Thanksgiving Lunch and a Tofurky Trot

on November 26, 2009
in All Posts

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the turkey dessert! 

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Vegetarians can’t be too picky.  🙂

 

I hope you’re having a nice day!  My Thanksgiving celebration was quite lovely.  The Husband drove me and my father down south to my aunt and uncle’s house for a big family celebration. Upon arrival, I found the men helping out in the kitchen.  :)  Actually, my uncle Paul does a lot of the work.

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On the other hand, I tend to just wander around the kitchen aimlessly, drinking wine.  :)  Here’s my aunt Faire and I (she’s my twin, remember?):

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The Husband and my aunt Lynn:

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My dad and grandpa:

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There were about 20 people at our Thanksgiving celebration, so we do a buffet-style lunch and all end up eating in different rooms of the house.

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I’m not going to lie, it felt a little weird not eating turkey on Thanksgiving (this was our first year as vegetarians).  However, once I started to eat, I realized that I didn’t miss it as much as I initially did.  If anything, I missed the gravy the most! I must bring gravy next year.

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I had green bean casserole, cranberry relish, yams, vegetarian stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole (which I didn’t eat – too sweet), and cornbread casserole.

 

Nom, nom, nom!

 

I went back for seconds of the green bean casserole, cranberry relish, and cornbread casserole.

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And a little Blueberry wine.

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After lunch, I walked around outside with my little cousin and her dog, Precious.  I’m OBSESSED with Precious.  She’s the best dog ever.

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Precious could be a doggie model.  She is so pretty.

 

Then… time for dessert!

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I couldn’t choose so I just had a tiny slice of everything:

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I ended up eating 2/3 the pecan pie, all the pumpkin pie, and a few bites of the chocolate pie…. which totally put me over the end in terms of fullness!  Oomph!

 

Time for family portraits…

 

My cousins, my grandpa, and I:

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Husband, grandpa, and me:

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It was a really nice lunch.  I guess most people do Thanksgiving dinner, but we’ve always done Thanksgiving lunch. Personally, I love doing lunch – it frees up the rest of the night!

 

After we drove back to Orlando, I waited a few hours and then I went for a run.  I needed to squeeze in 3.0 miles to make my weekly mileage goals (tomorrow, we are biking with my Dad; Saturday, rest day; Sunday; 20.0 mile long run).

 

Here are my statistics:

 

  • Duration: 28:50
  • Distance: 3.0 miles

 

My lunch definitely was NOT digested.  But I was listening to good music (Lady Gaga’s Telephone is amazing), and the weather is AMAZING right now!

 

Time to vegetate on the couch…. I hope you’re having a nice night! 

 

What’s your favorite holiday dessert?  I LOVE Pecan Pie. 

{ 58 comments }

 

  • Angela (Oh She Glows) November 26, 2009, 6:29 pm

    I totally said to myself, ‘That dog is such a model’ and then I read you call her a ‘doggie model’ and had to laugh.
    Good for you for getting in exercise during a holiday!!
    Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

  • EatingRD November 26, 2009, 6:42 pm

    Looks like a wonderful time with your family!! I’d have to say my two favorite things are stuffing and dessert. I love sweet tater pie with lots of cinnamon! Have a good ride with your dad, I couldn’t resist one after the 5k this morning 🙂

  • Deb (Smoothie Girl Eats Too) November 26, 2009, 6:45 pm

    Love that expression: nom nom!

    Yes, Precious is totally a model.

    Love the portraits- hubs is a cutie. 🙂

    And I am WELLLLL impressed that you went for a run after TG lunch! Very impressive! You get brownie points for that!

    Glad you had a nice day!!

  • Deb (Smoothie Girl Eats Too) November 26, 2009, 6:46 pm

    PS. It’s not traditional, but my hubs (the Brit) made a Sherry Trifle to trump all trifles. I can’t WAIT to eat it. And bless his little heart he even figured out that it’s only about 200 cals per serving! Not bad!

  • Evan Thomas November 26, 2009, 6:49 pm

    Happy thanksgiving and beautiful portraits!

