Last year I wrote an extensive post on How to Have a Happy Thanksgiving When You’re Plant-Based. Little did I know that a lot of my advice, such as “do your own thing, you can see your family another time”...would be so relevant a year later.
I’m not here to tell you what to do and as a dietitian, it’s my job to guide and support you in your food decisions. However, I’m also a person who lived through the height of COVID in NYC in March so I am going to stress this here anyway: stay home. Please. It is NOT worth seeing your family this year. It’s not worth getting together with friends either. The silver lining is, you can do your own thing and no one should (or has the right to!) get upset or take it personally. If they do, they’re wrong, 100%.
Let’s make the most of this by cooking whatever we feel like or ordering in to support local businesses. The best part is, we don’t have to be subjected to turkey if we don’t want to! I know that is a small victory but, we have to take what we can in these dark days.
My husband, toddler, and I will be having a delicious home cooked meal this year and will be checking in with our families via Zoom. I wanted to share our menu in case it inspires you for your own:
Cheeseboard from Riverdel with Cheezhound options + a baguette
Seitan’s Helper Turkey Roast (we’re getting ours from Orchard Grocer which is still taking orders until this Sunday, 11/22)
Creamy Brussels Sprouts veganized with Silk Heavy Whipping Cream
Stuffing from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Holiday Cookbook
Roasted delicata squash
This is a ton of food for us and I can’t guarantee that our 3.5 year old is going to touch any of it but I’m looking forward to the leftovers for days on end!
If you are local to Brooklyn/NYC and don’t feel like cooking or just want to get some extras, there are a few places that are taking special Thanksgiving orders for take out, including:
Modern Love (order by Sunday, 11/22)
Mariolino’s (order by Sunday, 11/22)
Orchard Grocer (order by Sunday, 11/22)
Terms of Endearment for your pie needs (order by Sunday, 11/22)
Clementine Bakery also has delicious vegan pies for order (by Saturday, 11/21)
If you scroll down to the food section in my original post, there are options for faux turkeys and other recipes to try that I highly recommend.
I know that this year will likely look much different for you and I am sorry to all of us that this is the way that it is. The nice thing is that there are less expectations, hopefully less fights, no annoying travel, good food that you actually want to eat, you can wear whatever the heck you want, and it will make next year’s celebration that much more special when we can finally all be together. Happy Thanksgiving all!
