10 Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

I love Thanksgiving.  Growing up, my family drove 1.5 hours every year to Staten Island.  We enjoyed an absolutely amazing meal at my Aunt Sue and Uncle Richie's her.  Some of my favorite childhood memories are centered around Thanksgiving and this time in New York.  My brother Tim's nickname Timothy Turkey originated from my Uncle Richie's jokes at the Thanksgiving dinner table.  I'll never gorget how my little brother would make the largest plate of food you'd ever see and then before he'd eat it, swirl and mix it all together.  On black Friday we'd then take the Staten Island ferry into Manhattan and enjoy broadway plays or dinner in Little Italy.

One of the only writing assignments I remember of my childhood is embedded in my brain because of Thanksgiving.  I even remember learning what an adjective is and how to use them writing about Thanksgiving.  I was one of the only students in the class (which didn't happen often) that understood how to use adjectives to describe an appetizing Thanksgiving dinner.  And it's because of the amazing food my Aunt Sue would make every year that I could describe the sweet, crunchy taste of the slivered almonds on glazed green beans.  I can still remember the embarrassment and slight excitement I felt as the teacher read my Thanksgiving dinner essay aloud to my entire 7th grade class.

I first saw Dr. T Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. discuss the research of plant-based nutrition in 2005, just a few weeks before Thanksgiving.  My very first two weeks of attempting to eat a plant-based diet was during Thanksgiving!  Can you imagine?  I "failed" miserably -- I didn't give my Aunt Sue a heads-up, had no idea what I could've eaten instead and came completely empty-handed.  So once I saw that cheesy spinach dip, it was on!  

It's been over 10 years now and I've enjoyed many healthy and delicious vegan Thanksgiving dinners and so can you!  Now that we're in week 3 serving Trisha's Healthy Table meals to-go, our supporters are starting to ask if we're making Thanksgiving meals.  The short answer is "oh yes." In doing research for our menu, I came across 10 vegan Thanksgiving recipes that you could add to your table whether we make food for you or not.

10 Healthy, Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

*Some of these recipes use oil although non of them use more than 4 TB which can easily by omitted especially if it's 1 TB needed to saute.  Learn how to saute without oil here.  It's easy!

1.  Festival Kale Salad with Sweet Apple cinnamon vinaigrette and pecan parmesan by OhSheGlows.com  I've made this recipe from her cookbook and it's honestly the best kale salad I've ever had and it uses a low-fat dressing that tastes so good.

2.  3 ingredient cranberry sauce from IsaChandra.com

3.  Southern style cornbread dressing by FatFreeVegan.com  Originally from the South, this chef knows how to make traditional Southern recipes healthy without compromising flavor. 

4.  Simple vegan stuffing from MinimalistBaker.com

5.  Cauliflower mashed potatoes with creamy mushroom gravy from MinimalistBaker.com 

6.  Butternut pecan sweet potato casserole from MinimalistBaker.com

7.  Meatless loaf by FatFreeVegan.com  This is an oil-free and delicious look "meat loaf".  

8.  Lentil loaf with a maple sweetened glaze from eatingbirdfood.com (love that name).

9.  Pumpkin pie from Cathy Fisher.  I love all of her recipes.  They're tasty but she only uses whole plant foods when she cooks.  She makes some of the healthiest and tastiest recipes.

10.  No bake almond butter cup bars  These aren't a traditional Thanksgiving dessert that I'm use to, but they look so good I just had to share.

Take Control Now

What's one plant-based recipe you could incorporate into your Thanksgiving dinner this year?  What would you like to see Erik cook for Trisha's Healthy Table meals this Thanksgiving?

Answer by clicking 'comment' below.

4 Ways to Prevent Cancer from the World Cancer Research Fund

Have you ever thought to yourself “jeeze Trisha’s nutrition recommendations seem a little bit extreme.”

I was having tea with a friend who is about to become a doctor.  She asked me “don´t you think a plant-based diet is a bit extreme?” as she washed down a piece of cake with a cup of coffee.

So, am I too "radical" with my diet?  

