Students create meatless traditions, keep holiday spirit

By Amanda Ngyuen
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Turkey is what defines Thanksgiving for many Americans. For many, it’s hard to imagine having a Thanksgiving dinner without it as the centerpiece of the meal. But for vegetarian and junior Vikas Vavilala, not having a turkey during the holiday is the norm. He said the bird’s absence doesn’t damper his family’s spirit. Instead, Vavilala said his family enjoys several vegetarian Indian dishes like a stuffed pastry called samosa and naan, clay oven-baked bread.

“We don’t have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but we do give thanks,” Vavilala said.

Vavilala said he and his family treat their Thanksgiving dinner as any other normal dinner. Vavilala said he and his family have been vegetarians all of their lives. He said that most Indian food is vegetarian, and because his whole family is also vegetarian by religion, a meat-free Thanksgiving dinner is not a problem.

“Because there are a lot of vegetarians by choice, there are plenty of options in the U.S. to accommodate their choices. It’s hard to find a restaurant that doesn’t have vegetarian choices,” Vavilala said.

According to thanksgivingworld.com, the first Thanksgiving included several non-turkey options. The original meal consisted of fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison and plums. It wasn’t clear if the colonists ate turkey because back then “turkey” meant any type of wild fowl. Modern Thanksgiving dinners include turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

For those vegetarians with more traditional Thanksgiving tastes, according to Alicia Herder, vegetarian by choice and junior, some popular Thanksgiving vegetarian dishes today include tofu turkey, baked pumpkin with vegetable pilaf, pumpkin tomato soup and vegetable pot pie.

“I think the worst thing about Thanksgiving is the smell of turkey. I just want to shut myself in my room,” Herder said.

Herder said she gave up meat the summer before her freshman year. Unlike Vavilala, she said her family is not vegetarian and they do have the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of eating the turkey, Herder said she just eats the mashed potatoes, corn and pumpkin pie.

Vegetarians have a lot of options instead of turkey. Patricia Brinegar, family and consumer science teacher, said, “Vegetarians look at getting enough protein, and they do this through the side dishes. If you avoid turkey, you can get a lot of protein from side dishes. You can substitute turkey with pasta dishes, bean dishes or eggplant parmesan. Proteins are not difficult to get. Lacto-ovo vegetarians can get their complete proteins from dairy or egg products. Vegetarians can also use soy products because soy is also a source of complete protein. Combinations of plant products also contain complete proteins.”

Because Vavilala doesn’t eat a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, he said that he has the option of dining out for the holiday. “Most restaurants offer vegetarian foods. There are vegetarian burgers, tofu turkeys and even vegetarian corn dogs,” he said. “Even Italian food like pasta is vegetarian. There are a lot of options.”

Brinegar agrees with Vavilala on the fact that since there are so many alternatives, most vegetarians don’t feel excluded during Thanksgiving.

“Vegetarians don’t feel different,” she said. “Avoiding turkey isn’t a big deal for them because they’re used to it. They don’t feel slighted at all. It’s their lifestyle. Vegetarians approach the holiday as a regular meal. Because there are a lot of vegetarian and vegan recipes, (vegetarians) can enjoy all holiday festivities.”

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The Vegetarian PIlgrims’ Menu

You can still be traditional and skip out on the Thanksgiving meat.
Here’s the original menu without it:

Seafood: Cod, Eel, Clams, Lobster
Grain: Wheat Flour, Indian Corn
Vegetables: Pumpkin, Peas, Beans, Onions, Lettuce, Radishes, Carrots
Fruit: Plums, Grapes
Nuts: Walnuts, Chestnuts, Acorns
Herbs and Seasonings: Olive Oil, Liverwort, Leeks, Dried Currants, Parsnips

HISTORY.COM / SOURCE