vegetarian in need of thanksgiving ideas!

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laura328
laura328 Posts: 136 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone!

I've been veggie for a few years now and most of the time I don't miss meat. But Thanksgiving is different. I DO miss the turkey and I miss even more the turkey sammies the next day! Last year, I tried a Tofurkey and it was.....in a word....AWFUL! Does anyone know of any good substitutes for a turkey day turkey?

Thanks in advance!
Laura
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Replies

  • JessicaBR0
    JessicaBR0 Posts: 256 Member
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    These are vegan, she has some really good recipes. http://ohsheglows.com/vegan-thanksgiving-recipes/
  • laura328
    laura328 Posts: 136 Member
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    These are vegan, she has some really good recipes. http://ohsheglows.com/vegan-thanksgiving-recipes/

    thanks! some of that stuff looks great!
    anyone else? anything that actually can pass for turkey?
  • laura328
    laura328 Posts: 136 Member
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    bumping in hopes that i get more responses :smile:
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
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    i don't know the reason you have turned vegetarian, but why not just eat the turkey you crave for 2 days (the day of and the day after) and then go back to eating normal after that? :)

    if that option isn't for you, i hope you find a solution that will work for you.
  • spisea
    spisea Posts: 41 Member
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    Have you heard of post punk kitchen? They have great veg recipes. Here's one for a thanksgiving roast : http://www.theppk.com/2011/11/seitan-roast-stuffed-with-shiitakes-and-leeks/

    Thats theppk , just in case this site doesn't allow links. the recipe is called sietan roast stuffed with shiitakes and leeks.

    I made the Caramelized Onion Butternut Squash Roast with Chestnuts last year. Its more of a casserole than a traditional roast. It was a huge hit. Tasty for me and the omnivores at the table loved it too. I made a huge amount and it was all gone the next day. Everyone had gobbled up the left overs.
  • flechero
    flechero Posts: 260 Member
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    Well, since "cheat" days are such a popular topic right now... why not schedule Thanksgiving as a "cheat day" and eat the turkey that you so dearly miss!?!?
  • spisea
    spisea Posts: 41 Member
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    *repeat
  • spisea
    spisea Posts: 41 Member
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    Well, since "cheat" days are such a popular topic right now... why not schedule Thanksgiving as a "cheat day" and eat the turkey that you so dearly miss!?!?

    Because there are broader spiritual and/or ethical considerations around being vegetarian. This isn't just about calories to which you could compensate for at a later date. When we restrain ourselves from killing (as much as possible) for our food, we commit to a path of compassion for all life, not just human life. If you violate that, its a bigger deal than just "oops! I slipped on my diet."

    Realistically, many vegetarians have slips, where they don't live up this path of compassion. Its not OK, but it is normal, and we need to have compassion for ourselves as well. If Thanksgiving is really a time when you aren't ready to let go of meat, then have compassion for yourself, too.

    But you do need to know that there are lots of tasty, filling alternatives to turkey for thanksgiving. Because of our national obsession with having this one meat at this one time of year, almost every household in the US at the same time, the living turkeys go through extra hell before and as they are slaughtered. Their natural growing-up is manipulated to fit our timetable, so that they will be ready for slaughter all at the same time of year. They are killed quickly and with little regard for making their deaths quick and painless. For these reasons and others, Thanksgiving is an especially important day for we vegetarians to take a stand and choose to consume products which don't involve such brutal practices.
  • szarlotka717
    szarlotka717 Posts: 85 Member
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    If you like fake meats, then Fieldroast may have some good options. I find their products at Whole Foods. A couple years ago, I made roasted acorn squash halves stuffed with quinoa and cranberry stuffing as a vegetarian main dish. Of course, most traditional sides can be made vegetarian.
  • socomary
    socomary Posts: 52
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    A few years ago for Thanksgiving, one of my invited guests was a vegetarian. I opted to make shepherd's pie as the main course for everyone, and found a really great recipe on Epicurious for "Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie". It was a hit. (Yes, I made my own vegetable stock - I cook a lot.)