Well, my colleagues and I… Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Neal Barnard, T Colin Campbell, Dr. Pam Popper, Dr. Joel Fuhrman etc., we´re not the only ones recommending a plant-based diet.

The World Cancer Research Fund (the WCRF), also recommends a plant-based diet for the prevention of cancer.

The World Cancer Research Fund has a "special commitment to the most reliable science-based recommendations.”  They´re also publicly funded and independent of government.

So what does the World Cancer Research Fund recommend for the prevention of cancer?  Here are 4 of their recommendations.

WCRF'S Recommendations for Cancer Prevention

1.  Eat mostly foods of plant origin.

• Plant foods should be the center of every meal
• Whole grains and or legumes should be eaten with every meal

This is how you can ensure the 5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables the WCRF recommends, as well as the recommended 25 daily grams of fiber.

2.  Avoid foods that promote weight gain.

• Avoid calorie-dense foods
• Avoid sugary drinks including fruit juices
• Consume fast food sparingly, if at all

Calorie-dense foods that promote weight gain include oils, cheeses, meat, fast food and refined foods.

The report states that “diets with high levels of animal fats are often relatively high in energy, increasing the risk of weight gain.”  

3.  Limit and avoid meat

• Limit beef, pork, lamb, goat and avoid processed meats
• Avoid any meat that has been preserved via smoking, curing, salting or chemical preservation

4.  Be as lean as possible.

• Be as lean as possible while maintaining a health, normal weight

The report states that "maintenance of a healthy weight... may be one of the most important ways to protect against cancer.  This will also protect against a number of other common chronic diseases."

5.  Limit alcoholic drinks.

• Men - no more than two drinks/day if you drink
• Women - no more than one drink/day if you drink

"The evidence on cancer justifies a recommendation not to drink alcoholic drinks.  Based solely on the evidence on cancer, even small amounts of alcoholic drinks should be avoided."

6.  Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone, not supplements.  

"Dietary supplements are not recommended for cancer prevention.  The evidence shows that high-dose nutrient supplements can be protective or can cause cancer."

7.  Limit salt.

• "Limit consumption of processed foods with added salt to ensure an intake of less than 6 g (2.4 g sodium) a day."

"The strongest evidence on methods of food preservation, processing, and preparation shows that salt and salt preserved foods are probably a cause of stomach cancer, and that foods contaminated with aflatoxins are a cause of liver cancer."

When you eat a plant-based diet, you drastically reduce the amount of salt you are consuming by eliminating fast foods, refined foods and many animal products from your diet.  When you do this, you can add table salt to your food and still meet this recommendation (plus, you might make your veggie meals taste even better!).  

8.  Make physical activity a part of your daily life.

"Be moderately physically active, equivalent to brisk walking, for at least 30 minutes every day.  As fitness improves, aim for 60 minutes or more of moderate, or for 30 minutes or more of vigorous, physical activity every day.  Limit sedentary habits such as watching television." 

A Special Recommendation for Cancer Survivors

• Follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.

So there you have it, the World Cancer Research Fund´s recommendations to eat a plant-based.  They state that "people that eat some form of a vegetarian diet are at low risk of some diseases including cancer."

When my doctor friend asked me if I thought a plant-based diet was extreme, my response was I thought getting open heart surgery or extracting cancerous organs from my body from eating a Western diet, was more extreme than eating potatoes and salad every day, and the WCRF agrees.  

Now it´s time for you to put this information to use in your daily life.  To get you started, I want you to answer this Take Control Now question and put your answer in the comments section below this video.

When you're finished, please email/share this video and article to a friend or family member.  Have them sign-up for free email updates and they'll receive a FREE Healthy Diet Resource Guide delivered right away to their inbox.  

Take Control Now

Do you think eating a plant-based diet is too extreme?  What do you think of the WCRF's recommendations to eat a plant-based diet?

Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research. 2007.  Accessed online April 2014.

Why "Eating Less" is NOT the Answer to Weight Loss

Dr. Doug Lisle explains why "eating less" is not the answer in his one hour lecture titled 'How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind.'  Dr. Lisle is a Clinical Psychologist and the Director of Research at the True North Health Center in California.  He is also the co-author of the amazing book 'The Pleasure Trap.'  

