Vegetarians beware as you head home for the holidays this year to visit friends and family. Though you may encounter an intimidating turkey or two, the typical holiday meat substitutes may be just as unsavory to your health.

You may need to sit down and talk turkey with your loved ones, which might shake up tradition a little bit. It can be hard to break it to the folks that you won’t be joining them in this year’s turkey dinner, and for Celiacs it can be even harder to tell them that they can’t just throw a Tofurky in the oven to make up for it.

And here’s why: wheat gluten is the main ingredient in a Torfurky roast. In fact, many of the meat substitutes you’ll find in the markets are based on wheat protein derivatives or embellished with gluten containing seasonings.

Knowing that, the options for a gluten-free vegetarian may seem limited, especially around family traditions.

I recommend a special holiday tempeh or beans dish over any kind of artificial meat — I’m not a huge fan of tofu because of its poor production methods and minimal digestibility.

However, it does offer an option for the rare holiday occasion. You can make a “turkey” out of a few pounds of firm tofu, using arrowroot powder to make it more solid and yeast flakes and other spices to season it. Form it into a ball just like the way a Tofurky comes out of its packaging — my veggie friends swear it’s delicious! Try serving it with some miso soup or cultured vegetables, both rich in beneficial bacteria, which will help your body break it down… a tasty compromise that won’t wreak havoc on your intestines the way a Tofurky does.

Happy holidays!