Hey there everyone! Though I am judging this round of @lenasveganliving's #fruitsandveggiesmonday contest, I still wanted to finish off sharing my Thanksgiving menu with you all in a null entry this week! I already posted my Vegan Mac 'N Cheez recipe, so today's post covers the rest of the delicious meal. For some it may not epitomize the usual richness of a holiday meal, but it was exactly the veggie-packed, cruelty-free meal to keep me happy.
My whole family joins in on the cooking so that not just one person has to do it all. However for some reason everyone else has a hard time making Thanksgiving dishes totally vegan. I have learned from the past I just need to make sure to prepare a few dishes so I know I'll have plenty to make a meal out of. This holds especially true for dessert. Good thing I enjoy cooking, so it is no sweat for me to make some extra yummy stuff to share. Especially since I had my little blue friend from @barbara-orenya (who was the prize for Lena's special contest last year) to help me out. 😉
The butternut squash made an appearance in both my macaroni and my dessert. Before you start shaking your head at squash in dessert, just take a look at how yummy these Pecan Bars turned out. I hadn't made anything from the My Whole Food Life page in a while, but I usually really enjoy her recipes so knew this one should be good.
The recipe called for pumpkin, but I had already cooked the squash and figured it would be an easy swap. The only other thing I swapped was holding off on the pumpkin seeds. My little niece is a bit picky with eating right now, so I thought there might be a greater chance of her trying these if I didn't add the seeds. @dksart almost didn't let me take them with us to share! He doesn't normally eat a lot of sweets, but he really enjoyed these.
Of course I had to have some green stuff on my plate to brighten everything up. I threw together a super easy salad with finely chopped broccoli, Brussels sprouts and fresh spinach all from the farmers market. I topped it off with sunflower seeds and a blackberry dressing.
The dressing was just 3/4 cup blackberries (I thawed out my dwindling stash of frozen from our picking excursions) blended with 1/4 cup blackberry ginger balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger, 1 tablespoon of miso and a little water to thin it out. So bright and delicious!
I also do like to have something with a little bit of protein to fill me up, so I opted this year for a simple marinated and roasted tempeh. Nothing fancy, but I figured the rest of my dishes made up for its simplicity. For me Thanksgiving is all about the sides anyway. My mom did end up making some plain roasted sweet potatoes, too. Though for some reason it stumped her that you could cook them without butter. 🤷♀️
Like I said, I didn't miss anything in this meal! I really felt fantastic afterwards, too, which is rare as it is so easy to eat way to much rich food. No food hangover the next day, which was really good since we had second Thanksgiving with @dksart's family over the weekend. Lots of veggies and good stuff there, as well. It's nice to enjoy delicious food, but even nicer to spend enjoyable time with the ones you love! Now I can't wait to start planning what to make for Christmas dinner...
Great meal @plantstoplanks. Mouthwatering! And you should know that I am decidedly not vegan...
#steemitbloggers
Haha, well an ever bigger thanks then. I won't tell anyone if you enjoy a vegan meal every now and then..or at least a vegan side dish, haha. 😉
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It looks and sounds delicious especially the dressing! I think you did an awesome job with that and everyone must have enjoyed it very much @plantstoplanks! :)
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Thank you so much! That dressing really made the whole salad pop! I'm sad that the last of my blackberry stash from picking this summer is almost depleted. I suppose it will just make me all the more excited when the time comes around to pick some more! It was a wonderful meal with some of my favorite people. :)
Your spread looks great @plantstoplanks. Those pumpkin/squash bites remind me of a healthy fig newton that, I know, tastes a whole lot better. I used to think it was difficult to cook things without butter too! It just takes a little time to adjust and before you know it you’re making your traditional potatoes even better than they were before. Great job “Mom”!
P.s. I like that red and white plate :)
Those bars really were the bomb! So good, and not that many ingredients. Even better that it is pretty much made up of things I generally keep on hand.
Mom tries her best. I give her credit that she usually does ask first. And those are her stylin' red plates. My other "mom" makes fantastic dishes for the main meal vegan, but has a hard time understanding why I don't want to eat cheesecake or bring slices of it home. Haha, she means well. She thinks we're too skinny so she just wants to fatten us up.
Haha… I hear the too skinny comment from our family too. I sometimes think they think I don’t feed Dandays. If they only knew 🤷🏼♀️ Plus, od take those bars over cheesecake any day :)
Oh my gosh, I know right? I don't think either of our gentlemen are starving. 🤣
Everything looks amazing, that must've been a really good dinner!😋 And those Pecan Bars, as soon as I saw a picture of them, I was thinking that I need the recipe, haha!
It was fantastic, thanks! Those bars were really so darn good. I haven't made anything off that blog for a while, but she's got a lot of great stuff that is so easy to make!
Wow, what a meal! Those pecan bars look amazing, no wonder @dksart didn't want you to share lol. Did your niece enjoy them? I know I would probably eat the whole plate! Love it! Can't wait to see your Christmas creations :)
Those bars are definitely going to be a new fall classic! My niece was being especially picky on Thanksgiving, so she didn't eat much of anything. Toddlers. What can you do? At least I know how picky I was as a kid, so I know there is hope for her. 😋 She did eat my pumpkin muffins a few weeks ago.
Oh my goodness, the blue turkey, wow!
I totally agree Katie, there is no food hangover after meal like this, only enjoyment. That is one of the rewards of being vegan. Sadly, majority of people don't know what they are missing!!! Nevertheless, you really made an amazing feast and those pecan bars, oh boy!!! I am salivating again!!! But what else is new, lol.
