A more humane Thanksgiving dinner
Gathering friends and family for a plant based feast is easier than ever. Photo: Gettyimages from Shutterstock
I can still remember the moment I decided to never eat another animal. I was 14, and had just watched a video showcasing what happens in a slaughterhouse. While someone explained to me that the video was probably not indicative of every meat processing plant, it was the animals’ fear and emotional intelligence that confirmed for me my decision to never have meat again. In fact, whenever I remember that video, and despite there being many more graphic scenes, the image most vividly burned into my mind is that of two turkeys nuzzling each other in a cramped stall.
While it’s hard to make it through a holiday without hearing, “Heather, white or dark meat for you?”, my family is pretty supportive of my vegan lifestyle. My Gram brought a Tofurkey to the table for me the same year I denounced eating meat. And while the turkey is still the centerpiece of the holiday table, my family takes pride and excitement in showing me the new vegan recipes they’ve discovered.
My hope is that one day we’ll all favor animal-free dinners and fill our plates instead with greens and grains. For now, I’ll continue to try to win over my family with the best mashed potatoes they’ve ever had, and patiently reassure them that, yes, I’m getting plenty of protein.
Turkeys are intelligent and emotional beings capable of being stressed out by difficult situations, just like us.
How to make holiday dinners more plant-based when you’re not hosting
Offer to bring food. The best way to make sure you can partake in the feast is to bring the plant-based food yourself. In the process you’ll get a chance to introduce your fellow diners to delicious plant-based options like vegan cranberry walnut stuffing, pumpkin sage biscuits, or vegan sweet potato pie. Additionally, who needs eggnog when you’re sipping on a spiced gingery apple cocktail?
If your home cooking is less ‘wow’ and more ‘oh-no’, don’t be afraid to order in plant-based meals. One of my go-to sources is Whole Foods. You can order your entire dinner right from its site.
Donate to farm sanctuaries. Taking your friends, families, and children to animal sanctuaries can be a great way to inspire compassion for farm animals. It’s educational, too. Did you know wild turkeys can fly up to 55mph! Each year, Farm Sanctuary hosts a Thanksgiving for the Turkeys, where the turkeys get fed a feast of cranberries and squash.
Realize that this is a process. Plant-based options are no longer just for vegan cafes in Portland, Oregon. They are now a staple at fast food chains, grocery stores, hospitals, college campuses, and even Swedish furniture stores. We can attribute this massive spike in plant-based interest to research that establishes animals as sentient, emotional, and intelligent beings and ties their mass production to climate change and pollution.
I make a point of bringing plant-based options every holiday event. It’s a chance to talk about why I do it. You can’t save all the animals but the conversations you have today may plant the seeds for tomorrow. You may reach someone, and that someone will connect with someone else, and so on. Have that conversation. Make that plant-based casserole. Choose a healthier, more humane food system.
Feast on this
THE ROAST. The idea of a roast as the centerpiece to the meal definitely originates in our meat-eating culture. There’s no reason why it has to be meat, however. Serious Eats has a seriously good vegan roast you can make fresh in your own kitchen. The sparkle of this dish comes from its colorful presentation and its all-in-one function.
This plant-based roast involves three different kinds of mushrooms, carrots, some cashews, flaky phyllo dough, and just a touch of prep. Photo: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
Shepherd’s Pie: I’ll have what she’s having.
THE NON-ROAST ENTREE. Alternatively, just forget the whole roast concept and serve a delicious plant-based entree, like Shepherds Pie. Just before my husband went vegan, hearty meals like this convinced him he could take the leap and live without meat.
THE STUFFING. Let us not forget the real reason we all brave the traffic and the potentially heated holiday discourse. The stuffing! In my family, we love stuffing so much we typically have three different types on the table. This recipe is a classic turned on its head and cooked in a baking pan. Savory, hearty, flavorful dishes like these can be eaten with just a spoon, all year round.
Stuffing deserves its own holiday.
THE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE. Who doesn’t love a good green bean casserole, especially when it’s nutritious and veggie-laden? When I was a kid, we used to sneak the crispy onions off the top, leaving naked green beans. A sign of being an adult is realizing that the true gems are the caramelized onions and mushrooms buried inside.
Crispy onions, green beans, mushrooms, oh my! Photo by Megan at Carrots and Flowers
No turkey gravy needed here! Photo by Minimalist Baker
THE GRAVY AND THE MASH. A few years back, my Grandma asked me to taste something to see what it needed. I obliged because I love my Gram and trusted she’d remember I had at that point been a vegetarian for 10 years. I was wrong. She’d slipped me a spoonful of turkey gravy. Whoops. While none of us let her live that one down (it’s okay Grandma I’m not mad anymore!), I make sure to bring my own veg-friendly gravy to family meals.
So let me introduce to you my six-ingredient mash. It's creamy, buttery, fluffy and perfectly spiced with roasted garlic and chives.
This festive carrot cake is gluten-free and moist, thanks to coconut oil, apple sauce and three different flours.
THE DESSERT. Here’s a top notch carrot cake recipe. You could eat the vegan cream cheese frosting with a spoon and call it a day.
BONUS: PREVENT FOOD WASTE. EAT LEFTOVERS. Just when you thought you couldn’t eat until next year, leftovers start calling to you from the fridge. If you’re anything like my husband, everything and anything tastes great between two slices of sourdough bread.
Mix together 1 tsp of your favorite plant-based mayo and 1 tsp of leftover cranberries to slather on the bread. In between, nestle mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and whatever leftover entree you have. Toast it all together in a skillet and serve it alongside your leftover gravy, French Dip style. And just like that, your leftover food is gone.
Heather Cohen Rametta is a Stone Pier Press News Fellow based in Philadelphia, PA