Thanksgiving can be a tough time for people who don’t eat poultry, especially when their relatives are enthusiastic meat eaters. No doubt plenty of vegans are sitting down to a family meal that disgusts them, and families aren’t always as sympathetic as they should be since many devoted meat eaters still can’t understand how anyone can survive on a diet devoid of animal flesh.

The compassionate host will have plenty of veggie side dishes at the table to bridge the schism. Vegetarians, have you seen this delightful Adopt-a-Turkey website that hooks up happy turkeys with foster families for a fee? Check it out.

Here’s an article with the whole quandary in reverse: Beliefnet editor Alana Kornfeld writes about how she used to decorate the Thanksgiving Turkey Squash at her parents macrobiotic holiday suppers. Apparently, Alana chooses to eat some poultry now, but she has fond memories of her family’s meat-free holiday suppers.

Whatever you eat this weekend and in the coming weeks, enjoy it! If you keep up with your always-healthy consumption of eight glasses of water daily, you won’t overeat. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! (By the way, I’m taking an at-home vacation next week, and Beliefnet.com’s spirituality editor Valerie Reiss is going to be substituting.)