Vegan Christmas Ideas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you had a very merry day and have been enjoying the season. We had a great time the last few days spending time with family and friends. As always, the key to being vegan at events is being prepared. You can’t just go with the flow or else you’ll go hungry. I always meal plan ahead of time for each event so I can make something and bring it for every function. That way you definitely have food options and it also gives others there a chance to try vegan things they wouldn’t otherwise. I’m always really happy to share my food with others so they can realize it’s not weird or gross, it’s just good food. Holidays aren’t the time to be super strict about no oil like I usually am, it’s a time to make things that you’re happy to eat alongside everyone else and have others enjoy it. I came up with a plan and it went really well! We enjoyed the food and I never felt left out or hungry. Here is what I made for our Christmas celebrations!

Josh’s family Christmas

We went to have Christmas with Josh’s side of the family last weekend and his mom was really supportive and made a whole vegan lunch for the crowd. She didn’t want everyone to have their preconceived ideas about vegan food so she didn’t tell them everything was vegan until after they ate and enjoyed it. She made Cowboy Caviar with chips for appetizer, spaghetti with a vegan meat sauce topped with veggies, bread, and salad for lunch. I brought chickpea balls and a salted caramel apple pie. She also ordered a vegan birthday cake for Josh and got So Delicious ice cream to celebrate his birthday as well. It was really nice to be able to eat everything that was out and not have to make our own, plus it was all delicious!

Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve we go to church then to one of our best neighbor friend’s house for a yearly Christmas Eve party. Everyone brings a dish to share so here’s what I brought.

Spinach Artichoke Cups- These were so good! They were the first thing gone at the party. They were crispy little pastry cups filled with creamy spinach artichoke dip that no one ever would have guessed was vegan, plus they’re not hard to make. They were gone before I remembered to take a picture. Here’s the recipe-https://veganhuggs.com/vegan-spinach-artichoke-cups/

Falafel bites with Lemon Tahini sauce- I wanted to make something more substantial since I didn’t know how much I would be able to eat there so I made falafel bites using the Trader Joe’s falafel mix. They were a little dry, so next time I wouldn’t press them into patties or cook as long!

All you have to do is add water to the mix and let it sit for an hour to absorb. I used a small scooper to make balls then pressed them into patties on a lined pan. You bake them for 20-25 minutes until crispy. Then I mixed 1/4 cup tahini with the juice of two lemons, a little agave, dash of cumin, and water enough to thin it out.

Christmas Morning

We always have a big brunch after we open presents on Christmas morning and it’s something we look forward to.

Tofu Scramble- I sautéed sliced mushrooms, cut asparagus, and a block of crumbled tofu in pan and added 1/3 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper and added spinach at the end. It looks just like scrambled eggs with more protein and no cholesterol.

Cinnamon rolls- Trader Joe’s cinnamon rolls are naturally vegan and they’re SO delicious! They’re fluffy, cinnamony, and the icing is scrumptious. They’re the perfect treat! Plus you just have to put them on a pan and bake, it’s that easy.

Granddaddy’s biscuits- My granddaddy taught me how to make these 3 ingredient biscuits and they’re a go to in our family. They didn’t fluff up because they weren’t cooked at the right temp but they were still tasty!

Mix 2 cups of self rising flour with 1/3 c of vegetable oil and 2/3 cup plant milk. Stir into a dough then knead ten times. Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut into biscuits. Bake on a greased baking pan at 425 for 10 minutes.

Veggie sausage– I bought a roll of Lightlife veggie sausage that looked weirdly real. I patted it into patties and cooked on the stove until they were crispy on the outside. They made a really good sausage biscuit!

Fruit salad- My brother cut up fruit for fruit salad and it was tasty!

Mimosas, because mimosas.

Christmas Dinner-

We had Christmas dinner at Grandma’s house and we have dinner for about 30 and do a gift exchange. I wanted to make something everyone could try and this year I didn’t try to make something like what they had. I wanted to make something totally different that would be tasty. Last year I made a veganized beef and wine like they have, and this year I made a veggie lasagna that so many family members tried and told me they loved it!

Rosemary Hummus- I used my new Vitamix to make rosemary hummus for appetizer with pita chips and carrots. I mixed 2 cans of chick peas with 1/4 cup aquafaba, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 tsp cumin, juice of one lemon, 1/3 tsp salt, and a sprig of fresh rosemary. Blend until fluffy and smooth.

Vegetable Lasagna-

1 eggplant peeled and sliced 1/3 inch thin

3 zucchini sliced lengthwise

Box of lasagna noodles

Tofu ricotta– blend 1 block of firm tofu with juice of a lemon, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 4 basil leaves, salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic, and 1/2 tsp oregano. Blend with 1/4 water until smooth.

2 jars of Rao’s marinara sauce

Sliced tomatoes and torn basil for toppings

Violife vegan parm for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350* and sauté veggies in pan on both sides until tender.

2. Prepare tofu ricotta.

3. Layer marinara on the bottom of a 9×13 and add lasagna noodles uncooked. Add a layer of tofu ricotta, eggplant, sauce, noodles, tofu ricotta, zucchini, noodles, and sauce.

4. Top with a few slices of tomato and torn basil, then shave parm on top.

5. Cover and bake for 45 covered and 10 more uncovered.