Calling all veggie parents(and parents-to-be!)

[counting]

Hi,

A couple of us over in WTT had a discussion about how nice it was to get in contact with other vegetarians, especially those of us who are raising, or plan on raising vegetarian/vegan LO's. I decided to make this thread so anyone else out there can chime in, and we can all share advice and support when it comes to living a vegetarian lifestyle, and just raising our little veggies

To get things started here, I'm 23 years old, and I've been veggie for quite a few years now. I'm married to my lovely DH(omnivore), and we are planning on trying for our first child in a just a few months(I know my ticker says December, but we will actually be ditching the BCP for September ). We are both very adamant that we will be raising LO vegetarian. Just looking forward to the adventure, and hoping to find some ladies(or gentleman, I suppose if there are any of you hanging around here?) who are going through, or have gone through the same things.

Post away

 

[OmiOmen]

Well I became a vegetarian when I was about 3 years old and nope my parents are not veggies. However at 3 I was not reading labels and such so was not a strict veggie until about my pre-teens. My husband does not eat meat but does not always check labels for himself and our son is a vegetarian.

I am not a fan of Quorn myself but DH and DS eat it and today I made my son a king Quorn cocktail. It smelled and felt too much like real fish which made me feel a little sick but he liked it. I attempted to arrange it but they kept falling flat.

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[Gunnhilde]

Hi!

We were talking about this in the other thread. I've wanted to switch LO to veggie, but I'm having such trouble getting her to actually eat vegetables or most fruits for that matter. Right now DD will eat soy, potatoes, pureed green beans and peas, strawberries, grapes, bananas, and any light colored fruit in fruit juice (those horrid little prepared cups). She won't eat apples, oranges, or anything else despite the way it has been presented (peanut butter, snuck in, cooked, raw, etc.).

I'm going to try using the ranch that was suggested, although I don't think I've ever even bought ranch. I guess I'll try and find something that looks healthy in the supermarket.

Any other ideas?

 

[counting]

Welcome over Omiomen! It's very neat that you went veggie yourself at such a young age! I was off and on veggie from a really young age, but I found it hard to be 100% before I could cook for myself.(parents were not anti veggie, but did not really support my efforts as they had 3 busy kids and figured it was a phase, lol) I think it's great you are raising your LO veggie.

No other ideas so far except for dipping or just sauces in general. If she likes some other kind of sauce, she might like veggies dipped in that.
Just a tip if you haven't bought ranch before, just check the ingredients really well( I think this is probably very obvious to other veggies though..LOL!) As some brands of ranch contain anchovy paste or gelatin. Obviously not all them though.

Another idea might be to get the little veggie shape cutters. You can get them in flower, star, animals and a bunch of other cute shapes- maybe if she helps to make her own veggie/fruit snacks by punching out the shapes of her favorite characters or something else neat herself, she might be more likely to eat whatever it is?

 

[Rachel_C]

I've been veggie since I was 10. OH doesn't eat pork (Muslim) but is a big fan of other meat so he eats meat at home. We have a nearly three year old and a 10.5 month old. My first daughter started off veggie but by the time she was 18 months, or maybe younger I don't remember, she was literally begging her dad to try his food. We did BLW and we've made a conscious effort to never make any food taboo so after a few weeks of her begging whenever she saw meat (and it really was begging, very sad to watch) I just said she could have it. I figured that she's probably more likely to turn veggie later on if it's not something I've made 'forbidden' and it didn't feel right to refuse. Our younger daughter is veggie so far but I guess I'd do the same again. OH and I both put forward our own opinions quite strongly when we differ so the girls will grow up knowing how we feel. I hope they'll make the right decision i.e. be veggie eventually. I do all the food shopping but I feel like I've been pandering to OH's preferences too much recently with meat at least four times a week. I think from now on I'm going to have us all eat fully veggie meals five days a week and he and my eldest can have meat twice a week. It's motivated by my preference for no meat but also cost!

 

[BabyBean14]

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[Feronia]

I've been vegetarian since the age of 14 and my husband turned vegetarian when we started dating at 15. We've both been completely vegan for about 5 years now, and we're planning on raising our child vegan as well.

I look forward to hearing any vegan perspectives on raising their children vegan!

