While many of you in the US are putting the finishing touches on your Thanksgiving plans, many of us Canadians are already starting to think about our December menus. Here are some of my favourite vegan holiday recipes that could suit many holiday meals, or perhaps simply a comforting dinner on a cold night!
See below for my tips on navigating the holidays as a vegan.
Soup & Salad:
Mushroom Millet Soup with Cheezy Garlic Bread
Holiday Soup for the Soul
Spiced Red Lentil, Tomato, and Kale Soup
Holiday Salad with Cranberry Apple Orange Vinaigrette
Main Course:
Glazed Lentil Walnut Loaf
High Protein Mashed Potatoes (also see my red lentil version on VegNews)
Cranberry, Apricot and Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf
This Ain’t Grandma’s Sweet Potato Casserole
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Rosemary and Garlic
Roasted Butternut Squash with Kale and Almond Pecan Parmesan
Dessert!
Serve with Whipped Coconut Cream if you’d like…
Sinless Sticky Toffee Pecan Pudding
Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Buttercream
Pumpkin Pie Brownies
Breakfast:
What to do with leftover pumpkin pie? Meet Vegan Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Casserole!
Baked Apples Stuffed with Cinnamon, Date, Pecan Oatmeal
Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole
Slow Cooker Naked Apple Butter
Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter with Hemp, Flax, and Chia or 2-Minute Apple Cinnamon PB
Homemade Pumpkin Butter From Scratch (or from a can)
I’ve received many questions over the years about how to navigate the holidays as a new vegan. The first year I was “coming out” as a vegan, I recall being so anxious about holiday get togethers! It was the first time I was seeing many family members and I was nervous about explaining it to everyone. Thankfully, I anticipated it to be much worse in my own mind than it actually was, but that isn’t to say that I didn’t have my fair share of critics, comments, and questions too.
Here are some of my tips for navigating holiday dinners as a vegan:
1. If you will be eating at a family members house, let them know well in advance that you eat a vegan diet so there aren’t any surprises on the day of. Don’t be afraid to explain it clearly as it’s not unusual for someone to think a vegan still eats butter or eggs. It’s also helpful to remind them what you DO eat! Often people can assume that vegans have a super restrictive diet, so it’s helpful to let them know all the foods that you do eat – vegetables, fruit, legumes, beans, grains, nuts/seeds, oils, soy, herbs/spices, etc or remind them of foods that are naturally vegan.
2. After letting the hosts know, offer to bring a couple vegan dishes so they don’t feel like they have to scramble to find vegan recipes. A couple good options are the lentil loaf and the Cranberry, Apricot and Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf. For the lentil loaf, I suggest slightly undercooking it the first time if you plan on reheating it in the oven just before serving (so it doesn’t dry out). If you are traveling from afar, offer to help prepare a couple vegan dishes the day before. This again would be helpful to plan out before you arrive.
3. What if you are hosting the meal as a new vegan? When I hosted my first vegan Thanksgiving back in 2010, I let my guests know that the meal would be 100% vegan – and of course delicious! If you don’t want any animal products at your meal, make this clear in advance or you might find Uncle Ted showing up with his turkey the morning of.
4. Challenge some of your open-minded guests to “veganize” one of their favourite recipes and bring it to the dinner. Make this into a competition for the “best vegan dish” at your holiday meal and award a prize to the winner each year! How fun would this be?
5. What to do about naysayers? There will always be naysayers, comments, or questions about why you eat a vegan diet – and it’s good to be able to explain it to others in a few words. Just like they tell entrepreneurs to be able to describe their business in a single sentence, it’s important to be able to communicate why you are a vegan. Plan for these questions and you won’t be thrown off by them at the dinner table. If you are feeling really uncomfortable or cornered by a critic, you can always suggest that you discuss it after the meal. It’s easy to feel outnumbered as a vegan around the holidays, so I like to keep my sense of humour. Crack a joke right or sarcasm right back to a naysayer. It doesn’t need to be so serious.
6. A delicious vegan dish can tame even the toughest critic. Win them over with the food. ‘Nough said!
I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well! Do you find it difficult to navigate the holidays as a vegan? What tips would you give to new vegans?
FAQs
Liddon continues to inspire both men and women to make healthy lifestyle choices. She has recently released the Oh She Glows app which contains healthy plant-based recipes, many of which are the result of experimenting with different ingredients and modifying family recipes to make them vegan-friendly.
