For non-meat eaters like myself, Thanksgiving is arguably the hardest day of the year. Whether you're tempted by the turkey roasting in the oven and it seems like everything on the table has meat on it, or you're getting interrogated by your grandparents as to why you don't like their cooking, it is very easy to cheat and be omnivorous for the day. However, maintaining your dietary restrictions is possible with a little planning in advance. Here are a few things to consider before Turkey (Tofurkey?) Day:

1. Plan out your food options

If your family is hosting Thanksgiving dinner, you have a greater chance of having a say of what is going to be on the table. Normally vegetarian dishes such as mashed potatoes, vegetables, risotto, salad, soup, mushroom, eggplant, and sweet potato will all be great options, as long as you make sure they will be there by helping prepare them yourself. You can even get creative and make your own main dishes vegetarian, with anything from Tofurkey (I've never tried it but I hear it's great) to quinoa stuffed portabello mushrooms and vegan shepherds pie. For inspiration check out this link. These all require time and effort, but will be worth it in the end when you have delicious food to eat and share with your friends and family.

2. Eat breakfast instead of compensating with a huge dessert.

Your dinner will be large, but arguably not as large as it will be for everyone else. You will most likely be sticking with small side dishes, so you might think that you should compensate for that by eating an extra slice or two of pie after dinner is over. However, the healthier thing to do would be to eat in the morning so that you don't stuff your face with a buffet of desserts at 6 pm.

3. Be cautious about hidden meat

I'm sure that the majority of accidental meat ingestion comes not from conscious decisions to give up and eat turkey, but by accidentally eating salad with bacon bits or stuffing made with chicken broth. It is sometimes difficult to tell if a dish is truly vegetarian. When in doubt, ask the chef or someone who has already eaten it. Even the smallest amount of meat can make a long term vegetarian physically ill (the two times I messed up over 4 years, I've been over the toilet ready to throw up).

4. Be tolerant of others

Nobody likes a vegetarian who preaches their beliefs onto others. As hard as it is to watch people devour meat in front of you, realize that what anybody else eats is their own business. When you refuse turkey being offered to you for the 26th time, just continue to say "no, thanks", and don't offer up your beliefs unless asked directly. If you're like most vegetarians, you don't preach your values onto others anyway--it's just a stereotypical expectation.

5. Find a response to judgmental questions

Everyone has a different reason for being a vegetarian. Whether it is an aversion to animal cruelty, a means to minimize environmental impact, or to maximize dietary healthiness, make sure you have a clear answer to give everyone who asks why you don't eat meat. Even if you don't care what they think, it is nice to get them off your chest for at least one aspect of your life (so they have more time to interrogate you about your relationship status and GPA instead).

Thanksgiving is a fantastic holiday to relax and be grateful for your life and spend quality time with friends and family, so don't let something as trivial as what food is being put on the table ruin your holiday.