Vegan Thanksgiving [surviving the carnivorous feast]

Vegan Thanksgiving [surviving the carnivorous feast]

by No Makeup Mama

I bet there are vegans out there who are lucky enough to be surrounded by other vegans, or at least know some other vegans. And they probably had tofurkey for Thanksgiving with vegan stuffing and steamed vegetables and dinner rolls with vegan butter.

Well, that’s not how it happened for me.

Unfortunately, not a single other member of my family, my extended family, or even my partner’s extended family is so much as on a diet, let alone vegan. Same goes for my small group of friends. So this year, at my in-laws Thanksgiving feast, there was only one thing on the entire menu that wasn’t either cooked in, slathered with, or dunked in some sort of animal product.

…and that was the dish that I brought…

So, this is what my thanksgiving meal looked like:

[This is a dessert plate, ya’ll.]

I roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts using only extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. [And I could only have a roll because my mother-in-law set aside one for me before they were all coated in melted butter.]

Everyone else ate turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, corn, ambrosia, and dinner rolls.

Dessert was obviously much worse, but I still got into the holiday spirit with my cinnamon glazed pecans.

Of course everyone else had pumpkin pie, apple pie, chocolate mousse pie, cupcakes, ice cream, and sugar cookies.

While it might sound like I missed out, in reality it felt really good not to stuff myself to the brim and then top it off with a round of desserts. I had everything I needed for a delicious thanksgiving meal: vegetables, bread, and my candied pecans for dessert. It was actually a really good holiday.

My Thanksgiving didn’t look like it has in years past, but I was totally okay with that.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family or friends. And, despite the year it’s been, I hope everyone could recall all of the reasons we have to be thankful. For me, it was my health, my privilege, my sweet children, my partner and our exciting new adventure that is just beginning!

🦃 🦃 🦃

Karis

4 thoughts on “Vegan Thanksgiving [surviving the carnivorous feast]”

  1. Sounds like a less than stellar Thanksgiving BUT that’s because it sounds like you were restricted in your eating and that doesn’t sound enjoyable. Do you think that next year you could host or maybe ask that your family members bring some dishes that are vegan friendly?? Thanksgiving is about family and most families would be willing to make things for their family members! ❤

    Like

    Reply

    1. Yeah I guess I sounded a bit more negative about it than I really was. Truthfully, I loved what I ate [brussels sprouts are my absolute favorite food!] and didn’t feel like I was depriving myself at all. Maybe that’s because restricting what I eat has been a huge part of my life since I got healthy ten years ago, so really not new. And the thanksgiving meal is not about what I’m eating, but who I’m eating with, right? [shoulda put that in the post 😜] I’m sure my family would have made vegan friendly foods, but I don’t like to be a bother. I’d rather just quietly eat what I can and not have anyone make anything special just for me. 🤷‍♀️ But you’re totally right, I should volunteer to host next year. And you can bet when I host thanksgiving, it will be different! 😁

      Like

      Reply

      1. Well here’s the thing Karis, you might say that you got healthy and that its about the people BUT for a host when they see that one person isn’t eating its NOT a comfortable feeling. I personally have hosted my first family get together and my sister-in-law is a new vegan and I wish she’d have told me she was so that I could have offered vegan friendly options for her because watching her sit there with very little to eat was a bit hear breaking and I am sure that your host probably felt the same and as family you have to ask so that the family has the ability to show their love by providing you options too! Thanksgiving IS about indulging and enjoying food! ❤

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Yes, you make an excellent point, Lindsay. My family knows I’m vegan, but I probably discouraged them from making vegan friendly options so as not to be a bother, and I see now that I should have let them so that we all could have had a similar thanksgiving experience. Thanks for the insight! Live and learn, I guess! 😜

        Like

Leave a comment