 

[baskinps]

Veggie over here! I'll post more when i have free hands but just wanted to subscribe

 

[counting]

Yay, there are a bunch of us coming out of the woodwork here

Rachel, it must be hard having the conflicting dietary issues, I hope your children learn that being veggie is the best way, and decide to do so as they get older.

Kismet, I can totally understand that certain dietary issues can make being vegetarian or vegan more of a challenge. I know a lot of people have luck controlling IBS on a veggie diet, so I know you can do it!

Feronia- What are you doing for omegas during your pregnancy? I've been a little worried about supplements to take when I become pregnant with my LO.

I think once we have a LO, our biggest challenges won't be between my omni husband and myself, but probably his side of the family. DH has known since really soon after we met that being veggie is extremely important to me, and that as such I would be raising any children I had with the same values. He completely agreed, as he has lots of things that are important to him when we have a child, so so far we respect each others values well.

I'm a little scared that if his side of the family are caring for LO, that they will give him or her meat against our wishes. As a result I'm probably going to be really hesitant to let them care for LO when they are too young to understand being veg. I also feel a little bad that I wouldn't trust his family to not go against our wishes. Has anyone else had this issue/anticipate it? What did you guys do/ what will you do to deal with it?

 

[BabyBean14]

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[Rachel_C]

I think once we have a LO, our biggest challenges won't be between my omni husband and myself, but probably his side of the family. DH has known since really soon after we met that being veggie is extremely important to me, and that as such I would be raising any children I had with the same values. He completely agreed, as he has lots of things that are important to him when we have a child, so so far we respect each others values well.

I'm a little scared that if his side of the family are caring for LO, that they will give him or her meat against our wishes. As a result I'm probably going to be really hesitant to let them care for LO when they are too young to understand being veg. I also feel a little bad that I wouldn't trust his family to not go against our wishes. Has anyone else had this issue/anticipate it? What did you guys do/ what will you do to deal with it?

I was worried about this too. When I once mentioned that LO would be veggie (before weaning) MIL came out with "But God says it's ok to eat meat". I replied "But *I* say it's not" and stomped off. She did speak to OH a few times about it but he just ignored it I think. I wouldn't have trusted her not to give meat when babysitting but TBH I found that that was the least of my issues. If I wouldn't trust her not to give meat, which in the scale of things isn't that huge an issue really, I don't trust her to look after the kids at all. If they're not trustworthy it's not your fault, it's theirs. If they want to convince you they are trustworthy, they just have to show that they're respectful of your wishes, it's not something difficult to do. If you don't trust them you might just find it easier to delay leaving LO with them until LO can talk - that's only a couple of years

 

[venusinfurs]

Hi everyone, I was hoping there would be a thread for this on here! I'm 10 weeks pregnant today, vegan and planning to raise a vegan child for both health and ethical reasons (DH is omni) I haven't announced my pregnancy yet so am wondering are people really rude about it to pregnant women? I've had a couple people say to me (pre-pregnancy) that when I had a baby I wouldn't be vegan because it's 'selfish' (Don't even get me started on that! LOL)
DH asked my dr about pregnant vegans and she said she'd never dealt with one, but was fine with it because I 'seemed informed'. Hopefully everyone I come across is that understanding!

 

[Rachel_C]

Nobody ever even mentioned it to me. I think the midwife once asked if I was eating a good diet and ran through some 'healthy' things and mentioned meat so I said I don't eat meat and it was fine. I did, however, need iron towards the end of my pregnancy and had trouble getting tablets that were veggie but I spoke to a lovely pharmacist who helped me out. Everybody was great really.

 

[OmiOmen]

My son has no issues eating fruit and vegetables, they are his favourite foods. I guess with kids that do not love them something like a soya and vegetable shepards pie might work. Tomato or vegetable soup or pasta with tomato and vegetable sauce might work well too. Hummus is a great dip for vegetables and is of course chickpeas itself. Baked beans or coleslaw might be worth a try too. I am not sure if Quorn (also Linda Mccartney) is just a British brand or not but if they sell it that is great as not only is it high in protein but is made from mushrooms and there is a huge range to pick from.

My son asks for a pack of dried fruit when we go to the shops in the same way some kids ask for sweets. I think seeing us eat vegetables from an early age make him see it as normal but I know that I am lucky tat he is not fussy and seems to naturally like healthy food.

