A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

Ah- Thanksgiving, the vegetarian’s plight. You are surrounded by turkey and all sorts of aromatically appealing meat dishes, while you sit and sadly pick at your plain plate of potatoes and cranberry sauce. What could possibly ease the pain? Why, a vegetable protein meat substitute of course! Vegetarianism has become hip, making it a commercially viable resource. While only seven years ago Thanksgiving dinner looked bleak to herbivores, now there are all sorts of high protein, low fat substitutes for turkey, and yes, some of them even taste good too.

Tofurkey®– Tofurkey is probably the best known turkey substitute. It was the first Thanksgiving vegetarian alternative to hit American tables. The Tofurkey Roast is made of organic tofu, is completely vegan and is shaped and stuffed just like a regular Thanksgiving turkey. It also cooks like a normal turkey. It’s recommended to thaw it in the fridge and then you have to cook it for at least 2 hours; making sure to baste it. The folks at Tofurkey like to call their product “The leading turkey substitute in America since 1995.” It’s known to be a little dry, and many have a love hate relationship with the Tofurkey Roast, however they do have a fantastic line of vegetarian lunch meats if you get a hankering for a leftover “turkey” sandwich.

Quorn- Quorn is relatively new to the American vegetarian world, but it has become a great success. Released in the U.S. in 2002, in the following year Quorn became the best selling poultry substitute brand in natural food stores, according to SPINS, and worldwide Quorn has become the number one selling line of meat alternatives. Unlike many other meat substitutes, Quorn is not soy based, and it does not contain textured vegetable protein (TVP). Quorn is based on mycoprotein, a member of the fungi family. Quorn is not vegan, as it contains trace amounts of dairy and eggs. The Quorn Turk’y Roast comes in a log shape. It cooks in about an hour, and the leftovers can be saved and easily sliced for lunch meat. Quorn is a little bit on the sweeter side, which might put some off, but it’s a worldwide favorite, so it’s worth at least a try.

Gimme Lean- Let’s face it there are people who just don’t like turkey. It can be dry, it takes forever to cook, and if you aren’t planning on feeding twenty people at Thanksgiving dinner, then you can be stuck with leftovers for quite some time. If you don’t like turkey in the first place, why would you really want a vegetarian substitute? Lightlife is a company that produces soy based meat alternatives. Their Gimme Lean line, is a variety of low fat meat substitutes that pack a powerful punch of flavor. Their ground sausage is a great holiday-time dish. It’s quick to make, it takes about five minutes to cook, and it goes great with cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. With only 60 calories per serving it’s a wonderful option for those who are counting calories, and, frankly, it’s delicious.