Nutritionist and Meetup group offer options for a vegan Thanksgiving
The centerpiece of many Thanksgiving dinners is the turkey. Found in Thanksgiving commercials, cartoons, and even as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the turkey is integral to the holiday. However, for vegans and vegetarians this animal is not on the menu.
For vegans or vegetarians who are either new to the diet or curious about options for Thanksgiving dinner, Angela Russo, functional nutritionist and health practitioner located in White Plains, NY, provides advice and insights. Russo has been in practice for 17 years and works to get to the root of a patient’s issues by using nutrition and food as medicine. “What may be good for one person may not necessarily be good for another patient of mine, based on what their conditions are,” said Russo. “And it doesn’t necessarily have to have a label on it.”
Russo works with many dietary restrictions, including vegan and vegetarian diets. “I’ll say one thing about the vegan diet,” said Russo. “I like it because it is full of vegetables. You have to do these diets properly. So if you follow a vegan diet, you’re probably doing what I recommend to most of my patients: eating six to eight servings of vegetables, because it’s a super food. So in that respect, that’s a good thing.” Russo is not sure if she would recommend a vegan diet to everyone, as for some individuals, the protein or iron intake could be too low.
“The main thing we’re excluding in the vegan diet for Thanksgiving is the turkey,” said Russo. When cooking a Thanksgiving meal for any diet, Russo generally recommends avoiding too much gluten and cooking the vegetables in healthy ways. “I would much prefer someone baking the sweet potatoes, than putting the candied yams and the syrups and things like that,” said Russo. “I just kind of steer people away from that but, as a vegan, you can basically do all of the same trimmings as you would for a regular diet: all the side dishes.” Since those on a vegan diet will not be getting their protein source from animal protein, Russo recommends incorporating nuts into the meal by adding nuts to the stuffing, making green beans with nuts, or putting together walnuts, cranberries, and broccoli. For vegetarians, Russo recommends getting an additional source of protein from cheese, such as cheesy scalloped potatoes.
Russo also offers advice for those hosting a Thanksgiving dinner with vegan guests. “As the hostess, I would take my guests into consideration,” she said. “I would not want to leave anybody’s diet or dietary restrictions out of the picture.” At the same time, Russo said it’s hard to limit the traditional eaters.
“If you host a Thanksgiving dinner, and you’re the only [vegan], or you have a couple people coming and they’re vegans, you almost have to cook two different ways for the animal portion part, because of their beliefs, and for the people who do eat animal products because of their beliefs,” said Russo.
If local vegans are interested in attending a feast where every dish is vegan and each attendee will be following the diet, the Hudson Valley Vegans are holding a vegan potluck for the holiday. The group operates as a Meetup group, and each year the Hudson Valley Vegans host a Thanksgiving vegan potluck where each attendee is asked to bring a vegan dish or participate in the homemade dessert contest. “For those of us who are vegan, meaning we choose not to consume any animal products: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, or honey, the Thanksgiving holiday is disturbing,” said Roberta Schiff, Coordinator for the Hudson Valley Vegans.
According to The National Turkey Federation, an estimate of over 46 million turkeys will be consumed during the Thanksgiving holiday and another 22 million for Christmas. For Schiff, turkeys are problematic because the holiday is so closely associated with them. “People talk about the turkey, and then immediately they talk about having too much leftover and ‘oh what are they going to do with it,’ and that’s especially sad,” said Schiff. “These animals live such miserable lives and then they’re really not even fully appreciated for everything that’s taken from them.”
This year’s “Bountiful Vegan Feast” will be group’s 33rd annual vegan potluck, one of many events hosted by the group. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. at The Rhinebeck Reformed Church. The event can only accommodate 80 people, so reservations are recommended.
The group is often asked what they do to replace the turkey, the animal that is essential to many Thanksgiving meals. “Now there are some vegan alternatives, but we don’t feel the need to do that,” said Schiff. “Everyone brings their favorite dish and we are always satisfied.”
