BETHLEHEM, Pa. (WLVT) - While Thanksgiving may look and feel different this year, food remains the constant source of joy for many. Vegans in the Lehigh Valley have several options for their dinner table, particularly in Northampton County.
"Leave the cooking to me. Leave the animals off your plate. I'll take care of you," said Mary Lopresti, owner of VegOut Bethlehem.
The corner vegan restaurant across from City Hall is preparing about 100 Thanksgiving orders this week, as customers pick up their meals Wednesday around the same time as the city's annual Christmas tree lighting.
"You're going to get a whole meal that looks, tastes, smells, resembles a traditional Thanksgiving platter -- but without any animal byproducts," Lopresti said.
The traditional turkey is replaced with a plant-based holiday roast, along with the typical sides on a Thanksgiving plate.
"We also offer a gluten-free option as well that will have roasted carrots instead of the stuffing, and I'm making an impossible meatloaf," Lopresti said.
VegOut Bethlehem will offer additional items for sale Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. as customers pick up their orders, though Lopresti said the menu will be a surprise.
In Bethlehem's south side, Roasted, a restaurant owned by Derek Wallen and Shelli and Chris Topping, is busy getting about 200 Thanksgiving orders ready.
"Thanksgiving is definitely a hard time this year," Wallen said. "You're quarantining. You're not able to see your family. So, this year, we decided to do some catering."
The restaurant is used to hosting a "Friendsgiving," but this year, they’re preparing oven-ready meals for pickup Wednesday.
"We were fortunate enough to get over 60 donated meals from the community, which has been amazing," Shelli Topping said.
"All of our sides are vegan," Wallen said. "We use no dairy, no butter. We use substitutes like chia eggs and oil-based butters."
Roasted's Thanksgiving meal includes staples like cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and sweet potato, but it also come with tofu and a carrot soufflé.
In Easton, Animal Defenders Greater Lehigh Valley is using Black & Blue's kitchen to make its Thanksgiving meals. The nonprofit ran a vegan food bank this summer -- and now, it’s making more than 70 "Thanks-living" meals.
"We did not take the life of any sentient being to make this meal. Everything is plant-based. So that's what we call it: a celebration of the living," said president Sheryl Petrillo. "You can eat a really amazing, hearty, traditional meal without harming anybody."
Each pre-packaged meal includes a plant-based roast and a vegan stuffing with apple-sage sausage. The group is giving the meals away for free, thanks to a donation from Goats of Anarchy and a grant from The Awesome Foundation. The meals are going to local nonprofits and vegan bank customers -- about 70 meals in total.
"We didn't realize how much of an impact we made just for that small part of the Easton community that we served," Petrillo said. "It is extra special to be able to help people who may not be able to have the means to have a really good meal."
Animal Defenders will distribute the meals by Terra in downtown Easton on Wednesday.
In Forks Township, chef Wendy Landiak uses kale from a plot of farmland at Hunter Hill CSA to include with her Thanksgiving entrees. She’s been offering vegan options in the Lehigh Valley for more than 20 years, most recently as owner of Shankara Vegan Restaurant and a meal delivery service called Namastayin. Thanksgiving, she said, is particularly busy.
"People oftentimes miss out on having a Thanksgiving meal, because they can't eat anything because even stuffing made with chicken stock or what have you," she said. "To make them feel like they're part of the family, they can have their vegan option."
Along with the typical sides, Landiak has three options for entrees: vegetable stuffed pumpkin, coriander mustard baked tofu, and a meat substitute called seitan.
"For the most part, people like Thanksgiving because of the sides," she said. "They always complain about the turkey anyway. They always complain that it's too dry or this, that, and the other. So, I don't even think that turkey is the main dish in the end anyway."
Vegan-friendly desserts in the Lehigh Valley include many apple or pumpkin-based options. Animal Defenders has a dark chocolate covered coconut cookie.