Vermont: Teens who love greens

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http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/living/1000h.htm

Teens who love greens

 

By Shari J. Levine

Correspondent

 

" Vegetarians taste better, " reads the bumper sticker on a beat up Chevy parked

outside a traditional Vermont farmhouse. The car belongs to Stephanie Roland, an

athletic 17-year-old from Charlotte. Many teens, like Stephanie, are passionate

about caring for the environment. " One way that I can make a difference is to be

a vegetarian. Whenever I go out to eat with friends they ask me why I chose to

do this. That's my chance to teach other kids about it, " says Stephanie.

 

Fifteen-year-old Liz Hart from Hinesburg has been a vegetarian since she was in

sixth grade. " I just don't really like the idea of killing anything that was

born, that had a mother, " says Hart passionately. " I've always been a real

animal lover, I just feel bad for them. "

 

She still enjoys the standard teen fare like pizza, but instead of pepperoni,

Liz tops hers with chunks of feta and sliced red pepper.

 

A recent poll by the Vegetarian Resource Group estimates that about 2 percent of

American teens ages 13-17 are vegetarian, and about 0.5 percent are vegan.

 

A vegetarian follows a diet without meat (such as beef, pork, seafood, poultry)

but does include animal products such as eggs, milk, cheese and honey. " Vegans

don't eat anything that comes from something with a head or a face, " says

Bradley Moureau, a 15-year-old vegetarian from Charlotte.

 

A distaste for meat can start as young as age 3, when children become aware that

their dinner once looked a lot like Bambi. But teen-agers eliminate animal

products from their diet for more sophisticated reasons such as animal rights,

environmental concerns, improved health, and weight loss. " I always had a desire

not to consume animals, but I really didn't pursue it until I was 14 and meat

started to gross me out, " explains Moureau.

 

Feeding is an integral part of child rearing, so many parents react strongly

when their teen decides to become vegetarian. Pam Conant is the mother of

16-year-old Audra, a vegetarian from Shelburne. " When Audra told us we just

laughed at her. I thought it was a fad at first, but that was a year and a half

ago. I am a nurse so I was worried about her nutrition, and she was losing

weight. But she's healthy, probably healthier than me. "

 

According to Heather Danis, MPH, RD, coordinator of the Expanded Food and

Nutrition Education Program at UVM Extension, " There are healthy and unhealthy

vegetarian eating patterns. A vegetarian diet can be a healthy diet. " When

researchers at the University of Minnesota analyzed the eating patterns of more

than 4,500 teen-agers, they found that the vegetarian teens (about 6 percent)

ate less fat and fast food and more servings of vegetables and fruits than their

meat-eating peers.

 

Newly converted vegetarians will often lose weight, and this is normal. But if a

teen is more concerned about fat and calories than animals or the environment,

it might be a warning sign. " Being a vegetarian does not put you at risk for

having an eating disorder, but some teens with eating disorders use

vegetarianism as an easy way to cover up the eating disorder, " says Danis.

 

Health concerns aside, many parents are unexcited about the additional time and

energy it can take to simultaneously feed both the meat-eaters and the

vegetarians. To be supportive of your ever-changing adolescent, begin by having

patience during the time of adjustment. Shop together, have the child cook

dinner once a week, and adapt family favorites to remove the meat. " When we

throw a steak on the grill we also throw a veggie burger on for Audra. We don't

have meat every night, and we always agree on having pizza, " says Conant.

 

When she was 15, Stephanie Roland became a vegetarian. " An influential older

girl showed me a pamphlet on the vegan diet. It was very graphic about the

treatment of animals. " Her parents understood, and " they would let me go grocery

shopping and get anything I wanted. My mom gave me a blank check to Hannafords.

All they cared about was that I was healthy, " says Roland.

 

For healthy vegetarian eating, Danis suggests, " Each meal should contain at

least three of the five food groups, and snacks should have at least two of the

five. Bradley Moureau loves to cook his favorite: stuffed peppers with

marinated, grilled tofu and couscous.

 

So parents -- be cool. It might surprise you when your child renounces hot dogs

and hamburgers, but vegetarian foods are no longer far outside the mainstream.

When it comes to " going vegetarian, " you can let your teen go.

 

Resources For more information about vegetarianism among teen-agers, check out

these books and Web sites: -- " A Teen's Guide to Going Vegetarian, " Judy

Krizmanic (1994, Viking) -- " The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook, " Judy Krizmanic

(1999, Viking) -- " Munchie Madness: Vegetarian Meals for Teens, " Dorothy R.

Bates, Bobbie Hinman, and Robert Oser, nutritional Information by Suzanne Havala

(2001 Book Publishing Company) -- The Vegetarian Resource Group, www.vrg.org/

Getting the Basics For a healthy, meatless diet, vegetarians need to find

plant-based or dairy sources of calcium, iron, vitamin B12, and zinc. This is

not as hard as it sounds, but it will take time and planning.

 

Calcium is necessary for strong bones. Sources include dairy products, cooking

greens (such as collards and kale, and turnip,) tofu, calcium-fortified orange

juice and soy milk.

 

Iron helps the blood carry oxygen. Iron rich foods include beans, tofu, spinach,

and molasses.

 

Vitamin C helps the body to absorb plant sources of iron so the two should be

eaten together (try a bean burrito with a glass of orange juice or some

strawberries.)

 

Vitamin B12 helps to keep the nervous system running smoothly. It is found in

animal products including eggs and dairy. Vegans can try fortified foods such as

breakfast cereal, bread, pasta and crackers.

 

Zinc is important to the body in a many ways, especially the immune system. It

is found in chickpeas, fortified cereals, oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, nuts, and

low-fat milk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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