Vegan Thanksgiving Dishes for Dummies?

I think you could probably transform a lot of your regular dishes into vegan ones. Margarine is vegan so you could try substituting that for butter in things like mashed potatoes and sweet potato dishes, you could also use soy milk instead of cow's milk. I don't think marshmallows are vegan, pretty sure they have gelatin in them so if you guys usually put those on your sweets maybe just do it on half, or make a small dish just for him. Green vegetables you can probably just add seasonings and cook it regularly and then have butter available if someone wants to add that on. If you usually do green bean casserole then just keep out a section of beans just for him and steam them with salt, pepper, maybe even some red pepper flakes or something. Sourdough bread is vegan so maybe make (or buy) sourdough loaves or rolls for dinner instead of traditional ones.

I know it will be a tad more work, but honestly, if you just sort of portion out a little bit of each thing before adding milk, cream, butter, etc. that is just for him it will be easy to make it tasty and vegan. Or, like I said, just make everything with margarine and soy milk, you probably won't notice a ton of difference.

As far as meat, well he may be on his own for that one! They do sell Tofurkey, but I'm not sure how big it is or how to cook it. If you're feeling super adventurous then maybe hit Whole Foods and check it out, I'm sure it's not that hard...you could also probably buy a slice of vegan pumpkin pie (or another dessert) just for him.

My SIL went vegan for health reasons and my other in laws have various allergies so I have lots of practice in making separate dishes! Plus I have some very good friends who are vegetarian and vegan. I'm no expert but if you have any other questions I might be able to help you!

Love Tori H.'s responses! I'm a vegetarian, not vegan, but she's right that many times soymilk and other substitutes aren't even noticed in dishes. Even making the effort is a wonderful gesture on your part.

For the Turkey problem, the Tofurky is AWFUL. Just...awful. However, we have been enjoying - even craving - the Quorn Turk'y Roast for years on all of of our special holiday occasions. Delicious. You can find it at Hy-Vee in the health market section, Whole Foods and sometimes even Wal-Mart. I choose to baste it in a mixture of orange juice, olive oil, rosemary, salt, pepper (basically whatever they recommend on the box +/- what you like best), wrap it all up in foil, punch a few holes in the foil and bake at the recommended temp and time. The whole house smells wonderful! You can cook it the day before and heat it up again (microwave) after slicing or we've even put it on sandwiches cold the next day.

I think you will be surprised at how easy it is to make side-dishes vegan (so many already are without realizing it) without having to do anything fancy. It is true that marshmallows have gelatin in them but Hy-Vee does carry Sweet and Sara vegan marshmallows if you want a sweet surprise.

You are truly celebrating the thanksgiving spirit!

try vegetariantimes.com or veggietable.com or vrg.org for recipes.

I make broiled asparagus - coat with vegetable oil and salt... I make sweet potato fries - also coated with vegetable oil sea salt, pepper and a little garlic powder. I also do corn with cream cheese, butter, garlic now my vegetarian will eat fish, eggs and milk products so she is not vegan,