BENGALURU: Festivals are all about food and Christmas is no different. While traditional specialities generally include meat, this group – ‘Super Hyper Vegans of Bengaluru’ – has found a way to celebrate a vegan Christmas. Comprising 23 members, the group started their seasonal feast offerings a few weeks before Thanksgiving which will continue until after New Year. According to James Barboza, there are several vegan cookbooks written for holiday cooking, each of which is loaded with recipes that are ideal for a Christmas feast.
Anamary G T, the eldest member of the vegan community, points out that in place of turkey, they “make Tofurky that offers a massive feast complete with stuffing, gravy.”
Where alcohol is concerned, the quintessential Christmas beverage is eggnog, which is obviously made with eggs. Despite being an oxymoron, vegan eggnog is widely available. “You can buy ‘Silk Nog’ made from soy or almonds at most natural food stores during the holiday season. We make a ‘Holiday Nog’ with almond milk. Just add bourbon and a dusting of nutmeg to any of these products and you’re in business,” quips Samantha Cretter, a member of the vegan community.
With both food and drink taken care of, vegans are ensuring that the gifts too don’t include any animal products. And instead of wrapping paper, they are using cotton clothes and cane baskets. “We celebrate zero-waste Christmas as we have been re-using all decorative items. We consciously choose to avoid plastic or paper dishes, cups, spoons, etc. All of us bring our own utensils during the feast,” says Anamary.
Veggie Santa
Young ones have created their own Santa Claus using vegetables, including cauliflower, red bellpepper, sweet potatoes, lemons, olives and greens. “We made our own Santa this time. He looks a little angry though but I’m sure he’ll get lot of goodies for us,” says six-year-old Ananya Sharma, as she listens to a remixed version of Jingle Bells.