If your family is like mine, your holiday menus probably consist of meat, cheese, and cheese-covered meat. There's also the traditional fish feast on Christmas Eve. But with more and more people switching over to vegetarian and vegan diets, traditional holiday dishes might not please everyone.
Trying to make a menu for a more plant-based holiday can be difficult, especially if you've never done it before, or if you have guests with many different diets to please.
Instead of making your plant-based guests eat a sad salad in the corner, there are food blogs out there that can help you include everyone, while also pleasing even the most hardcore carnivores at the table.1. Minimalist Baker
Dana over at Minimalist Baker is your go-to-girl for everything fast, easy, and most importantly, delicious. If you're in a hurry but still want to make something memorable for your guests, this blog is the perfect website to go to.
I have yet to make a recipe of hers that doesn't make my taste buds sing and doesn't prompt me to hide the leftovers—I mean, share it with all my friends and family. Because I definitely don't want it all to myself...All of her recipes require ten ingredients or less, one bowl to make it, or take thirty minutes or less to prepare. If you're looking to make classic holiday treats fit for people with certain diets, make her vegan gluten-free gingerbread men or her vegan gluten-free pumpkin pie.
She's even compiled lists of perfect holiday breakfasts, sides, entrees, and desserts to help you plan the perfect menu, from pancakes to brownies.
2. Edible Perspective
Ashley from Edible Perspective may not post recipes on her blog as often as other food bloggers, but like the holidays themselves, her recipes are worth the wait.
She is the queen of filling side dishes and entrees full of vegetables and whole grains, as well as creative desserts, breakfast dishes, and snacks.
Looking for hearty vegetable dishes to please all your guests? Try her vegan shepherd's pie or her roasted garlic pasta with spinach and lentils. For lighter sides, I highly recommend her fruit and nut salad and her cornbread muffins, both of which have been devoured by my family and I countless times.
3. Oh She Glows
Angela, creator of Oh She Glows, makes her own inventive plant-based recipes, while also changing up classic foods to make them vegan. Her blog and cookbooks have everything from breakfast, to snacks, to dinner, to dessert, freeing her recipes from any processed ingredients and animal-products.
My personal favorites are her raspberry almond thumbprint cookies, her superfood crunch salad, and her vegan caesar salad. If you're looking for a light breakfast before pigging out on cookies later, try her glow green smoothie.
4. My New Roots
If you're feeling adventurous, Sarah's blog, My New Roots, is for you. Sarah is big on holistic nutrition and seasonal eating, and her recipes aren't made only to satisfy, but they're made to nourish you from the inside out.
Make your guests glow with recipes like her poppy seed-crusted butternut squash with kale and pomegranate seeds, her white lentil risotto with mushrooms, or her sprouted wild rice and beet salad.
And because drinks can't be forgotten, Sarah also has a recipe for a raw vegan eggnog milkshake.
5. Sally's Baking Addiction
Sally, from the blog Sally's Baking Addiction, is the master of all things sweet and covered in sprinkles. While not everything on her blog is vegan, there are plenty of options for vegetarians. If you are looking for vegan recipes on Sally's blog, however, she does have a section dedicated to those.
Since Sally is the dessert queen of the internet (see here and here), her blog is perfect for your post-dinner treats. Check out her annual Cookie Palooza, where she compiles a crazy amount of cookie recipes especially for the holidays.
If you're not in the mood for cookies (are you okay?) go for her peanut butter-stuffed brownies, or for a healthier dessert, her berry streusel bars.
She also has an entire Instagram account dedicated to her adorable dogs. You're welcome.
A plant-based holiday isn't as hard as you may think. Sure, it might require some extra planning and adjustment, but whether you've gone vegan or vegetarian yourself, or are hosting guests with plant-based diets, these are helpful blogs to turn to.
Thankfully, we've moved beyond the days of Tofurky and sad salads. Including plant-based dishes in your holiday menus, or having an entirely plant-based holiday, is easy and can please guests with any diet.