Have a Happy Turkey-less Thanksgiving

Pamela Anderson will be serving up a completely vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner to homeless families in a Las Vegas area soup kitchen a little early this year. She was quoted as saying, "With so many healthy and delicious options nowadays, it's easy to have a holiday meal that gives even turkeys something to be thankful for."

With the increased rate of women under 45 dying of heart disease as a result of blocked arteries, according to a recent study, she actually has a point.

I do not delight in cooking like some people I know, but I wanted to do something, not a little different, but WAY different. I saw a re-run of Everybody Loves Raymond recently; you know the one where Marie wanted to eat healthier? Her decision fell right on Thanksgiving and, to be supportive, everyone reluctantly gathered for her tasteless, but healthy meal. Secretly Ray had ordered a turkey meal from a nearby restaurant that just broke his mother's heart. After a highly scripted, yet lovey-dovey mother & son moment, they eventually returned to good-eatin' later that night after everyone had gone to bed.

Can I do the same thing, but fare better? I think I can, and you can too. So I sought out some truly 'no-fuss, no muss' ideas for a turkey-less turkey day, not because I'm so terribly in tune with the plight of our feathered friends, but I'm tired of the same crap every year. The turkey population can thank me later.

The Bird Replacement

First of all, I have discovered there is such a thing as Tofurky- seriously. While it has less protein than a true bird, it also has no cholesterol, whereas 4oz of real turkey has 85mg. and, it has only 190 calories for 4oz to turkey's 240 calories.

Where would I get such a thing?

Fortunately, all Whole Foods and Trader Joes carry this vegetarian delicacy. You can even deep-fry it, but that would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? Buy it and simply roast for about 3 hours at 300 degrees and voila!

I foresee some personal struggle with this, but I'll try to remain open to new things.

The Sides: Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes aren't only comfort food; they are a holiday meal staple - and they can be done without dairy. The taste isn't that far off from what you could consider "normal." You could even throw in ¼ - ½ cup of chives, cilantro if you're daring. Just replace the milk with non-dairy creamer or Swanson's Vegetarian Vegetable Broth, which is 100% fat free. The only drawback with the broth is that there are 940mg of sodium to every cup. Ouch.

The Sides: Green Bean Casserole

Not really a fan, but I've seen this dish at many a pot-luck. Most chefs and chef-wannabes already have a firm recipe they follow for this dish, but have you tried it with faux chicken broth and nutritional yeast? Ah, the possibilities are endless, aren't they? Take yourself some soy sauce, faux chicken broth (look in the kosher section of your local market), a little garlic powder (or freshly minced garlic if you prefer), vegetable oil, the yeast and some flour. Whisk, pour into a dish, bake and voila!

Dessert

Spiced Pumpkin Pie sounds mm-mmm good, doesn't it? It sounds better than pumpkin-flavored tofu pie. For this you'll need silky tofu, the softer version of tofu, 1 can of pumpkin, sugar and spices. Blend the tofu and spices, pour into pie crust, bake and voila! You've got something different on your table this Thanksgiving holiday.

Interestingly enough, I found some very do-able recipes on a PETA-link - and you can too! Happy eatin'!