Trending Dietary Preferences You Could Be Hosting At Thanksgiving

"I don't eat vegetables, I'm a meat eater." Okay, and chances are that if you're not eating any of the other foods groups, you're probably lacking in vitamins and minerals, have some serious cholesterol issues, and are also missing out on, ahem, fiber, as noted by Healthline. But hey! If it works for you, it works for you. Individuals who follow a 100% meat-based diet refrain from carbs of any kind and also refuse to eat anything that grew out of the earth. Followers of this diet consume zero carbs and prefer fattier cuts of animal protein: beef, lamb, fish, eggs, poultry, and offal. They're also good with lard, butter, bone marrow, salt and pepper, ghee, bone broth, and sauces or gravies that are, you guessed it, made with meat drippings. No binders, like flour, shall pass their lips.

Carnivores will probably poo-poo anything other than a meaty dish at your turkey day celebration, so if you don't have anything specially made for them, then they'll just eat turkey. But, if you want to be in their good graces, you can also offer another protein like balsamic pork loin or prime rib.

Here is where the dietary fun begins. Pescatarians aren't going to indulge in your turkey shenanigans, and you can expect that they'll most likely pass on the gravy (unless it's mushroom-based). That's because these peeps are pretty much plant-based, like vegetarians, but they're also okay with eating fish and ocean-dwelling critters, via Healthline. So your grandma's award-winning mashed potatoes with butter will be warmly received by these fishy folk. If you're serving up an old-school traditional Thanksgiving meal (as in the first Thanksgiving), then you're going to be safe with pescatarians. That's because seafood of all forms played a substantial role in the OG Turkey Day, writes History.

If you really want to impress your fish-eating vegetarian friends, you can always opt for the tasty, tomato-based seafood stew called cioppino. Make sure to serve it with some seriously crusty bread so that they can sop up that flavor. Not feeling the soup? Then break out the nostalgic childhood favorite mac and cheese, but with a twist. Make it lobster mac and cheese. Once everyone's tried this, they'll refuse to believe that seafood and cheese are not a cohesive foodie union.

People who follow a lacto-vegetarian diet are a peculiar breed of plant-based individuals. They love cheese and dairy just as much as they love animals, so it goes without saying that no animal-based protein will ever cross their lips and land in their stomachs, per Healthline. While no meat, fowl, fish, sea bugs, mighty mollusks, or eggs will ever find their way onto a lacto-vegetarian's dinner plate, you can be sure that they won't be upset if you present them with a seriously monstrous cheese plate. However, as magical and delicious as queso is, handing a lacto-vegetarian a brick of Wisconsin's finest cheddar and hoping they'll be satisfied isn't really going to cut it. Cheese on its own isn't a meal. (Or is it?)

If you want to stick to a traditional Thanksgiving menu and make a hearty, homestyle dish that everyone at the table will enjoy (and that might make the lacto-vegetarian your new BFF), try baking up cheesy scalloped potatoes. It's a relatively easy dish to make from scratch, so don't head down to your local supermarket and pick it up in boxed form. If you don't feel like taters will do the trick, present your dinner guests with some butternut squash stuffed shells. It's like a reimagined version of macaroni and cheese, but for adults.

Should a lacto-ovo-vegetarian cruise into your dining room on Thanksgiving, there's no reason to fear. As their dietary title suggests, these vegetarians will pretty much eat anything as long as it didn't have a face, per Medical News Today. A lacto-ovo-vegetarian is the most common type of plant-based food follower, indulges in dairy, and isn't afraid of anything with eggs. In terms of food offerings, they're probably just as easy to cook for as flexitarians. They shouldn't fuss about the fowl front and center, and are just happy to be there.

Lacto-ovo veggie-vibing peeps love variety, so don't just make something boring and basic. These individuals would be thoroughly impressed if you showed them your thoughtful and creative side by building little sparkling cranberry brie bites as a pre-dinner snack. If you really want to leave a lasting impression (and show off your mad crafting skills), then perhaps it's time to bring forth a three-cheese pumpkin cheese ball. It might take some time to make (the magical cheese gourd needs to live in the fridge for a minimum of four hours, so it can keep its shape), but the payoff is well worth the wait. Because who can say no to an edible art piece that looks like a baby pumpkin?

Don't be afraid of a raw foodist. They shouldn't give you too much grief about the fact that they won't touch anything that's reached a temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit or more, notes Medical News Today. These particular individuals live off of raw, unprocessed foods and utilize different methods of food preparation, like juicing, dehydrating (as long as it hasn't exceeded that 118-degree "cooking" temperature), blending, soaking, and germinating. Raw foodists are also down for eating raw seeds and nuts. So contrary to popular belief, raw foodists don't just live off of ethically sourced salads, and they might feel let down if you present them with a simple crudités platter or a basic green salad as an option.