  • Cynthia (It All Changes) November 26, 2009, 7:02 pm

    My family always did thanksgiving lunch too. It was tradition 🙂

    My favorite thanksgiving dessert is pecan pie too. Too sweet to have any other time of the year but a small piece at Thanksgiving is perfect 🙂

  • VeggieGirl November 26, 2009, 7:05 pm

    Precious IS precious (you know how I feel about her, since she looks like Kiwi); and I love the family photos 🙂

    Favorite Thanksgiving dessert = pumpkin pie

  • Alison November 26, 2009, 7:06 pm

    my fave dessert is pumpkin but that chocolate pie you had would’ve probably been my favorite. i loveee chocolate.

  • Julie November 26, 2009, 7:08 pm

    This was my first turkey-less turkey day too and I didn’t miss the turkey at all! The gravy on the other hand…my rolls were naked without it.

    Looks like you had a very nice day with your family! I like the idea of thanksgiving lunch…get it over with early 😉

    My new favorite holiday dessert is the pumpkin cheesecake I made today…to. die. for.

  • Kelly November 26, 2009, 7:12 pm

    We do Thanksgiving lunch too 🙂 Much better!
    Also, I love that you were eating dessert outside on Thanksgiving, we don’t really do that up here in MA!

  • Rosey Rebecca November 26, 2009, 7:19 pm

    Happy Thanksgiving! Hope it was a great one!!

  • Sarah November 26, 2009, 7:21 pm

    This was my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian too and it was weird not eating Turkey with my carnivore family! But I filled up on green beans, fruit salad, and stuffing! I like the idea of a Thanksgiving lunch too 🙂

  • Lauren November 26, 2009, 7:31 pm

    My favorite holiday desserts are cookies, though I like pumpkin pie. I’ve never tried pecan–I like nuts so I’m sure I’d like it.

    Today I actually had a super yummy pumpkin ice cream pie with a graham cracker crust. I was surprised how much I liked it since I’m not usually a big fan of ice cream.

  • Laura K November 26, 2009, 7:39 pm

    My favorite is pumpkin pie, but that chocolate pie you had looks REALLY yummy!! Would it be possible for us to get the recipe?

    • caitlin November 26, 2009, 7:45 pm

      my aunt makes it EVERY year and it is awesome. i’ll ask her for the recipe!

      • Laura K November 27, 2009, 3:28 pm

        Thanks! I can’t wait to try it!

  • maria November 26, 2009, 7:49 pm

    Those desserts look so good! Seriously! 🙂

    Very cute picture of you two with your grandpa.

  • candice November 26, 2009, 7:52 pm

    I love the idea of a cornbread casserole! Kudos for getting all three desserts 🙂

  • Priyanka November 26, 2009, 8:03 pm

    Happy Thanksgiving and such lovely family pictures!

    I think your darker hair shade looks really nice!

  • Lisa (bakebikeblog) November 26, 2009, 8:05 pm

    It looks like you had such a wonderful day! And congrats on having the motivation to go for a run AFTER lunch…I am very impressed 🙂

  • Madeline @ GreensAndJeans November 26, 2009, 8:06 pm

    Precious is adorable! Also, I think your new darker hair looks fab! My favorite Thanksgiving desert is definitely sweet potato pie.

  • MelissaNibbles November 26, 2009, 8:14 pm

    Happy Thanksgiving! I had a Quorn Chik’N Cutlet with vegetarian gravy on it. My friend’s mom made it for me. She’s the best. You should definitely give it a try.
    It looks like you had a great day and I love your darker hair!

  • Marissa November 26, 2009, 8:37 pm

    Yeah, my family always does sort of a late lunch/early dinner thing, too. Around 3 is our usual time. Mainly because we can hang out together for a few hours beforehand, and then afterwards too! And it gives some time to digest before we lie down for the night, lol.

  • Teacherwoman November 26, 2009, 8:45 pm

    Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving! My favorite dessert? Hmmm… probably pumpkin pie! 🙂

  • Jessica November 26, 2009, 9:20 pm

    This year was complete and I finally dont feel deprived…I read your blog this morning with all of the operational beautiful notes and it made me feel better knowing I could have my grandpas dressing and not feel bad about it….

