Thanksgiving Recipes for Vegans (Part I)

Whether you are a vegan yourself and looking for some good vegan Thanksgiving meals or are not a vegan but are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at your house that some vegan friends or family will attend, I hope this little mini-series on vegan Thanksgiving meals will be helpful to you.

Of course, even if you don’t fall into the categories above, this is Vegan Month of Food (MOFO) and you can participate by trying these meals out on Thanksgiving (or before)!

To start with, how about some recipes with sweet potatoes and sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds and sweet potatoes are both high in natural Vit D and we all need this for the flu season, along with adequate amounts of beta carotene to nourish the lining of the lungs.

I love sweet potatoes and love eating them just with a little maple syrup or salt (depending on my mood) or just completely plain. But here are a couple more creative ideas (below) that I think I may try out this year, as well as a cool raw food sunflower seed recipe.

Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

Here’s a quick and easy vegan sweet potato pie recipe via Vegsource.com:

2 cups cooked sweet potatoes
1 cup soymilk
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp oil
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp powdered cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Mash or blend sweet potatoes in food processor. Add remaining ingredients and mix completely. Pour mixture into unbaked vegan pie crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Sunflower “Refried Beans” (Raw Food Recipe)

This is an interesting one from Raw Sacramento, Raw “Refried Beans” made from sunflower seeds (serving 8-10 people):

4 cups soaked sunflower seeds (2 ½ cups before soaking)
½ cup flax oil, hemp oil, or olive oil
3 ½ tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. chili powder
2 ½ tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
1 Tbs. unpasteurized dark miso paste
3 Tbs. raw tahini
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
¾ cup pure water

Put all ingredients in a food processor and puree until creamy.
Best served warmed in the dehydrator at 105 degrees.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

Yes, this sounds almost decadent. Here’s the full recipe from FatFree Vegan Kitchen and a little extra dietary info:

Note: This isn’t a fat-free recipe, though it does have less fat than other recipes of its kind.

4 large or 6 medium sweet potatoes, cooked (I used a pressure cooker) and peeled
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup soy creamer or soymilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cups chopped pecans
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray (or wipe with canola oil).

Mash the sweet potatoes with the margarine until smooth. Add the soy creamer, orange juice, vanilla, sugar, maple syrup, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into prepared casserole dish.

Mix the topping ingredients together until well-combined. Spread or sprinkle over the casserole and bake for 45 minutes or until hot throughout.

Makes about 10 servings. Per serving: 298 Calories (kcal); 13g Total Fat; (38% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 44g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 195mg Sodium; 3g Fiber. Weight Watchers: 6 Points.

Hope you have a chance to try some of these out and enjoy them 😀

Any more good ideas for sweet potatoes or sunflower seeds?

Photo Credit: Sweet Potato Pie by *tamara* via flickr (CC license)