It’s interesting to me how people think that the vegan lifestyle is one of major deprivation.  (Although there was definitely a time when I didn’t want to live in a world without dairy cheese or ice cream.)   What am I deprived of?  I honestly don’t miss dairy or meat. Not only am I glad every minute of every day that I don’t support cruelty and unnecessary death, I also no longer crave the animal products that made me me look and feel awful. When I stopped eating dairy, my acne, cramps, headaches and two sizes went away.  Eggs actually used to make me throw up.  Do I want to put those things in my body anymore?  Nope, especially when I live in a world that has Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss, Purely Decadent with Coconut Milk, Daiya Vegan Cheese, Dr. Cow Nut Cheeses and Teese!

I no longer crave animal flesh after 17 years as a vegetarian, but I do love Soysage, Tofurky slices and sausages for what they are.  If I wanted to experience the taste and texture of chickens, pigs and cows, I would eat Gardein, LightLife, Match Meats, etc.  I never cared for seafood, so I definitely don’t miss that.

Yes, sometimes I miss out on convenience.  But it’s so worth it!  I eat so much more food as a vegan than I ever did as a meat-eater or even as a lacto-ovo vegetarian.  I actually crave vegetables. I can have kale and brown rice for lunch and feel completely satisfied.  I eat Ethiopian, Thai and Korean food often.  I never would have been interested in those foods before I was vegan.

Since I became vegan, I definitely feel more spiritually connected.  I am more in tune with my body, the planet and my fellow Earthlings.

So, am I angry all the time? Not even close. How often do you see me without a smile on my face? The years I have been vegan have actually been my happiest ever. I can’t imagine ever going back.

Everything was very tasty, if I do say so myself.  I’m glad I have lots of leftovers!

Hope you all are having lovely holidays.  Here’s to 2009!  I have a lot of big plans for the coming year, including some great things for this site.  Stay tuned!

Big love.  Thanks for reading.

I also make mashed potatoes, but instead of butter and cow’s milk, I use organic Earth Balance and soymilk.  Last year I made three different vegan pumpkin pies and decided that Bryanna’s was the best.  I don’t even think it needs to set for very long, but I’ll probably make my pies the day before anyway just to be safe.  I just bought some Soyatoo! to spray on the top also.  Part of the fun of pumpkin pie, I say.

As far as greens, I bought some Brussels sprouts and will probably roast them.  Maybe I’ll make some roasted mixed veggies as well.  Not sure yet!

My best advice for Thanksgiving recipes is the internet.  If you google Vegan Thanksgiving, you’ll find all kinds of fabulous things.  I follow a lot of vegan chefs and foodies on Twitter and they’ve been posting all kinds of recipe links to their blogs, which is always fun.

FatFreeVegan.com is one of my very favorite recipe sites, simply because it is so thorough.  Susan has really done an amazing job with it.  She’s got a wonderful blog and an incredible searchable database.  I just found this site, which has some good Thanksgiving recipes.  Vegan Vanguard has a three part guide to vegan Thanksgivings, which is really helpful and informative.  She included a bunch of great links as well.  Vegan.com has this post with some great Thanksgiving ideas too.  So much great info out there!

I’m subscribed to The Vegan Culinary Experience and received some lovely recipes from Chef Jason Wyrick.  One of them is for BBQ Tofurky, which sounds really good.  I just might have to try that this year.  You can download his magazine for free on his site, so be sure to check it out!

Maybe one of these years I’ll get over my Thanksgiving pet peeve – Those who spell Tofurky incorrectly.  There is no ‘e’ in Tofurky.  But hey, if you eat one instead of an actual turkey, I’ll love you no matter how you spell it.

Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Readers.  Remember to be grateful, loving, compassionate and positive and good things will come your way.  Peace.

And if you have a killer recipe for stuffing/dressing, let me know.  I haven’t decided what to do yet!

I was going to write a longer commentary on the project, but I think you should check it out for yourself.  I hope you’ll follow the link and read the blog.

In totally unrelated news, I heard that Fantastic Foods has Tofu Scrambler again and the two human members of my household are pretty stoked about that.  Looks like it’s on back order if you go to the company site, but Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe has it.  I should order some today.

While I’m throwing out randomness, I just found out that Turtle Island Foods now sells metal Tofurky LUNCHBOXES!  I was just looking at their site so I could add a link to the deli slices, and there they are.  I about wet my pants.  Sometimes it’s the little things in life, you know?  I ordered one right away.  Can’t wait to get it!

Mmmmm.  Tofurky.  I’m especially fond of the hickory smoked deli slices.  My cat Petey likes them too.  Smart kitty.  The gravy rocks too.