I’m going to share some of my favourite Holiday Plant-Based Recipes, and before I do that, I’d like to spend a moment talking about Plant-Based Diets. 

As many of you know, I’ve been following a vegetarian/vegan diet for more than 30 years.  I have several reasons for eating this way, including health, animal agriculture’s negative impact on the planet, and my love of animals.  

I’m not one to proselytize and impose my views on others.  However, I like to encourage individuals to pay attention to what they are eating and its impact on their bodies, the planet, and sentient beings.  I ask that you consider the following:

Health

Vegetarian and vegan diets can be very unhealthy if one’s diet consists of beer, French fries and sugar.  However, eating a predominately healthy plant-based diet can decrease incidents of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.    Source,   Source

Concerned about protein? You can obtain all of your protein needs from a plant-based diet.  

Impact on the Planet

Animal agriculture is one of the major contributors to human-made greenhouse gas and is a leading cause of deforestation, water and air pollution and biodiversity loss.

It takes…….

nearly 2,000 gallons of water just to produce one pound of beef! One-third of our freshwater use goes to animal agriculture. 

about 11 times more fossil fuel to produce one calorie of animal protein than one calorie of plant protein.

A group of Oxford scientists reviewed the data from nearly 40,000 farms in 119 countries for a research paper published in Science. They found that cutting out meat and dairy is the single best thing most people can personally do for the earth.   Source

Even the least sustainable plant food is still significantly more sustainable than the best environmentally performing animal food.  

Humanitarian Reasons

The animals that we eat are sentient beings-meaning they feel pain, fear, loneliness and grief, no different than we do. Parts of the animal agriculture industry and many factory farms are cruel, profit-driven industries. 

If you are going to follow a carnivore diet, consider cutting back in how often you consume animal products, and purchase ethically sourced products when possible.

Ok, enough serious stuff.  Let’s talk about delicious food.  There is a common perception that plant-based food is bland, and the staples of this diet are tree bark and shreds of lettuce.  Nothing could be further from the truth!!   I eat healthy and incredibly delicious plant-based meals every day!

I’ve made the recipes below for many Christmas meals, and they are all scrumptious!

Recipes

I hope you get an opportunity to break bread with your loved ones this holiday season.

Bon appétit! Peace & blessings.

Anita