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

[counting]

My husband makes a very similar recipe to that except with the tofu cut into cubes. We dip them into a homemade dashi sauce made out of shoyu, green onions, and a little bit of sugar. Soo good!

any type of crispy tofu is the best tofu!!!

 

[bubbles123]

Hi, I'm veggie (have been for 20 years) and my OH is vegan (was veggie for 20 years, has been vegan for 5 years). We are raising both ours as veggies. TBH I have encountered no problems or issues whatsoever. I just feed my son what we eat and will do the same with my daughter when she's weaned. My main tips are lentils (we put them in everything as my son's not keen on whole pulses but as lentils dissolve will happily eat them) and quinoa, especially during the early weaning stage as it is full of complete protein and easy to digest. X

 

[Feronia]

Hi Bubbles, that's great that you're raising your kids veggie!

I'm now wondering whether anyone has experience with older kids and being vegetarian/vegan. I know it's a bit early to think about, but what about staying over at friends' houses? How about school, outings, etc.? Has anyone run into any problems and have any advice?

It's something I'm kind of worried about for the future!

 

[Rachel_C]

I'm now wondering whether anyone has experience with older kids and being vegetarian/vegan. I know it's a bit early to think about, but what about staying over at friends' houses? How about school, outings, etc.? Has anyone run into any problems and have any advice?

It's something I'm kind of worried about for the future!

I was thinking about this the other day and I really can't see it being a problem TBH. People are so used to seeing different needs catered for now that I don't think anybody would take issue with it. My friends at school (last year of primary onwards) all knew I was veggie but I think my mum used to tell the parents if I was going to their house, just so they knew. At other people's houses, I was always happy to just skip the meat and eat the other stuff so people could just cook food that was easy to separate. When you had friends over it was usually stuff like fishfingers and chips, pizza, sausage and chips etc anyway, but I usually found that people were quite keen to show they could cater for a veggie (and still do actually) so they'd usually have veggie sausages or something to offer me. I suppose it would be more difficult if your child is vegan but I think people would still have a good go at catering! As a parent I would probably offer to send something back with LO anyway, just so they had an easy option if they wanted but I doubt people would take me up on it. And by the time LO is going to visit people without me, she'll be capable of saying what she can and can't eat anyway so it doesn't worry me.

Schools should be pretty good at catering too. From the school menus I've seen, there is a veggie option each day and I remember from school that they did separate dinners for people who had more particular needs.

 

[Feronia]

I'm now wondering whether anyone has experience with older kids and being vegetarian/vegan. I know it's a bit early to think about, but what about staying over at friends' houses? How about school, outings, etc.? Has anyone run into any problems and have any advice?

It's something I'm kind of worried about for the future!

I was thinking about this the other day and I really can't see it being a problem TBH. People are so used to seeing different needs catered for now that I don't think anybody would take issue with it. My friends at school (last year of primary onwards) all knew I was veggie but I think my mum used to tell the parents if I was going to their house, just so they knew. At other people's houses, I was always happy to just skip the meat and eat the other stuff so people could just cook food that was easy to separate. When you had friends over it was usually stuff like fishfingers and chips, pizza, sausage and chips etc anyway, but I usually found that people were quite keen to show they could cater for a veggie (and still do actually) so they'd usually have veggie sausages or something to offer me. I suppose it would be more difficult if your child is vegan but I think people would still have a good go at catering! As a parent I would probably offer to send something back with LO anyway, just so they had an easy option if they wanted but I doubt people would take me up on it. And by the time LO is going to visit people without me, she'll be capable of saying what she can and can't eat anyway so it doesn't worry me.

Schools should be pretty good at catering too. From the school menus I've seen, there is a veggie option each day and I remember from school that they did separate dinners for people who had more particular needs.

Good points all around. We are planning on raising LO vegan, but I like your idea about sending LO with food in case other parents don`t want to go through the trouble of catering to that (which I completely understand).

When I was in high school, there weren`t vegetarian options for school lunches (unless you count pulling the pepperonis off a piece of pizza ), but that was in the States and maybe it is different now that more and more people are vegetarian and vegan -- I`m also in Canada now, too! Homemade lunches fix the problem either way though!

 

[counting]

I know at least around here in schools, kids can get veggie meals easily. Typically, they are going "healthy" so there is a tendency to serve veggie pizza and things like vegetable wraps. I still think homemade lunches are cheaper, healthier and probably better for veggie kids, or any kids though.

