It's not hard to eat vegan over the holidays, provided your host has set aside some cranberry sauce, rolls and dairy-free mashed potatoes for you to carbo load on. Finding a classic Thanksgiving meal that's vegan and satisfying, however, can be a little trickier.
If it's tradition you're after, look no further than Brick Road Pizza (1017 Wealthy St. SE, Grand Rapids). The restaurant, which has much to offer in the vegan category, typically has a Thanksgiving buffet. Past years' Thanksgiving buffets have seen seitan turkey, mashed potatoes, vegan stuffing, and as always, several pizzas set out for family and friends. This year, Brick Road will have faux turkey, broccoli smashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes with candied walnuts, green bean casserole, pumpkin cookies and more. Also in Grand Rapids, Bartertown Diner (6 Jefferson), will offer Thanksgiving-themed dishes around the holiday week using up the cornucopia of locally grown, seasonal produce. Think sweet potatoes, squash, apples, cherries and cranberries.
For dessert, try Ope's (5192 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo). The company's products are distributed far and wide across the U.S., but produced right in K-zoo. If one of Ope's stuffed sandwiches hasn't filled you to the brim, an Original Applesauce-Oatmeal cookie should top off your meal perfectly. If you'd really like to get a jump on things, order some cookies in one of 16 flavors at opescookies.com.
When you're home for the holidays and thinking of building your own late-fall feast, Apple Valley Natural Foods (6070 Kalamazoo SE,Kentwood; 3013 West Shore Dr. Suite 70, Holland; 5275 Beckley Rd., Battle Creek) has plenty of mock meats and side dishes for your festivities. Vegetable protein chunks in beef, ham and chicken flavors go great in casseroles. You can even pick up a whole Tofurky Roast if you really want to set standards high. This entrée consists of a sizeable tofu-wheat protein "breast" stuffed with wild rice and whole-wheat bread crumbs. Harvest Health (4150 32nd Ave., Hudsonville; 1944 Eastern Ave SE and 6807 Cascade Road SE, Grand Rapids), offers plenty of banquet table fixins, too. Vegan stuffing starters, bulk nuts, beans and berries and all the herbs and spices you'll need for baking the perfect roast seitan can be found at each outlet.
On the off-chance that you over-indulge and would rather test the temperature of Lake Michigan before approaching another Thanksgiving-themed meal, just remember, many other countries don't formally celebrate Thanksgiving. West Michigan is a horn-of-plenty when it comes to Asian restaurants, and General Tso's tofu or spicy ginger stir fry will certainly cleanse you palate before too much cranberry sauce leads to toxic shock.
