Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for a few reasons. It "kicks off" the holiday season but without all the pressure and holiday stress of shopping that comes at Christmas. You get to spend to time with your family. It's close to my birthday--yay! But I especially love it because it's all of my favorite comfort food all in one meal. Turkey. Stuffing. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Warm rolls out of the oven. Pumpkin pie. What more could you ask for? I still love Thanksgiving but over the past few years a few things have changed in my family. A few years ago my stepmom developed allergies to all dairy. Well, the most important part of creamy, delicious mashed potatoes is the milk and butter. And, my sister became a vegan. Not just a vegetarian--a vegan. So (obviously) turkey was out and mashed potatoes were out and pie crust with butter was out. We still do the traditional Thanksgiving dinner but with some modifications. Last year my sister made vegan mashed potatoes and used soy milk and put roasted garlic hummus in them--I have to admit at first I was very skeptical but they were actually really good and the hummus made them creamy.
This Thanksgiving we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house for dinner. I was about to start getting ready to go when I remembered to send a quick text to my friend, Mindy and her husband, Kevin to wish them a happy Thanksgiving. Mindy is my oldest "friend". I put friend in quotes because I have known her since kindergarden. I met her when I was 5. That is unbelievable to me. I met her at the bus stop on the way to school. She was the first friend I made there. I moved when I was in 5th grade and of course life goes on. We grew apart as people do but e-mail and text messaging has helped us stay in touch. So we don't have a "day-to-day friendship" but we keep each other updated about the big stuff that is going in our lives. She invited me to her bridal shower and her wedding and invites me to her New Years eve party. So as I was deciding what to wear to Thanksgiving dinner Mindy sent me a text back wishing me a happy Thanksgiving but also saying that she got some upsetting news a few days ago. She found out she had diabetes. She had to take insulin shots and she found out 2 days before Thanksgiving that she had to completely change her diet. She said that it makes for a frustrating holiday that is all about food. So besides the obvious tie in Thanksgiving has with food and the grocery store--this week in honor of Mindy and my stepmom and my sister I wanted to put together a few recipes for people who might not be able to eat all the "traditional" Thanksgiving feast. These recipes sound delicious! So if for whatever reason you can't eat what everyone else is eating this Thanskgiving here are some other options for people who are eating meat-free or dairy-free. Enjoy!
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