The holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, are a time for celebration, reunion and relaxation. In most cases, it is a time spent with family and friends over the main attraction: the food. Holiday dinners in many households usually requires a substantial amount of preparation and leg work. It is not always easy to pull of such a grand meal. It can cause stress and pressure on those who are responsible to satisfying others’ cravings. What if some of your guests have food limitations? What if you’re the “special” guest? What does Thanksgiving dinner look like for those who are vegan/vegetarian? Are there any options that taste good? Of course. There are several items that people can prepare that are vegan/vegetarian-friendly!
Mashed cauliflower with mushroom gravy. This dish is a great alternative to the staple item-mashed potatoes and gravy. Changing to this vegan style option, with creamy cauliflower makes one forget you said “no” to the buttery mashed potatoes. The main ingredients for this dish is cauliflower, olive oil, garlic, vegan butter, along with salt and pepper. The mushroom gravy requires shallots, vegetable stock, flour, onions, olive oil and sliced mushroom. Chef Gretchen, from Gretchen’s Vegan Baker shares, “I’ve adapted this recipe to be fat free, so instead of using half a cup of oil that the original recipe calls for, I use vegetable stock.”
Roasted sweet potatoes. Candied yams are delicious, but this version of yams might make you never want to go back to traditional. This dish requires very little preparation and cook time. First, you will need virgin coconut oil, peeled sweet potatoes, light brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Then, you bake them in the oven until they are no longer firm.
Cranberry sauce. Cranberry sauce is a holiday staple. This vegan recipe is simple, delicious and can be made a few days before the big day. It calls for cranberries, sugar, water, orange juice and cinnamon. It uses organic agave nectar instead of honey, and arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch, for thickening. Chef Gretchen suggests that you reduce to a simmer until the berries pop and the sauce has thickened.