Yeah, but what do you eat with your family?

So the question I get asked the most as a Vegan is "what do you eat?" I get asked this question in varying forms: what do you eat for breakfast, what do you eat as snacks, what do you eat at a BBQ, what do you eat on Easter? So I thought I would answer the question that seems to bother people the most: What do you eat with your family (as in extended family). Right now, my extended family in the area is just my mom and dad. They are super supportive of our food choices, so they are pretty much willing to go along with whatever I choose to cook for us.

I anticipate having a little bit more of a problem with other extended family members, and I am sure you will see a post after Memorial Day weekend about eating in mixed company. But since I haven't really had to cross that bridge with my family, I guess I don't have an answer. I can tell you that in preparation for Memorial Day weekend, I am doing things I normally wouldn't do like buying fake meat hot dogs and vegan marshmallows so that my kids don't feel left out. They said they don't care and don't want those things, but I want to have them on stand by just in case in the moment they change their minds.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Over the weekend we hung out at my parents' house. Robert changed the oil on the cars, the kids swam. I decided to have a BBQ with the family. Crazy vegan says what? How do you have a barbecue in Texas without meat?

Here is our menu:
Potatoes and onions
Mixed squash (yellow squash, pattipan squash, zucchini)
Corn
Green Beans
Kidney Beans
Guacamole
Chips
Sliced radishes
Fruit Salad (pineapple, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, cantaloupe)

As you can see, we grilled the potatoes, squash, and corn. It was terrific. The best part is that it doesn't require any additional butter or oil. It is absolutely delicious.

In fact, everyone really enjoyed the meal. My dad said he was super full, and he thought he should have eaten less! We even got to make the meal a family affair with little Mae helping in its preparation:

Mashing avocados is her very favorite thing! So I guess the answer to the question is that we sure don't go hungry!