Raw Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

To my Canadian readers, happy Thanksgiving! To my readers south of the border - no you're not in a time warp. Thanksgiving is in October here in the true north strong & free. This just happens to be my first raw Thanksgiving, so I've scoured the internet and uncook books for the tastiest dishes. This Thanksgiving I'm giving thanks for quick, easy and delicious raw recipes that don't include cooking a dead bird's carcass.

Pictured above is 1 lightly steamed corn cob topped with a pat of Ani Phyo's raw olive "butter", a simple salad (cukes, tomatoes, green onion, dill and julienned carrots), raw mashed "potatoes" and raw cranberry sauce.

Raw Mashed "Potatoes" (recipe from gone raw)

• 2 cups parsnips, washed and cubed
• ½ cup pine nuts
• squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1½ cup water

Combine everything (except the water) in the food processor. Slowly add the water until the desired consistency - some people like stiff potatoes, others like them runny. I opted to julienne my parsnips first because my food processor isn't that powerful.

Festive Raw Cranberry Sauce

Holy poop! I can't believe I ever used to eat this out of a can. This recipe is so simple and so tasty. Definitely a keeper for the holidays.

• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 apple, peeled (I used Ginger Gold)
• 1 orange (zest first then peel, cut & quarter)
• pinch of cinnamon
• 5 dates, pitted
• raw sweetener (to taste or none at all)

Combine everything in the food processor. If you like it chunky, then just pulse in the processor. If you like it smooth, then the blender might be a better choice.

Ani's Raw All American Apple Pie (recipe from Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while now. With the leaves falling and the crisp Autumn air coming in, apples are at their peak in my corner of the world. So why wait any longer?! Serve à la mode with a dollop of raw serve. I halved Ani's original recipe, so the picture is a mini apple pie.

ALMOND PIE CRUST -

• 2 cups almonds, dry
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups pitted dates

SYRUP -

• 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1 orange, peeled and seeded
• splash of water, as needed to make the blender go round

FILLING -

• 5 cups apples, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced, about 5 or 6 apples
• 1 cup raisins and/or dried cranberries (optional)
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

The directions for this pie aren't on Ani's website, so I won't publish them here. However, you can watch Ani making this pie on ABC here.

Happy (cruelty-free) Thanksgiving everyone!! Wishing you all lots of ...