    AND I did.
    AND IT was AMAZING.

    thank you for your blog, this is what I am thankful for this year…you….and I dont even know you. 🙂

    favorite dessert this year, hmm….cookie pizza won this year 🙂

    • caitlin November 26, 2009, 9:35 pm

      you are lovely! happy thanksgiving!

  • Jen November 26, 2009, 9:32 pm

    Wow, what a fantastic Thanksgiving feast! Glad you had a good time with your family. And I love that you guys did pics with your grandpa…I hate to be morbid, but you will cherish those when he’s not around anymore (speaking as someone whose hubby just lost his grandmother a few days ago – we are so glad that we took lots of pics with her the last time we got together!) Yay for pumpkin pie! That’s always my favourite Thanksgiving dessert – really, I could just bypass the turkey and have an extra serving of pie and be a totally happy camper 🙂

  • Susan November 26, 2009, 9:46 pm

    Ohmygosh, I can’t believe you went for a run AFTER the meal! Brave woman 😛 I always the gravy when I was a vegetarian, but I wasn’t that strict anyways. So long as I didn’t have to pick dead bird out of my teeth, I was good 😛

    I just love pie. I’ll eat anything if it’s in a crust.

  • Lee November 26, 2009, 9:59 pm

    She does look like a doggie model.

    I like pumpkin pie. We bought one this year but I ended up eating more sweet potato casserole with whipped cream like it was pie!

  • Erin November 26, 2009, 10:04 pm

    I looooove pumpkin pie — but ended up eating sweet potato instead tonight. 😉 I definitely missed the turkey at my first meatless Thanksgiving but having survived a turkey-less Thanksgiving, I feel like I can conquer any meal. 😀

  • Scorpio Woman November 26, 2009, 10:19 pm

    My favorite holiday dessert is pecan pie or sugar pie that my mom does 🙂
    You look so much like your aunt Faire 🙂 You seem to have a great time with your family 🙂

  • caronae November 26, 2009, 10:20 pm

    I normally like apple pie or any kind of berry pie. Today I made vanilla cupcakes with an amazing pumpkin spice frosting though!

  • Paige @ Running Around Normal November 26, 2009, 10:32 pm

    That cranberry dish looks amazing!

    You have such a lovely family. I, too, tend to just wander in and out of the kitchen with a glass of wine (or champagne) when I’m at Thanksgiving LOL

  • Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg November 26, 2009, 10:39 pm

    We do lunch too! I like that better…gives you the rest of the day to moan about how full you are (and then eat leftovers).

    I’m a sucker for all things pie.

  • Marissa November 26, 2009, 11:07 pm

    looks like a great Thanksgiving 🙂

  • Jessica @ How Sweet It Is November 26, 2009, 11:17 pm

    Love the blueberry wine! My fave dessert is any kind of cheesecake – like pumpkin cheesecake.

  • Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) November 27, 2009, 12:11 am

    I absolutely LOVE pecan pie!!! No one in my family makes it for the holidays though, so I have only ever had it in restaurants!! Pumpkin pie is the only big pie in Canada during thanksgiving … at least from what I have noticed!

  • Whole Body Love November 27, 2009, 12:15 am

    Pumpkin Pie is the winner, hands down! But, it must be cold. I also love Cherry Delight which like a lazy version of Cherry Cheesecake

  • Stephanie J November 27, 2009, 12:20 am

    Happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for your blog as well. I can’t remember how I discovered it but your posts got me motivated to get back into running, working out, and taking charge of my overall health and nutrition.

    Favorite Thanksgiving dessert? Pumpkin pie. And, interestingly enough, I could really do without the turkey at Thanksgiving. We hardly touched it. It’s all about the sides at my house!

  • Emily Eats and Exercises November 27, 2009, 8:10 am

    I really love all kinds of pies. For thanksgiving, I’m partial to traditional apple pie (plus I like making the lattice crust.)

