Traditions are always changing, but when people think about going vegan, food traditions can be a big hang-up. What will replace old favorites?
For Iowans, the Iowa State Fair is summer’s last hurrah.
With midway rides, art and cooking competitions, and dance performances aplenty, the thing that gets people talking year after year is the grease explosion that is fair food.
Even political candidates get in on the action, eager to show Iowans how authentic and down-to-earth they are by getting photographs eating this “everyman” fare.
When asked what keeps regular people heading back to sample this stick-based cuisine, the answer is simple – tradition.
It’s an interesting thing, tradition. People hold onto it so tightly, but really, it’s always evolving.
The state fair started way back in 1854. While I didn’t have any luck finding out what they were serving in the 1850’s, one thing is for certain – corndogs were not involved.
They weren’t invented until the 1920’s.
Traditions change
Think about the first Thanksgiving.
No Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. No stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, or mashed potatoes.
I’d wager that the pilgrims didn’t even know which NFL teams would be playing that day. (The pilgrims and I had that in common.)
Yet, it’s tradition that can be a sticking point when people desire to go vegan. I know when I went vegetarian and then vegan, it was something that concerned me.
Of course, resistance to change is not isolated to veganism alone.
It’s not uncommon to hear about someone who wants to make a new lifestyle choice meeting some resistance when it comes to the people who know them best.
Whether it’s the drinking buddies of a person who has decided to forgo alcohol or the restaurant aficionados whose friend wants to trade five o’clock tapas for evening bike rides, the people who know us best aren’t always delighted when we want to change our rituals.
When we think of food traditions, for Americans the fourth Thursday in November comes to mind, of course. But also those foods that we share with particular people in our lives plays a part.
In my pre-vegan days, I’d have a big box of Hot Tamales at the movies with my cousin. I’d go out for deep fried puffy tacos with my best friend at our local taqueria.
In the late evenings while hanging out with my parents, my dad and I would microwave mock crab meat (actually white fish), melt garlic butter, and eat the smelly concoction together. (Much to the chagrin of my mom who had no interest in the whole affair.)
So when I stopped eating animals and animal products, there was suddenly an awkward gap of “what now?”
New traditions were born
When Thanksgiving rolled around, I sought out vegetarian restaurants in the area, where they were making totally plant-based versions of the classic foods I’d grown up eating.
At that point, I had never been to a vegetarian restaurant before.
I still remember sitting at the long bar at Follow Your Heart in Canoga Park, California and ordering their Thanksgiving special on the day before the holiday. I read on the menu that their vegetarian feast was an annual event for which people would fly in from around the country.
On my packed plate of fall foods, I sampled seitan, also known as wheat meat, for the first time. It was a revelation.
And the meatless turkey gravy? Well, I had no idea that it could be so rich and full-bodied while being totally plant-based.
I asked if I could buy some to-go to eat the next day. And the server poured me a container-full on the house.
After that, going to the Follow Your Heart Thanksgiving feast was a yearly tradition.
Then I started volunteering at Animal Acres (now a part of Farm Sanctuary). And Thanksgiving meant spending the days leading up to the holiday with birds who were spared from the event which spells the end for 46 million turkeys in the United States.
I’d pet them, find that sweet spot on a turkey, which if scratched actually makes them giggle. And I met up with other likeminded people to share food that celebrated the bounty of the season, rather than the misery of those who are slaughtered for it.
With other interpersonal food traditions, it took more time, but it happened.
My best friend and I take a yearly trip to the orchard with her husband and kids to pick apples.
My dad and I traded out mock crab for vegetable potstickers with tamari dipping sauce.
They’re totally different things, but they fulfill the same function.
When we share foods with our hands, there’s something tactile and bonding in it.
Whether it’s a shared plate of nachos, a spread of Ethiopian wots, or a platter of pita and homemade hummus, when we eat together in that hand-to-mouth way, there’s something cozy and intimate about it.
So potstickers easily fill the bill in that old gap. (Much to my mom’s approval since she actually likes them.)
What’s interesting too is that my dad, who didn’t make a dietary change, doesn’t eat the mock crab anymore either for the mere reason that he’s moved on to other things.
Veganize old favorites with simple tweaks
Another way to keep old food traditions alive is by updating them! With lots of family favorites, it’s easy to make simple swaps to veganize former standards.
