How to Eat Vegan During the Holidays

Let's face it, as great as the holiday season can be, it can also be stressful. Between traveling and finding the perfect gift for your family and friends, it's easy to be overwhelmed. If you have a dietary restriction or allergy, it can make things all the more stressful, especially if you're not preparing your own food. 

This is my second holiday season following a vegan diet, and while I'm no expert, I've learned a thing or two about preparing my meals on normal days, as well as for food-centered holidays like Thanksgiving. Since I'll be going home for part of December, I'm staying in L.A. this week and hosting a Friendsgiving at my apartment!

It's not the first Thanksgiving meal I've cooked, but I'm super excited to take charge this year and prepare a menu that my guests will [hopefully] love and not be able to tell the difference when things are vegan!

Here are a few tricks that are applicable for most meals, and especially during the holiday season!

1. Almost Everything is Adaptable: Recipe call for egg? Use a flax egg. Milk? Make your own cashew or almond. Butter? Vegan butter. I'm still preparing the usual mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, carrots and more, but just swapping in alternatives for the animal-based products.

2. Beware of Boxes: There's hidden dairy and eggs in a good amount of packaged products and meal kits, but making your own stuffing or mashed potatoes from scratch will not only taste better, but be free of preservatives and can be seasoned to your liking. 

3. Bring Your Own: If you're not hosting, bring your own servings of your favorite dishes, and save the leftovers for sandwiches throughout the week!

Don't stress, your guests will love whatever you prepare, and likely won't be able to tell the difference between dishes prepared with or without dairy. 

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