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I do not know about you, but I usually enjoy the holiday season and getting together with family and friends. Aside from being in the company of some pretty great people, I love making delectable vegan treats and goodies to share with others, as it is a tad bit of an ongoing passion project of mine. Of course, the holidays are going to look different this year in light of the ongoing pandemic, but that should not stop you from enjoying delicious food and making the most of it! Moreover, just because we are in the middle of a pandemic does not mean that you cannot make treats and share with others! If you want, you can leave some delectable treats on the doorstep of your loved ones to let them know that you are thinking of them during the holidays, which is a safe way to show that you care. You know what they say - safety first!
While the holidays are going to look a little bit different this year, my wife and I are still excited to bring in the holiday season and have already outlined our Christmas dinner menu, which will naturally be 100% vegan!
Of course, I understand that not every household is vegan and may have family members who are and may struggle to determine what to make for their vegan loved one. Alternatively, perhaps you are vegan and are struggling to figure out what to make that your omnivorous family members will also enjoy.
Below I have highlighted some sample menu options (some of which we will be enjoying this year) that may help you put together your holiday menu. Further, you may find that these are things that you already make at home but are not vegan. For these dishes, I give some simple tips on how to veganize such dishes.
Meats
Ham
Isa does it again! There will only be one vegan ham recipe that I will ever recommend until someone outdoes Isa: sweet and smoky glazed tofu ham. This tofu ham is my all-time favourite tofu recipe! When my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner this year, I instantly said this tofu ham. I cannot tell you enough how delightfully delicious this is!
While you may be surprised to see ham on this list of vegan dishes, I can say with 100% certainty that you are not going to be disappointed with this dish. This sweet and smoky glazed tofu ham is out of this world and will be sure to level-up any meal.
Roast
Of course, if you are short on time and cannot make your own tofu ham or meat-like dishes, there are many vegan companies such as Field Roast, Tofurky, and Sol Cuisine that do create holiday roasts to enjoy during your holiday meal.
One that is readily available locally at stores such as Superstore or Independent is Tofurky's plant-based veggie roast. I highly encourage you to explore the meat-free alternatives section in your local grocery store to see what they have stocked!
Meat Pie
A family tradition with my family growing up was to have meat pie for breakfast Christmas day, something that my brothers particularly loved. My mother was so keen on maintaining this custom that she found a way to veganize meat pie so that I could still partake in our little family tradition.
There are a few ways that you can easily veganize meat pie, which is up to your preference, but I will admit that the easiest thing to do to replace the beef is by purchasing vegan beef crumbles from your local grocery store. Countless brands sell plant-based beef crumbles, such as Yves, Lightlife, and Gardein (amongst others) that you can easily find in local grocery stores such as Food Basics, Metro, Independent, and Superstore. Further, should you decide to steer clear of the veganized beef crumbles, you can opt to create a lentil-based filling or use textured vegetable protein (known as TVP), which you can easily find in stores such as Bulk Barn. Lastly, for the filling, you can either buy canned mushroom gravy (be careful of the label) or opt to make your own!
Of course, you can add any other ingredients to the filling as you see fit.
Mushroom Wellington
I have to admit, the first time that I had a mushroom wellington was a few years ago made by my sister-in-law Sarah when she and my brother were hosting Christmas dinner, and it was ah-mazing!
If you are accustomed to having a beef wellington during the holidays, then creating a mushroom wellington is an easy way to veganize this dish. There are many recipes that you can easily find online, two of which I have found that are highly rated; one by Nicole from Delicious Everyday and the other provided by Tasty.
Commons Sides and Easy Ways to Veganize Them
Stuffing
Look, you do not need turkey at your table to still enjoy stuffing during your holiday meals. If you typically make your stuffing using bread (as my mom always does), chances are, there might not be much that you need to change, as common bread brands are often vegan by default.
Of course, should you typically add eggs to your stuffing, there is an easy substitute that should work quite well: a flax egg! To make a flax egg, you need one tablespoon of ground flax and three tablespoons of water and mix the two and allow it to sit for five minutes to allow it to thicken.
Roasted Veggies
One of the great things about roasted vegetables is that they are commonly vegan by default, as most households use oil to coat their veggies.
For me, I am easily pleased if you serve me with a mix of roasted Brussel sprouts and carrots. I LOVE Brussel sprouts! Of course, I understand that not everyone is a fan. Thankfully, roasted veggies are incredibly versatile, and you can make it your own with some of your veggie favourites! I find that if you sprinkle some maple syrup on the veggies, it makes a great glaze and brings them up an extra notch.
Mashed Potatoes
Thankfully, potatoes are one other thing that you can easily make vegan. If you are prone to adding butter and milk to your mashed potatoes, do not fret, as there are many vegan brands of milk and butter that make mashed potatoes (or any potato dish for that matter) easy to veganize.
I would recommend either using a non-flavoured, unsweetened, soy or oat milk as they are neutral in flavour and also have a great consistency. As for butter, you don't have to search too hard, as Becel has a vegan butter that you can find alongside their other products. Of course, if your store has a health or vegan section, you will find other brands that offer different kinds of vegan butter in that section.
Lastly, I would be beside myself if I didn't share this final tidbit of information with you! If you are feeling adventurous, I would recommend boiling cauliflower alongside your potatoes and make it a mashed cauliflower-potato blend. It is an easy way to lighten-up this side, but also sneak in some extra veggies to your meal.
Sweets and Treats
Of course, no holiday meal is complete unless you have some sweets available to enjoy throughout the day and after dinner. The possibilities are endless, so rather than talking in-depth, I compiled a shortlist.
Ginger Molasses Cookies
Pumpkin Pie
Snowball Cupcakes
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter balls
Chocolate chip cookies
Sugar cookies
Snickerdoodle cookies
Maple pecan pie
Cheesecake
Coffee cake
Of course, this is simply a shortlist and does not cover every possible menu option for a holiday meal. However, if you would like further ideas or some resources to find more recipes, I would highly check out this post of highly recommended vegan cookbooks. Alternatively, there is always the internet, in which you will more than likely, be able to find a vegan recipe for any dish!
Alternatively, you may have some tried and true recipes that you may want to veganize instead. As stated above, there are simple ways that you can replace milk, eggs and butter, but if you do use shortening in your recipes as well, look for a vegetable-based shortening instead. Writing this article, I see that there could be a whole separate blog post of simple ways of veganizing dishes, and I will put something together on this in the future.
Lastly, while sweets and treats are always a staple, it may be possible that you may want to make them a little bit healthier, which I would recommend checking out this post which provides some simple tips.
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