Healthy Vegan Thanksgiving Menu And Recipes For 2010

Countdown to Thanksgiving!

Well, here it is - this year's complete Thanksgiving menu! And just in time as there's only one week left until the big day. I hope you enjoy it - I think I've gained a few pounds creating and testing all of these recipes but it was for a good cause. Now, vegan or not, you can create healthful holiday dishes for you and your family.

This year's menu has the look, feel and taste of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Appetizer

For starters, serve Sweet and Spicy Kalamata Olive and Artichoke Tapenade. With all the cooking you have to do on Thanksgiving, you can make this quick and simple appetizer the day before so it's ready to go as soon as your guests arrive. Serve with crackers or a sliced baguette.

Main Course

* Stuffing:

One or two days before Thanksgiving, make your cornbread, leaving enough time for you to make cubes and dry them out for a Healthy Vegan Cornbread And Cornbread Stuffing. For an alternative "main attraction" dish, this can be used to stuff a sugar pumpkin or acorn squash.

* Green Veggie:

Last year's Garden Fresh Green Beans may be a safer choice as some guests may not be big Brussels Sprouts fans, but this Raw Vegan Brussels Sprouts Salad with Orange Chia Seed Vinaigrette, Dried Cranberries and Almonds won't disappoint. The orange vinaigrette can be made ahead of time.

* Cranberry Sauce:

Here's a choice of Two Different Cranberry Sauces: Raw Cranberry Relish, a simple combination of fresh cranberries and Medjool dates, or Low Sugar Cranberry Sauce sweetened with apple juice, a small amount of organic cane sugar and stevia. Both can be made the day before.

* The Main Attraction:

For that "meat and potatoes" part of the meal, we're serving Vegan Sliced Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and Mushroom Gravy. The turkey is made from Butler Farms' Soy Curls, a minimally processed soy product and it really has the look, feel and taste of poultry. For the best flavor, make these right before serving. The mashed potatoes are light and delicious, made from Yukon golds whipped together with silken tofu. The gravy has plenty of mushrooms in veggie broth easily thickened with cornstarch. You can make this ahead of time also.

Save Room for Dessert

I went a little cranberry crazy this year but I won't apologize. This Orange Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Cake is not only delicious, but it makes a beautiful presentation and is less than 200 calories a slice.

For More Raw and Cooked Vegan Thanksgiving Ideas

If you want more recipes to choose from, check out 2009's Healthy Vegan Thanksgiving Menu and Recipes featuring 8 recipes from an antipasto appetizer to our popular sweet potato casserole and two wonderful desserts.

If you want a "raw" experience, check out A Complete Raw Vegan Thanksgiving Menu. From pesto stuffed mushrooms and sprouted garbanzo hummus appetizers to a raw pear and apple crisp, these 8 recipes are sure to satisfy all your guests.

Vegan Thanksgiving Potlucks- Why take the chance?

There are vegan Thanksgiving potlucks all over the country. It's a place vegans gather after having spent their first Thanksgiving dinner, earlier in the day, with their families picking at the cranberry sauce and vegetable crudité. This will be a place to gather where everything on the menu is edible. Call me a control freak, (I am), but why take the chance that everyone will show up with pumpkin pie and no one will show up with appetizers? Why not print out these Thanksgiving recipes and assign them to different people so that you end up with a well coordinated meal?

Most of All

I want to wish everyone of my readers a happy and healthful Thanksgiving!

I've only been blogging for a little less than two years now and because of you, the site has exceeded 80 thousand hits and 150 thousand page views! You inspire me every day to create simple, healthful and delicious recipes.

My site originated as one with healthful recipes and nutritional information. Although mostly plant based, these included a modest number of recipes with eggs, some dairy and seafood, etc. But four months ago I changed the site to focus exclusively on vegan nutrition and recipes due to my concern for health, food safety, and my profound commitment to the environment and the welfare of helpless farm animals. Whether you are a vegetarian, vegan, omnivore or just on a journey to a healthier lifestyle, I hope you continue to join me each week as I discover and create recipes with Foods For Long Life!

Follow Foods For Long Life on FACEBOOK!

Complete Raw Vegan Hanukkah, Christmas or New Years Menu

Guacamole and raw jalapeno corn chips - a great appetizer.

Raw vegan substitute for chopped chicken liver.

Easy-to-make raw split pea soup.

Pear salad with blueberries and raw goat feta on greens.

Zucchini spaghetti and walnut meatballs - a blog favorite.

Chia pudding with pomegranate seeds - healthy and festive.

Delicate raw chocolate truffles dipped in coconut.

Some Ideas for a Raw Dinner Party

Although you may still be full from Thanksgiving, tonight is the beginning of Hanukkah and Christmas and New Years eve are close behind. Here is a complete raw menu pulling together some of the many raw recipes I've posted this year. OK, they're not the traditional sliced prime rib and green bean casserole recipes, but being a healthy raw vegan isn't traditional either. I hope you enjoy.

Raw Vegan Menu for Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years Eve

Please click on recipe titles to link to the actual recipes and then hit the back arrow to return to this posting.

Appetizers

Guacamole is a popular appetizer and this Guacamole and raw jalapeno corn chip recipe is no exception. You'll have to start the corn chips a day in advance but you can whip up the guacamole right before you need it. If you are making it in advance, leave the pit in the middle of the dip and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Another good appetizer is a raw Walnut mushroom pate that makes a great substitute for chopped chicken liver.

