Recently I have been scouring the shelves at work looking for holiday meal ideas. This Thanksgiving will be the second time that I have hosted an orphan vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner. I have invited all of my friends who do not have family in town to join me for dinner.Our menu may be a little on the non-traditional side. There won’t be any turkeys at my house, but I hope it will be delicious. Planning the menu can be difficult because like all people, vegetarians come in many shapes and sizes with many ideas about what is the "right" way to eat. Gary Null defines the different kinds of vegetarians in his book The Vegetarian Handbook: Eating right for Total Health :
- Total vegetarians thrive solely on plant foods. They eat not only vegetables, but fruits, nuts, seeds, grains and legumes as well. This regime omits all animal foods, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, and honey.
- Vegans have an absolute commitment to vegetarianism, abstaining not only from all animal foods and dairy products, but also from using any products derived from animals, such as leather or even wool or silk.
- Lacto-vegetarians include milk and milk products in their diet in addition to vegetable foods.
- Lacto-ovo-vegetarians consume eggs along with milk products and vegetables.
- Pesco-vegetarians allow fish in their diets. Prime example: the hundreds of millions of Asians who live on the staples of rice, fish and vegetables.
- Pollo-vegetarians eat poultry (chicken, duck, game, birds) while still omitting red meat. (p. 4)
Though there are numerous dietary restrictions to take into account, it looks like the menu this Thanksgiving will include:
Cheese, Veggies & Crackers with Dill Dip
Leek Salsa & Chips
Winter Squash and Red Lentil Stew atop Couscous
Jalepeno Muffins
Pumpkin Pie
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