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!
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Agness says
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 says
The only thing that caught my eyes were the brownies.
Shane Lake says
Did you like this more than a regular Thanksgiving?
Chavonna Xu says
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 says
This sounds very hard! I could not go a week without eating chicken.
Jack F says
WOW!!! I could never be a vegan. I can’t go two weeks without a hamburger!
Abby Murphy says
WOW!!!! I don’t think I could go Vegan. That would be way too hard for me because I absolutely love to eat meat!
The brownie sure does look good though!
Raymond Wu says
I can tell that Colin’s mother is a great chef based on the photo of the brownie. Is it different than a regular brownie?
Lillie says
It actually tasted better than a normal brownie because you don’t feel unhealthy!
Jackie Phung says
Yum! The food looks so delicious, even though there’s no meat in it. I can’t imagine me going vegetarian for a day. It’s too hard to avoid meat.
Koraliz says
It looks good and yummy. That’s so cute!!! The man in the wheelchair is adorable. :)
Triston says
That is very suprising that you didn’t have turkey. We usually have turkey on Thanksgiving day. The food up there looks so good.
Emily says
Wow! Every year I experience Thanksgiving with around four turkeys on the table. So when i read you had no meat at all my jaw dropped.I would have to say that a lot of the food Diane cooked looked delicious!
Kelly says
Wow, I’m surprised it was so delicious, I can’t even think of thanksgiving with my family with no meat at all. The food your future mother in law prepared looked really good to especially the brownie!
Branajha Rembert says
The food does look delicious but are you sure you didn’t pretend to enjoy your first vegan thanksgiving. I don’t think that I could have survived without meat or something oily in my stomach ( you know being a straight-up Bostonian). I don’t think that I couldn’t have survived off of just tofu (even though I love miso soup) and stuffing casserole or potatoes. Well, at least there was BROWNIES.
P.S. Is that your husband’s ?twin brother? they kinda look alike maybe it’s just me. LOL
Lillie says
Truly, it was scrumptious! And no, they’re not twins ::
Tess O'Brien says
That looks like a really big plate. Did you really eat everything on it and have seconds? You must have been so full!
Lillie says
Yes and yes! I am very good at eating :)
Tess O'Brien says
wow! Some of this stuff looks really good even though there is no meat. The dish that looks the best is the brownie.
Fiona Phie says
This reminds me of Tofu… Now i’m hungry… :”(
jun hao says
To me the yams look like meat. Not any meat raw meat like Japanese salmon sushi. I thought it all was meaty at the first sight of the picture.
Qiyin Y says
The food is similar to Chinese Cuisine and I want to try the tofu since I love tofu!! These foods are so healthy! :D I like healthy, organic and free-range food and these dishes are what my dreams are like!
Elizabeth Do says
I could not imagine being a vegan. I like eating my meat and drinking milk. But the food you described looks good. I never thought you could make so many foods without using animal products. A lot of vegans substitute dairy milk for soy. Why don’t they use almond milk?
Fiona Phie says
Some vegans do use almond milk and rice milk
Joseph McAdams says
That is amazing! I could not imagine eating that food before you described it. Now it makes me want to be a vegan if I can have all of the food that I have now If I could be healthier. i bet if you put one of the brownies on my plate I would not be able to tell the difference if you never told me. I do not think that I would like the potatoes though.
Jeff says
Your blog & photos make me immediately nostalgic for Cleveland & the Turners. I confess a love for meat (turkey, not pigs feet), but Diane is my favorite vegan cook! Wish I could have been there to share this gourmet feast.
Sarah says
Oh my gosh this warms my heart!
Although I’m not one for labels, I eat mostly vegan and absolutely love cooking for the bigger meals like Christmas and Thanksgiving! for my meat-based pals and family. I’m so happy that you enjoyed a veganized Thanksgiving!
Brenda O'Toole says
Diane lives by her word…the pictures are proof ! What a wonderful tribute to Diane and her family!
Estes Turner says
The brownies WERE moist, light and very tasty!!
Bronwen says
Things look tasty, but weren’t the potatoes horrible? You release the starch and turn them into a gummy paste in the food processor! Don’t do it!
Lillie says
No, they were amazing!! The consistency was phenomenal.
Mary Zaller says
I’ve had the pleasure of eating Diane’s DELISH food many times and it is always SO good~! And the best part is that I always feel SO good afterwards! Thanks for posting these gorgeous photos!
Lillie says
Yes! I felt full and satisfied, but also healthy!