by Christine Pesta
Autumn is a wonderful time of the year. The air is crisp and fresh, the leaves are turning color, and everyone is beginning to gear up for the holiday season. One of the first holidays during the fall is, of course, Halloween.
This is a fun time when people decorate, have parties, dress in costumes, and go trick-or-treating. They also get creative in the kitchen. For starters, there is “pumpkin everything”, as well as apple pies, butternut squash casseroles, and vegetable stews for example, among the regular dishes. You will also see the more imaginative and fun things that reflect the holiday in spooky creations like graveyard pudding and haunted house cakes.
With everyone throwing parties and potlucks, and bringing all manner of food items to the celebrations, what do you do if you’re vegan and want to join in? What if you’d like to throw a party yourself and just don’t know where to start or what to serve?
Well, when it comes to your own home, you can break out the decorations and serve whatever you like without having to worry if the various dishes are vegan or not. When it comes to going to someone else’s home, if it is allowed, bring a dish that you know how to make well and that will appeal to a wide variety of tastebuds. (I also recommend bringing enough when you go to any party or potluck so that if you find there is nothing else that you can eat, at least you’ll have enough to eat of your own dish, and others will still be able to sample it too.)
Luckily, there are many different dishes that can be made in keeping with the season and the theme of the party that are either vegan, or can be made that way. Pies made with apples, pumpkin, rhubarb, blueberries, pears or peaches are one option. Vegetable casseroles or stews are another. You can even make a big batch of black bean chili and keep it seasonal by adding cubed pieces of pumpkin to it. The pumpkin compliments black bean chili rather well, and it’s a hearty dish that most everyone will love. You can also seize the opportunity to wow the crowd with your favorite pumpkin or zucchini bread recipe.
Again, there is no limit to what you can come up with if you are called upon to bring a dish, or throw the party yourself. For the kids, there are all sorts of vegan candies out there, whether it’s to give or receive for trick-or-treat time, or to pass out at a party. When it comes to games, one time-honored tradition is bobbing for apples which is certainly “vegan approved”.
Another way to feed the crowd when throwing the party yourself is a buffet or a taco bar. There aren’t very many people, young or old, who don’t love tacos. To put out some sort of food bar, rather than serving one type of meal, will make it easier for people to try a little bit of everything, while putting their meal together however it pleases them.
When it comes to desserts, pies, cakes, cupcakes, and cookies are fine with most people looking to satisfy a sweet tooth. You can also offer little individual dishes of mixed nuts, hummus and crackers, or a variety of chips, dips and veggies for those who prefer savory things to munch on.
If you’re planning to serve alcohol, there are many vegan wines to choose from. As far as other types of beverages, you might consider apple juice or apple cider, vegetable juice, sparkling water with slices of cucumber, lemon, or berries in it, and, of course, pumpkin spice lattes.
If there are games at the party, the winner could get something like a bag of vegan candy, a basket of fruit or cruelty-free spa items, or a vegan-friendly canvas bag to use for trick-or-treating or when going grocery shopping.
There is no end to the different ways of entertaining your guests while still keeping it all vegan. If you are going to someone else’s party and bringing a dish or a bottle of wine, it is an opportunity to subtly show them what being vegan is all about while also demonstrating that vegans are really no different, they just don’t do or use certain things that others might.
By showing friends and family that vegans don’t miss out on the holidays and can have just as much fun, while still maintaining their lifestyle, it might get some of them to become vegan as well, or at least have a better understanding as to what veganism is all about.
Happy Halloween!
Christine Pesta is a writer, and the owner and Executive Editor of Live Your Life Vegan. You can follow her here, on Live Your Life Vegan, where she contributes regularly, as well as on social media.
