A Nod To Veganism
So Jane and I are busy working tonight and we have the television on in the background. It's Thanksgiving season and we tend to enjoy watching the Food Network at this time, even though most of the recipes being prepared would not be found on our table! Butter, heavy cream, turkey, eggs, need I say more? However, the recipes can often be veganized. So we like to watch these shows to get ideas. We've learned preparation techniques, new spice combinations, and factual information about various foods.
Tonight, we were half watching The Secret Life of Thanksgiving on the Food Network. It was pretty much what you would expect, a lot of turkey, butter, cream, and eggs, interspersed with tidbits of information on what the pilgrims ate, and how Thanksgiving actually came to be a national holiday. But what caught our attention, and compelled us to write this post, was the last five minutes of the show. Jim O'Connor, the host, asked the question, "But what do vegetarians and vegans eat for Thanksgiving?" Wow!
So, our representation was a Thanksgiving meal at the raw vegan restaurant, Leaf, in Los Angeles. And there was a Thanksgiving at Farm Sanctuary, where the turkeys were fed a suitable feast, and afterwards the humans also feasted... on tofurkey and delicious looking vegan sides. We were happily surprized to see vegetarianism and veganism represented on a national food program talking about a holiday that is typically turkey baste... I mean based.
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Well said? Great information, keep up the great work!
It sure seems that veganism is on the rise. It’s great to have many more people (and the media) aware that there are people like us!
Oh I saw that too!! I was surprised and thought it was surprisingly pretty good, though vegans and vegetarians aren’t all raw foodists or PETA-pushers – they could have shown something more mainstream, but I suppose any mention at all is GREAT!
Love the blog BTW, I just bookmarked you a few days back.
Hi Jeff,
Thanks.
Hi Nate,
It does seem to be getting mainstream doesn’t it?
We’ve still got a ways to go though. My dream is to be able to go to any restaurant and have vegan options (plural) on the menu, and not just salad and veggie burgers.
Hi Tofu Mom,
Thanks!
That was our thought too. Especially when they opened with the raw food Thanksgiving options. I’m not knocking them, it’s just that the meat and potato crowd is going to look at that and think “sheesh, what are those tree-huggers eating now?” They could have spent a few more moments on the human fare at Farm Sanctuary. It looked like their vegan Thanksgiving was more along the lines of traditional fare, minus the animal product.
My wife and I are vegetarians, but our families are not. We like to have a large family meal and have found a number of ways we can all eat together. Lots of vegetable sides (for us the main meal) and free range turkey (for everyone else) have worked well. We enjoy wonderful home cooked traditional food and time with our family.
Hi Barry,
We’re in the same boat… We’re the only ones in our family who are vegan. The side dishes are great, but can be problematic for vegans (cheese, milk, cream…) so we do have to do a little prep work. Jane will usually prepares something we can eat to share with the family. And there are usually a few other things we can eat when we have celebratory dinners… so it all works out.
I agree with Barry Kottler about the issues around vegetarianism and the holidays. There are constructive ways to incorporate all lifestyles into a family meal