How to Keep Vegans in Your Family Happy at Thanksgiving (2024)

FAQs

How to deal with Thanksgiving as a vegan? ›

Seasonal vegetables like squash, beets, and mushrooms are key to making vegan-friendly dishes that are festive for Thanksgiving. Add quinoa, nuts, and beans (like chickpeas or lentils) to create satisfying entrées that everyone at the table will want to try.

And while Thanksgiving is supposed to signify gratitude and abundance—the holiday centers around the autumn harvest—for many, it's the opposite. “It's all about eating and the murder of these birds or other animals,” Patty Shenker, a 30-year vegan told the LA Times.

Eat Sufficient Calories: One of the most common reasons new vegans struggle is because they inadvertently consume fewer calories than their body needs.

To prevent deficiencies and ensure overall health and well-being, particular attention must be paid to nutrients such as protein, iron, calcium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids with a very long chain in a vegan diet (5).

Other protein-filled vegan options that could replace turkey in your vegan Thanksgiving table are tempeh, tofu and seitan. Choose one of these plant-based turkey alternatives, or combine more than one in your table, complimenting with veggies, rice, salads, or any other plant-based whole foods ingredients you want.

Eat beans, pulses, eggs and other sources of protein

Pulses are particularly important for people who don't get protein by eating meat, fish or dairy products. Other non-dairy sources of protein include eggs and meat alternatives, such as tofu, mycoprotein (such as Quorn), textured vegetable protein and tempeh.

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food." In the second chapter of Genesis (2:16-17) vegetarianism is re-affirmed as people's spiritually proper diet.

It's a given that following a compassionate lifestyle that avoids harming animals will give you a clearer conscience, and studies show that vegans may actually be happier than meat-eaters. In fact, vegans and vegetarians had better scores on depression tests and mood profiles than those who ate fish and meat. 4.

Iodine deficiency is very common among vegans, often leading to acquired hypothyroidism [58]. Vegan sources of iodine include iodized salt and sea vegetables containing various amounts of the mineral [45].

A 2013 study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal found that “vegans have a 9% lower risk of death from all causes compared with omnivores”, according to Live Science.

What's the hardest part of being a vegan? ›

I usually tell them that being vegan is easy, especially when you imagine yourself in the animals' place. But if I'm pressed, I would have to say that the hardest thing about being vegan is the realisation that most people just don't care. I don't mean they don't care that I'm vegan. That's not an issue.

Preventing the exploitation of animals is not the only reason for becoming vegan, but for many it remains the key factor in their decision to go vegan and stay vegan. Having emotional attachments with animals may form part of that reason, while many believe that all sentient creatures have a right to life and freedom.

For some, it's for ethical reasons. They care for animals and don't want to see them suffer. Others have become more aware of the impact of animal-based diets on the environment. This makes them more willing to forego meat to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change.

We Don't Recommend Going Vegan Cold-Turkey

So you've decided you want to give this whole vegan thing a go (yay!), what now? There are two ways to move forward: going vegan cold-turkey or easing into it. Going cold-turkey would mean dropping all animal products from your diet overnight.

Top 10 foods vegans miss

Chocolate (18,100) Banana bread (12,100) Cheese (12,100) Burger (8,100)

Take things slow and start with eggs or chicken in your salad, then work your way up. This also makes it easier to track any digestive problems. Eat small portions. Diving immediately into a giant steak can cause some digestive issues, so start with small portions.

Serve up a meat-free feast for Thanksgiving. We've got lots of celebratory vegetarian recipes, from stuffed pumpkin and squash, to nut roasts, vegetable tarts and roast cauliflower.