Vegan moms: Are you raising your children to be vegan as well?!

Vegan moms: Are you raising your children to be vegan as well?

I have an 8month old, and I 'm thinking of raising her vegan. What are your experiences? Give me some info to help me make up my mind. What do your kids eat instead of meat and dairy?

16 hours ago
Wow Harry D, your answer has so much insight! I think I might choose you for a best answer!!! Go waste somebody else's time.

yes. 3rd generation vegetarian. all doing very well...from age 90s to babies.

hubby and i have had nothing but positive experiences feeding our kids vegan...in fact, it's no big deal. being vegan is a way of life. i can remember back in the 70s and 80s when you couldn't even find a restaurant or airline that served a decent vegetarian meal so you were relegated to eating most meals at home or packing a meal to go. now we can fine dine in or out...my how things have changed.

today, we eat breakfasts such as smoothies, oatmeal, and peanut butter toast. (follow the link below to get two vegan kid taste testers responses to these yummy smoothies) Or we might have grits, scrambled tofu, vegetable patties, and orange juice. or we might have oatmeal waffles topped with fruit and served with a side of soy yogurt topped with nuts or granola. for recipes for these and more ideas visit: www.tpbooks.biz and check out the books "the daniel diet: preface to prophecy" or "presto! it's raw vegan pesto!"

For lunch, we have combos such as oven fried potatoes (lightly oil pan with olive oil and place potato wedges in sprinkled with rosemary and lightly salted) and "subway" sandwiches...our take on the franchise standard. we layer up with veggies like lettuce, tomato, olives, onions, and the works. then instead of mayonnaise (which has egg in it), we use vegannaise by the brand 'target your heart'. it is so delicious ...everyone who taste tests this and other vegan food is always astounded that it can be so easy to prepare, and downright delicious, not just "sacrificially healthy". Instead of cheese, we whip up a vegetarian alternative made with cashews or you can buy the 'target your heart' brand of cheddar cheese. just so you know i am not an employee of 'target your heart" they just happen to be what tastes good, is vegan, and what we eat. for a whole book of cheese replacements, get the book, "the uncheese cookbook" by Joanne Stepaniak.

if you happen to live near a Seventh day Adventist church, college, university, hospital, or academy, stop in regularly and eat in their cafeterias to get a feel about what vegetarian meals look like in action (several research studies have been done on Adventists because they are known for their vegetarianism. Thus if you visit any of their institutions, you will likely find the whole range of vegetarian options). (ie. if you live in the Los Angeles, California area, check out Loma Linda University's cafeteria or even Loma Linda Medical Center cafeteria).

if you want some compelling reasons for why vegan and children can be a perfect combination, get the book, "the china study" the largest study of its kind on the best nutrition to eat. this was done by a research scientist who attests that even he realized solid reasons why this would be a beneficial diet to follow based on what he has discovered over the years in the labs and he converted his own family to follow better eating as a result. now he is working in the government and you've gotta get his book...it is quite compelling indeed.

good luck with that. ps. we also steer clear of candies, icecream, sodas, etc. our delicious and preferred replacements for these are:

instead of gummy worms we eat dried cantaloupe slices (they look at taste BETTER than gummy worms)

instead of sodas, we drink water (we don't even drink alot of juices on the market because the words "natural coloring" on the label could be ground insects that are red and being used for their pigment in otherwise vegan products...can you say gross??!

instead of icecream, we just freeze bananas and run them through our Champion juicer (or if you don't have one of those, add Silk brand soymilk to your blender and then add frozen bananas) the kids lapp this up!

there is so much to say on this topic, but suffice it to say, you won't be without taste, pleasure, or nutrition when vegan done right is implemented. good luck!