Can you believe we’re just over a week away from T-day? Me neither! Does it surprise you that I really like Thanksgiving–even as a vegan? For me, it’s not really about the food (the desserts, though…) but the fact that I get a week-long break away from school, just when I need one. I am really stressin’ right now but luckily this year, I get an extra day off because my class on Friday was cancelled. Definitely thankful for that!
Even though I’m not a fan of the traditional Thanksgiving fare, I still have some things I would like to make and eat on the big day. Some of the flavors that scream ‘Thanksgiving’ for me include maple, pumpkin, cranberry and pecan so hopefully I can include all of those in this year’s meal.
Maple roasted veggies. Photo from La Vida Vegga.
Roasted veggies are the best–why not make them even better with a hint of real maple syrup? I think these would be great as leftovers too!
Maple pecan pie bars. Photo courtesy of Natural Noshing.
Can you believe these are vegan, gluten-free and grain free? Me either, but I really want to give them a whirl to see if they turn out as delicious as they look. I actually really love trying out recipes that are vegan and grain free, which is kinda hard to find since most grain free recipes include eggs, but this one thankfully doesn’t!
Cranberry kale salad. Photo courtesy of Kraft (recipe from Whole Foods).
You all know how much I love kale (it’s my favorite veggie, other than sweet potatoes) so combining it in a salad with fresh cranberries and miso paste sounds perfect for Thanksgiving.
Vegan caramel apple. Photo courtesy of Healthy Happy Life.
Caramel apples seem so complicated and way too sugary…but not this one! The recipe seems so easy to follow, and the caramel sauce itself is made with coconut sugar (lower glycemic!) and coconut milk so it’s much healthier.
Spiced grilled sweet potatoes. Photo courtesy of Whole Foods.
Sweet potatoes are great, but even better when they’re grilled and made spicy!
Pumpkin s’mores pudding. Photo courtesy of Healthy Food for Living.
How amazeballs does this look? It’ll be the perfect way to use up some of the Ricemellow creme I just bought–huge container, thought it was a little too sweet but it would be great on top of this!
Pecan pie waffle. Photo courtesy of Three and a Half Vegans.
You know my obsession with waffles–these take that to a whole new level! I think I know what I’ll be having for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning…
Do you prefer pumpkin, apple, sweet potato or pecan pie? What’s your favorite fall flavor?Â
almostveggirlie 
All those recipes look delicious! My favorite pie is definitely apple; I made a homemade one for Thanksgiving last year that actually turned out fairly well….I am thinking about creating some sort of stuffed squash recipe for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, maybe basing it on a recipe I saw in the most recent Vegnews magazine. I don’t have only ONE specific favorite fall flavor, but I love pumpkin, apple, sweet potato, cinnamon, and hearty chili!
I really want to make a stuffed squash too! They seem so complicated but they’re probably pretty easy to make and you can put in whatever you want.
Oh my gosh, those all look way too amazing! I hope you try making the maple pecan pie bars…and then tell us how they turned out!
I am for sure planning on making the bars–so hopefully you’ll get to see how they turned out soon!
Okay, that pecan waffle looks amazing! Move aside pie! 😛
I am totally thinking of making that waffle for Thanksgiving dessert 😉
Ack I’m so jealous that you guys have Thanksgiving coming up – ours was last month, and seeing all of the amazing food is making me envious. I think I might just have to celebrate with you guys just so I don’t feel left out 😉 And holy.wow do all of those recipes look amazing. Fall flavors have seriously got to be my favorite, and it’s hard to choose between them. Buuuuuut if I absolutely had to, I’d probably go with apple for a pie… I’ve never really been crazy about pumpkin or sweet potato pies, and I have a pretty decent obsession with apples right now.
I think you should celebrate Thanksgiving, why not?! Apple is great in pies–I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin pie either but once I made a pumpkin apple pie that turned out amazing!
does your family cook to accomodate you on that day? I have always wondered if you needed to bring what you eat or if they make vegan dishes
We usually just do Thanksgiving at our house, without extended family, so my mom and I just cook things that I’d like to eat but this year my grandparents are coming so we’re going to make a mix of dishes and hopefully people will try some of the vegan options!
Very cool, I love hearing that!
OH MY FREAKING GOSH. This just made me SO hungry and SO excited for Thanksgiving!!!!! That caramel apple is calling me haha 😀
Me too haha I think that’ll be the first thing I make when I get home!!!
Can I eat everything? I am so excited for Thanksgiving, but also not for the food, but for the break and to see my family. I have weird plans for Thanksgiving this year and I don’t really know how it’s going to go but we’ll see. It’ll still be fun.
Thanksgiving break is always fun, no matter what. I think it’s even more fun in college because it feels like more of a real break from school.
WOW! I am definitely going to try to persuade my family to stray from their traditional dishes and try to incorporate some of these. They all look so vibrant!
They do all look delicious! I think it would be fun to mix in some traditional stuff with the healthier and unique dishes!
Yum those are great ideas! I’m not a huge fan of traditional Thanksgiving food either, so I’m planning to cook stuff with a healthier twist! I love pumpkin geverything, so pumpkin pie has to win for me!
Pumpkin is always good, period 😀
I love Thanksgiving, too! Although I’m not vegan or vegetarian, so it’s not as impressive haha. I can’t believe you get a whole week off from school! I don’t even get the day before Thanksgiving off! It sucks 😦 Those grilled sweet potatoes look really good! I’ve never even thought of grilling them, before… that’s such a good idea.
** I’d love it if you would participate in my new blog link-up Shopping List Friday! (See my blog for more details).
Awww man, I’d be mad if I didn’t get the week off for Thanksgiving! I know a lot of schools and workplaces don’t give people that much time off though but they really should.
I just checked out your Shopping List Friday post and I love the idea! I will definitely be linking up soon 🙂