When the bell rings at 2:55 p.m. the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, students prepare for the five day weekend ahead and the pounds of turkey and additional dishes waiting to be consumed on Thanksgiving day. However, sophomore Mollie Solomon said these thoughts about the holiday do not bring excitement for her.

Since the main dish of the holiday has historically been turkey, Thanksgiving may present a challenge to those unable to eat meat due to their dietary restrictions. Solomon said being a vegetarian on Thanksgiving is tough because she cannot eat the main dish, so she just eats side dishes instead.

Solomon’s mom Tanya Solomon makes sure to cook many side dishes that are either vegan or vegetarian so Mollie has a lot of choices such as roasted vegetables, sweet potato casserole and mashed potatoes.

Senior Emily Nelson said she finds it harder to navigate the Thanksgiving dinner table because she is a vegan, meaning she does not eat any animal products or animal by products. Instead of consuming traditional turkey meat, faux turkey made out of tofu called Tofurkey is her alternative option.

“I actually already had my Thanksgiving dinner this year because my family was in town,” said Nelson. “My dad bought vegan butter so I had that with bread and he made tofurkey for me so I pretended to eat turkey. [The Tofurkey] was good, but my dad didn’t know how to cook it correctly, so it could have been better.”

Sophomore Shari Markowitz, who is a vegetarian, tried Tofurkey prior to Thanksgiving last year, but said it was “just okay tasting, [but] not ideal,” so she ate side dishes on Thanksgiving instead.

Although Mollie said she ate a lot on Thanksgiving simply through side dishes, her family did not think she ate enough.

“One of my older relatives thought I was anorexic because I wasn’t eating the turkey,” said Mollie. “She must not have known I became a vegetarian.”

Unlike Mollie’s relative, senior Nicole Karasik said her grandma was very conscious of her vegetarian eating habits. She said her grandma’s recipe for stuffing has bacon as an ingredient, but her grandma made it without the bacon just for her.

Although her grandma was accommodating of her needs on the holiday, Karasik said not all of her family members were.

Last Thanksgiving my parents sat me down right in front of the turkey,” said Karasik. “They claim it wasn’t on purpose, but I still don’t know for sure.”

Markowitz, Nelson, Karasik and Mollie said they could adhere to their beliefs on the holiday because of all the side dishes present on their tables, even though they were unable to eat the main dish.

“Mollie decided she wanted to be a vegetarian and I’m proud of her for sticking to it for as long as she has,” said Tanya. “Not eating meat on Thanksgiving just shows she can stick to her ideals and her beliefs even though the main dish is turkey — a meat.”