Breakfast... Something vegan for everyone

When my grandparents retired in the 1970's they decided to move to southern Mexico, because they loved the culture, the scenery, and the food. In this country we are rediscovering the concept of the farmers market. In many countries that is the only kind of market!!!! Many of my fondest childhood memories were visiting them in the summertime and being immersed in another culture with a different language. It was scary yet very exciting at the same time. I learned so much watching my grandmother move through the never ending vegetable market that had so much variety that I could barely comprehend it!
I am so happy that we have been able to take our kids out of the country!!! The resorts are not the best place to be immersed in a culture, but they do offer some similar experiences, culture shock experiences that stick with you. We rented a car on this trip and were able to get off the beaten path and see the how people really live here. Poverty is something that Americans do not see very often. I will tell more of the stories of shopping in a later post.
Carter's favorite food in Mexico is Zucaritas, Frosted Flakes, or as Carter called them when he was little "Tiger Flakes". I think that Zucaritas translates to little sugars, which is pretty accurate!!! The exciting discovery this year was that the resort had Leche de Soya ---- Yeah!!! Soy Milk!!! This was very exciting because it made cereal an option for the kids, and it made the coffee much more enjoyable. Finding soy milk has always been a bit of a challenge so the last few trips we have brought it in our luggage along side our snorkeling gear.
Addison prefers the Coco Krispies!!!
Generally the morning routine is for me to get up fairly early with the kids and take them to breakfast while Nikki prepped the beach bag and equipment needed for the day. The breakfast reminds me so much of spending time with my grandparents. They would get up early and have coffee, rolls and fresh fruits every morning. I would get up with them and enjoy fresh tortillas and avocados, or rolls and hot chocolate. I also remember eating fruit the was sweeter than candy but so refreshing.
Addison ate quite a bit of fresh fruit while we were there, they had wonderful melons, mangos, bananas, and the pineapple was outstanding.
There were always hash browns, fresh tortillas, salsas, a wide variety of nuts and dried fruits. They also had fresh orange juice, grapefruit, pineapple, tomato, and a made to order juice bar.
We found plenty of options that were vegan and tasty, this only represents a small portion of the offerings, and the non vegan stuff did not bother me as much as it has in the past. In the past I have found being around buffet environments has really stressed me out because I used to "miss" some of the things being offered. As I have shifted into being a vegan, I have found that I miss those things less and less. I now revel in all of the things that I can have and relish the opportunity to eat without the guilt that I used to feel. Becoming vegan has been a process that has taken considerably longer than I realized. I feel like in some ways this trip represented the final shift for me, I am comfortable with my choices, and I am proud to be part of a family that shares in this common held set of beliefs. I used to think that I was making sacrifices, but now I feel that I make deliberate choices that reflect an important set of beliefs.
The picture below was taken with my phone so it is not super clear, but this is pretty typical of my morning breakfast. Fresh tortillas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, fruit, and nuts. I also had coffee, and orange juice. I promise that I did not have the hash browns every morning!!!