Soup

Raw soups are fast and easy to make. This Raw vegan split pea soup will make a great soup course to a large meal since there is little fuss. You can use frozen peas and corn so no worries about finding ingredients in the middle of winter.

Main Course

For the main course, we have Raw zucchini spaghetti and walnut meatballs. This recipe is perhaps the most popular raw food recipe on this website so I thought it only fitting that it be served on these important holidays. With it is a Pear and blueberry salad with raw goat feta, hemp seeds and apple cider vinaigrette. If you don't do raw cheese, just omit it.

Desserts

Since I write so much about chia seeds and have quite a few chia seed recipes it should come as no surprise to find Chia pudding with pomegranate seeds as part of this important menu. To add a little chocolate surprise to the meal, here's the recipe for Tropical chocolate truffles. It's one of our favorite recipes and is enjoyed by all - raw foodist or not.

As many raw foodists will be going home for the holidays and are probably worrying what they will eat, bring along these recipes and prepare a few of them for your family and friends. I've introduced raw food to many people and the folks you least suspect would be interested in it turn out to be the most interested. Enjoy!

A Complete Raw Vegan Thanksgiving or Winter Holiday Menu - From Raw Appetizers to Dessert

Raw sprouted garbanzo hummus appetizer.

Raw crackers with walnuts, veggies and mixed seeds.

Raw walnut and spinach pesto stuffed mushroom appetizer.

Raw pumpkin soup topped with pumpkin seeds and thyme.

Raw vegan turkey lettuce cups with cranberry relish entree.

Raw vegan Waldorf salad with apple chia dressing.

Raw kale salad with fresh corn and red bell peppers.

Pear and apple crisp for dessert. (Or, just make it with pears).

Experience Something New

In 2007 my husband and I were visiting our daughter Linda in New York City. I had just finished writing my dissertation on the “Nutritional Adequacy of a Raw Food Vegan Diet” so I was pretty immersed in raw food. Since Pure Food and Wine, one of my favorite raw food restaurants, was nearby we decided to invite ten members of our family to have a “raw” Thanksgiving. Now you've got to understand, except for me, my husband and my daughter, NONE of these people regularly ate raw vegan or even vegetarian food. I was absolutely delighted when everyone agreed to do something really different and adventurous for this special holiday. It was a fun meal and I will always appreciate and admire all of them for doing this.

Bring a Raw Dish to your Traditional Thanksgiving Gathering

Although Doug and I are certainly not “completely raw” year round, we continue to include an abundance of raw food in our diet. I spend lots of time trying to develop easy, delicious and nutritious raw recipes for my family and my blog followers. Although I don’t expect you to talk your family into a completely raw Thanksgiving, you may want to bring one or more of these delicious and healthy raw dishes to your family’s traditional dinner.

For my Raw Food Enthusiasts

For my many raw food friends, I’ve put together a complete menu for Thanksgiving. There are lots of dishes here so if you aren’t entertaining a big crowd, you may want to cut a few out. If you are hosting a raw food Thanksgiving potluck, hand out the recipes and have everyone bring one of the dishes. There are many other raw recipes on my blog so feel free to substitute. All the recipes are pictured above.

Raw Vegan Thanksgiving Menu

[Please click on recipe titles to link to the actual recipes and then hit the back arrow to return to this posting]

Appetizers

Our first appetizer is Raw Hummus with Sprouted Garbanzo Beans . Begin sprouting 4 days in advance. You can serve this with raw veggie slices or make Raw Crackers with walnuts, veggies and mixed seeds. The raw crackers will have to be started at least a day in advance as they need 6 hours for soaking, and 16 hours for dehydrating (turning them after 8 hours). These two items are the only recipes that take advanced planning. All the others take much less time and can be made the same day. The next appetizer is Walnut and Spinach Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms. Spinach makes a great pesto and is a lot easier to find in the winter months than basil, which is most commonly used in pesto.

Soup

Pumpkins are plentiful this time of year and there is nothing more festive than Raw Pumpkin Soup.

Main Course

For the main entree we have Raw Vegan Lettuce Cups with Cranberry Relish. With all of the other side dishes, you only need to plan for one lettuce cup per person. I've chosen two nice side salads to go with the lettuce cups. One is a Raw Vegan Waldorf Salad with Apple Chia Dressing and the other is a Raw Kale, Corn and Red Bell Pepper Salad.

Dessert

For dessert we have a raw crisp. Follow the recipe for Raw Vegan Pear and Apple Crisp with Raisins . If you are serving the Waldorf salad (which already introduces apples to your meal), you may want to make this crisp with only pears. In this case, omit the apples in the filling and use 6 cups of thinly sliced peeled and cored pears instead of 3 cups. We've made it with just pears and it comes out great.

Two More Great Thanksgiving Recipes

I'm updating this post to add two more raw Thanksgiving recipes that I think you'll love.

The first is a Raw Vegan Brussels Sprouts Salad with Orange Chia Seed Vinaigrette. This light and colorful salad also has slivered almonds and dried cranberries so I hope you'll check out this November 10, 2010 posting.

The other recipe is a beautiful Raw Vegan Pecan Tart. These elegant tarts are very rich so a little goes a long way, especially after a big Thanksgiving meal. I just posted them on November 8, 2010 so I hope you'll give them a try!

To my followers in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving. To my followers in the rest of the world, I hope you enjoy this menu for any of your winter holiday celebrations! Check out more raw food recipes on my blog.