...I'm a little scared that if his side of the family are caring for LO, that they will give him or her meat against our wishes. As a result I'm probably going to be really hesitant to let them care for LO when they are too young to understand being veg...

My in-laws are really good at reading labels and stuff and respect our wishes but I would not trust my SIL to respect our wishes, she thinks not taking a child to McDonalds or not giving them sweets is child abuse.

...DH asked my dr about pregnant vegans and she said she'd never dealt with one, but was fine with it because I 'seemed informed'. Hopefully everyone I come across is that understanding!

I am vegetarian not vegan but I had no issues with the healthcare team when pregnant. My midwife said she liked dealing with veggies because they were a lot more aware about what they were eating.

 

[counting]

Kismet- I don't think you are wrong in assuming most people wont give your child meat if you ask them not to, especially considering you have strict dietary restrictions anyway, so they will be more used to it. Even my in laws, who I'm afraid will try and give meat, treat my dietary choices with respect, probably because I can say no, LOL! It's just I think they wont understand me raising LO veggie, and might undermine if I'm not there to police what they feed. I'm glad to hear your perspective Rachel and that someone else has been there, and I think you are right about waiting until they can talk.

venusinfurs, congratulations on your pregnancy! You must be so excited. Back when had first graduated from college, I was working in this office where all the (very catty) ladies used to berate me because someday if I get pregnant it was going to be sooooo unhealthy for the baby if I was veggie, and I would have to take all kinds of pills. Everyone thinks they are a doctor *eyeroll*. Honestly as long as you are informed, healthy and doing everything you should be doing, and your doctor is happy with your progression, I'd try not to worry. If someone pushed it, I'd ask them when they got their degree, because your doctor has one, and she has already told you being vegan is 100% healthy.

Omiomen- All I hope for is that my child will turn out loving vegetables, and thinking fruit is junk food like yours! Good job momma.

 

[veganmama]

hi everyone

ive been a vegan since i was 17, so 4 years now. had a vegan pregnancy, and still am vegan whilst breastfeeding. my husband, who is also vegan, and i will be raising our child/ren vegan =]

 

[T-Bex]

Hello, fellow veggie here, as is my little-un! Have been (this time) for about 2 years, and I was veggie from 10-19, so I had 3 years off during uni (I blame OH!), but I rediscovered it in my mummyhood, as I just couldn't deal with the idea of eating something else's baby anymore.

Allergies + veggie makes eating very hard, so my OH spends a lot of time making sure we all get a varied and balanced diet. I don't eat any animals (obvious for a veggie ), and I'm allergic to all nuts, eggs, haricot beans, kidney beans (etc), and marmite. Veggie + allergies does make things harder, but totally do-able

Oh, and on being told veggie can't be healthy; my dietician said she'd never seen such a healthy diet from any of her patients, and my daughter will be big and healthy! Muahaha!

 

[Feronia]

Yay, it's nice to see more vegan pregnancies/ parents!

Counting, I take a daily DHA/EPA suppliment and eat lots of omega-fortified bread with omega-fortified soy/ricemilk. The vegan DHA is actually better for you anyway; the fish have DHA in them from eating algae, but the vegan DHA is just made out of algae, so you're skipping the middle man in a way.

Kismet, I've had that concern as well. I've been worried about people giving my kid non-vegan food when he/she is staying with someone else. Hopefully people just respect our wishes! I know someone who runs a vegan restaurant, and his 3-year old is being raised vegan, and her preschool decided to make all of the easter treats vegan because of her! I think that's so neat!

 

[Yammas]

Hey newly veggie here been thinking about it for over a year and finally decided to take the plunge OH is omni and thinks it wont last but I'm not a big meat eater anyway considering I only really ate chicken and mince on a semi regular basis more due to cooking for him.

Can anyone suggest any meals to keep us both happy???

 

[OmiOmen]

Can anyone suggest any meals to keep us both happy???

Chilli or shepards pie made with soya might work. My husband loves it but a lot of meat eaters we know also seem to enjoy it too. I love mushroom stroganoff and maybe that would work for both of you. If you can buy Quorn or Linda Mccartney (not sure whice countries sell it other than the UK) then you could experiment with that as they do a lot of different types of meat substitutes.