thanksgiving

[dread head vegan]

hello everyone,
i was looking forward to helping my mom prepare thanksgiving dinner. I was going to make raw food for me and she would make the food for the rest of the family. but she told me today that we are not going to do that this year... this year all my family wants to go out to eat at a steak house :eek: i already have everything planned out and everything!!! :mad: i have been very stressed out the past couple of weeks because my husband just joined the army and is not going to be with us this thanks giving and he is the only one that really understands why i am raw. so anyway what would any of you do??? thanks for letting me vent too... i feel a little better

[PantryRaider]

hello everyone,
i was looking forward to helping my mom prepare thanksgiving dinner. I was going to make raw food for me and she would make the food for the rest of the family. but she told me today that we are not going to do that this year... this year all my family wants to go out to eat at a steak house :eek: i already have everything planned out and everything!!! :mad: i have been very stressed out the past couple of weeks because my husband just joined the army and is not going to be with us this thanks giving and he is the only one that really understands why i am raw. so anyway what would any of you do??? thanks for letting me vent too... i feel a little better

Oh well. Venting is good.

Perhaps your Mom just wants to have an event where she is not saddled with food preparation... it is great that you are looking forward to helping prepare the feast... but, apparently she wants to dwell on the family get-together aspect thing rather than be a scullery slave. She just wants to look across the table at family rather than stare at the stove.

Somehow Thankgiving has evolved into being all about the food rather than being thankful for the bounty this planet can provide... and simply being thankful to just be with family on this day.

Why not brownbag it with your raw foods and sit at the table with the family at the steakhouse and just enjoy the company?

PS: I have a very small and distant family. I will spend Thanksgiving alone with a bowl of soup. I can only imagine of what excitement it must be to be with a family gathering on a day when you can all be together and talk and interact.

[Sharon in Colorado]

You could get a large salad at the steak house if you really wanted to go. I am not sure I'd really want to do the steak house myself, likely they'll have a premade Thanksgiving course, and may not have anything fresh. Maybe you can call ahead.

I just wrote a letter to Thanksgiving hosts and guests in my blog, below in my signature if you are interested. I'm hoping it will get passed around so that many host/esses can become informed.

[DavidZaneMason]

-I would go where my loved ones most want to go, and eat an apple. That's a powerful statement! Trust me! LOL.

-David Z. Mason

[Mango]

I would eat before I went. Keep an apple or banana in your purse just in case. Try to order a BIG salad and enjoy your family.

[rawpriestess]

When I was growing up, we were very poor, probably why I am such an over achiever now, LOL

and Thanksgiving was the ONLY time we actually sat at the table and had enough food to eat, so it means alot to me, my mom passed away over 20 years ago, I would love to be at her table once again, with her canned fruit cocktail, and canned olives, her store bought rolls and margarine, I would eat fresh fruit but I would love her company and to help her in the kitchen, I always remember Thanksgiving as such a loving and fun time, she would save for months to be able to feed us like that.

The ONE most memorable Thanksgiving we had was when all the power went out days before Thanksgiving, my husband, me and my son were living with my mom, and my husband and I cooked all the extras in our camper, but we had no way to cook a turkey, so our Thanksgiving was all the stuff with no turkey, it was the ONE most favorite Thanksgiving that even my son (who was only 9 at the time) still talks about,

so "special" times will be remembered, make this a "special" time for everyone, order what you can, and make this a time to enjoy your loved ones, and not to make a statement.

Trying to change anyone only causes them to be uncomfortable, and Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what we have, sounds like you have a family that loves you, I'd be very thankful for that.

I too would be alone this Thanksgiving except for loving friends who have asked me to join them, am I going to tell them I won't come because they are eating cooked? no way, I love them enough to love their choices, even if they are NOT my choices.

Please be thankful for the opportunity to express your love for your family while they are still here, and you can still say "I love you" and have them say it back.

have a bliss filled day.

[yeahbethany]

I would go to the steakhouse and bring along a bag of persimmons, or grapes, or dates, or whatever would make me feel satisfied. =)

I hope you enjoy the day with your family!

[carolg]

The best place to find a great salad is at a steakhouse so feel comfortable about a salad decision. However, I would follow previous advice and call before hand to see what kind they offer so you are prepared. I always do this.

carolg

[rawfigure]

I would go for the time with Family. To me the food is a sideline, memories are precious. I do not remember the food I ate from year to year, but I always remember the time with a loved one, especially those who are gone now. :( . As RP mentioned Loved ones pass and the time we spent with them is precious. I would not pass a Holiday due to food challenges ! GO and enjoy !