    If one is ok with mushrooms, have learned that really good-quality, meaty mushrooms (more than one kind of mushroom is best, i.e., crimini, oyster, and shiitake, or wild mushrooms such as boletes, porcini, or chanterelles, if you know what to collect) do really well in vegetarian dishes where meat or poultry might be missed.
  • socomary
    socomary Posts: 52
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    Oops, I meant to add that if you're looking for a turkey "substitute", try looking for mushroom recipes under "mushroom pate". Not vegan by any stretch, but qualify as vegetarian as long as you're using a vegetarian stock.
  • MrsT_2009
    MrsT_2009 Posts: 90 Member
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    It's not a substitute for turkey but I plan on making Happy Herbivore's Hippie Loaf for Thanksgiving. I had it a few months ago and it just tastes like Thanksgiving comfort food to me. http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/hippie-loaf-gluten-free/

    Like some others have said, if you really like turkey maybe you want to eat it on Thanksgiving instead of feeling deprived, depending on your reasons for going veg. I personally never really liked turkey and found that I only ate it because "that's what you do on Thanksgiving" so eliminating it from my plate was not a big deal.
  • fattypattybinger
    fattypattybinger Posts: 337
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    It made me laugh to think a serious vegeterian would eat meat.
  • spisea
    spisea Posts: 41 Member
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    It made me laugh to think a serious vegeterian would eat meat.

    Life is rarely so black and white as we would have it be.
  • BroiledNotFried
    BroiledNotFried Posts: 446 Member
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    www.cookinglight.com has veggie Thanksgiving dinners
  • LilacDreamer
    LilacDreamer Posts: 1,365 Member
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    Hey everyone!

    I've been veggie for a few years now and most of the time I don't miss meat. But Thanksgiving is different. I DO miss the turkey and I miss even more the turkey sammies the next day! Last year, I tried a Tofurkey and it was.....in a word....AWFUL! Does anyone know of any good substitutes for a turkey day turkey?

    Thanks in advance!
    Laura

    one of my favorite things I used to make is butternut squash lasgna with a sage infused bechamel sauce. it's fab.
  • gkozub
    gkozub Posts: 22
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    I too am a Vegetarian and I have a yummy option for you!
    First of all, I don't think you should take the advice of some people telling you to take a "cheat day" from your Vegetarian diet to eat some turkey on Thanksgiving, it my mind it simply does not work like that. You became vegetarian for a reason didn't you?

    Anyways, what I did this Thanksgiving (I am Canadian, so I celebrated it in October) was so simple yet delicious.
    It's not a turkey substitute, though, but it's a meal you can prepare to share with everybody and they will like it too! (I know my family did!)

    In my family, we call this meal "Rice in a Box" so I don't know the actual name for it, haha.
    You will need:
    - One package of faux-ground beef
    - Whole grain brown rice (about 1.5-2 cups cooked)
    - One whole grain/Whole wheat fresh baked bread (oval shaped is best)

    All you need to do it cut a hole at the top of the bread and scoop out the inside, making a sort of bowl with the bread. Then, add the ingredients into it (you can even add veggies if you like!), and wrap it in foil and put in the oven at 350 degrees celsius for 45 minutes.
    and voila! a yummy, crunchy meal for the family to share!
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
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    idk if they sell where you are, the brand quorn makes pretty good meatless products (they don't really taste like meat per say, which i love because i hate when there are meatless subsititutions that taste like meat. if you want the taste then just eat the damn animal). anyhoos, they make a turk'y roll which is decent if you make a vegetarian gravy to put on it.
    i would suggest using something like seitan, and adding seasonings and a meatless gravy to it.
    this website has a lot of good vegetarian and vegan recipes, they have a section for holiday ideas http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes-galore/
    post punk kitchen also has a lot of different vegan/veg recipes you can prolly find something good there. if not then i would deff suggest the seitan or the quorn fake turkey roll
    http://www.theppk.com/
    usually i just eat mad sides because the houses i would go to for thanksgiving usually just had turkey and the usual sides unless i brought my own. maybe you can even try and make a lentil loaf with mushrooms?
    good luck!!
  • ARoseinDecember
    ARoseinDecember Posts: 29
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    I basically LIVE on Happy Herbivore recipes. I think you need to get her book for it (I think it's the original Happy Herbivore cookbook) but she has a recipe called "Torkey" that is yummy. Made from tofu. She has MANY free recipes on happyherbivore.com that are all amazing.
  • cgale8
    cgale8 Posts: 34 Member
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    We have several in our family that are vegetarian. Last year we had a vegetarian Thanksgiving and no one complained!! Stuffing/dressing became our main dish and it worked out well for the second day as the basis for sandwiches with cranberry sauce. We made gravy as well. There are many recipes for vegetarian turkey but we have never tried any of the seitan recipes but hae read many reviews that were positive.

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