Not all Thanksgiving meals are what you would call “traditional.” Many people these days follow special diets, and therefore, Thanksgiving dinner is not what you would expect. Many people of different ethnicities may also add dishes traditional to them during the Thanksgiving meal. America is known as the melting pot so the Thanksgiving meal can be whatever you make it.

Your Thanksgiving can even be vegetarian. There are many great vegetarian foods these days that can be incorporated into your meal. Many vegetarian foods are made with vegetables and nuts but made to look and taste like meat and dairy.

“Our turkey is vegetarian turkey cutlets from the store or nut loaf which is basically meatloaf,” Madeline Canada says, “but made with a variety of nuts and vegetables.”

Different ethnicities are known to incorporate recipes passed down from generation to generation. African Americans are known to make foods that their ancestors have been making for generations at Thanksgiving.

“My family usually will make macaroni and cheese and cornbread with Thanksgiving dinner as well as sweet potato pie.” Jennifer Granger says, “These are dishes I’ve had every year at Thanksgiving.”

Many other ethnicities like Italian Americans will also incorporate traditional dishes into their meal. If you are Italian you might include a pasta dish with your meal. If you are Latino, you might include tamales with your Thanksgiving.

“We always have tamales and pozole at Thanksgiving,” Kayla Gaddini says. “That is our traditional meal along with turkey.”

Thanksgiving is whatever you make it. It’s about family and coming together to reconnect. Families travel from far and wide to see each other and sit down around the table and celebrate. So whatever you may eat, whether it’s turkey or pasta or nut loaf, this is your tradition. Thanksgiving is about coming together and the food is just one part of it. It’s time to celebrate what we are thankful for.