Thanksgiving is a holiday that many people have a love-hate relationship with, as well as many differing opinions on. For me personally, the combination of food that I cannot eat and family members that will judge my eating habits have always been something that turned me off from Thanksgiving as a whole. I’ve always been a picky eater, and I was used to being teased for my eating habits. But, after becoming a vegetarian when I was a freshman in high school a little over four years ago, the holidays became much more difficult than I was used to in terms of my menu.
After becoming a vegetarian, I knew I needed to broaden my horizons when it came to the food I was eating. I started incorporating a lot more vegetables into my diet and substituting meat and even dairy for other options. This impacted me and my health the most on a daily basis, of course; however, a holiday where the main event is eating loads of food is obviously going to be affected as well. And as someone who never really liked typical Thanksgiving dishes to begin with, it’s safe to say that I was pretty anxious about what would be on my plate the first year of my newfound vegetarianism.
After getting over my fear of new foods, I found a new love—stuffing. While some people do make their stuffing using non-vegetarian ingredients, it can easily be made without any animal byproducts. Eating stuffing on Thanksgiving still fills me up and allows me to feel like I am eating a staple for the holiday. Some other obviously vegetarian choices are rolls, any sort of fruit pie, potatoes of any kind and even warm vegetable soup. If you really wanted to go all out, you could even try your hand at some tofurkey.
The staples on my plate each year aren’t exactly the healthiest for me, but they sure do fill me up. If you’re looking for some healthier options, I would definitely aim for a large helping of vegetables to balance out the amount of bread and carbs. This could be anything from plain green beans to a more complex green bean casserole or even just assorted roasted vegetables. All of these options have that homey, autumnal feeling that Thanksgiving is all about that will leave you feeling stuffed.
While Thanksgiving still proves to be a somewhat difficult time for me and my eating habits, I have learned to make the most of it and to try foods that may be considered outside of the box. Instead of making this a chore, I have made this into a fun time of the year for me to try new foods and to bond with my mother over cooking new recipes together. As a vegetarian, Thanksgiving will always seem difficult without a turkey in the oven, but that doesn’t mean that it actually has to be.
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