Thanksgiving Recipe - How A Vegetarian Can Enjoy Thanksgiving Without The Turkey

Can Thanksgiving be good without turkey? Yes. So, if you're a vegetarian, you need not miss a bit of the fun and ravishment. The core of Thanksgiving lies not in the food, but in the belief and the celebration. What matters is you're with family and friends and having a good time. You may not get a chance to be with your close ones during the rest of the year. So, whether vegan or not, this is the time to forget everything in the world - remember to be thankful, and cook a great Thanksgiving recipe.

How To Cook For A Vegetarian

For a vegetarian, turkey on the table is unappetizing. You need to plan a menu with lots of sides and perhaps a substitutes.

If you think vegetarian meals take more time to prepare and taste bland, then think again. A vegetarian dish can be one of the simplest to prepare. All you need to do is substitute the meat with something vegetarian. The rest of the recipe can remain the same. This way, you enjoy the goodness of a meat dish without actually eating meat.

A table laden with deliciously prepared Thanksgiving dinner recipes consisting of beans, potatoes, squash, vegetables, breads, cookies, cakes, and pies looks as appealing as the one laden with a big fat turkey.

If you cannot do without the turkey, you can get tofu turkeys that are available in stores, strictly for vegetarians. You can even prepare this Thanksgiving recipe at home.

Food Substitutes For Vegetarians

Soy milk or rice milk for dairy milk
Vegan margarine for butter
Vegetarian marshmallows that do not contain gelatin because gelatin is obtained from animals
Avoid all gelatin-based desserts and casseroles

The wonderful thing is that you can make any Thanksgiving recipe without anybody noticing that you haven't used a single ingredient derived from animals, including dairy. You can even share these recipes through a Thanksgiving post.

Seven Quick Tips For A Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner

Prepare appetizers with warm pita bread and veggies.
Make vegetable lasagna. For this you can use carrots, diced zucchini, and tiny broccoli pieces instead of meat.
Cook a hash brown casserole with green beans and corn. Add almonds to the beans while baking.
Flavor your mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese and garlic. Use mushroom gravy or vegan margarine as dips.
Use French bread and bake your favorite recipe.
Get black olives, red onions, diced tomatoes, grated carrots, and bell peppers and toss a scrumptious salad.
For the dessert, prepare the traditional pumpkin pie. It's better to make the crust at home because crust from the store may contain lard.

With so many options for vegetarians, the turkey-eaters may get curious and turn to a vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe this holiday. What's more you can make your menu stand out of the usual dishes. Cooking innovative vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner recipes is a surefire way to surprise your guests and give their taste buds that much wanted change!

Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes - How To Enjoy Thanksgiving Without Ruining Your Diet

Any one who is struggling with their weight knows that the holidays is a dangerous time. Among all holidays, Thanksgiving is the worst of all holidays because it's centered around food. Just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean that you shouldn't enjoy yourself on this holiday; after all, it comes just once a year. But if you want to enjoy thanksgiving without letting it ruin your diet, I have a few ideas. Simple adjustments to the regular Thanksgiving dinner dishes can make all the difference between a calorie swamped meal to a lean but enjoyable feast for you and your family.

Here are some tasty and healthy thanksgiving recipes:

1. Turkey -- This is of course the center piece of any holiday meal and for no reason should you avoid it. Turkey is very lean in itself. The problem is that it's usually basted in butter. Butter contains tons of calories and fat. If you're the one doing the cooking, try swapping butter for another tasty dressing like fine olive oils and herbs. It's very good, and extremely tasty.

2. Eggnog -- Eggnog is a calorie rich beverage and the bad thing is that it doesn't even fill you up. If it's possible, swap this drink for some hot cider (also traditional). If not, limit yourself to 1-2 cups at the most. It will be enough to get you into the holiday spirit.

3. Rolls and bread -- Swap white flour rolls for whole wheat or whole flour rolls. Try to avoid buttering your rolls.

4. Sweet potatoes -- This is a healthy and low calorie vegetable. The problem is that people make it into casseroles with a lot of extra ingredients which are fatty and unhealthy. Simply bake the sweet potatoes. It's both healthy and tasty.

5. Desert -- A lot of people simply go overboard with deserts. This is a calorie quicksand trap which can easily suck you in. Why don't you try to serve fruit as desert? You can create an appealing bowl with lots of cut fruit and serve it to everyone's admiration. People love fruit, and they're very healthy.

I hope I've dispelled some of your fears regarding Thanksgiving and the effect it can have on you diet. Enjoy the holiday but make a commitment to yourself to go back on a diet once the holiday is over.

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