A New and Positive Thanksgiving Day Experience

Gratitude can elevate, energize, inspire, transform and enrich life. We can choose to be joyful and thankful not just on Thanksgiving Day, but for every day of our lives. Appreciation can change your life and sometimes change can make you a happier person too. In this spirit, this year you may want to consider having a new and positive Thanksgiving Day experience with a delicious plant-based meal.

There are some amazing benefits of a vegetarian or plant-based diet for both the physical and mental health of your family, and the health of the planet. By eliminating meat and meat products and emphasizing fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes and nuts, you can enjoy a diet that is rich in fiber, vitamins and other nutrients. 

This way of eating is associated with less heart disease, better cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure, diabetes and cancer rates and chronic disease. In addition, vegetarians typically eat fewer calories and weigh less. 

According to one recent study, eating more fruits and vegetables can be good for mental health also, with a significant increase noted in happiness for each extra daily portion, up to eight servings per day. In addition, research indicates that meat and dairy products may be fueling our climate crisis, while plant-based diets can help to protect the planet.

Remember, meatless diets don’t need to be bland or boring by any means. There is a wide variety of fresh seasonal produce available and a multitude of flavorful ways to enjoy them. Further, it can be exciting as you prepare new Thanksgiving dishes for friends and family, impress your holiday guests and hear them rave about how great the meal is with these simple menu ideas. Choose whatever you like and make it your own, from the quick and simple to the more elaborate.

Appetizers:

Warm spinach and artichoke dip, roasted vegetable flatbreads, classic bruschetta, toasted French bread with seasoned avocado spread or goat cheese with a honey drizzle, baked brie with nuts and cranberries, a flavored hummus selection, marinated olives and pickled vegetables.

Soups:

Mushroom and barley soup, roasted root vegetable and bean soup, creamy pumpkin soup

Salads:

Kale and roasted butternut squash, shaved brussel sprouts with apple and pecan, spinach with cranberry and almonds

Mains and Sides:

Charred Carrot or Cauliflower Steaks with mashed potatoes and green beans, pastries or tarts or pot pies filled with leeks, potato, wild mushrooms, spinach or any vegetables, festive grain and vegetable stuffed peppers or mushrooms, savory vegetable bread pudding, cornbread stuffing baked in winter squash or pumpkins, sweet potato casserole, roasted brussel sprouts with onion and balsamic vinegar, rice and quinoa pilaf, creamy risotto or polenta, butternut squash, pumpkin or spinach stuffed ravioli or shells.

Desserts:

Traditional choices such as pumpkin, apple or pecan pie, ginger cookies, moist black bean brownies, fruit crumbles, bourbon poached pears or baked cinnamon apples.

Remember to always begin all your recipes with the fresh, all-natural, pure filtered water that a high-quality filtration can produce. Water plays a vital part in the preparation of your food, and rinsing your food and preparing it with Brita PRO filtered water not only helps to eliminate harmful contaminants, but clean filtered water also tastes better than standard tap water. Brita PRO’s whole home filtration improves the quality of water with a high-capacity reverse osmosis system. 

Learn more about the Brita PRO difference at www.britapro.com.