He explains how skinny people aren't any 'less indulgent' than those with excess weight; how humans are one of the three animals on the planet that can't control their weight and the number one reason you aren't losing weight.  It all boils down to one thing... 

...the natural law of satiety is being broken.  

What's the law of satiety?

In our digestive system, we have nutrient and stretch receptors.  Nutrient receptors calculate how much nutrition is in our food.  I.e. calories, fat, protein and carbohydrate.  Stretch receptors decipher how much volume of food has been eaten.  When both the nutrient and stretch receptors become appropritely activated, our digestive system will tell our brain it's time to stop eating.  If we don't, it will become painful.

The receptors have been appropriately activated when 1.  there’s enough food our stomachs (or bulk) and 2. when we’ve eaten enough nutrition -- calories and macronutrients.  

If we don't get enough of one or another, we still won't feel satisfied.  Dr. Lisle uses the example of lettuce.  If you eat one pound of lettuce, you won't feel satisfied and full even though you've eaten a large quantity of food.  This is because the lettuce is so low in calories (around 100 calories/pound) that it's not enough nutrition for the nutrition receptors to be satisfied.  Likewise, if you eat a high calorie food, like chocolate for example, that doesn't have a lot of volume to it, you won't feel full even if you're eating enough calories.  

This is the law of satiety and this natural law is being broken everyday by humans, causing most of us to gain weight.  The hyper-concentrated foods the average American is eating (refined foods and animal products.  Only 6% American's diets come from unrefined plant food) is tricking our nutrient and stretch receptors.  Our bodies think we haven't eaten as many calories as we really have because the volume of these hyper-concentrated foods is small compared to how many calories they contain.  

As an example, Dr. Lisle asks what will fill you up more?  Two cups of ice-cream or, 1/2 gallon of salad, 3 ears of corn, 2 baked potatoes and a pound of cherries?  Same amount of calories, but the latter, is made of whole, plant foods that are naturally low in calories, but large in bulk.  

Skinny people aren't any less indulgent than fat people

There's a false assumption that those with excess weight are what Dr. Lisle calls, "eating into the pain."  They're eating so much until it hurts, everyday.  However, this isn't true!  

According to Dr. Lisle, women in the U.S. gain on average, one pound every year from the age of 20 to 40.  That equals only 10 extra calories per day.  Large people aren't massively overeating and they aren't massively out of control.  Rather, their nutrient and density receptors have been fooled.  

Skinny people have escaped this problem not because of their will-power, or because they are smarter or are in more control than bigger people, but because their genetics have given them more nutrient and stretch receptors.  This allows them to become fuller on less calories making it easier for them to not gain weight.  Unfortunately, skinny people eating the typical American diet, won't escape from other nutritional diseases like heart disease or cancer from eating this way.  

Think you've tried everything and nothing works?

If you think you’ve tried EVERYTHING... you’ve tried every diet there is and nothing works.  Or, you just eat 'healthy' and are still over weight, I want you to answer yes or no to these questions...

Have you ever followed the dietary advice of any of these doctors... Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, T Colin Campbell PhD, Pam Popper PhD, ND,  Dr. John McDougall, Doug Lisle PhD, or Dr. Alan Goldhamer? 

If you answered no, then you haven’t tried what myself and these amazing docs recommend.  If you answered no, then you have not tried everything and you are not doomed to deal with excess weight.  If you answred no, your stomach is being fooled from the foods in your diet and for the average person, it’s going to be difficult to maintain a healthy weight.  

Getting the weight off is easier than you think!  Just swap one hyper-concentrated food, for an unconcentrated one and you'll lose weight.  Want to lose even more?  Swap more foods!  Need help doing this?  That's what I'm here for.  Contact me with any questions and I'll make sure you get results right away.

Take Control Now

Have you ever followed the dietary advice of any of these plant-based docs?  What has your experience been dieting before, on or off a plant-based diet?

Put your answers in the comments section below.