Help?! I'm vegetarian and for dinner we're having fish and my mom is making me eat it?!

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If she is using an illogical argument (jesus ate fish) then there is no point using logic back at her, since she will be unable to allow it to outweigh her belief. It would be easier to prove to a xtian that the moon is made of cheese than it would be to prove that the bible is not a historical source and even if jesus existed and ate fish that is not relevant to our lives today. I mean he (well, she if the virgin birth thing is true lol) also performed an alleged miracle with bread, so should those gluten intolerant people be forced to partake in the holy loaves? Oops, there i go using logic again.

First - To all the parents bashing this kid for not eating exactly what his / her mother prepares, it's their choice, everyone has the right to their own opinions and tastes.

Secondly, and the answer to the actual question; Respectfully decline, make it clear (politely) that you do not eat meat, list your reasons, and if she cannot respect your choices, do not start an argument, agree to disagree. Make sure she knows you appreciate her efforts in making you dinner, and that you are not trying to be disrespectful.
:)

Grew up in a non-vegetarian friendly household, as a vegetarian.

Pescetarians are vegetarians who eat sea foods such as fish, oysters and mussels.

Although fish is good for you it is not essential but perhaps you could eat fish to keep your mom happy. She may perhaps not be capable of understanding that you don't need fish. If you refuse to eat fish your mom will probably do some more bible bashing and there will be some very heated exchanges. Whilst you are living in your mom's home perhaps you could cooperate for the sake of peace and quiet. Eating some fish won't hurt you.

I may have missed it but I don't see anywhere in your question the part where you earned the money, did the shopping and did, or even just helped in, the cooking of your "horrible" fish dinner. All I see is a fully dependent child asking complete strangers on the Internet how he/she can argue against her mother who did all of that. What a horrible mother!! Imagine trying her best to provide food, a nutritious one at that, for her child because in her heart that what she believes in as best for her family. She should be in jail!!
Are you old enough to learn the meaning of the word "sarcasm"? How about "spoiled brat"?

My advice is to earn money, take over the grocery shopping and cooking chores, and study nutrition so as to make sure you are getting enough proteins in your diet.

Edit: Danielle..wrong. The parents are responsible for the child. The parents should win out. Especially if the child isn't getting enough proteins, iron, etc. But to the poster. If you can study nutrition, and take over the chores of grocery shopping and cooking, they may allow you to be vegetarian. Eating cheese doesn't cut it.

Don't eat it, you don't have to, and she can't really force you to.
I mean, it's your body, and your morals, if that's the case.
Your choice, it has nothing to do with god.
You do this, and if she I'm sure this will come to pass.

I had to go through the same thing

Tell her that Jesus also drank wine, and where's yours?

Seriously ... My advise is to offer to eat an alternative that will make her feel unstressed. Fry a couple of eggs and have them with the squash casserole. Tell her this is a serious belief and please respect it, but also take some responsibility for preparing your own food.

If you have a dog, I'd suggest taking the fish and feeding it to the dog when no one is looking.

if that doesn't work for you... I would suggest making her watch the video I'm posting as a link in the source.

http://www.chooseveg.com/reasons-not-to-eat-fish.asp

Just eat the fish. When you move out you can eat whatever you want. Christian battles aren't worth fighting in the home. She just cares about you. A few vegetarians I know sneak meat in every now and then anyway.

Hey. Your mom cant make you eat anything. Eat a salad and the casserole. If she gets mad, so what.

The people who called you spoiled and told you to just eat the fish are clearly NOT vegetarians.
They don't get it.

Look at the bright side- after tonight, you won't have to worry about it, because you will no longer be a vegetarian.

Thankfully, my children eat what is served to them.

Take her to sit down and tell her why you are a vegetarian , go all out with your reasons and really make her understand.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I would respectfully decline if I were you.

tell her Jesus never said that you have to eat fish and that he did a lot of stuff you'll never do.

Stand for what u believe in

How old are you? I was a vegetarian when I was a teenager and it totally flipped my mother out completely!!! No doubt, she doesn't understand how you can have decent nutrition and still call yourself a vegetarian. So....do some education to help her understand your viewpoint better. And, while you're at it, make sure that the diet you're presenting her with has good, solid nutritional value. If all else fails, take a little fish, along with alot of your squash and salad and play the "move around the plate game". This means eating what you want to eat while "looking" like you're eating everything. Hide the offending food under some of the salad and casserole while looking like you're eating all of it together. Now, if you're an adult, its time to make a stand and thank your mom for looking out for you, but to lay off and let you live your life. Next time, bring your own food to the dinner table. Good luck!

For goodness' sake, the asker isn't a brat for not wanting to eat a dead animal. S/he isn't doing it out of pickiness or a lack of gratitude. Her mother is being ridiculous. Sheesh, I actually am a meat-eater, but I think the mother needs to show her kid a little more respect.

That said, I do think that if a vegetarian is a dependent, he or she should help with the preparation of meals so as not to put an extra burden on the one who is graciously providing the food.

The asker isn't looking for special considerations, though. She's not putting her mother to extra work, throwing a temper tantrum or making demands. This has nothing to do with however comfortable a life her parents have given her. I absolutely ******* hate when people use that as an excuse for children to take crap from their parents. My parents gave me a very "comfortable" and beautiful home with a lot of privileges; they also beat the **** out of me on a regular basis. The fact that parents are good providers doesn't give them the right to do whatever the hell they want and disrespect their children as people.

