Vegan guests dilemma - what would you do?

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The DC could do with a bit of a distraction, so I've told them that I'll invite a few of our family friends over for a play and then they can stay for a casual supper and board games. The kids are thrilled, and I'm just about to text people.

The fridge and cupboards are still groaning with food from Christmas, so it's easy enough to sling a nice buffet on the table (massive cheeseboard, various canape things, quiche, potato salad, coleslaw, pates etc.) The issue is that I've just remembered that one of the families is vegan.

We're actually a vegetarian family, so it shouldn't be too hard, but now I'm looking at what they can actually eat, I don't think we can cater for them adequately. I mean, we've got a bag of salad, and I think the crisps are ok, and we've got olives - but that's not supper, is it? I've neither the fridge space, time, money (nor, honestly, the inclination) to go out and buy/make additional vegan stuff.

Choices are:

a) Leave vegan family out (feels mean)

b) invite vegan family but explain that we have limited vegan stuff in and they may want to bring something to supplement it (feels rude)

c) Invite vegan family and hope that they don't mind only eating crisps and olives (feels inhospitable)

What would you do?

Is there an Indian restaurant nearby who could deliver some vegan daal dishes or anything similar maybe?

Almost definitely, but I'm absolutely not doing this! This was supposed to be hassle free and low key

We've got some Kingsmill sliced bread in the freezer (feels a bit of a sorry offering, but needs must) as the stuff in the breadbin at the moment is glazed with something.

Umm, if you have invited these people as a distraction for your kids you need to go to a teeny bit of effort. Ok, not an expensive banquet, but bunging some baked spuds in the oven to have with your various salads isn’t expensive or hasslesome, and the vegans can have theirs with baked beans. Or just chop an onion, tinned toms, tinned kidney beans etc for a quick vegan chilli sauce.

Or chop potatoes and make dry chips / potato wedges, buy a jar of salsa, have with green salad.

Get a baguette / French stick in from nearest shop that does them?

Also if you have a bag of couscous in, do that? Any veg or even dried fruit and nuts could be added.

Can you make a big spicy lentil and veg soup?
Or roast some peppers and squash if you have some veg in the fridge?
If you have a tin of chickpeas, some tahini or sesame oil and garlic puree you can make a humous dip.

Got any vegan marge? If so, you could make garlic bread with the Kingsmill (alternatively, you can make garlic bread using olive oil and garlic). Any cheese biscuits that are vegan? You could knock up some dips to go with them.

B. Or ask everyone to bring and share.

got any bought pastry in as long as it isn't advertised as all butter that's usually vegan. You could make up a quick tart

Onion, red pepper, garlic, tinned tomatoes, green lentils, kidney beans = vegan chilli - serve with rice or jacket potatoes.

Quick and easy, storecupboard ingredients...

It’s a bit shit, isn’t it? It’s astonishing how little unprocessed / non raw food is vegan...

Humus or tinned beans/chick peas in a salad.
Either give vegans first option or make plenty
I went to a funeral where food was labelled vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous. The bloody meat eaters eat all the falafel

Ololmat ‘store,cupboard ingreients’ - I don’t have any of those!

Do you have any houmous, breadsticks or something? Salsa for the crisps? I would just mention to them what you do have that they can eat so they can decide themselves whether to bring additional options. :)

Get some nice bread and vegan spread, bread goes very well with salad and olives, you can also get vegan "meat" slices in any supermarket.
Ot ask your vegan chum to bring those things with her if you don't fancy going out.
When I was vegan I'd often bring stuff to a party with me.
Bloody sick of all this gluten free nonsense for people who don't have coeliac disease though.

Ok, we've got:

Hummus
Crisps
Olives
Baguette
Salad
Carrot sticks
Pakoras
Penne with tomato sauce

Is that ok, do you think?

Got tins of chickpeas? Make a Hummus dip. Serve with carrots/peppers etc and the crisps and olives and salad.

Peanut butter or jam or marmite Sandwiches with the loaf.

The non-vegan kids can eat the rest.

That’ll do

Might be a good idea to have a separate area where the vegan food is saved for that family as other people eat the vegan food up. Tell them you have xyz.

If you want a minimum effort buffet and they know that’s what they’re getting, I’m sure that’ll be fine.

That’ll do
Yeah, I feel a bit bad that it's a rubbish offering compared to the rest of us, but at this stage I'm either going to clean the loos and try and make the house look a bit less like a bombsite or piss around with making a tomato tart and I think I'd be more shamed by slovenliness than unimaginative catering for vegans.

I would tell the vegans what you have and say they're welcome to bring something extra if they would like to.

No need to tell everyone else to bring food when there's plenty for the non-vegans.

Just tell them, then they can bring stuff. If they’re good enough friends to have over then they’re good enough friends to understand vegan food dilemmas. Pasta, tomato saice and salad and dippy stuff is fine and sounds really nice, not every meal has to be a feast even at this time of year. But i’d still tell them in case they want to bring any vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast for the top of their pasta or summat.

Can you get a couple of packs of falafels locally? You can freeze them if they don't get eaten and it will make the offering a little more substantial.

Don't forget if your pasta has egg in it (most do) then it's not vegan.

Thats a fine vegan buffet. Have fun.