- At Christmas, I make a vegan quiche, which is similar to the quiche my mom used to make every year.
- The taco pizza I grew up eating just requires a few simple swaps – like using black beans instead of meat, and grabbing a different style of tortilla chips. Now I make vegan taco pizza almost weekly!
- Everyone in my family loves chili. It’s easy to leave out the meat, and add a couple different types of beans instead for three bean chili.
- Which means the next day there are leftovers for that old family favorite, vegan chili dogs!
Traditions, like so many other things which at first seem like roadblocks when a person goes vegan, eventually smooth out. People adjust. Situations change and new traditions are born.
Originally posted September 2012. Content updated December 15, 2024.
Amber
Thank you so much for this. This is my first vegan Thanksgiving and I’m incredibly nervous. In fact, I’ve had so much anxiety towards food since going vegan. Social and family gatherings can be awkward and always leave me feeling judged, like a weirdo, and completely unfulfilled. And it’s just because of what you said: traditions. I’m from the South, and food is EVERYTHING. Tradition is EVERYTHING. And, after doing something one way for 28 years of your life, changing that throws everyone for a loop. I had a good heart to heart with my mother about a week ago and shared about my anxiety, and I think she really heard me and she really has been so supportive. Reading this gives me hope that I will one day have new traditions with the people I love.
Cadry
Oh, Amber, thank you so much for sharing your hesitation/concern about the day. I went vegetarian and then vegan around the same age as you. I totally understand the awkwardness that can come with doing something different. It’s funny because in our culture, a lot of talk is given to the benefits of being different. Yet, people often meet criticism when they act on that. So often people are expected to talk alike, wear clothes that fit particular societal expectations of age/class/gender, have the same values, and eat the same foods. It becomes clear how deeply that is ingrained when for whatever reason you do something outside of the status quo. It’s startling at first the backlash that can come out of something as simple as wanting to eat fruits, grains, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
Like I said in the post, it took time to create new traditions and for people to be comfortable with this new aspect of me. (While obviously recognizing that I’m the same person that I always was.) It can feel a bit like puberty. However, with time a lot of that awkwardness fades away and new traditions are born.
If you get a chance, I’d love to hear how your Thanksgiving went. Let me know in the comments or by email at cadryskitchen@gmail.com.
Glam Vegan
Fabulous post!!! My Italian Mother-in-Law, who hosts Thanksgiving dinner, now makes many of the sides Vegan since I became a Vegan. It is incredible sweet of her. However, it is amazing how other family members like to remind you of what you used to love to eat because they don’t like to see you drift away from their traditions. I will be sharing this on my Glam Vegan Facebook Page as well as my personal one! Thank you for writing!
Cadry
That’s really nice that your mother-in-law goes out of her way to make many of the sides vegan. Thoughtful gestures like that make a big difference in feeling welcomed and at ease at a celebration that is largely centered on non-vegan food. Thanks for sharing the post, and I’m glad it resonated with you. I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!!
www.trans-planted.com
This is really great. Have you ever read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer? His last chapter talks about making new traditions and new food memories when turning vegan. Americans are always SO shocked to hear, you won’t eat Turkey even on Thanksgiving?! But you’re right, every family is different and things are always evolving and changing. Thanks for the great post!!
Cadry
Thanks for your kind words! I haven’t read “Eating Animals,” but I’ve heard universally great things about it. We’re all creatures of habit, and that’s never more clear than when holidays are involved. It can be difficult at first for people to stray from their standards, but this coming Thanksgiving will be my 9th meatless one. Now it feels just as natural and normal as my old habits used to feel.
cookeasyvegan
Well said, Cadry. You’ve described the tradition conundrum and the fact of ever-changing traditions just right. As you’ve noted so beautifully in the illustration with your dad, the traditions surrounding sharing food with others involve more than just food — it’s the people who matter most. This isn’t always apparent, or easy, when we first make lifestyle changes, and can seem alarming. But as we learn to adapt and evolve our traditions, it usually works out in a positive way. In my family, my mother would start cooking chickpeas as soon as she heard I was planning a visit, and that became a tradition whose memory can still bring tears to my eye whenever I think of it.