Her mom needs to chill out and open up her ears. No, the asker can't make her do that, but she's well within her human rights to choose vegetarianism.

It's very controlling for someone, even your mother, to pressure you into eating something you don't want or believe in eating. Do not allow your mother to control you through anger, stressed out behavior, etc. If you do, you are rewarding her bad behavior. Calmly tell you you no longer at fish and that if she wants to know the reasons and/or how you get your omega 3's, you'll be happy to give her information. CALMLY stand your ground and don't put up with her controlling behavior. You're not trying to making her into a vegetarian, nor should you acquiesce to her trying to make you a fish eater.

I know it is too late for last night, but maybe if you started cooking your own dinners, your mom wouldn't try to "make" you eat her food. Better yet, offer to cook a vegetarian dinner for the whole family once a week. Be sure you clean up, too. (Make something cheesy, like a quiche, souffle, or lasagna, so they all feel satisfied. Many meat-eaters "need" something with animal fat to feel that they are full.)

Also, whether Jesus ate meat or not is up for debate. http://www.all-creatures.org/discuss/did…

Lastly, nowhere in the Bible does it say "God put animals on Earth for us to live." According to Genesis, God created the animals before us. In fact, once Man came around, God specifically told us that we were supposed to eat plants. It wasn't until after original sin and the flood that God decided we could eat animals, and even then, a good handful were prohibited.

But I digress. If your family is religious and you think they would be swayed by religion, browse some other parts of the All Creatures page. You might also have some luck with this page: http://www.thenazareneway.com/biblical_%…

however, chances are that she is just frustrated and appealing to religion because you're too old to listen to "because I said so." Find out what her real problem is and respond to that. As I suggested earlier, rather than try to ask her to make you a special meal, or reject her food and not supplement the side dish with something else, that you make your own entree. Show mom the nutritional information if she wants to see it. Whatever. Just make sure that she can see that you are eating properly and that you are willing to take some responsibility for the work that goes into making dinner.

If you think she would be up for it, see if she will take you shopping and show you around the kitchen a bit. Plan a vegetarian meal to cook together for the family. You should also see if you can find a copy of The Flexitarian Table. It's great for families like yours. It has a number of recipes that can easily be made vegetarian and non-vegetarian, so you can all eat pretty much the same thing, just with different sources of protein. Parents love it when you are willing to step up and take responsibility for your life, especially if it eases their workload.

I feel your pain. I was 40 and self-supporting and my mama kept trying to make me eat meat.

Really, you don't have to get logical or defend your way of eating. Just don't take the fish. However, you know your mama better than we do. You could try one or more of the following:

"Mama, this squash casserole and this salad you made are wonderful! I'll just stick to them--they are so yummy."

"No, thanks--I don't care for any fish. Yes, I know you worked hard and cooked a good meal. Thanks, I don't care for any fish. No, really, I don't care for any fish. Thanks anyway, but no fish for me"

If you face a show-down:
"You may be able to force me to eat something I don't want now. But that's okay. One of these days, I'll be picking the nursing home for you." [said with a big grin on your face, like you're joking]

"You know, this strife is spoiling my appetite. I don't feel like eating anything when there is all this pressure going on."

Leave the fish untouched on your plate. Sit there as long as necessary for everyone around you to get up and leave. Then leave the table.

Eat it and vomit. [I never had to do this, but one of my daughters did if she had to eat anything green. Once my kids turned 12, they only had to try a new food once and then they could skip what they wanted to skip.]

Don't argue with your mother if she say's you will eat fish then eat the _ _ _ _ fish. Don't go against your mother.

just eat the dang fish. you gotta be frickin kiddin me

Good thing your mom has all that money to waste on cooking foods that you feel you're too "special" to eat. I'll bet you live in a decent home, with cable, high speed internet, your own cell phone & computer, and a closet-full of clothes.

I'm sure you're at a point in your development where you're feeling independent, and becoming your own person. That's great, and normal, and should be encouraged to an extent.

But until you turn 18 you live under your mom's rules, and unless you've got a job and can afford to buy all of your own groceries, you'd better d*mn well eat what your mom makes for you.

You don't have a seafood allergy. You're not going to die a horrible screaming death if you take a few bites to please your mom. That fish in the refrigerator is already dead. You're not "saving" anything by pissing off your mom and hurting her feelings.

My grandma made foods I didn't like ALL THE TIME. You know what I did? Tried to be slick and held my nose while I ate it. That way, I couldn't taste it. Grandma didn't sit at the kids table so she never saw me do this, but she felt happy when I passed her my clean plate when dinner was over. She took pride in being able to provide for her family (still does), and I'm sure your mom feels the same way.

You wouldn't be able to be a vegetarian if your mom (and dad, if he's in the picture) didn't make enough money to cater to your lifestyle choice. Depending on where you live, fresh produce and vegetarian processed foods are friggin' expensive. You can go fully vegetarian when you move out of their house and into your own place. Until then, deal with it.

So fill up on the squash casserole and salad, and eat a few bites of fish and tell her you're full. At least you won't be lying and your mom won't get mad.