As for friends houses, I think as my future child gets older, I'll call and talk to the parents ahead of time, and see if they have a problem cooking something veggie, send something along with LO, or as a treat offer to chip in on some pizzas for all the kids- that way it's easy for your child to have veggie toppings on their own food. With food allergies and everything(also I live in a very multicultural area, so a lot of people have religious food restrictions) I think most parents who are going to be responsible for cooking for someone else's child check in to see what is ok and what isn't.

 

[BabyBean14]

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[OmiOmen]

When I was younger I took packed lunches to school and one of the reasons I started asking for them was because when I asked what was veggie at primary school they said fish fingers and said I had to eat them (went without eating that day). I still come across people who argue that vegetarians eat fish no matter how many time I explain that is a pescetarian.

However by high school the teachers went out of their way to make sure I got a veggie meal on a school trip to France unfortunately I did not trust the cooks at the hotel laughing at me so once again went without. But I think it is better now than it once was and it is much more common to find children with different dietary requirements. I am hoping to home-school so it should not be a large issue for me though.

 

[BabyBean14]

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[Feronia]

Yeah, I've heard the fish assumption my whole life, and people seem so surprised when I tell them vegetarians/vegans don't eat fish! I've met a lot of "vegetarians" who I later find out eat fish, too. Hello, pescatarian!

 

[vaniilla]

Hi

I'm vegan as of a few days ago, I've been veggie for as long as I can remember although I have slipped up at times, I've never liked the taste of meat as a child and that's continued as I've grown up, I've only ever been able to eat processed meat which is hardly good for you! I was a vegan for two years and then I met dh and it went out I've made the decision to become vegan again though, the decision to not eat meat but still have animal products just no longer sits well with me, I might not have been eating the animal but the same cow and chicken will be going to the same slaughterhouses when they are no longer able to make milk and eggs so it's the same thing for me. We've come to a compromise, our house will be vegan but dh will still eat meat when we visit relatives/goes out alone which is rare and when he goes to work.

Me being veggie has never gone down well with relatives but my mum has accepted it, my relatives though think I must have some sort of illness which stops me from doing it, they don't understand how someone could do it from choice

The veggies eat fish myth always puzzles me too

in regards to prenatal vits - I've always used solgar which are vegan friendly.

 

[Button#]

The fish thing bugs me too. I've been asked a few times if my OH eats fish and I just say no he's a vegetarian, if I then get the reply that they know vegetarians that eat fish I tell them they're not vegetarians as vegetarian means not eating other animals!

 

[Feronia]

Vanilla, that’s great that you’re going vegan again! DH and I were vegetarian for about 6 years before turning vegan, and it was such a good decision – we haven’t regretted it for an instant. It does help when your spouse makes the same dietary decisions as you, but it’s so awesome that your DH is willing to make a compromise like that to raise LO vegan. What a great guy!

I totally know what you mean about animal products not sitting well. Milk-producing cows and egg-laying chickens (and sheep as well) are treated absolutely disgustedly. They live awful lives before finally going to the slaughterhouse, and it all supports the same industry anyway, so that’s why we made the switch. Usually “free range” eggs and milk aren’t any better since oftentimes the law allows them to do things like keep a chicken in a cage without any room to move but put it in the sun for an hour a day – like that’s free range! Unless you know the people who are producing the “free range” products, I think the risk is too great that the animals are treated cruelly.

Anyway, best of luck raising LO vegan! We’ll obviously be doing the same thing with our LO and I can’t wait!

 

[vaniilla]

that's what I think too, there is no way of knowing how accurate labels are on food and even if you could be sure it was,there are no organic or free range slaughterhouses, they all go to the same place just some avoid it for longer.

Best of luck for you too! I've gotten some pretty nasty comments about it though, like we're the ones in the wrong?!??! so many people think I'm robbing and depriving lo of meat will you be telling people lo is a vegan?

 

[Feronia]

that's what I think too, there is no way of knowing how accurate labels are on food and even if you could be sure it was,there are no organic or free range slaughterhouses, they all go to the same place just some avoid it for longer.

Best of luck for you too! I've gotten some pretty nasty comments about it though, like we're the ones in the wrong?!??! so many people think I'm robbing and depriving lo of meat will you be telling people lo is a vegan?

