I know it can be intimidating planning for holiday dinners and gatherings, especially if you’re new to plant-based eating or if you’re making food for a vegan family member.

I’ve been doing this plant-based thing for a while and I can tell you, I too was intimidated about my first family holiday meal over a decade ago. Especially because I was the only vegan person in attendance. In most cases, I’m still the only vegan person at holiday gatherings, but now I know how to navigate it a bit better.

Here are my tips for your plant-based holiday meal:

Plan ahead! If you’re trying to adhere to plant-based eating over the holidays, one of the best things you can do is bring a dish to your holiday gathering that you know you can eat, but also make enough so that it can be shared with others. I usually bring a hearty salad, delicious dip, or I’ll even put together a grazing board, which is always a crowd pleaser. If you’re hosting someone who’s vegan and you’re a bit worried about it, don’t hesitate to reach out to that person to ask what you can make for them. They'll undoubtedly be happy to help with the vegan portion of the meal planning.

Remember that side dishes are usually plant-based by default. Yes, holiday dinners tend to include a turkey, ham or some other animal protein as the main. However, many classic sides are actually vegetarian, if not, vegan by default.  Mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, brussels sprouts, peas, salads, dinner rolls, cranberries, gravy, and even stuffing, can easily be prepared without animal fat or cow’s milk using non-dairy alternatives or even swapping in olive oil for butter.  

For your main dish try out Tofurkey (or other meat alternatives). Some of them are pretty darn good! Or, if you’re into cooking, you could make a lentil loaf, stuffed squash, mushroom wellington, veggie pot pie, or vegan tourtiere, just to give you a few ideas. Recipes for all of these are just a quick google search away. 

Finally, do a little research.  If you have a favourite non-vegan recipe that you’ve always made for your holiday meals, the very first step is to type in the name of the dish + “vegan” into the search bar in your web browser (for example: “green bean casserole vegan”) and you’re sure to find veganized versions to try out. Alternatively, head to your local library and borrow a couple vegan cookbooks.  You may have to source out a few new ingredients and do a practice run of the recipes to make sure they're up to par, but in my experience almost anything that you can make with meat or dairy can be made comparably in a vegan format.

If you’re looking for inspiration or guided instruction for your holiday meal, check out my Healthy Holidays eBook or join me on December 10 for a live cooking lesson where we’ll make an entire holiday meal together including a main protein, side dishes and a dessert. Visit my shop page for class details and registration information.