An Early Thanksgiving on a Budget

Enjoying Loving Family and Great Food Any and Every Day

Our family, bonded around plant-based nutrition and love of nature, is very close. My younger daughter lives in San Diego with me. We were so happy when Rebecca, my older daughter, could visit to celebrate Thanksgiving – even though the visit was a few weeks early.

Rebecca drove down from Northern California with her boyfriend Jan and their rescued American bulldog, Rikki. This goofy and ultra-friendly canine

Rebecca and Rikki the American bulldog

Rebecca and Rikki the American bulldog

is a poster child for why adopting from a shelter is the best way to add a furry family member.

On the first Saturday night in November we enjoyed a tasty and low-budget Thanksgiving feast. When you stick to plant-based options, you can eat way too much delicious food for Thanksgiving and stick to your spending limits.

Actually, we did splurge a little, as you can see from our menu and costs. By cooking totally from scratch, we could definitely have saved money. But all four of us ate to oblivion on Saturday night and had enough food left over for several days. So the total covers much of the food we all ate for about three days.

Two Tofurky roasts (animal-free and delicious) $17

Potatoes, onion, carrots roasted with Tofurky $3

Gravy (animal-free mix) $1

Stuffing (two bags of animal-free stuffing mix liberally boosted with fresh onions and celery) $5

Homemade cranberry sauce (meal highlight for me) $2

Homemade veggies medley stir fry (in broth) $3

Homemade winter squash pureed with spices and a little miso $3

Pumpkin pie (animal-free from Whole Foods) $13

Dairy-free whipped topping $4

Total for four people eating for several days: $51. A homemade pumpkin pie would have brought the total down to about $40, or $10 per person. Not bad for a healthy and loving Thanksgiving. No one missed the poor turkey. In fact, we were all hugely thankful that the bird was celebrating, too, happy and enjoying another day.

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Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

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