Instead, to make friends with your new raw foodist friend (or friends), try to elevate the basic boring green salad into something more decadent and filling — something that everyone would want to eat. A shaved brussels sprouts salad made with dates and a simple vinaigrette is a nice and healthy dinner addition. Cheese can be omitted for the raw foodist. Don't want to be like every other person who's met a raw foodist and makes a salad? More power to you. Try this marinated zoodle dish. No mouth will be unhappy.

This is not a vegan that enjoys ostrich, though the name would seem to suggest it. On the contrary, feathered food of any kind is off limits to these individuals. An ostrovegan, also known as a bivalvegan (which sounds more like a plant-based butter substitute than a food trend), is a vegan, so they abstain from any animal-based foods. That means no dairy, eggs, meat, poultry, pork, or seafood. Kind of. Ostrovegans follow a 100% vegan diet, but think that shellfish are completely okay to eat. This is because bivalves like mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops lack the central nervous system that most every living animal on the planet has, notes I Am Going Vegan. No central nervous system means no pain receptors. Allegedly. If you're wondering where the name "ostrovegan" comes from, "ostro" is latin for "oyster." The more you know.

Because this diet isn't always so great for people with food allergies (according to FARE, 2% of the U.S. population is allergic to shellfish), you might run into a few hiccups in terms of finding a bivalvegan-friendly dish that everyone at the table will enjoy. However, assuming any people with shellfish allergies know to stay away from certain dishes, deep-fried clam strips should be a winner. If you want something that looks a bit more dazzling on the plate and adds a bit of pow to your palate, this Cajun scallop pasta recipe is sure to do just that.

This is the newest class of vegan to break onto the scene, and wow. As the name suggests, these are just your normal, everyday plant-based foodies — but their main protein source might shock you a wee bit. Out of most of the "vegan" diets, the entovegan is probably the most sustainable in terms of protein consumption. That's because they eat insects. Lucky for them, there's no shortage of their chosen protein source. That's because for every human, there's estimated to be 200 million creepy crawlers, notes the Smithsonian. That equates to roughly 300 pounds of bug-based protein per person. Mmm. Because nothing says "yum" like a fried-up cricket cake.

Thanksgiving wouldn't go over too well if you placed a bug-based dish out next to your cousin's family-favorite ambrosia salad, which is why an entovegan would appreciate a nice, sweet baked apple dessert. After all, insects and produce kind of go hand in hand. If your savory dishes are almost outnumbered by a countless number of pies, perhaps a rich, comforting butternut squash soup is the way to go. And if there's a pesky fly hanging around and it happens to somehow land in your entovegan guest's bowl of soup, you know they won't be too bothered by it.

Also known as the hunter-gatherer diet, those who follow a paleo lifestyle base their food choices off of what our great, great, great, great, great, great, great etc. ancestors ate (after they discovered fire). That means organic, grass-fed meats, wild-caught seafood and fowl, eggs, nuts and seeds, fresh fruits and veggies, and healthy oils like avocado oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil, and coconut oil, as well as lard, per Paleo Comfort Foods. What they're not okay with is grains, legumes, and dairy, as noted by Cleveland Clinic. So that means they'll unfortunately have to miss out on that decadent peanut butter pie you made.

Since they have a pretty varied diet, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a dish that's suitable for everyone at the table. People may have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to kale salads, but if you present this hearty kale salad with roasted parsnips and cauliflower, your guests might become kale believers. Not into the kale? Since bacon makes everything better, offer some bacon-roasted root vegetables and watch them magically vanish before your eyes. Bacon equals happiness. (Or just add bacon to that kale salad and see how it goes.)

If you find yourself sharing space with a follower of the fruitarian way, good luck. This is a highly restrictive diet, notes Healthline. While some fruit-loving individuals will eat vegetables, nuts, and seeds in moderation, their main source of nutrition comes from fruit. Fruitarians are pretty much all fruit, all day, every day. Some of these persons actually refuse to eat foods that have to be picked, and will only nosh down on produce that's naturally fallen from trees. Others won't even consider eating seeds because they have the potential to grow into a living organism. In a nutshell, fruitarians are hardcore. 

Unfortunately, there's not too much you can do with a diet consisting of just fruit (besides a fruit salad). So should a fruitarian take a place at your table, your creative chops are going to be put to the test. Lucky for you, a lot of what most people consider to be vegetables are actually fruits from a botanical standpoint, per Business Insider. And as luck would have it, avocados, cucumbers, and tomatoes are all actually fruits, so making a nutrient-rich avocado salad with the three is a perfect option. Another tasty side to consider would be a tomato and corn salad, but hold the shallots and feta for the fruitarian. If you really want to impress your fruit-loving friend, offer up a refreshing aguas frescas along with your food item. They'll feel the love, and that in itself is something to be grateful for.