Vegetarian Thanksgiving.

I have been a vegetarian many years so I really like the work of the US Cancer Project which is encouraging people to adopt a vegetarian life style for health reasons.

With Thanksgiving coming up they've put together lots of recipes that are both healthy and delicious. Here's an example of one of their recipes:

No-Meat Loaf Makes 1 loaf (about 12 slices)
Serve this great-tasting loaf with Mushroom Gravy for a hearty meal that’s sure to please. A food processor makes it easy to make the bread crumbs (or you can purchase already-prepared bread crumbs) and to finely chop the walnuts and vegetables.

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs, preferably whole-wheat (2–3 slices bread)
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 14-ounce package Lightlife Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style meat substitute, other ground beef-style meat substitute, or 2 cups cooked bulgur
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce1 cup plain tomato sauce, or 1 cup of crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons stone-ground or Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup ketchup or barbeque sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.

Use a food processor to finely chop walnuts, onion, celery, carrot, and green bell pepper.
Combine all ingredients except vegetable oil spray and ketchup or barbeque sauce in a large bowl.
Stir with a large spoon or knead by hand until well-mixed, about 1 minute.
Press into a vegetable oil sprayed 5"×9" loaf pan or similar baking dish.
Top with ketchup or barbeque sauce, if using.
Bake 60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Per slice:
104 calories
2.6 g fat
0.3 g saturated fat
22% calories from fat
0 mg cholesterol
8.2 g protein
13.9 g carbohydrate
2.7 g sugar
2.5 g fiber
418 mg sodium
37 mg calcium
1.7 mg iron
5.9 mg vitamin C
463 mcg beta-carotene
0.6 mg vitamin E

Recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.

You can find more vegetarian thanksgiving recipes on their web site.

We also have more vegetarian thanksgiving recipes on the Health And Goodness web site.