A Dietitian's Guide to a Vegan Thanksgiving
Hosting a vegan or vegetarian guest this Thanksgiving season ? While it is true that planning a meal around food restrictions can be a bit difficult to accommodate at first, it certainly doesn’t have to be all that bland!
Read along to find out more about the best tips & tricks on how to veganize any kind of recipe!
Know the basic substitutions
With the right knowledge and ingredients on hand, finding small ways to turn your favourite recipes for homemade gravy, mashed potatoes or stuffing into its plant-based version can be made easy. This is because nowadays, a lot of vegan food alternatives can be found at your local grocery stores in order to make these simple & easy swaps.
Here’s a list of some of the most useful vegan substitutions:
Milk → Plant-based milk alternative (e.g. soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, quinoa milk, etc.)
Cream → Vegan yoghurt, coconut milk, or plant-based cream alternative (e.g. made from oats);
Butter → Margarine or vegan stick butter;
Chicken/beef stock → Vegetable broth (store-bought or homemade);
Eggs in savoury dishes → Egg replacer, or chickpea flour and water (1:1 ratio);
Eggs in baked goods → Flaxseed and water (1:3 ratio), or apple sauce;
Meat → Tofu, tempeh, texturized vegetable protein (TVP), or lentils.
With these simple vegan swaps mind, you can easily veganize some of your best traditional Thanksgiving meals, such as:
Vegan Stuffing using vegetable stock and vegan butter.
Vegan Gravy using vegetable stock, plant-based milk and margarine;
Vegan Mashed Potatoes using vegan yoghurt, plant-based milk and margarine;
Vegan Pumpkin Pie with coconut cream, vegan stick butter and flaxseed eggs.
2. Veganize the eating experience
Let’s be real, veganizing turkey is both a task and a handful. Instead of trying to mimic the taste and consistency of poultry, try making something different that is just as tasty and satisfying as meat, but vegan. If you try to completely veganize all your traditional holiday dishes, you might end up with more or less disappointing results. When looking up fun recipes on the Internet, make sure to choose dishes with rounded flavours and fulfilling ingredients. For instance, try…
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with vegan gravy and wild rice;
Lentil and Rice “Meatballs” with mashed potatoes, roasted veggies and vegan gravy.
3. Vegan-meat dinner combo
If a family member is vegan and the rest of your family insists on eating meat, it can be a little more difficult to plan ahead this year’s Thanksgiving menu. In addition to veganizing as many side dishes as you can, try recycling a veganized side dish by also making a vegan-friendly entrée. This way, all your loved ones can enjoy delicious and filling dinners, and you don’t have to cook too much more. For instance…
Use some of your vegan mashed potatoes to make a vegan shepherd’s pie;
Use some of your vegan stuffing to make a vegan lentil loaf.
Eating vegan can be made simple & easy!
With a little careful planning, you can ensure that everyone at the dinner table enjoys deliciously homemade meals this coming Thanksgiving season. Here’s a few things you should keep in mind:
Aim for traditional flavours — While it can be tricky to simulate the taste of turkey (who are we trying to fool anyway?), it’s a little easier to find vegan meals that give off a similar eating experience.
Plan thoroughly — With a combination of simple recipes, easy-to-find ingredients and proper time management, get ready to host the best fall dinner party!
Don’t overdo it — If you’re going for the vegan and meat route, compensate for the additional meals by making less of everything else. Keep it varied, but not wasteful!
What’s your favourite fall weather meal?
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