When I was married, my daughter went 'vegetarian' - not sure if it fits the definition of 'vegan' (nor do I care)...
She would only eat veggie burgers (but hated one type of them - they tasted really bad), and other veggie stuff like baked potatoes or french fries, etc.
It was a real hassle for me when we went out to eat on 'family night', as she and the ex would get their plates and then swap food items - the daughter would get all of the veggie stuff, and the ex would get all the meat stuff. (Atkin's diet - another bad thing)
Me? I had to order my own plate of food - I couldn't share anything... like we used to do.
I wish you well with your venture into this area of foods.
Regards,
Jim TX
Supporting Vegetarian/Vegan Teens
by Scully 24 Replies latest social family
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Jim_TX
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anewme
Dear Scully, I would be so proud if my daughter took such an interest in her health and nutrition as your daughter is. It does seem like an ideal time to bond with her on this nutritional adventure.
I have two sisters in law who are dedicated vegetarians. They both took time to do research before hand and the older one has been at it for 30 years now and the younger 10 years. So they were serious when they started. And I believe their families are meat eaters but respectful. Two years ago we went to the younger's for Thanksgiving. I wondered how it all would go. To my delight and surprise Tofurkey is delicious!!!! We had the all the fixins of Thanksgiving w/o the carcass and it was so nice.
My brother is the husband of the older SIL and two years younger than me. He just sent me a picture of himself on his new motorcycle. OMG he looks like he is in his 20s!!!!!! I think the lower fat diet may be a factor. Heart disease runs in my family and so I am so glad his wife is making healthy choices for her family.
There are so many great vegetarian choices these days. I say support her wholeheartily. Even if she does not stick with it, the nutritional info you learn together will be valuable.
Anewme -
evita
Hi Scully
I am going through this right now with my almost 15yr old son. He declared himself a vegetarian about 6 months ago. Many of his friends come from veg. families and he read Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation. That has been the extent of his involvement in his own well-being and food choices. I am expected to shop for and prepare all the food he eats. He does not like to eat "hippie" food or leftovers but he sure likes the gourmet stuff from Whole Foods, like sushi, and pesto pasta. I was a veg for a few years and mainly ate lentil soup, brown rice, and salad. He doesn't want to eat like that nor does he want to cook or even look at a vegetarian cookbook. He is adamant about the no meat thing and his food can not even come into contact with our meat food so everything has to be cooked seperately.
I tried taking the tough approach and refusing to cook for him if he didn't get more involved in the process. But then he wouldn't eat and he got really skinny.
I am still trying to figure out how to make single portions to avoid waste. I have thrown away more tubs of hummus than I care to admit. Right now we are relying on a lot of frozen single entrees which is less than ideal. He also eats a lot of artisan bread with cheese and tomatoes. On the plus side, he loves salads, veggies, and fruits.
I think the key to my problem is organization. I need to find about ten good recipes to freeze ahead, maybe ones that the whole family will eat, such as lasagne. I have a husband and two other boys, age 11 to cook for so my life revolves around food at this point.
If I had the money, I'd hire a cook.
Eva -
skindeep
hi.. i am a 25 year old female. I became vegetarian at the age of 8 because i loved animals too much. I began eating meat again in small amounts at the age of 18 after being diagnosed and hospitalised with an eating disorder at the age of 15 I am now perfectly normal (!) with a very positive view of my body.. and a balanced nutritious diet that does include small amounts of meat. It genuinely sounds like your daughter is making this choice for her diet because she is uncomfortable with her body image and wants to change it. and she believes that becoming vegetarian will assist with this task. People become vegetarian for many reasons, and none of them are wrong. The are millions of vegetarians in the world and it has been proven even that a vegetarian diet reduces many illnesses/cancers/prolongs life. However from reading your posts i get the distinct impression that your daughter is making this choice for the wrong reasons and it overly concerned about her body image. Teenagers are the most vunerable for body image stereotypes.. especially these days when celebrities are plastered over every available surface setting an example to teen girls of how exciting their life can be when the teens 'grow up' Please seek help with your daughter, a nutritionist would be ideal but also perhaps someone who specialises in eating disorders/habits. There is no reason for her not to become vegetarian and live a completley healthy life (probably more healthier than most other people) however this really does sound to me to be more like a body image issue than a 'healthy lifestyle approach'. If she is concerned about eating bread because its 'fattening', living on carrots and celery and things - and wants to lose weight (via becoming vegetarian).. it sounds like she needs help. Unless she is obese, teenagers do not need to diet and should be discouraged from it in any possible way! Just because she enjoys mcdonalds means nothing.. i loved mcdonalds the entire time i had eating problems, eating disorders are far too complex to pigeonhole and assume that because she is displaying traits of 'bad eating' that she is concerned with loosing weight. on to the meals: basically i had for dinner what the family ate, but with five times more vegetables! Once a week mum would cook up a whole batch of meals for me and freeze which i would have on nights when just eating the potatoes/vegetables etc wernt an option. This was also supplemented with the great array of vegetarian foods available. But honestly, i do believe that your daughter has a deeper reason and that she may need some professional help. xx
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Black Sheep
Hi Scully,
I am an apostate vegetarian/vegan. Neither diet worked for me long term. I do believe that an all raw vegan diet does have medicinal uses, but like any drug, it is medicinal and is not good for your health full time.
The veg/vegan religions should be treated like the watchtower. They should be studied rigorously for truthfulness before baptism.
Here is an apostate veg/vegan website that I found many years ago when I was on the way out. http://www.beyondveg.com/
I haven't viewed it for a long time, but when I found it I could relate many of their experiences with mine.
Cheers
Chris