“Start making a little room for compassion at your table,” said Chef Linda Soper-Colton, Director of Compassionate Cuisine, Catskills Animal Sanctuary

Thanksgiving dinner is fun, but also challenging when guests have dietary restrictions. There are ways to accommodate them.

“So stuffing is often made with chicken broth. By swapping vegetable broth for butter or olive oil, you can sort out your onions and celery with olive oil,” Chef Linda Soper-Colton, director of compassionate cuisine, said.

Due to her love of animals, Soper-Colton switched to a vegan diet nearly two decades ago. She teaches plant-based cooking classes at Catskill Animal Sanctuary, a refuge for farm animals.

“I realized that there is really no difference between my pets and cows or pigs,” she said. “All animals feel pain. They all feel fear.”

Vegans and vegetarians account for approximately six percent of the U.S. population, according to the vegetarian resource group.

“You know, start making a little room for compassion at your table,” Soper-Colton said.

A Thanksgiving dinner without meat or poultry products may seem odd to some, but a few simple ingredient swaps can and will give some dishes a more inclusive feel.

Tours of the sanctuary are available throughout the year, and visitors are welcome to meet the animals.

“We do family tours, private tours and public tours,” Soper-Colton said. “This helps people connect and understand that these are not, like, food but friends, and they are loved and protected.”  >>VIDEO