  • Amy November 27, 2009, 8:38 am

    Way to get some family photos in there. Those memories will last forever.

    My family always gets kind of irritated when I stop everything to take pictures, but having lost my Grandmother, I’m so thankful to have those pictures now as is the rest of my family! 🙂

    Looks like a great day. xo

  • Anne P November 27, 2009, 9:31 am

    Too sweet sweet potatoes are the worst!!! Next time, try my spiced mashed sweet potatoes: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2009/11/26/time-for-sweatpants/ 🙂

    yummy 🙂 Glad you had a great Tofurky Day! 😉

  • megan November 27, 2009, 10:01 am

    Sounds like a great holiday! 🙂 Although I love really sweet sweet potatoes…on Thanksgiving at least 🙂 Favorite dessert is apple pie, but sadly we didn’t have any this year.

  • Jo November 27, 2009, 10:12 am

    I have never had a thanksgiving lunch/dinner…. I still don’t get what yams are – are they like sweet potato? I have also never tried pumpkin pie, but it looks good, going to have to make some to try it, pumpkin isn’t that big over in the UK as a sweet dish (we don’t go in for it much as a savoury either).

    • Caitlin November 27, 2009, 2:57 pm

      im not sure the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?!?

  • Kara November 27, 2009, 10:43 am

    It looks like you did a pretty good job without the turkey! I’m usually all about the sides anyway.

    Favorite T Day dessert = pumpkin pie; I feel like it’s the only day to eat it!

  • Jenna November 27, 2009, 11:00 am

    blueberry pie ALL THE WAY!
    jenna

  • kilax November 27, 2009, 11:23 am

    Yay! I love family photos! We took some this year. Maybe I will post a few. We do Thanksgiving lunch too. We are doing ours today.

    Pumpkin pie, hands down! We made a vegan one yesterday, I am excited to try it!

  • Joelle (The Pancake Girl) November 27, 2009, 11:47 am

    Pumpkin pie and my aunt’s chocolate chip cookies! EVeryone in the fam swears she puts crack in them , they are so addicting!

  • Betty November 27, 2009, 12:06 pm

    The dog is beautiful! Oh and I love Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” song too.

  • Melissa S. November 27, 2009, 1:45 pm

    Glad you had a great Vegetarian Thanksgiving!!! The pictures look great!

    and I love apple pie! too bad there was none this year (what?!?!!?!)

  • Katy @ These Beautiful Feet November 27, 2009, 7:07 pm

    My favorite pie this year was peanut butter pie. It tasted like Reese’s peanut butter. SO good. I would have taken that pie and the chocolate and smooshed ’em together. It looks delish! Yum!

  • Morgan November 27, 2009, 10:50 pm

    Were your marshmallows vegetarian?

    • Caitlin November 27, 2009, 11:33 pm

      i dont get worked up over marshmellows or jello.

  • Amy B November 27, 2009, 10:54 pm

    mmmm…. pecan pie is my fav as well! I made another dessert for dinner that everyone goes nuts over- so I pretty much had the pecan pie all to myself!!!

    … and Telephone is my new fav addition to the treadmill playlist! 🙂

  • Nicole Mullins November 28, 2009, 1:32 am

    This was my third Thanksgiving as a vegetarian. My husband still eats meat on occassion so I usually still make a turkey for him but since he’s in Iraq this year it was just me and my little girl. I made a very un-traditional meal but it was Thanksgiving-y, nonetheless: Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Carmelized Onion and Sage Crumb Topping, Mashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes, green beans, and Caramel-Apple-Spice Cupcakes… The recipes were from the book Veganomicon! 🙂

  • Hillary - Nutrition Nut on the Run November 28, 2009, 2:25 am

    I love a dense piece of chocolate pecan pie, but white chocolate creme brulee is also a favorite. Happy Holidays!

  • Carolyn November 28, 2009, 8:23 pm

    I had blueberry wine at Thanksgiving, too!! My husband’s uncle made it himself. I still have some muscadine and a white in the fridge, too! There’s just something special about drinking a homemade wine.

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