing since then (flexitarian, as Justin Clark called it) but more on than not in the past couple of years. This time last year I did have a few bites of turkey at Thanksgiving and some barbecue chicken or pork at a friend's Christmas party. It was both delicious and disgusting. What gets to me, especially if I'm really hungry, is all the seasonings and sauces. Yum. But once I eat it, the act of eating flesh makes me gag. The meat itself does not taste good. Enter textured soy protein products, which can be seasoned to resemble whatever meat dish one's friends and family are chowing down on and really help take the edge off of a craving. It's not meat I crave, but all those flavors people use to make meat taste good. And I don't eat the stuff every day, or even every week. I'm with you on the high sodium and weird ingredients! But without it, I might succumb to some really tasty smelling meat dish and then spend the rest of my holiday in the toilet. Not my idea of fun.

As for Thanksgiving in particular, my family does not do many side dishes. Mashed potatoes and green beans are not very exciting. And I don't know if it's just because I live in the South, but people around here put chicken broth or bacon or ham in EVERYTHING. Obviously I'll try to make a few dishes myself so that I can be sure of what's in them, but there are already way too many cooks in our kitchen.

The leek tarts sound great, and I'd love to try the white beans on polenta! If you could PM me the recipes, I'd really appreciate it! And I'll check out the recipes in Gourmet, too. Thanks for the info.
post #17 of 59
My sister-in-law has been a vegetarian for about 5 years now, but she doesn't quite realize that subtracting meat from her diet doesn't mean that she can splurge on sour cream & onion chips and diet pepsi.
post #18 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Savage View Post
She now had her first rack of lamb and pork babyback ribs last weekend and she's positively cured.
I see what you did there.
post #19 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by BankytheHack View Post
My sister-in-law has been a vegetarian for about 5 years now, but she doesn't quite realize that subtracting meat from her diet doesn't mean that she can splurge on sour cream & onion chips and diet pepsi.
Vegetarian eating does require something of a paradigm shift. Chips and soda won't cut it. Unfortunately, this is a mistake that vegetarians who are new or who are still learning make. I certainly did. It's even worse when someone is attempting to be a vegan.
post #20 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan Banks is my hero View Post
I see what you did there.
Yes. I. Did.

I could have said "healed", but we're talking vegetarianism here.

And to drive the point home, I have yet to see the vegetarian version of this beauty:

post #21 of 59
My wife and I are vegetarians and have been doing the tofurkey thing for years. In my opinion they are awesome. I actually crave them other times of the year as well. The gravy they sell leaves a little to be desired though.
post #22 of 59
Jennifer, You don't need a tofurkey, just ask your family members to be considerate and allow you to make some vegetarian dishes for Thanksgiving dinner. Even if you are the only one to eat it, at least you will have leftovers, for another day. My sister and My cousin, both named Jennifer are vegetarians. One idea is to get yourself some food from a vegan restaurant. My Sister and I go to the Angelica Kitchen in NYC on 12th between 1st and second ave all the time. vegguide.org is a site that not only lists Vegan Restaurants...they list supermarkets worldwide as well.
post #23 of 59
3 words.

green bean casserole.
post #24 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Savage View Post
And to drive the point home, I have yet to see the vegetarian version of this beauty:
We will infect every corner of your lives.



Actually, it's one of the few fake meat products that I actually kind of liked. Tofu dishes don't count, as they're a protein substitute rather than a fake meat.
post #25 of 59
I love the the fact that it's natural.

Still, yuk.
post #26 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Savage View Post
If that's what you Canadians eat instead of Turkey, I'm moving north.
post #27 of 59
I've had a pretty good vegan rib sandwich. I mean, I'd take a rack like the one Martin posted over it anyday, but it was at least as good and more meat-like than, say, a McRib.

I'm thoroughly omnivorous, but I typically eat meat maybe once a week. When I don't, I'd rather eat a first-rate vegetable-heavy meal than a second-rate meat substitute meal. More often than not, the latter just makes you regret not having the real thing (occasional vegan rib sandwiches and notably good veggie burgers - the ones that don't just try to mimic ground beef, but have interesting spices, etc. - excepted).
post #28 of 59
Looks like I'm like DaveB, food-wise. We still do some vegetarian recipes. And a local fast-food chain has one pretty good veggie-burger, so there's that.