Can going vegan make you sick? ›
Low vitamin B12 intake is a significant problem in vegan diets due to the exclusion of vitamin B12-rich foods such as meat, poultry, and eggs. A lack of vitamin B12 has been linked to neurologic and hematologic problems [19].
How to get protein as vegan? ›
Some plant-based foods, such as soybean products, seitan, beans, and lentils contain high amounts of protein. You can also find protein in nuts, whole grains like quinoa and amaranth, and hemp seeds. People following a vegan diet may need to plan in order to reach their daily protein goals.
Is there a difference between plant-based and vegan? ›
Both meal plans have made headlines for their health benefits in recent years and while they are similar, there are some key differences: Vegan diets eliminate all animal products, while plant-based diets do not necessarily eliminate animal products, but focus on eating mostly plants, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, ...
How many kids does Angela Liddon have? ›
“I agree that eating plant-based does require a lot of preparation, but I have created many speedy recipes and meal prep plans in my new cookbook to help readers fit these meals into their busy lifestyles.” Angela, her husband Eric and their two young children live in Oakville.
Is Angela Liddon Canadian? ›
On Friday, Angela Liddon, a Canadian food personality whose brand, Oh She Glows, encompasses multiple popular social media profiles, a website and a slew of bestselling cookbooks, posted this ~wild~ Instagram Story that breathlessly proclaimed her support for the trucker convoy.
Do you lose weight going vegan? ›
Generally speaking, vegan diets are associated with a lower calorie intake than other forms of plant-based diets, resulting in more significant weight loss. Lower calorie intake is attributed to plant-based diets with higher fiber content, greater food volume, and lower energy density.
Who should not go vegan? ›
People with chronic alcohol addiction or conditions such as cancer, Crohn's disease, diabetes, and celiac disease are also more at risk of being deficient in zinc. If you have been diagnosed with a zinc deficiency, cutting out animal products could negatively impact your health.
Do vegans suffer from hair loss? ›
Following a vegan diet does put you at higher risk of hair loss, and whilst vegans are less likely to go bald completely, the diet itself lacks essential nutrients, such as protein, iron and zinc, that are needed to keep hair thick and healthy.
How do vegans get B12? ›
Because vegans avoid all animal-derived products, they may rely on vitamin B-12 fortified foods, such as certain breakfast cereals and nutritional yeast. Plant foods do not produce vitamin B-12, so it is vital that vegans find alternative sources of vitamin B12 to remain in the best health.
The bottom line. Most types of peanut butter are free of animal products and can be enjoyed as part of a vegan diet. However, some varieties are made in facilities that also process animal products or contain refined sugar that was produced using bone char or non-vegan ingredients like honey or fish oil.
Are Oreos vegan? ›
Many vegans refer to Oreos as “accidentally vegan,” meaning they don't contain animal products — but they weren't created to be a specifically vegan treat. Oreos do not contain milk, eggs, or any other animal-derived products, so they are technically vegan in that sense.
Can vegans eat pasta? ›
Do vegans eat pasta? Most packaged pasta—including spaghetti, penne, and more—is vegan. It's worth checking the label to be sure, as some pasta contains eggs, but most of the pasta you see on the supermarket shelves is 100% vegan!
Are there negative side effects of being vegan? ›
As you read along, you'll find out that most health conditions developed by vegans are related to vitamin B12 deficiency. Without the familiar sources of vitamin B12, certain bodily functions can be disrupted, leading to anemia, gastritis, stroke, Crohn's disease, and Celiac disease.
Why do I feel sick after switching to a plant-based diet? ›
For example, a rapid switch with no gradual transition period can result in feelings of being sick, bloating, stomach cramps, headaches and sleeping issues [5]. People often experience this when they first try a vegan diet, because their bodies may already be lacking iron.
How long does it take for your body to adjust to being vegan? ›
I quickly learned it takes about 30 days to feel like you're even remotely in control of this new eating method-and about six weeks to truly feel good on it. Now, almost three months later, I'm amazed at how much better my workouts feel, how much better my back feels, and how much truly healthier I feel.
What are the symptoms of a bad vegan diet? ›
"Vegan diets consist of non-heme irons, which aren't absorbed by the blood as well." That can cause headaches or leave you feeling slow or weak. There's another reason veganism may result in a bout of droopiness if it isn't for you: pernicious anemia, which can happen when you're low on the B12 vitamin.