🍒 🍌🍑🌿🍍🍓🍇
@barbara-orenya had posted him again this year, so I had to break out my blue buddy for a few kitchen adventures. It always makes me smile to see him. I was so excited to receive such a wonderful creation. I've got another big squash to cook up, so you can bet on those bars making another appearance in my home soon. 😜
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i just ate a roasted sweet potato and it is so good, they sell it everywhere here in Beijing. Its good to know that u don't always need turkey for thanksgiving, and vegan lifestyle has proved it😍
I love sweet potatoes, so it's good to know if I ever get to visit Beijing I'll know I have something good to eat. Turkey is quite traditional, but who says traditions can't evolve, right? For most people the sides are the best part so I have more fun focusing on those anyway!
It looks tasty and delicious, but I can't imagine myself as a vegan :) I did a vegetarian challenge for 30 days and didn't miss meat too much, but being a vegan isn't for me :) For how long you're vegan?
It has been over 5 years now for me. I definitely don't miss meat at all, and was surprised at how easy it is to substitute for cheese. It probably helps that I really enjoy cooking and I don't travel much so I've gotten really used to making anything I want from healthy food in my own kitchen! :)
Yeah, I think this is the key, you don't travel. For me and Monika travelling is a way of life. In poor countries, if you ask for vege meal, they will look at you trying to understand what are you saying :) In the end, they will end up offering bananas and rice :P What was the reason you switch to vegan?
I totally get that. Even here in the US it is hard not to get a little dairy or eggs in your meals on occasion, and that's with no language barrier! I respect anyone who does the best they can, especially if what you are consuming is all locally sourced.
I originally made the switch after researching the health benefits of eating a plant-based diet. I read a lot of books and starting watching documentaries and was sold on it being the most ideal way of eating for the least amount of disease and inflammation. I actually noticed a big difference in my sport recovery when I cut out animal products. As I started getting further into the lifestyle, I learned more about the ethical and environmental impacts, as well. I've always loved animals, so once I related that love to the food on my plate I could no longer consciously choose meat for nourishment. It definitely took a while to get the right balance and really make sure I was eating enough to support my active lifestyle. Once I started experimenting more in the kitchen and getting my meal plan right, I felt great and had no reason not to keep on eating this way! My boyfriend still eats the occasional eggs and cheese, and very rarely some meat or fish, but he feels better having switched to a much more predominantly plant-based diet, as well.
Yummy! :)
Thanks babe! Guess I need to make some more of those pecan bars soon...
This looks very yummy. I had a lovely Indian eggplant and potato curry today. I don't know if it had yoghurt so I can not say for sure that it was vegan, but the eggplant was charred and the potato soft and it had that lively crunch of whole mustard seeds.
Ooh that sounds delicious! I love all kinds of curries, especially with potatoes. :) Do you follow @gguy773? He posts lots of really fantastic curry dishes! I need to try some of his recipes because they all look so good and flavorful.
Thanks for the recommendation. I don't normally click on food posts, however I am broadening my horizons since I joined steemitbloggers and I have been pleasantly surprised.
One plate for me please of that veggie goodness. I do not eat much vegetables but your preparation makes it look super yummy. That butternut squash is something I have not heard of. Looks very alien to me and shaped some sort like a water bottle. Well I am beginning to think that I should set a veggie day for my family. I see a lot of veggie recipes around here that I would love to try.
There's so many wonderful vegetables in the world to enjoy! A veggie day is a perfect way to start trying to incorporate more into your diet. For a while when I was trying to expand my horizons I had a goal to try either one new vegetable a week or one new recipe. I really enjoyed it and found a lot of new favorites that way. Some of the squashes are pretty funny-looking! The flesh of the butternut squash is quite delicious. Soft and just a little bit sweet.
wow, this looks delicious, my mouth is watery again and my stomach is demanding this delicious meal!
Thank you my friend! Even though I am judging this week, I couldn't help but join in the fun to share such a yummy meal with you all! :)
It looks like a great complete meal and just fantastic!
It definitely had everything I needed! 😃
Very cool!
Miam-Miam, the whole plate is calling my name ! ^_^ I'm happy that BlueTurkey helped you for the meal, and especially that he is always safe in your home where he will not be sacrified ;-)
Have a wonderful week Katie !
As long as I can keep him away from the crushing hands of my toddler niece he will be very safe in my home. ;) She loves to hug and kiss all the animals right now, so at least he would be loved well if he does fall into her hands, haha! A wonderful week to you, as well!
That Looks yumm and i loved your presentation
Hey thanks @clicked! I'm still working on my photography skills, but I'm glad I can at least make most of my food look close to as good as it tastes!
I love all your delicious creations.. I couldn't imagine shaking my head regarding butternut squash in a dessert, it's brilliant!!!
Thanks! I had someone totally shut down on me when I was telling her about making my own pecan milk the other day. I could literally watch the expression on her face change as I was talking. Oh well, more for us, right? 😉
lmao, yup I've received that face before hahaha!!!
That's the BEST kind of turkey for Thanksgiving @plantstoplanks! I love her work. Those pecan bars look absolutely delicious! What a way to end a meal. Even if it's "just" a salad. I battle with the concept of fruit with a meal but that blueberry dressing is yum! So much inspiration in today's post. Thank you
You can't help but smile when you see Barbara's work! Always so full of love and light. I highly recommend the pecan bars. They were fantastic. I have come to really love berries in salads, especially a berry dressing. It was a great way to really impart some flavor to all of the green veggies. :)
Well let's face it there's fruit....and there's BERRIES