Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Veggie Thanksgiving around Los Angeles

Thanksgiving is a family feasting holiday celebrated in the United States, centered historically (and unfortunately) around a large dead bird.

Vegans and vegetarians sometimes work to introduce loved ones to compassionate veggie options as they meet the challenge to survive a carnivore-centric holiday socially with family and friends.

HappyCow is an easy way to find a restaurant full of like-minded people, or to pick up food and bring it to the Thanksgiving table.
 
green earth vegan pumpkin pieLos Angeles is not the only place featured on HappyCow this Thanksgiving, but it gives one an idea of all the abundant food available.
 
Green Earth Vegan, Pasadena
Delicious vegan pumpkin cheesecake from Green Earth Vegan is a holiday feast! Thanksgiving meals will be served from Nov. 26-30, 2014. Call for details.
 
Real Food Daily, Multiple Locations
RFD has several locations, including Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Pasadena, and one at LAX Airport Terminal 4 (first vegan restaurant at a major airport). Visit RFD’s website and download the PDF with the 21st annual “Thanksgiving To Go” details.
 
SunCafe, Studio City
SunCafe is actually closed on Thanksgiving Day. You can pre-order one of their COOKED VEGAN or RAW Thanksgiving To-Go Boxes instead. Call SunCafe at (818) 927-4100 to place orders. 

Polenta Wellington with mushroom pate, spinach, and butternut squash puree
Polenta Wellington (SunCafe)
Crossroads
I recently met Chef Tal Ronnen and experienced his culinary expertise at MUSE Talks at MUSE School CA in Calabasas. For an amazing elite Thanksgiving experience, plan to visit Crossroads on Melrose.
 
Café Gratitude, Venice Beach
FREE Thanksgiving until food runs out! Want to volunteer to help them? Call Café Gratitude Venice Beach. Cafe Gratitude’s Venice location is serving butternut squash and sage lentil loaf, garlic mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, raw stuffing, persimmon and pomegranate salad, and pumpkin pie. FREE between 11:00 am-3:00 pm or until the food runs out. Call Café Gratitude Venice Beach to find out their Los Angeles holiday details and hours. 

Native Foods, Westwood
Check out “Native Foods Thanksgiving To Go” and their Native Wellington. What is a Native Wellington? “It is an elegant puff-pastry filled with savory Native Seitan [wheat gluten], steamed kale, and thinly sliced yams complete with Native stuffing made from whole wheat bread, a caramelized onion compote, and rosemary and thyme herbed mushrooms.”
 
Native Foods Thanksgiving Wellington
The Native Wellington (NativeFoods.com)
.
There are many other amazing options and restaurants in Los Angeles featuring veggie menus, or that are open during the holidays with their everyday fabulous offerings. Please review the Los Angeles listings in HappyCow to find out more.
 
Want to Celebrate Animals? 
farm sanctuary turkey
"Turpentine" the Turkey (farmsanctuary.org)
.
Make room for one more at the table, a centerpiece photo of the turkey adopted and saved! Love birds? Feel compassion for the living?

Real wild turkeys are big, beautiful, colorful, and AWESOME. Invite one to the table this Thanksgiving by visiting Farm Sanctuary's adoption page.

Then share a photo of a rescued turkey on the table, rather than a cholesterol-laden carcass: adoptaturkey.org. Here is a lovely photo album of their turkeys to get in the spirit! Click here.
 
Gentle Barn also has a Thanksgiving event where you can feed pie to real turkeys on Thanksgiving day! Contact them for reservations! What a great event for children.

Want to exercise off that fat?
tofurky trotThe star of veggie Thanksgiving, and deserving of all appreciation, is Turtle Island Food’s Tofurky -- a vegan faux turkey. Tofurky has given many veggie people a wonderful transitional and traditional Thanksgiving alternative.

Like to trot, run, or walk? Want to work off a feast early? Then help Tofurky celebrate the annual Tofurky Trot in Pasadena! For more info. click here.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH BOURBON-BROWN SUGAR CREAM
Pumpkin cheesecake with brown sugar
Finally, enjoy a super vegan recipe that’s perfect for holiday eating! It’s pumpkin cheesecake with Bourbon brown sugar cream featured in The HappyCow Cookbook.
Thanks and appreciation from HappyCow for all contributions. HappyCow’s mission is: "To make healthy food choices easy to find and more accessible." Thanks to help and support, veggie people have an international resource to rely on.

No comments:

Post a Comment