My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the turkey dessert!
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.
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?):
The Husband and my aunt Lynn:
My dad and grandpa:
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.
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.
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.
And a little Blueberry wine.
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.
Precious could be a doggie model. She is so pretty.
Then… time for dessert!
I couldn’t choose so I just had a tiny slice of everything:
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:
Husband, grandpa, and me:
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.
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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
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
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!!
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!
Happy thanksgiving and beautiful portraits!
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
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
my fave dessert is pumpkin but that chocolate pie you had would’ve probably been my favorite. i loveee chocolate.
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.
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!
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope it was a great one!!
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
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.
My favorite is pumpkin pie, but that chocolate pie you had looks REALLY yummy!! Would it be possible for us to get the recipe?
my aunt makes it EVERY year and it is awesome. i’ll ask her for the recipe!
Thanks! I can’t wait to try it!
Those desserts look so good! Seriously!
Very cute picture of you two with your grandpa.
I love the idea of a cornbread casserole! Kudos for getting all three desserts
Happy Thanksgiving and such lovely family pictures!
I think your darker hair shade looks really nice!
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
Precious is adorable! Also, I think your new darker hair looks fab! My favorite Thanksgiving desert is definitely sweet potato pie.
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!
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.
Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving! My favorite dessert? Hmmm… probably pumpkin pie!
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
you are lovely! happy thanksgiving!
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
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.
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!
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. 
My favorite holiday dessert is pecan pie or sugar pie that my mom does
You seem to have a great time with your family 
You look so much like your aunt Faire
I normally like apple pie or any kind of berry pie. Today I made vanilla cupcakes with an amazing pumpkin spice frosting though!
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
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.
looks like a great Thanksgiving
Love the blueberry wine! My fave dessert is any kind of cheesecake – like pumpkin cheesecake.
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!
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
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!
I really love all kinds of pies. For thanksgiving, I’m partial to traditional apple pie (plus I like making the lattice crust.)
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
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! 
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.
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).
im not sure the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?!?
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!
blueberry pie ALL THE WAY!
jenna
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!
Pumpkin pie and my aunt’s chocolate chip cookies! EVeryone in the fam swears she puts crack in them , they are so addicting!
The dog is beautiful! Oh and I love Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” song too.
Glad you had a great Vegetarian Thanksgiving!!! The pictures look great!
and I love apple pie! too bad there was none this year (what?!?!!?!)
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!
Were your marshmallows vegetarian?
i dont get worked up over marshmellows or jello.
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!
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!
I love a dense piece of chocolate pecan pie, but white chocolate creme brulee is also a favorite. Happy Holidays!
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.