RE: Holidays / Surprise! I'm not vegetarian!

March 21, 2007

Since you're just now transitioning to vegetarian foods, I think it

would be harsh to not let the kids eat their favorite holiday foods (if

they're old enough to remember last year). As the kids get older, they

will either stop eating what has meat in it on their own or reject your

ideas and eat all the meat they want, anyway.

As far as your mom not understanding, she may think it's just a fad and

that you are being difficult. My family didn't really think I was

serious until about five years into it.

If it were me, I would plan on bringing a semi-sweet sweet potato

casserole with pecans on top and a green bean casserole as side dishes.

They are both vegetarian-friendly (if made without marshmallows/bacon),

yet not obviously vegetarian. Then you know you will have something to

eat, and it's under the guise of bringing something for everybody.

(Rather than dumping a brick of unprepared tofu in the center of the

table and yelling " My mom's a jerk! Chow down, everybody! " )

Good luck! I know it's hard, but it will get better when they realize

you are serious and not going to turn into " some kind of radical. "

On another topic -- what was the item you were most surprised they hid

animal products?

- calcium-fortified orange juice (calcium carbonate)

- Altoids (geletin)

- marshmallows (geletin)

- jeans (stupid leather tag on the back of almost every pair)

Caitlin

All girl. All vegetarian. All rock. Powdercake.

March 21, 2007

Thanks for all the input everyone! I think at this point the easiest thing

to do will be to eat a minimal amount of meat that day, not rule it out

entirely. Mom likes my Roasted Red Potatoes so I'll bring that with me and

I'll make a batch of cheese raviolis to offer, but there will be lots of

food for just 9 people(Ham, Raviolis, Pasta Salad, Deviled Eggs, rolls, and

probably more) so I don't think anyone will notice that we don't gorge

ourselves on ham. The smells of the food will be all over Mom's apartment

for three days (yes, it does take that long) so it would probably do more

damage to the kids to not let them have a couple bites of something. I'm

going to talk to Mom again about the happy meals and meaty snacks and we'll

go from there. I don't really mind the occasional meat, it's a tough

transition for kids, it's the processed ingredients and the fries and all

the additives. That's what we're trying so hard to avoid. Again, thanks all

for the advice!

Liz

----Original Message Follows----

caitlin

RE: Holidays / Surprise! I'm not vegetarian!

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:00:28 -0700