Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Before we get to the noms…

Update #1: The blog got a makeover! Woopwoop. I’ve been wanting to update the template for so long but never got around to it. Now that it’s so much cleaner and prettier, I’m totally going to write more posts! PS. It’s also responsive (finally).

Update #2: I’ve gone vegan! As mentioned in my “Favourite Vegetarian Restaurants” post from last year, I’ve been a vegetarian for about 10 years or so. I switched to veganism back in April and have been on an awesome food adventure ever since. A full post on why I went vegan coming soon.

I have a lot of people ask me “why would you restrict yourself like that?!” but the truth is: ever since going vegan, I have been discovering new ingredients and exploring so many new recipes. The only crappy thing is ready-to-eat vegan food isn’t super available where I live – ESPECIALLY when it comes to desserts *tear*. But that’s okay because it got me to roll up my sleeves and make my own food/baked goods, which is way healthier anyway!  I’ve actually surprised myself a few times with how good vegan food is.

I decided that I would take my first crack at a full vegan meal this Thanksgiving. What better day than one that’s supposed to be dedicated to turkeys, right?  I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but this was the first time I’ve ever made any of this stuff from scratch. Frozen lasagnas and mashed potatoes from the box were my speciality back in the day (wifey material, I know haha).  I found some amazing recipes from my favourite blogs. Here was the menu for today’s big feast:

1.       Mixed green salad with maple balsamic dressing (super simple salad with mixed field greens, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, avocados and my own dressing)

2.       Roasted butternut squash soup - recipe from allrecipes (subbed vegan butter and vegetable stock, I also roasted the butternut squash using this recipe first)

3.       Mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy - gravy recipe from Oh She Glows (This was waaaay too salty so I had to add a lot of water… I also added mushrooms to it. I would probably try another recipe next time)

4.       Herb & “Cheeze” biscuits - recipe from Oh She Glows 

5.       Stuffing  - recipe from Minimalist Baker (I just left out the lentils)

6.       Vegetable lasagna with Basil Cashew “Cheeze” - recipe from Oh She Glows

7.       Pumpkin pie ice cream with toasted candied pecans - recipe from Minimalist Baker

You guys… everything was SO delicious. My family thought so too (phew)! My brother and dad, who are serious meat-lovers, were pleasantly surprised by how good everything tasted. Yay for leftovers tomorrow!

Hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving meal as well!