This year I had a very small Christmas. My only immediate family in Australia is my Aunt and Nanna, so it was just the three of us spending Christmas together. My Nanna is usually the one cooking for the family and she often gets quite stressed and flustered when she is under pressure like that. So, my Aunt and I offered to cook this year. And since I'm vegan, we decided to steer away from the traditional roast dinner because I would just be eating a plate of potatoes (which I am honestly fine with, but it is a lot more fun when there are options). We all decided that Thai food would be something that we would all enjoy, so with the help of Pinterest I came up with a menu. For all of you fellow vegans out there, or just anyone who is okay with skipping meat once in a while, here are a few options you can try for your next family gathering, or just for yourself. All of these recipes were really easy. Honestly if I can cook them, anyone can.

First we wanted to do some rice paper rolls. We were going to make them all ahead of time but then realised it would be easier to just chop up the veggies and let everyone fill their own so they could put what they like into each roll. The recipe we used was from The Rawsome Vegan Life. They were SO delicious, fun to make, and the tahini chilli dipping sauce was absolutely to die for.




Next on the menu was a Thai Cashew Coconut Rice with Ginger Peanut Sauce. I am a huge fan of coconut rice so was really excited for this recipe. I pretty much just made the rice and then layered all of the veggies on top, then put the dressing on the side so everyone could add as much as they wanted. This recipe was from Host the Toast. The sauce was quite sweet and added a really great flavour to the rice.



Our final main dish was a Thai Peanut Noodle Bowl from She Knows. At first we were a bit hesitant because we thought the dishes might taste the same since they were both peanut based. But, they ended up tasting extremely different, and were both equally delicious. This one was a more savoury peanut sauce than the one used on the coconut rice. Also, we used a thicker rice noodle instead of thin noodle like the recipe calls for.


And last, but certainly not least, a Mango Turmeric Cheesecake for dessert. This was my job and I made it the night before so it had time to sit. This recipe was from Be Good Organics. My Aunt is subscribed to their email list and got the recipe months ago, so we had been looking forward to this for a long time coming. I have made a few different vegan cheesecakes, but this one truly takes the cake. First of all, mangoes are my favourite fruit; I could eat them all day, everyday. And second, cheesecake is my favourite dessert. So naturally, this cheesecake was absolutely amazing. I used to be terrified of recipes like this one because I thought they were super complex and time consuming. Yes, it did take a bit of time, but it was so easy. I am most definitely not a chef, so honestly anyone could make this.


This truly was an amazing Christmas. It was my first away from my parents, but my Aunt and Nanna made me feel at home. They were so open to eating vegan (although they did have a few prawns on the side of the table to add to their dishes). Usually I am left with whatever vegetables are on the table at holiday dinners, so this made me feel very special. It was also a lot of fun to cook and see these recipes come to life. I guess I will spend 2016 scouring Pinterest for new recipes to try at Christmas 2016.

If you are vegan and feel like nobody really considers your choices during holiday meals, offer to do some of the cooking so that you can make food that you can enjoy! It really is a lot of fun, and really rewarding when people actually enjoy the food you made.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

** just a quick note: most of these recipes ask for honey so i just used agave nectar instead!