How to Keep Your Holidays Happy as a New Vegan
If you are newly vegan and nervous about your first holiday season, read on for some tips to keep your spirits jolly.
By Patricia
So you’ve decided to go vegan. Maybe you started very recently or perhaps it has been a little while. And the holidays are nothing without food. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, food everywhere. Lots of it. That you like. That won’t make you feel alone during this annual orgy of gastronomic delights.
So how will it go? How will you come through these days of food, food everywhere? For some of us, there will be restaurants and grocery stores that provide a vegan menu for the big day. Place your order, pick it up and off you go. Or depending on how long you have been vegan or how adventurous you are, you make your first foray into the prep of a meal that may seem intimidating at first.
Wherever you find yourself on your vegan journey, begin by looking on the internet for ways to make your favorites vegan. Pinterest is a good resource as you may have already discovered. Often, if it is taking too long, I will simply google a combination of Ingredients that I’ve been contemplating. Of all the choices that have been presented to me, I’ll decide which flavors most intrigue me.Then I’ll use a recipe that suits me or modify one that interests me. I do a lot of modification even to recipes I really like. I am one of those cooks who will often just throw things together. The results will depend on what is in my pantry, frig, and freezer and what exactly am I hungry for? Do I want a humble vegetable soup or do I want Pasta Fagioli, or perhaps posole?
One thing I will not recommend is that you start buying a cookbook or two or twenty right away. For some reason, that is what I thought I needed to do to find the direction I needed to go.
I am not an inexperienced cook. People have raved about my meals for decades. But being vegan? I did not know where to even start. I knew what I had to avoid, and that there were substitutes for some of the things I used to eat, some of which would prove hard to find. And some I simply did not care for.
I felt overwhelmed and still do sometimes. Now I have more vegan cookbooks than I ever had non-vegan cookbooks. The result is that when I want a recipe for something vegan, I have no idea where to start, there are too many books! Don’t do that. Start slowly.
But being vegan? I did not know where to even start. I knew what I had to avoid and that there were substitutes for some of the things I used to eat, some of which would prove hard to find. And some I simply did not care for.
If you find a vegan cookbook you think you like, look through it thoroughly before you buy it. Once you get it home, make several recipes from it. What did you like? What did you absolutely hate? What did you think you might like if you made a couple of tweaks?
Think about the foods you like most. Are you into Mexican, Italian, American, Mediterranean? Go in the direction your stomach but mostly, your heart is leading you. And once you’ve made a dish or a meal that you think is really great, share it! Get feedback, make changes. And for heaven’s sake, write down what you did, what you changed, any ideas for the next time you make that same dish. If you have photographic memory, great! If not, write it down!
I made a posole last week from a Rick Bayless recipe that I made some changes to, to make it vegan, heartier but still delicious and not boring at all. But pen has not yet met paper to write it all down. Being vegan requires a certain amount of discipline that becomes second nature after a while. That goes for the recipes you decide to keep, to change, to make your own.
Don’t be afraid to try the seemingly odd ingredient that maybe no one has used in any recipe similar to yours. That is how I hit upon the apple butter I used in my Easy Peasy Bean Sandwich. Sounds ridiculous, but oh my….
Once you’ve discovered that odd ingredient, don’t forget about it. Where else could you use it? I’ve been mulling over mental recipes for good, hearty winter chilies that have that odd ingredient or two. I’ve decided on several flavor combinations that I can’t wait to try. Apple butter in a chili? Yes, why not? Any really great chili has a touch of sweetness. Apple butter and chipotles in adobo? Even better! When you are first starting vegan, it can seem overwhelming. You will find what pleases you whether you eat out or in.
So approach Thanksgiving in the same spirit. That goes for Christmas, Easter, the Fourth of July… Give thought to what you want to have, whether it reminds you of the Thanksgivings of your childhood, or is something totally different but equally delicious. Who says you have to serve a vegan roast with all the traditional fixings—vegan of course—for those special meals? Maybe it is time to lean toward foods that require less time and effort and would not be out of place in any ordinary family gathering. This year for Christmas, I contemplated posole instead of appetizers, enchiladas or rellenos instead of the usual meat, potato, veg overload.
Find someone (or several someones) to share your delight in what you have created. Make them do the dishes! For your first holiday, buy pre-made where you need to, and keep it as simple as is comfortable. You don’t want to stress out over this. Think of it as just another ordinary vegan meal, with a few added touches. As you gain experience, it will become second nature, perhaps sooner than you think. And through it all, don’t forget to laugh, to enjoy the blessings of happiness that comes with a full tummy, spending time with family and friends, and a blissful nap.