And Judas, I honestly don't know about the rest of Canada, but over here, in Quebec, nobody gives a fuck about Thanksgiving. We usually have turkey for the New Year.
post #29 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Savage View Post
And Judas, I honestly don't know about the rest of Canada, but over here, in Quebec, nobody gives a fuck about Thanksgiving. We usually have turkey for the New Year.
And here I thought that you ate a pistacchio-crusted rack of lamb because, you know, you're a sophisticate.
post #30 of 59
As someone who eats way too much meat, I'd take unashamed vegetables over ones that try to pass as burgers or corndogs any day. My uninformed but probably right advice for Jennifer is that legit vegetarian dishes will be much less "threatening" to your family than fake versions of their beloved turkey, gravy, etc.
post #31 of 59
I've been a vegetarian for about 7 years, and I've never really had a problem figuring out what to eat on Thanksgiving. There's so much food!

A typical holiday menu for me might have:

- A portabello swiss burger or a breaded portobello mushroom smothered in gravy
- Tons of garlicy mashed potatoes also smothered in gravy
- Boiled carrots and broccoli or some other type of vegetable covered in butter (and usually also covered in gravy and mashed into my potatoes by the end of the meal...)
- Lots of salad with zesty italian dressing
- Spicy cornbread
- Cranberry sauce
- Pumpkin pie
- Various other desserts
- Many many glasses of wine

I still haven't felt the need to eat Tofurky yet, although I am curious about how it would taste. Your family sounds pretty unsupportive, but you can load up on sides and desserts and bring your own main dish. That'll show 'em!
post #32 of 59
Oh yeah, and Martin, we can absolutely beat that.

Check out these tasty vegan ribs, made with seitan and smothered in deliciousness
post #33 of 59
Is it just me, or does the veganism/vegetarinism bug seem to strike women more than men? I, for one, can't imagine a life without the occasional Prime Rib, a Porterhouse Steak, or Turkey on Thanksgiving. I do enjoy Veggie Burgers every once in a while when their done right, but they don't taste anything like the real thing, just good in their own right.

I don't eat meat every day, and I respect the wishes of vegetarians/vegans (we have more than a few in the family, all women), I just can't ever see myself going down that road. I love meat too much. With that said, there's tons of other great non-meat food on Thanksgiving to stuff yourself with (and alcohol!), so hopefully your family will supply the goods or let you make it yourself.
post #34 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post
Oh yeah, and Martin, we can absolutely beat that.

Check out these tasty vegan ribs, made with seitan and smothered in deliciousness
Not even fucking close. Smothered in sauce to mask the fact there is no meat, maybe.
post #35 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob View Post
Not even fucking close. Smothered in sauce to mask the fact there is no meat, maybe.
It looks like that piece of teleported "synthetic" meat from The Fly.
post #36 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by duke fleed View Post
Jennifer, You don't need a tofurkey, just ask your family members to be considerate and allow you to make some vegetarian dishes for Thanksgiving dinner. Even if you are the only one to eat it, at least you will have leftovers, for another day. My sister and My cousin, both named Jennifer are vegetarians. One idea is to get yourself some food from a vegan restaurant. My Sister and I go to the Angelica Kitchen in NYC on 12th between 1st and second ave all the time. vegguide.org is a site that not only lists Vegan Restaurants...they list supermarkets worldwide as well.
Wait...fleed lives in New York City? Oh my god.
post #37 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
It looks like that piece of teleported "synthetic" meat from The Fly.
I don't know what you're talking about, the synthetic steak looked exactly the same as the real steak.

And as someone who has eaten a seitan rib sandwich, I can tell you with confidence that they are freakin' tasty, with or without sauce.
post #38 of 59
Doc Happenin, I live near New York City...in Connecticut.
post #39 of 59
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
Is it just me, or does the veganism/vegetarinism bug seem to strike women more than men?
I've noticed that too. Some sort of genetic programming leftover from hunter-gatherer days, maybe? And guys who are vegan seem to use more of the convenience food. My ex has turned into a junk food vegan, and it's amusing to hang out with him at dinner time. I don't even want to know how many packages of Tofurky sausages he goes through in a week. Those things smell funky. Eew.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post
Oh yeah, and Martin, we can absolutely beat that.

Check out these tasty vegan ribs, made with seitan and smothered in deliciousness
Are those the ones made by Gardenburger? I see them all the time at Trader Joe's. They look interesting enough to try, but I haven't had any desire to.

I totally get what everyone is saying about real vegetables being better, and I agree. I would like to have some sort of main dish, though. I really don't eat fake meat products very often at all (I can't afford to) so it's just sort of a treat for times like this.
post #40 of 59
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeroillusion View Post
My wife and I are vegetarians and have been doing the tofurkey thing for years. In my opinion they are awesome. I actually crave them other times of the year as well. The gravy they sell leaves a little to be desired though.
Hooray! I'm glad to hear that someone likes them. I've heard Tofurky can be good if you cook it just right. Do you follow the instructions on the box, or do something a little different? I really think I might try it if I can be fairly sure of it being at least edible.
post #41 of 59
Yeah, fake meat products are just junkfood. A tasty splurge every once in awhile but that's about it, I rarely use them. Sometimes I'll make veggie ground round stroganoff or get a veggie dog but that's about it. I find that it still ends up being way healthier and lower in cholesterol anyway when I do eat it, so it's 'junk' food, but still more benign than chowing down on a bucket of KFC or getting a Big Mac or something.

