If you’ve read about my new fiancé Colin eating duck feet and pig tails in China, you may be shocked to learn that his family is vegan!
For maximal heart health, Colin’s parents, Diane and Estes, follow the Doctor Esselstyn Diet: no meats, fish, eggs, oil (even olive oil), processed grains, milk products, or avocados, and very limited sugars and salt.
You may be gasping now, especially if you are a meat-and-oil-loving American, but here’s what’s amazing: the food Diane creates with this diet is DELICIOUS!
I had the pleasure this week of flying to Cleveland to spend my first vegan Thanksgiving with Colin’s family. And it was yummy!
Feast your eyes now on these photos of the many dishes we sampled last night. There was no turkey (and in fact no meat, oil, or processed grains), but I felt oh so full and satisfied after stuffing my face with the deliciousness lining the table. Come, join us!
An amazing aspect of getting engaged and married is you gain a whole extra family group. How happy I am to be able to experience this. Thanks, Diane and Estes, for a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Readers, if you’re interested in talking healthy eating with Diane, click here for her Facebook page!

The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!
Agness
Sunday 27th of October 2013
I used to be vegetarian for more than 7 months but I gave it up when I started my journey around China and then SE Asia. I don't eat much meat, but veganism has always sounded a bit extreme to me, although I love fruits and veggies. Wow, that was a proper Thanksgiving feast! The food looks so good. I can see my favourite sweet potatoes there :).
Oriana Hairston
Friday 23rd of March 2012
The only thing that caught my eyes were the brownies.
Shane Lake
Friday 2nd of March 2012
Did you like this more than a regular Thanksgiving?
Chavonna Xu
Tuesday 14th of February 2012
The food look so yummy. I could never imagine a Thanksgiving dinner without the turkey. I thought that the turkey was the main entrée. But I got to admit it does look really good, not that good to not eat it.
Liam
Monday 30th of January 2012
This sounds very hard! I could not go a week without eating chicken.