Welcome to Moms of new Vegetarians

[Guest guest]

Welcome to you both! Congratulations to you for having such empathic

and strong willed children. I bet that most of us here who became

vegetarian or vegan as teens or adults once felt the same way as your

kids do now, but didn't know that the power to make food choices

based on ethical reasons was acceptable. Our parents didn't know

either.

 

Familiarize yourself not only with the new food pyramid, but with the

new VEGETARIAN food pyramid. It is recommended that beans/legumes be

included in each meal for a vegetarian. Dairy isn't really the best

vegetarian source of protien. I would transition to all whole grain

everything (pasta, brown rice, breads, snacks,etc.) for optimum

nutrition. When meal planning, it can be very tempting, especially

when you're tired, to think in terms of meat vs. no meat and

nutrition takes the back burner, so to speak. I became a lone veg*n

as a young adult, and survived mostly on pasta, pizza, boca burgers,

burritos, and anything that didn't obviously contain, causing me to

actually gain weight and lose energy due to lack of nutrients and

simple-carbohydrate (as apposed to complex carbs from whole food

sources) overload. So be mindful of balance when preparing food for

your vegetarian kids.

 

Hopefully you have a natural or health food store like Whole Foods or

Trader Joes. Such places are veg friendlier and you won't get as

dizzy from reading food labels.

 

Some words to look up, incase you don't know that they aren't

vegetarian: gelatin (hidden in some yogurt), and rennet (in most

cheese). Horizon Organics makes rennet free cheese. Lots of sugar (as

well as beer and wine) is refined using ground animal bones.

 

One very important food to add, besides beans/legumes, is flax. Flax

oil, flax meal, or ground flax seeds (browse past posts on this group

for details) should be added to each meal of vegetarians, vegans, and

omnivores alike for Omega 3 fatty acids. There are flax oil

supplements, but it is so easy to make it a dietary staple. Spectrum

makes a great margarine/spread that contains flax, and you can even

find it now in frozen waffles and corn chips.

 

Did you know that we call you an omnivore? Tee hee.

 

Again, welcome to the group, and welcome to a new and wonderful

lifestyle! Feel free to post any questions here. There are so many

informed and helpful people here.

 

Blessings,

Nikki