It was 33 years ago, and my mom, sister, and I were new vegans. Since cooking was one of the ways Grandma showed her love β as many grandmothers do β she was not happy about this turn of events at all. Well, it took a few years, but Grandma finally softened up. One day, out of the blue, she called me and said she wanted to make me an apple pie.
I nearly dropped the phone. But on this day, Grandma asked me to go get all my ingredients and bring them over. That I did, along with some vegan ice cream, and we spent the afternoon together in her kitchen while she made me a vegan, whole wheat crust, organic apple pie from scratch. When I finally got to taste it, I realized that Grandma had substituted the same amount of maple syrup for white table sugar, so the pie was way too sweet.
But I just smiled and said it was delicious. That afternoon with my grandma 30 years ago let me know that food could still bring us together.
That our food traditions could include veganizing family favorites and that our bonds of love and family could still be nourished and cherished. In fact, when my mom went down south to visit her older sisters during those early vegan years, they just took her greens out of the pot before they added the meat, and kept it moving.
Your relatives just might surprise you! Food traditions are always evolving, anyway, as new generations put their twists on family recipes. And as more and more people go vegan to live longer, healthier lives, the health legacies of entire families can change for the better. You just might be that spark for your family.
