Oh, to be vegetarian on Thanksgiving — no, seriously. To the uninitiated, the prospects seem analogous to being celibate on Valentine’s Day or sober on St. Patrick’s. And truth be told, until about five years ago that was a fair assessment. While the rest of the family gorged themselves into a tryptophan-induced stupor, the lone family vegetarian would be relegated to picking through whatever scraps of limp vegetables didn’t happen to come in contact with the turkey.

But to a new generation of vegetarians and vegans comes a new generation of holiday-friendly foods and resources, and surprise: they’re actually quite good. Whatever your reasons for eschewing the bird, help is at hand.

Take "Tofurky," for instance, which, as its unfortunate name implies, is a tofu-based imitation turkey, filled with bread stuffing. Shaw’s Supermarkets sells the Tofurky Roast ($11.99), which serves six. Whole Foods Market offers "The Small UnTurkey Feast" ($19.99), a stuffed roast similar to Tofurky, but made from wheat gluten, and accompanied by vegetarian gravy.

What would Thanksgiving be without the leftovers? Hot sliced-turkey sandwiches often taste better than the Thanksgiving dinner itself, and the Harvest Co-op has you covered. Tofurky Deli Slices ($1.69) are available in original, peppered, and hickory-smoked flavors. Top it off with some Knudsen 100% Natural Cranberry Sauce ($1.99) and some Hain Pure Foods Vegetarian Gravy, available in "brown" and "chicken" (89 cents), and you’re in business.

If you’re pressed for time — or just weirded out by the idea of fake turkey — Whole Foods also serves up a freshly prepared Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner ($16.99/person), including a vegan "field roast," along with sides of soup, sweet potatoes, and spinach.

If you’re in the mood to do the cooking yourself, head over to Barnes & Noble and pick up a copy of Vegetarian Times Complete Thanksgiving Cookbook (Hungry Minds, 1998; $21). Even non-vegetarians would have a hard time not salivating over shiitake pie with polenta crust, cranberry-port relish, herb-and-walnut ravioli, and baked stuffed onions. There’s even a vegan pumpkin pie for dessert.

Speaking of dessert, Whole Foods offers its own vegan pies ($5.99 and $10.99) in pumpkin, cherry-blackberry, and apple-cranberry-currant varieties. And don’t forget to wash it all down with the Harvest Co-op’s White Wave Silk Soynog ($2.29).

Sure, you’ll still catch hell from your Uncle Bud for having such "weird" eating habits, but at least it will taste good.

Whole Foods Market, 15 Westland Avenue, Boston, (617) 375-1010; Harvest Co-op, 57 South Street, Jamaica Plain, (617) 524-1667; Shaw’s Supermarkets, various locations; Barnes & Noble, various locations.