People are mostly concerned since they have the misunderstanding that veganism is unhealthy and that it's not possible to get the nutrients you need. It definitely takes research to determing that you're getting the right nutrition, but that's true with ANY diet. The only difference is that meat eaters will sometimes assume that they are eating a nutritionally-complete diet just because they eat meat -- even if they eat McDonalds every day! DH and I had bloodwork done recently, and we both have high levels of B12 and Iron, the things meat eaters most often claim vegans are lacking. We also both have very low bad cholesterol, so it's not that difficult to be healthy and vegan! People who think you're "depriving" LO of meat don't know what they're talking about!

We're going to tell people LO is vegan if there is a reason they need to know. We might call the parents of LOs friends to explain his/her diet and offer to send food along, but other than when the information is needed, people don't need to know. How about you?

 

[T-Bex]

It's really frustrating when people assume you'll be unhealthy because of not eating animals... Chicken nuggets to do not make you healthier than me, love.

I was at an event recently, and OH went up to the barbeque area to ask what the veggie option was, and would you like to know what it was?! Tuna steak.

 

[vaniilla]

that's what I think too, there is no way of knowing how accurate labels are on food and even if you could be sure it was,there are no organic or free range slaughterhouses, they all go to the same place just some avoid it for longer.

Best of luck for you too! I've gotten some pretty nasty comments about it though, like we're the ones in the wrong?!??! so many people think I'm robbing and depriving lo of meat will you be telling people lo is a vegan?

People are mostly concerned since they have the misunderstanding that veganism is unhealthy and that it's not possible to get the nutrients you need. It definitely takes research to determing that you're getting the right nutrition, but that's true with ANY diet. The only difference is that meat eaters will sometimes assume that they are eating a nutritionally-complete diet just because they eat meat -- even if they eat McDonalds every day! DH and I had bloodwork done recently, and we both have high levels of B12 and Iron, the things meat eaters most often claim vegans are lacking. We also both have very low bad cholesterol, so it's not that difficult to be healthy and vegan! People who think you're "depriving" LO of meat don't know what they're talking about!

We're going to tell people LO is vegan if there is a reason they need to know. We might call the parents of LOs friends to explain his/her diet and offer to send food along, but other than when the information is needed, people don't need to know. How about you?

We're not going to be telling anyone either, it's bad enough with the few that do know!

I don't know what to say really, it's only in the past decade that perceptions on food have changed, 30 years ago meat was a rare things on plates with most people only eating it once a week or less, now its every meal has to have it or you'll be malnourished

 

[Yammas]

I think the fish thing is because it isnt classed as meat although its still killing an animal so I dont see what the difference is

 

[counting]

I think the fish thing is because it isnt classed as meat although its still killing an animal so I dont see what the difference is

The fact it's not classed as meat is a religious differentiation, not a biological one! There is a lot of misinformation about this, and it boils down to when Catholics commonly did not eat any meat on Friday(A practice that has since mostly died out, and usually only happens during lent now). Because a large number of devote Catholics were also subsistence fishermen, who would not have food aside from fish to eat most days, fish was never included in the ban. Originally the text explaining the religious laws about fasts was written in Latin, and includes a word which translates loosely to meat, but actually means meat of mammals and birds, with the exclusion of fish, insects and amphibians. For some reason this distinction has just never "fallen out" of use as time goes on.

Whenever someone says fish is not meat, I kindly remind them that it is a religious not a biological distinction.

Yeah. I know weird facts. And now, so do you...LOL.

Can't wait until I have a little veggie around here! I'm sure people will love it when my three year old tells them "it is a religious not a biological distinction." as I'm sure they will have heard it only a few thousand times by then

(ETA: guys, love that there are some new veggies on board, but I want this thread to be more about the issues we have raising a veggie family, and really don't want to get into the vegan/vegetarian debate. I want everyone to feel welcome here, so please not to much talk about ethics of eating animal products, unless of course it directly relates to raising veggie kids! Love that you are here though, definitely don't want to make anyone feel badly!! I'm a lover not a fighter )

 

[T-Bex]

What I've been worrying about lately as a veggie household, is how Bethan is going to be able to explain it, and how other kids/kids parents are going to deal with it.

It all came about, after we went to the pasty shop for our once a week lunchtime cheese pasty (I live in Cornwall, it's allowed ), and they only had steak left, and she didn't understand why there wasn't any of the pasty we get. And it all ended up in a long, involved conversation about cows, and what steak is, and the concept of death/killing, because she kept asking "why?". So I'm worried about how it'll come across at nursery/school, if there is a conversation about meat/dead animals.

Has anyone with older children experienced anything like this?