A Vegan July 4th Work Lunch 2022

We had a July 4th feast at work! And they offered some vegan items. Free food!

This work lunch included Lay's Barbecue chips, Lay's Classic chips, a bag of popcorn, and a Dr Pepper. I enjoyed this so much I went back for more during my 15 minute break.

Some people would think of this as a disappointing lunch, since the others got to enjoy a fried chicken feast with several side dishes. I grew up poor. I see this as a really good free lunch. I'm grateful for what I get in this world. I think everyone would be happier if we all focused more on the good things in life.

At work I choose not to tell anyone that I eat only plant material. This just avoids conflict and misunderstandings. I would like to avoid having people go out of their way to get something special just for me, not only because I don't want to take the fun out of their celebrations, but also because they'd get their feelings hurt if they got something they think is vegan but is not. Also I want to avoid having people bring in their own assumptions about vegans and apply them to me. They may have known a very judgemental, outspoken, angry vegan who offended or scared them, and I am completely not like that.

Vegan Fourth of July Cookout 2019

If you were looking for some good vegan options for your Fourth of July cookout, you can try what my family had. We made veggie kabobs. I also roasted some Brussels sprouts and shared a bowl of pre-sliced watermelon from Publix.

The kabobs included baby portabella mushrooms, onion, zucchini, red bell pepper, basil leaves, and home-grown cherry tomatoes. If you do this on the grill remember you should leave the lid off the grill when cooking veggies. You want the heat but not so much of the smoke. It's very easy to overdo the smoke on veggies.

My favorite part was the Brussels sprouts. I made these by quartering large raw sprouts and roasting them in hemp oil with a light sprinkle of Adobo seasoning. Excellent! The outer leaves got crunchy and delicious. This was as tasty as eating a bowl of potato chips! I almost ate all of them while the others where cooking.

Later I had some watermelon chunks. I kept these cool in the refrigerator. This is a really refreshing way to cool off in the summer heat.