In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, let’s talk turkey.
President George Washington declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1789 with these words, “Thanksgiving is a time to rediscover the spiritual being within and draw strength from our founders and political zealots whose prolific faith has created a nation that we as well as our progeny will be proud of.”
Our founders were a group of men who desired to establish a land of free thinkers. They believed in “the freedom of the soul to choose between what is right and what is wrong.” At Thanksgiving, we are encouraged “draw strength from” these beliefs.
Thanksgiving is also a time of reflection, a time to “rediscover the spiritual being within.” It is a time to be thankful for health, family, freedom, and life.
(By now, you should guess where I’m going with this… this ain’t no history lesson.)
The spirit of this holiday is blatantly betrayed by the abusing and killing of millions of innocent birds. This Thanksgiving, consider not eating turkey. There, I said it.
Sure, you might get asked some questions (my brief thoughts on that here, point #2), but you’ll embrace the true spirit of the holiday by celebrating life. Yes, it’s tradition, but Thanksgiving is so much more than turkey. Make your Thanksgiving about the family, the friends, and the giving thanks, not about the meat.
If your Thanksgiving meals are anything like my family’s there will be more than plenty to eat if you simply leave the turkey off your plate. Load up on mashed potatoes, green beans, broccoli, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing (if it’s meatless), and of course, pumpkin and pecan pie!
Or, offer to make a vegetarian dish. Here are 10 delicious vegetarian Thanksgiving suggestions.
And, if you’re really feeling inspired, you can even adopt a turkey this Thanksgiving. Instead of paying for that Butterball, save a life!
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Breakfast: Trail mix
Lunch: Spinach ravioli
Dinner: Veggie stir fry & veggie egg rolls
