The Holidays are in full force, and with this delightful time comes lots and lots of food. I have been a Vegetarian for about 8 months now and have never felt a struggle with it until the Holiday’s approached. Thanksgiving’s trademark is Turkey: what is an American Thanksgiving without the turkey?

I am fortunate enough to have a mom with amazing cooking abilities to help me bring to life my vegetarian Thanksgiving meal ideas.  I didn’t prepare tofurkey or anything similar to replace turkey; the mesh of tofu and other assorted vegetables didn’t really appeal to me. Instead, my mom and I prepared baked beans with sweet potatoes from a New York Times article to compensate for lack of protein (the recipe is hyperlinked.) The only other non-vegetarian friendly meal served during Thanksgiving is stuffing, in which we simply replaced chicken/chicken broth with vegetarian broth. The other Thanksgiving meal essentials such as mashed potatoes and peas were a perfect additive to my newly found vegetarian replacements.

Thanksgiving was a time to reflect and enjoy all the gifts I have been given, and being vegetarian for the first time helped me further appreciate all the Earth’s blessings, including animals.