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A juicy oven-roasted, golden-brown turkey with its carved white and dark meat dripping with marinade sweat, surrounded by cranberry sauce and homemade stuffing can drive students mad waiting for everyone to sit at the dinner table so they can get started.
Thanksgiving is often less about being thankful and more about eating turkey. But for students who don't eat meat, turkey is nothing to drool over.
Students who stick to their no-meat diets have found other food to stuff themselves with so they can be part of the celebration.
"I've had Tofurkey for many years," said senior Shannon York. "But this year I'm thinking of making neatloaf, which is made from nuts, rice and spices."
York, a vegetarian since 16 years old, became a vegan in December, she said. But she never feels singled out for the holiday.
"I started cooking and remembering that Thanksgiving is about being thankful for the things we have in life," she said. "Not about a dead carcass."
To avoid turkey-soaked snacks, York eats vegan stuffing, vegan green bean casserole and anything else just as long as it's prepared vegan, she said. She cooks so much during the holiday that her family tends to indulge as well.
"That makes me happy because they're trying my stuff and loving it," she said.
Senior Ally Erlendson is also the only vegetarian in her family.
But she doesn't resort to Tofurkey for the holiday, she said.
"It doesn't sound appealing," she said. "I don't even know where you can buy something like that."
Instead, Erlendson eats whatever is offered at the table that isn't meat, she said. While most of her family is supportive, some aren't so sympathetic toward her decision.
"I'm convinced that an aunt I have hates me," Erlendson said. "Ever since I've stopped eating meat, she'll make great foods like potato and spinach salad, but she'll put bacon in it so I can't eat it."
Despite this, Erlendson never feels left out of the feast, she said.
"They give me more attention for not eating meat," she said.
Seniors Gregg Rich and Julie Fish just turned vegan and never feel singled out, they said.
"My uncle is a vegetarian," Fish said. "So our Thanksgiving is very healthy."
Tofu, stuffing without meat, vegetables and even garden burgers are on the holiday dinner list, Rich said.
The couple attended a veggie-cooking demo on campus Nov. 10 where they learned to make veggie stew and oat apple pie.
Along with expanding the recipe book, they sampled Tofurkey for the first time at the Tofurkey Feast on Monday and found it to taste a lot like turkey, Rich said.
With all the vegetables and tofu vegetarians and vegans eat, one would think they eat healthier. But that isn't necessarily true.
Vegetarian Michelle Morris, professor of nutrition and food science, thinks they too risk overstuffing their bellies and racking up holiday calories.
"A big chunk of the calories are the appetizers and the drinks," she said.
About 3,710 calories are eaten at Thanksgiving dinner, and by taking out the meat products, only about 360 calories are eliminated, Morris said. But whether a veggie diet is healthier depends on what replaces the meat.
While a more plant-based diet can be healthier, adding more cheese may mean more Thanksgiving fat and calories added to the meal, she said.
"But it depends on how well you plan," she said.
Food choices don't always determine how healthy a student is, Morris said. It's more about knowing the body.
"It's not about restricting food," she said. "It's about balancing and portioning. You need to recognize how your body feels."
Whether students are vegetarians or carnivores, Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for everything, not just a turkey, York said.
"I make sure to let my family know how grateful I am to have them," York said. "And that I don't necessarily want to celebrate it with a tortured animal body, but that's just my opinion and my choice."
Raelene Willis can be reached at rwillis@theorion.com
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