Kids & vegetarianism: Just toss together & mix well

[Guest guest]

[from Philadelphia Daily News]

 

WHEN 8-year-old Lisa Simpson decided to become a vegetarian in 1995, it was

hilarious and heartwarming.

 

But if this happens to you, it probably won't seem so funny. For one thing,

there'll be no flying pig. For another, many parents may have gotten the idea

that vegetarianism and veganism are too risky.

 

No wonder: Recent stories about parents causing deficiencies with wacky or

B12-deficient " vegetarian " diets got a lot of play. So if you're faced with

those ominous words ( " I want to be a vegetarian " ), you may well be apprehensive.

But try to see it instead as an opportunity to instill good eating habits.

 

In other words, your child may think of going veggie as a good way of getting

out of eating liver, but it's actually a better way of assuring five-a-day of

fruits and vegetables. It's a good excuse to expose them (and yourself) to

different foods and cooking styles.

 

full story:

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/5356284.htm

 

Posted on Mon, Mar. 10, 2003Kids & vegetarianism: Just toss together & mix well

By VANCE LEHMKUHL

 

WHEN 8-year-old Lisa Simpson decided to become a vegetarian in 1995, it was

hilarious and heartwarming.

 

But if this happens to you, it probably won't seem so funny. For one thing,

there'll be no flying pig. For another, many parents may have gotten the idea

that vegetarianism and veganism are too risky.

 

No wonder: Recent stories about parents causing deficiencies with wacky or

B12-deficient " vegetarian " diets got a lot of play. So if you're faced with

those ominous words ( " I want to be a vegetarian " ), you may well be apprehensive.

But try to see it instead as an opportunity to instill good eating habits.

 

In other words, your child may think of going veggie as a good way of getting

out of eating liver, but it's actually a better way of assuring five-a-day of

fruits and vegetables. It's a good excuse to expose them (and yourself) to

different foods and cooking styles.

 

In Chinatown alone, there's a wide range of international cuisines rich with

vegetarian options. For meals at home, try some of the many new meatless items

available in the produce section - or check out some of the produce you usually

ignore, and grab one of the burgeoning crop of vegetarian cookbooks to help find

the right dish for it.

 

Involve the child in the preparation of whatever meals are feasible, and discuss

the choices involved.

 

A lot depends on the child's age and the exact diet. Anyone under 12 with

non-vegan parents probably should not jump into veganism unless a parent is

committed to researching, maintaining and enforcing certain nutrition

requirements.

 

Here are the top areas to know about (comprehensive info is at www.vrg.org):

 

• PROTEIN - Everybody's favorite bogeyman, but rarely a factor here, as

Americans eat way too much of it anyway. Vegans can get plenty from legumes.

(Meal-by-meal " protein combination " is unnecessary.)

 

• CALCIUM - Vegans don't drink milk, but calcium is plentiful in leafy greens

(kale, collards, etc.) as well as in fortified soy milk, rice milk, tofu, soy

yogurt, orange juice and more foods all the time. Calcium intake is optimized

when protein levels are not excessive.

 

• OMEGA-3

 

FATTY ACIDS - Available through fortified cereals, waffles, etc. or by adding to

meals a tablespoon of flax-seed or hemp oil (which may appeal to your little

rebel, but is non-psychoactive).

 

• B12 - This nutrient, which humans used to ingest via bacteria-covered food,

should be supplemented for all vegans. It's in kids' multivitamins and also in

fortified soy and rice milks, etc.

 

B12 deficiency is something to watch out for, but it's worth noting that 39

percent of Americans are below the recommended level for B12, and that the B12

in meat is not absorbed as readily as that in cereals.

 

Vegetarianism and, for older children, veganism can and should be fully

nourishing if a variety of foods, especially colorful fruits and vegetables, are

eaten consistently, and if parents become partners in learning about the diet.

 

Children's nutrition, after all, is nothing to toy with. It demands close

attention - more, anyway, than the usual scattershot glance we tend to give to

our own nutrition.

 

It needs to be taken more seriously than our nation's school lunch programs -

and brazenly commercial " edutainment " like the beef site for preteen girls -

have done so far.

 

Vegetarianism is no cure-all, but does provide inarguable health benefits and

fosters good food choices.

 

Even if the child grows out of the " phase, " they'll have encountered many

different, healthy ways of eating that will serve them well as their tastes grow

and mature.

 

 

Vance Lehmkuhl is the online editor of the Daily News.