Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we are so excited to spend some quality time with our loved ones and celebrate everything we have to be grateful for! We love our traditional family dinners but this year, we decided to begin a new tradition to give thanks to our closest friends. I think we can all agree that the best way to the heart is through the stomach- so what better way to show your guys and gals (and our beautiful Earth) some love and appreciation than by hosting a plant-based ‘Friendsgiving’ dinner?
As you guys know, sustainability has become a huge priority for us, and we’ve really been working to incorporate cleaner, plant-based foods into our diet. We are also constantly reminding ourselves, and our loved ones to be grateful for this planet and everything it gives us! So, for our Friendsgiving dinner we decided to skip to turkey and keep the ingredients as clean and local as possible. While this may not be the traditional dinner your loved ones are probably used to, we can guarantee it will be a hit- even with the meat lovers!
For the main dish we decided to go with a hearty vegan “meatloaf”. This loaf is guilt- free and seriously to-die-for! The chickpeas and lentils make for a great source of protein too. For the glaze, we used our favourite organic sugar-free ketchup from Good Food For Good (it’s only sweetened with dates you guys!!!). Our fridge is always stocked with Good Food For Good products, not only because of their super clean ingredients and incredible flavours, but for every product sold, a meal is donated to someone in need!
Maple Glazed Chickpea Veggie Loaf
This loaf is guilt- free and seriously to-die-for! The chickpeas and lentils make for a great source of protein too.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups Cooked Chickpeas
- 1 Cup Cooked Red Lentils
- 1 Diced Onion
- 2 Large Carrots Diced
- 3 Celery Stalks Diced
- 4 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 2 Cups Bread Crumbs
- 2 tbsp Ground Chia Seeds
- 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Plant Based Milk of Choice
- 2 tbsp Avocado Oil
- 2 tbsp Tamari
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 tbsp Dried Thyme
- 1/2 tbsp Dried Rosemary
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Himalayan Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
For The Glaze
- 1/4 Cup Organic Ketchup or Tomato Paste
- 2 tbsp Tamari
- 2 tbsp Real Maple Syrup
- 2 tsp Paprika
Instructions
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1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a 9 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Make sure it hangs over the edges!
3. Working in batches, pulse ingredients in a food processor until ingredients are mixed well. DO NOT over-process or the loaf will be too dense.
4. Lightly press the mixture into the pan.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
6. While the loaf is baking, mix the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
7. Remove the loaf from the oven and brush the glaze into the top.
8. Place back into the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Tip: We recommend splitting the batter into two smaller loaf pans for a quicker cook time. You can always use the old toothpick in the batter trick too! If the toothpick comes out clean the loaves are done.
Alongside the loaf we served some delicious baked veggies, the maple and thyme carrots were so good and so stunning. We highly recommend using rainbow carrots if you can get your hands on them – they are just so darn pretty and we also added a simple green bean dish too! No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without mashed potatoes and to top all of these tasty dishes off, we made a garlic and mushroom gravy too. It’s so easy to make from scratch and the mushrooms are totally optional.
Maple and Thyme Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 lb rainbow carrots
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp himalayn salt
Instructions
-
1. Preheat oven to 345 degrees.
2. Cut the carrots into quarters lengthwise.
3. Toss carrots in oil, maple syrup, salt and thyme,
4. Transfer carrots into a baking dish, and garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme. 5. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until the carrots are soft.
Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Delicious Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1/2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tbsp Himalayan Sea Salt
Instructions
-
1. Wash, peel and roughly chop the potatoes.
2. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
3. Add potatoes to pot and let boil until potatoes are soft.
4. Drain the water and mash the potatoes with salt and vegan butter mixture until desired consistency is achieved.
Vegan Gravy
A delicious mushroom based vegan gravy
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Organic Vegetable Broth
- 1/2 Onion Diced
- 2-4 Cloves of Garlic Minced
- 6 Cremini Mushrooms Diced
- 2 tsp Dried Thyme
- 2 tsp Dried Rosemary
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Tamari
- 1/4 Cup Flour
Instructions
-
1. In a deep skillet, sautee the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and spices in the olive oil over medium heat until the mushrooms are cooked.
2. Add vegetable broth and tamari and bring to a simmer.
3. Slowly whisk in four until desired consistency is achieved.
Baked French Green Beans
A delicious, traditional side dish.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs French Green Beans
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt
- 2 tsp Minced Garlic
Instructions
-
1. Preheat oven to 345 degrees. 2. Rinse beans and toss in olive oil, salt and garlic. 3. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Vegan Pumpkin Butterkin Pie
A delicious pumpkin butterkin #vegan pie.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Cup Butterkin Puree
- 1 Cup Chilled & Stiff Coconut Cream
- 2 tsp Ground True Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric
- 1/2 tsp All Spice
- 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
- 1/2 Cup Date Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Cornstarch
For The Crust
- 1 1/4 Cup Flour
- 1/4 Cup Solid Coconut Oil
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Date Sugar
- 3/4 tbsp Cold Water
Instructions
-
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Using a hand beater, blend all filling ingredients together in. large mixing bowl. Cover and set aside. 3. Place the flour, sugar and salt into the food processor and pulse to combine. 4. Add solid coconut oil and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
5. Add 3 Tbsp water and pulse to combine. Add water until a dough consistency is achieved! 6. Remove the dough from the food processor and transfer to a floured surface. 7. Roll the dough into a round ball and using a rolling pin roll it out from side to side into a round that can fit over a 9-inch pie dish. 8. Carefully lift the dough and place it over your pie dish, pressing it lightly into the dish. Cut any excess dough off. 9. Pre-bake the crust for approximately 10 minutes. 10. Remove crust from oven and let cool. Once cool, spread the pie filling into the crust evenly and bake for 45 minutes.
11. Chill for 1 hour before serving.
We had so much fun creating and sharing this meal with our friends and it truly left us feeling so full of love and gratitude – for our Earth and everyone we share it with. We hope that we have inspired you guys to try something new this Thanksgiving, and as always, we are so grateful for each and every one of you. Happy Thanksgiving from the team! Xo
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