(At the Wisconsin State Fair, it’s all about cream puffs, though other fried things certainly make their appearances!)
Cadry
That’s so sweet that your mom started cooking chickpeas as soon as she knew you were planning a visit. It’s that kind of tenderness that makes us feel so understood, welcomed, and cared for!
Kristy
I couldn’t agree with you more, Cadry. Everything has an end- even traditions. With every end, comes a new and better beginning, or in this case, a better tradition.
I love that you and your dad found a better tradition that includes your mom in the fun as well. 🙂
Cadry
Well said, Kristy! Like you said, it’s great that this new potsticker tradition is one that includes the whole family!
Galen @ omgoshimvegan
What a fantastic post! I never thought about the changes other people have to make and how much food is a part of what we do with loved ones. I love your new traditions. My sister is amazing and has been so wonderful cooking tastey food we can both share. My mother made a wonderful quinoa dish for me but stresses every time I come over. I can’t wait to see what future traditions I have.
Thanks for sharing this.
Cadry
That’s lovely to hear that your sister has been so accommodating. It makes a person feel very loved when people are so thoughtful. I’m sure with time your mom’s stresses will lessen as she discovers how many foods and easy meals are vegan. Until then, her concern shows how much she cares about you!
Mel
Love this post, it gives me hope that with enough time my family members will respect my lifestyle! I dream of the day I can host a vegan meal without people feeling like they need to bring meat along.
Cadry
Thanks, Mel! I hope with time your family will come around too. If they’re toting meat along to one of your dinners, they are really missing out. That must be very disheartening after you work so hard making beautiful food. I think it just takes some people longer than others to realize that “vegan” can mean food that is satisfying, flavorful, and delicious!
Richa
love the post.. it takes a while to figure out why the traditions are there in the first place and then some alternatives just come by! last year my parents celebrated diwali with us and we made all vegan indian sweets. mom was surprised at how easily some things didnt need any dairy and now she tries some of my crazy recipes now and then:)
Cadry
That’s great, Richa! Another good reminder that it’s easy to tweak old favorites in a way that makes them cruelty-free while still echoing the original. That’s fabulous that your mom tries your recipes!
Suburban Snow White
Beautiful. I love the way you put this. Traditions do change. And some can even remain! 🙂 My whole family looked at me with excited but sympathetic faces when I presented my Dad with a huge bagful of fresh Cowboy Cookies for his birthday. (My gramma’s recipe, and a family favorite!) “It’s really too bad you can’t eat them, after you made them and all,” the lamented as they all began wolfing down the familiar cookies. When I pointed out that they were made with vegan butter — and tasted exactly the same — they were all shocked. It was a fun moment, showing people that you can have your vegan cookies and eat them too.
Love these posts!
Cadry
That’s such a good point, Katrina! Some traditions change, some stay the same, and some can easily be tweaked or modified while remaining true to their spirit. I love that you gave your family a chance to try the cookies first with only delicious expectations before revealing that they were, in fact, vegan.
When you look at that Thanksgiving plate above, it doesn’t look altogether different from the plate I would have had in one of my meat eating years. The only difference is ingredients. Plus, the most important part, and the real meaning of almost any holiday, stays the same – family, togetherness, and shared history.
Shell
We are all looking forward to seeing you and David soon for our annual apple picking adventure! We are counting down the days. I’m laughing out loud imagining Family Tradition being stuck in your head. Let’s add that to our karaoke list.
Cadry
I’m excited too! I hope there will still be apples on the trees this year.
It’s a Family Tradition… I don’t know if I should be more worried that it’s still in my head after three days or that I know all of the lyrics…
Bobbie {the vegan crew}
Great post!
Cadry
Thanks, Bobbie!
Vic (The Life)
Very nice post. I really agree with your feeling on resistance to change from people close to you, from both sides. I think I been the resister as well as the resisted.
Cadry
Absolutely! It’s only human to be resistant to change sometimes. Just think about how many of us have in the past stayed in jobs that made us unhappy, because the unknown seemed more uncertain. It’s not always easy, but we can never get to where we want to go without first leaving where we are.
Chandra Nicole
I could just read your writing and listen to your stories all day. Thank you for sharing your gift, your perspective, and your life with us all.
Cadry
I am so touched by your comment! Thank you!