What now?

May 22, 2007

We have also recently switched our diet to Vegan but I believe I am

truly lost. I have 3 girls ages 10, 6 and 5 plus my hubby. All 3

girls will be in school next year and I'm worried about what to send

them to eat. They can only eat so much peanut butter. What and why

gluten free? I notice it's in a lot of the foods my girls will eat

but if I take that away what's left?? I know this may sound stupid

but I'm so confused. I will never touch animal based food again...for

many reasons, I want my children to grow up healthy and learn to eat

good. Does anyone ever get criticized for your decision. I'm coming

across that a lot from family and friends and I always tell them that

this is a personal healthy choice. They think I'm depriving my

children now. Which you and I both know isn't the case. Any advice

anyone has please share.

May 23, 2007

One book I would recommend that helped me deal with family pressure,

and I have borrowed to people as a resourse is Carol Adams' Living

Among Meat Eaters. It focuses on being vegan/vegetarian, but it works

well for any lifestyle change and dealing with people's reaction to it.

And great recipes!

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Among-Meat-Eaters-Vegetarians/dp/0826415539/ref=pd_\

bbs_2/002-5895850-9216030?ie=UTF8 & s=books & qid=1179882341 & sr=8-2

--- zandrea2 <zandrea2 wrote:

> We have also recently switched our diet to Vegan but I believe I am

> truly lost. I have 3 girls ages 10, 6 and 5 plus my hubby. All 3

> girls will be in school next year and I'm worried about what to send

> them to eat. They can only eat so much peanut butter. What and why

> gluten free? I notice it's in a lot of the foods my girls will eat

> but if I take that away what's left?? I know this may sound stupid

> but I'm so confused. I will never touch animal based food

> again...for

> many reasons, I want my children to grow up healthy and learn to eat

> good. Does anyone ever get criticized for your decision. I'm coming

> across that a lot from family and friends and I always tell them that

> this is a personal healthy choice. They think I'm depriving my

> children now. Which you and I both know isn't the case. Any advice

> anyone has please share.

>

" The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for

humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men. "

-alice walker

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May 23, 2007

I feel for you! We switched from a SAD (Standard American Diet) to vegan when

our daughter was a toddler. Initially, we ate 100% raw, which is even less

commonly seen in our society! When the public health nurse found out how our

daughter was eating, she started an investigation on us. It was harrowing for

me! It took 3 weeks of long interviews in which she examined my dietary records

and research before she was willing to grant that MAYBE it was OK for our

daughter.

Then, she had a pair of hugely obese older public health nurses come to have a

look at us. Thankfully, all they needed was ONE look at our bright, glowingly

healthy daughter, and said " Case closed. " I'm just grateful I was able to back

up every decision I was making with solid facts and documentation because I have

heard of children being taken from their parents. Being well informed worked

for me. I would recommend that anyone raising children on a vegan diet do the

same: get some well documented books on the topic and educate yourself; also,

keep records of what you are feeding them.

We suffered regular " slings and arrows " from family for many, many years. My

mother-in-law finally made a tiny concession about the health-benefits of our

diet last summer, after more than 20 years of us eating vegan. She commented

favourably on how I've retained my youthful figure and said " I suppose the diet

has something to do with it. " She's still convinced that she could never eat

vegan, that she is somehow different. Lots of people think that way. I've

learned how to just do my own thing and respect their choices, hard as that can

be at times.

The gluten issue is separate from vegan. Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye,

barley, triticale, kamut, spelt that many people react to with health

consequences. You can be tested for it; you can also find out by

trial-and-error by adding it into the diet, then removing it for 10 days. The

change can affect health and state of mind. Reactivity to gluten is a genetic

trait commonly found in people of Irish and Scandinavian descent. Yes, life

gets more complicated when eating vegan AND gluten-free. Such is the reality

many of us have. :-)

Wishing you all the best,

Deborah