Preparing Vegetarian Meals for Your Thanksgiving Party

If you are expecting vegetarian guests at your Thanksgiving party this year, you may need to know a few important things about serving vegetarian meals.  Do not worry about preparing a hefty vegetarian course or serving a vegetarian dish that has meat substitutes.  You can actually serve vegetarian dishes along with other dishes.  Think about incorporating healthy food preparation into your menu. This way, you are sure to please all your guests-even yourself!   

On Thanksgiving Day friends and family gather to give thanks and to share peace and happiness.  It is during this time when food becomes an integral part of being together and doing things together.  If you are transitioning to a vegetarian lifestyle, it may be a good move to incorporate healthy food preparation into your Thanksgiving menu.  This works two ways, as you are able to stick to your diet and encourage guests to eat healthy as well.

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Here are some things you can do:

– Do you stuff your turkey with herbs and vegetables?  For a change, bake those stuffing outside the turkey and serve them separately.  Make a small portion of vegetarian gravy.

 
– Keep cooking utensils, serving spoons and forks separate to prevent “cross-contamination” between meat foods and vegetarian foods.

-  If possible, substitute ingredients with healthier options.  For example, you can use vegetarian broth instead of meat broth, soy margarine (the formulations without whey are suitable for vegans) instead of butter, and soy milk.

- Use vegetable oils for frying, and altogether ditch animal fat or lard.  When making pie crust, use vegetable shortening like Crisco.

 
– Read labels and ingredients lists carefully on pre-packaged and processed foods. Some ingredients, e.g. “natural flavors” may be animal-derived.

- Make plenty of vegetable and fruit side dishes, but leave them plain. Prepare variants of vegetarian dressing and let guests choose for their own side dish.

- Offer breads, beverages, fresh fruits, and non-gelatin desserts. Most vegetarians appreciate them even without dressing or additional ingredients.

- Have you heard of Tofurky?  It’s the vegetarian version of a turkey entrée.  You can make it yourself or ask a vegetarian guest to bring one. Who knows, your meat-eating guests might just try it!

- Ask your vegetarian guests for tips or recipes.  They may be able to help you add more vegetable substitutes to your usual meat dishes.  

- Pick out vegetables that are in season.  They are not only abundant during this time, but cheaper as well.