Thanksgiving Test Kitchen: Lentil Loaf and Garlic Roasted Mashed Potatoes

Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays.  I enjoy all of the food as well as getting together with family.  Something that people often ask me is, "Isn't it difficult to be a vegan during Thanksgiving?".  I can see why people would ask that considering the focus of the meal is turkey and most traditional sides are not  vegan friendly.  I have now celebrated four years as a vegan during Thanksgiving, by now it has become much easier than when I first started.

Looking back to my first year as a vegan, I have memories of filling my plate with large amounts of salad and over salted nuts.  These seemed to be the only items available that I could eat.  That year, I tried to focus on the enjoyment of being with family.  I also got smarter and started bringing my own dishes to Thanksgiving
dinners. You can check out my Thanksgiving recipe posts over the years: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Part 1, and 2010 Part 2.

My biggest suggestion for vegans during this festive time of the year is to bring your own dishes and show other people how delicious eating vegan and or raw food can be.  This way you will have plenty of food to eat and to share with friends and family.  This year I am figuring out what dishes I will make for Thanksgiving.  I am considering this lentil loaf and garlic roasted mashed potatoes.  I gave them a test run yesterday and was pleased with the result.  Some other items I would like to make are apple pie, pumpkin pie, and a large mixed salad with a vinaigrette dressing. What are you planning on making for Thanksgiving?  Do you have any recipes that you would recommend?  

Lentil Loaf Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups of lentils
1 cup of grounded flax seeds
1/2 onion chopped
2 carrots diced
1 bell pepper diced
1 tbsp of cumin powder
1 tbsp of coriander powder
1 tbsp of dried parsley
organic ketchup

Directions:
1. Cook your lentils.  Bring two cups of lentils to a boil in a pan with 4 cups of water.  After reaching a boil, reduce the temperature and allow the lentils to simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.  Drain the lentils and pour into a bowl.
2.  Combine the cooked lentils with grounded flax seeds, chopped onion, diced carrots, bell pepper, and spices.  Once this is well combined, fill the mixture into a baking pan and drizzle organic ketchup on top.  
3. Bake your lentil loaf in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Allow it to cool and then serve.  This recipe will yield 6 - 8 servings.


Garlic Roasted Mashed Potatoes:
Ingredients:
4 Japaneses sweet potatoes
8 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of almond milk
sea salt to taste
2 tbsp of organic virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of dried parsley


Directions:
1. Chop up each sweet potato into 6 smaller pieces.  Place the sweet potato into a large boiling pot of water.  Allow the potatoes to boil for 20 minutes or until you can easily poke a fork through the middle of them.
2. With the over set to 350 degrees, place the garlic cloves with some drizzled olive oil into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.  
3.  Pour the almond milk and roasted garlic into a blender and mix until thoroughly combined.  
4.  Put the cooked potatoes into a large mixing bowl.  Use a fork to mash the potatoes until all of the chunks are removed.  Pour into your garlic almond milk sauce and mix well.  
5.  Add the sea salt, olive oil and dried parsley and mix well.  Serve warm with the lentil loaf.  This recipe will yield 6 - 8 servings.