Thanksgiving Part 2: Better Than Turkey

It is incredibly easy to make all of the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes vegan. My mom has been doing it for years and many of the dishes were already vegan. For many, if not most, veg*ns (vegetarians and vegans) there is no way we're going to take part in eating a poor little tortured turkey. Ok guilt trip over. So what's a veg*n to do on Thanksgiving?  Here are some main course dishes that will please any vegan. I was careful to pick not only some of the most popular dishes but only those whose recipes are available for free. Also, I don't have the rights to post any of these pictures (sorry) so you're going to have to click on the links to see them.

First up is the Tofurkey Holdiay products. This is pre-made and available in most supermarkets. It travels very well and is quite possibly the easiest thing to make, ever. It's been a few years since I've made a Tofurkey so it may have changed but it comes in the shape of a little football. You put the roast on a tray, pop it in the oven, bake and remove. That's it. The stuffing is inside and it comes with gravy. If you are hopeless in the kitchen or are traveling, this might be your best way to go.

Next up are the store bought roasts such as the Field Roast brand Celebration Roast (click the link on the left, 2nd one down labeled Celebration Roast) and the Match® Premium Vegan Stuffed Holiday Roast. You can do anything you want with these roasts. You can shape them, stuff them, bread them, or just serve with gravy.

Here are two favorite "from scratch" recipes. PPK chickpea cutlets and Whole Foods Market's Celebration Lentil Loaf. Both are at a moderate level of difficulty. If you are a decent cook then you can make these. I don't know how the Whole Foods Lentil Loaf tastes but the chickpea cutlets seem to be loved by all.

Finally, if you're feeling ambitious or are already a good cook, here's something for you to try. Last year vegan.com featured Robin Robertson's Thanksgiving menu. His main course was Seitan en Croute with Madeira Sauce. There are many Seitan en Croute recipes out there, all you have to do is a search to find them.

I'm leaning towards either Robin's Seitan en Croute or the PPK chickpea cutlets for my Thanksgiving menu. I will post pictures after Thanksgiving.