On the 6th Year of Vegan Christmas...

Happy Monday guys! I'm taking a little break from my holiday food prep to pop in to not only celebrate a festive version of @lenasveganliving's #fruitsandveggiesmonday, but also put in a post to help @evecab promote a challenge from @vegansofsteemit to share about my Vegan Christmas. A perfect overlap in challenges yet again! Make sure to check them out to join in with your plant-forward holiday fare!

Though just a few days ago I thought I had it light for the cooking this year, as usual I've got a lot more going in the kitchen than I originally intended! I am pretty lucky that after 6 years since I transitioned to a plant-based lifestyle, my family and @dksart's family have gotten pretty good at making sure there's plenty of veggie options for me to enjoy regardless of the occasion to break bread. Some holidays are easier than others, but I can assure you I never go hungry. I've just learned which celebrations I tend to need to make more for to contribute to the spread.

In case you didn't notice, I enjoy cooking anyway, so it just doesn't feel right if I don't bring something to share! @dksart's mom is quite the whiz in the kitchen, and generally makes enough to feed an army even if it is just a small group of us coming for dinner. I always try to ask what I can contribute regardless, and this year she requested an appetizer. I had some cherry tomatoes that I made into a nice little chutney for crackers, but I also opted to do a fan favorite--stuffed mushrooms.

This past Saturday was the last official farmers market of the year, so of course I loaded up on all the good stuff. I decided to shred broccoli, colorful bell peppers and carrots, and onion to lightly cook up for the main part of the stuffing. I already had some lovely black rice in the pantry that I also cooked to bulk out the veggies and make a vibrant stuffing for baby portabellos.

To the veggie mixture I added apple cider vinegar, mustard, spices, and nutritional yeast for flavor. Not one to miss an opportunity to throw in some leafy greens, I also chopped up arugula to add to the mix after I took it off the heat. I am waiting until tomorrow to stuff the mushrooms right before we leave to drive up to the Christmas Eve celebration with @dksart's family. Luckily we had enough of the stuffing to eat for dinner and lunch today to make my food prep even more efficient!

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Coming up with us to share with both families is another yummy traditional holiday treat--roasted pecans. I made a double batch of these to share as homemade gifts and just to snack on before the main meal. I found the recipe on the One Green Planet site (which our very own @lenasveganliving has been featured on!), but it is basically melted vegan butter, fresh rosemary, garlic, sea salt and a bit of maple syrup as the glaze. Then you roast the pecans in the oven for about 10 minutes to turn them into flavorful little nuggets of goodness! We might have snitched a few while we were waiting for them to cool...

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My family will be visited on Christmas day. It actually works out really well that we get to spend plenty of time with both of our families and not have too much stress getting from place to place. Of course I always stress a bit, but that's nothing outside of the norm, haha. That is another reason why I happily make plenty of healthy vegan foods to eat and share--it makes it a whole lot easier to not go overboard when eating two full holiday meals!

My sister is making a veganized version of a minestrone soup that she made last year (it was a hit all around), so she asked if I would just bring a side and some snacks before dinner. I pretty much always bring some kind of a salad, so this year I have daikon radish, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi ready to go for a shredded salad. I am lugging along my food processor since she doesn't have one, but I'd rather have the veggies fresh! I did go ahead and make the dressing, though.

It's always fun to experiment with different combinations for a dressing, especially when you can go bold on something like a cruciferous mix that really needs some good flavor to make it pop. I had grabbed a bag of fresh cranberries at the farmers market, so I blended those up with almond butter, dijon mustard, miso, a few dates, ground black pepper, and a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. I think it tastes delicious on its own, so hopefully it tastes just as good on my finished salad!

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Speaking of cranberries, you may have noticed a few in my cover image, as well. I would say dessert is actually the hardest in our families on the vegan side of things. Everyone is great with vegetables and getting better with beans and other legumes, but dessert seems to be a tough one for them to adapt with no eggs or dairy. I enjoy a sweet treat, so that is another item I have started bringing when I want to indulge. After bringing home the cranberries on Saturday I started looking up ideas for a plant-based dessert and landed on this Cranberry Orange Bread from the Simple Veganista.

With all the other stuff I was putting together, a simple recipe was just the thing to replicate. I used a gluten free flour blend so that my sister can partake in a slice, as I think she will enjoy this not too sweet dessert since she loves tart berries. I also had some dried Roselle left from a market visit a few months back and figured why not toss some of that into the batter, as well? I am trying not to break into the finished product before Christmas, so I'll have to let you know later how it came out.

I have to say it smells quite delicious with that citrus aroma wafting out of the cooling loaf! I think this will be another good one to prove yet again you don't need any animal products to make a delicious contribution to any meal!

I know a lot of vegans, or really anyone with specific dietary needs, have a tough time with family meals, so I do think I'm quite lucky that mine is so accommodating. Yes, they do still have plenty of non-vegan foods that they make, but everyone partakes in a whole lot more veggies these days. Our holidays have become a bit healthier, but definitely never lacking in love or festivity as we all slow down and spend time together. Wishing you all much of the same as we finish out the year!

Banners by @woman-onthe-wing, @dksart and @bearone for @steemusa