We all have that one friend who freaks out about something before it happens. Well… that friend is ME. Last November, I stressed about what I would eat during my family’s Thanksgiving celebration as it was my first year being a vegetarian, and it seemed like every dish, excluding a small few, contained meat. Boy, was I wrong. I might have had the best Thanksgiving dinner ever because I avoided meat!
Make half of your meal veggies
As soon as I began my journey as a vegetarian, I struggled with eating a balanced diet. I suffered from frequent headaches and dizziness. Gummy vitamins became my best friend but I still decided to incorporate more than one serving of vegetables into my everyday eating routine. You can’t go wrong with starchy vegetables such are corn, squash, and roasted potatoes. After all, Thanksgiving is the wrong time to try and focus on calories. Last Thanksgiving, I immediately locked my eyes on collard greens. I must admit I did cheat my lifestyle a bit because my family makes their greens with meat mixed throughout them. Which brings me to my next point…
Avoid meat juice at ALL costs! This seems like common sense to a vegetarian but believe me when I say limited options will lead you to do anything. I figured since I picked out all the meat chunks and did not actually eat the meat in the greens I would be okay… NOPE. I woke up the next day with the weirdest pain in my belly. No, I did not have to use the bathroom. I felt the soreness you get in your butt after a great hike times 10 but in my abdomen. The pain slowly went away and by the afternoon, I was happily ready for leftovers. Of course I filled a giant section of my plate with greens again and later realized it was the root behind my pain.
Eat Slowly (Applies to everyone, not just vegetarians!)
When I was younger, my cousins and I had competitions consisting of who could eat the most food. Last year, I put that ritual to rest and savored the few items on my plate. Baked macaroni and cheese is definitely my favorite Thanksgiving dish and it tasted beyond exceptional when I slowly appreciated each bite. By eating at a less speedy pace, I was able to realize when I was satisfied with eating and my dinner was better than I remembered.
Enjoy desserts!
My all time favorite Thanksgiving dessert is my granny’s sweet potato pie. Even though my family ended up purchasing a Patti LaBelle pie, I was still excited to eat my favorite dessert. Immediately after eating, I quickly went to cut myself some pie to realize I was already full off of all the starchy side dishes I consumed. I knew before eating my meal that I loved sweet potato pie but I did not think to save room for it because normally, I am not full after one plate of food. I realized that since Thanksgiving is the one time out of the year that I am not thinking out eating healthy, why not gain nutrients from vegetables and then gratefully indulge in as much dessert as I can. Pun intended!
Focus on Black Friday!
For some reason, I suffer from claustrophobia everyday except for Black Friday. I love shopping on Black Friday with my family because it’s fun to shop sales and then show one another what we bought. Trying to figure out what stores I wanted to go to totally took my mind off of the ham I was not eating. To successfully tackle Black Friday, you MUST plan. Make sure you know exactly what you’re going shopping for and research how frequently the discount is offered at the store throughout the year. Because why spend money on something that will go on sale again versus a deal that literally happens once a year.
Let’s pretend Drake is holding Morningstar Farms chicken in the gif above (LOL). Now that I have learned what to eat, I can’t wait to tackle this Thanksgiving as a vegetarian once again!