I am super thankful this year that my Mother in Law is doing a mostly vegan Thanksgiving. Yeah, there is a turkey highlighting the evening. But for all the sides she put forth the effort to make all vegan sides. Granted I volunteered for a bunch of sides (1 pie, 1 crumble, lentil balls, 2 casseroles, and vegan gravy) but I would of still have plenty of grub to eat. I am also thankful I don’t have to worry about my husband’s tummy at the end of the night. He is lactose intolerant, but sometimes will have some lactaid. But sometimes, even with the lactaid, too much dairy will hit him hard.

I am also thankful that I have a loving husband who will talk to me for an hour straight about the merits of the Harry Potter books and movies. We talked all morning about the symbolism in the book, and how it can positively effect a kids life. You know, talking about death, puberty, love, family, etc. Some are direct, some are not. The only reason why the conversation ended was because we both had to use the bathroom. 

What are you guys thankful for?

Hopefully you are thankful for my Weekend reading posts. We have a lot of Thanksgiving related articles and videos this week. Maybe a little too heavy of the videos. I hope you guys actually watch them. I’ve heard rumors that blog readers don’t like watching videos.

The United States of Thanksgiving

Remember when I mentioned in my Tofurky or Not Tofurky post about how many Italian American Thanksgivings look a lot like an Italian American restaurant? Thanksgiving is different for everyone and New York Times covers it pretty well. They have 52 different recipes that might make it on a Thanksgiving tables with some local flair. Clearly not every Maine local is going to put lobster mac and cheese on their table, but I am sure it isn’t unheard of (I mean I DID see lots of lobster mac and cheese on the menus there). 

Booze Before Chews: A Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Drinking Game

I don’t like making gender stereotypes, but most guys tend to watch football while women watch the parade. I was part of the parade watching crowd. I am also all about day drinking so I am all about drinking games for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cookies and Sangria makes a game for the parade, and provides exercise or drinking options. It’s a shame that 1) I need to cook a bunch this year and you know, don’t want chop a finger off, and 2) My sister works all Thanksgiving and being hammered during work is “unprofessional.”

Against the Grain

All the hype around gluten-free foods is starting to get annoying. No, I don’t deny that there are people with celiacs disease, or people who are gluten sensitive. I do have a hard time believing that gluten is overall a health risk to the entire nation. I recently watched an episode of Parenthood, and there was a gluten-free, fat-free, dairy-free, super healthy dessert made for their father who just had heart surgery. I found the scene annoying since I see no particular reason why a man with heart problems should take gluten out of their diet. It has become a blanket term for “new fangled healthiness.”

But having tons of gluten-free options is a good thing. People with celiacs disease have food they can eat, and it makes it easier to entertain guests with the disease. There are also lots of kids who have temporary wheat allergies, which makes life easier for parents. Overall I think it is just important for everyone else to eat a little bit of everything. Think about what the average American eats? Toast and eggs for breakfast. There’s some wheat. An Italian sub from the local deli. There’s some wheat. For dinner some spaghetti and meatballs. Wheat in the pasta, and probably some wheat in the meatballs. Suddenly we are told that there are other grains, and we should probably start rotating them.

Back in Black – Black Friday and What Black Thursday Protesters Are Doing Wrong

Usually the main person who picks the articles on here is me (Jennifer). But Alexa posted an article on Facebook the other day about Black Friday. The article made the argument that people should shop if they feel like it, and workers should be allowed to work if they want to. Alexa and I both agreed that the person missed the point of the black friday or black thursday protests. I was pretty ticked about the whole article, wrote a whole bunch about inequality. Then Louis Black went on the Daily Show and ranted about Black Friday. Yup. He pretty much got it all right.

Alexa and I have both worked retail and in restaurants, two businesses where you are expected to work during holidays, weekends, and late at night. We both have been blessed that we work at small stores so we don’t work on Thanksgiving, but my sister who is a writer actually has to spend her whole Thanksgiving on the computer posting hot deals for the next day. (and not drinking during the parade with me) She gets an hour off to celebrate Thanksgiving, then hops back on the computer.

I get that people need to work on holidays. There were some occasions where my Mother worked holidays (she’s a nurse). We simply celebrated them on different days. I know people go to restaurants on holidays (which I don’t like, but not going into that), movies, and grab last minute food and drinks for celebrations. It is worth noting there is a difference from Walmart opening up for Thanksgiving day and your local liquor store staying open. Walmart is chaotic, and involves more workers than normal. The local liquor store might only need one or two people working the shop.

And that to me, is where the major problem is. I think I wouldn’t care as a worker to come in, work on a slow day and miss Thanksgiving. But put me in one of the busiest days of the year? And miss a family holiday? And then be told I should be happy that I could work that day? Get out of here. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that most Americans celebrate. When people don’t have family nearby, they celebrate with other people. 

Daily Show – Garden Crate + The Great  Crate Debate

Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to post so many videos. There was just a really good episode of the Daily Show. Jon Stewart talks about a bill in New Jersey that would outlaw gestation crates. Alexa and I both live in New Jersey so this is something we are really interested in. I posted the video for the first half of the segment, but left a link for a “debate” about gestation crates. Even though Jon Stewart isn’t vegan or vegetarian I think it is great that he is very open about talking where food comes from.

Chris Christie’s veto is really annoying, but we can happily sign a petition to show that we care a lot of about the issue.

Do Vegans Kill More Animals Than Meat-Eaters?

With Thanksgiving coming up, we might find ourselves sitting at a table with our distant Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. We’ve all been there, being grilled by a person trying to get expose the vegan as being a big giant phony. I Fucking Love Science recently posted an article about how a vegan diet actually kills more animals. Although the data might be truthful, it isn’t a realistic display of what people actually eat. It would imply that my vegan meal consists of only grains, and the omnivorous diet is only grass fed beef.

Emily make great points and approaches to topic in a great way. I’ve had friends talk about how they had summer jobs plucking dead mice and snakes from crops. It happens, and there isn’t anyone trying to hide that. Watch Emily, get educated, and you’ll be able to make an great argument at the dinner table.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: black friday, gluten, gluten-free, sunday reading, sunday reads, thanksgiving