In general I prefer real food to processed, so I stick with more natural things and avoid the soy shit. A spicy black bean burger or a grilled portabello mushroom or a breaded chickpea patty is way more delicious anyway if I'm craving a burger.
post #42 of 59
I have a friend who was a vegan for many years. At least until the bones in her feet started to necrotize. She had to have surgery to graft her big and second toes together so she could continue to stand in the future as she lost so much bone mass in the toes and the feet. She was in a wheelchair for 8 months. The toes are still grafted together, she calls them frankentoes. For someone who ate so healthy she was one of the most sickly people I knew.
post #43 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey View Post
We will infect every corner of your lives.



Actually, it's one of the few fake meat products that I actually kind of liked. Tofu dishes don't count, as they're a protein substitute rather than a fake meat.
I love riblets.
post #44 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Man Mundt View Post
I have a friend who was a vegan for many years. At least until the bones in her feet started to necrotize. She had to have surgery to graft her big and second toes together so she could continue to stand in the future as she lost so much bone mass in the toes and the feet. She was in a wheelchair for 8 months. The toes are still grafted together, she calls them frankentoes. For someone who ate so healthy she was one of the most sickly people I knew.
What the fuck was she eating? :|
post #45 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Man Mundt View Post
I have a friend who was a vegan for many years. At least until the bones in her feet started to necrotize. She had to have surgery to graft her big and second toes together so she could continue to stand in the future as she lost so much bone mass in the toes and the feet. She was in a wheelchair for 8 months. The toes are still grafted together, she calls them frankentoes. For someone who ate so healthy she was one of the most sickly people I knew.
Sounds like who my Cousin, who's also a vegan but looks like an anorexic. Humans were meant to have meat in their diet, if you don't eat it you need to find some kind of reasonable substitute or else you wind up with all kinds of...interesting....problems.
post #46 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by RabidCow View Post
What the fuck was she eating? :|
Oh the usual stuff. Tofu, tempeh, veggies, rice, beans, fake meat.
post #47 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by InTheShadows View Post
Sounds like who my Cousin, who's also a vegan but looks like an anorexic. Humans were meant to have meat in their diet, if you don't eat it you need to find some kind of reasonable substitute or else you wind up with all kinds of...interesting....problems.
Correction: Humans are meant to have protein (along with several vitamins, etc.) in their diets. Meat is just the common source thanks to culture and industry.
post #48 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennifer View Post
Hooray! I'm glad to hear that someone likes them. I've heard Tofurky can be good if you cook it just right. Do you follow the instructions on the box, or do something a little different? I really think I might try it if I can be fairly sure of it being at least edible.
I am culinary inept, but my wife says that she does it precisely to the box down to the chopping up of celery, carrots, and potatoes. It is more than edible, I don't know where all the hate is coming from, but like I said earlier I love the stuff. I would eat it more often if I thought about it.

See I don't get all the hate for fake meat stuff in general. One of my friends who eats meat, says that he'll eat it if it attempts to be it's own thing, and not a meat substitute. However, in my case and I am a vegetarian if it doesn't have meat in it I'll eat it. I like veggie burgers, I've perfected a veggie meatball recipe that is totally awesome to use in sandwiches. I've been veg for over 5 years now, and just think of the fake meat stuff, as another weapon in my cooking arsenal.
post #49 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post
Oh yeah, and Martin, we can absolutely beat that.

Check out these tasty vegan ribs, made with seitan and smothered in deliciousness
It seriously looks like the "ribs" they put in the Subway's ribs sandwich. I had my fare of mock meat. The best is duck I'd say, but for ribs, and I have the wife's opinion on that, nothing comes close to the real deal. She didn't eat a lot of mock meat, and concentrated on better replacements. For a burger, nothing comes close to a portobello mushroom burger.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Judas Booth View Post
And here I thought that you ate a pistacchio-crusted rack of lamb because, you know, you're a sophisticate.
But I am my good man. But we really don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Quebec. I'm pretty sure it's a cultural thing, as I think the rest of the country does it more, but as much as you guys.
post #50 of 59
All I know is that I now desperately want to eat at Dave and Zooey's for Thanksgiving. Those Leek tarts and butternut squash ravioli sound delish.
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