Thanksgiving Redux

Ya'll know I love food ... more than one probably should. But on most days, I carefully watch what I eat. I count calories. I work out. I plan meals by the week, all to ensure that my love of food doesn't turn into a full-on food addiction. But Thanksgiving is one of the few days of the year when gorging oneself is not only accepted ... it's encouraged. So every year on the last Thursday of Novemver, I stuff myself until I can't breathe. Here's a shot of my first plate at my family's Thanksgiving dinner this year:

Top (left to right): Vegan Mac & Cheeze, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Corn, Vegan Cream Cheeze Mashed Potatoes. Bottom (left to right): Greens & Turnips, Mama's Best-Ever Vegan Cornbread Dressin', Homemade Cranberry Sauce, Slices of Field Roast Celebration Roast, and Marinated Slaw.

Except for the turkey, my mom and Granny make everything vegan. I get my own casserole dish filled with my mom's famous vegan dressin, and my mom uses Earth Balance in all the sides. She even used Tofutti sour cream and cream cheeze in the mashed potatoes, and none of the omnis could tell a difference. I made a small pot of vegan mac & cheeze, so I could eat it while everyone else ate baked mac & cheddar cheese casserole.

I used to cook a Tofurkey, but for the past several years, I've been baking a Field Roast Celebration Roast instead:

I like the texture and taste of the Field Roast better, and it's smaller so that means less leftovers. Nothing against leftovers, of course. I've been eating Thanksgiving plates all weekend! But Tofurkeys are so big that I'd have more leftovers than I could eat in a week.

My second plate was filled with one slice of all three of these delicious vegan pies. Granny brought a Vegan Pineapple Marshmallow Cream Pie:

She used Soy Whip, Dandies vegan marshmallows, and crushed pineapple in a graham cracker crust! I'm definitely stealing this recipe from her for my cookbook.

She also brought over one of her famous Old-Fashioned Coconut Pies, another recipe she developed for my cookbook. This is my favorite pie in the whole world ... ever:

And I made a Smlove Pie from the Veganomicon:

I've made this recipe several times before, and this rich chocolate tofu pie with peanut butter caramel, candied pecans, and chocolate ganache is always a crowd pleaser.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the gluttony of Thanksgiving Day (and the days of leftover gorging that followed), I'm ready to get back into my old healthy-eating habits.

Hey testers! I FINALLY posted another recipe on the tester site — my Choco-Choco Praline Pecan Cookies. Check it out when you get a chance!