Living Vegan For Dummies - Alexandra Jamieson [148]
Because some kids may not adhere to the best eating habits every day (or while they’re out of your sight and control), offering a daily vegan multivitamin is good health insurance.
Encouraging Kids to Eat Healthily
Children who begin living vegan from day one will probably have less trouble sticking to the game plan. If you’re transitioning to vegan living after kids’ taste buds and attitudes are well formed, however, it may be more difficult to convince them to participate.
No matter what situation you’re in, this section provides you with tips on easing your growing family into veganism. I include lists to help you stock up your pantry, sample menus, and information on how to encourage participation from everyone.
Some kids go through periods of smaller-than-normal appetites. It’s important not to force your kid to eat everything on his plate. Creating struggles around eating specific portions of vegetables, beans, or whole grains can cause children to rebel against the healthy food habits you’re trying to instill. If you consistently offer only healthy foods at home, they’ll eat enough of what they need.
Easing kids into enjoying a vegan diet
Creating a healthy environment at home is a must if you want your family to adopt better eating habits. Removing the junk food, meat, and dairy from your house can be done in consistent steps to make the transition easier and more subtle. As you run out of cheese, meat, and eggs, replace them with nondairy substitutes.
For example, if your family eats scrambled eggs for breakfast, try making a tofu scramble every other day until the eggs are gone. I include a recipe for Hungry Man (or Woman) Tofu Scramble in Chapter 12.
To ensure that your kids sign on to the healthier eating style that you’re suggesting, make sure everyone is held to the same rules and expectations. Kids don’t respond well to rules that are only directed at curbing their behavior. In other words, if you’re allowed to have chocolate chip cookies after dinner, they should be too.
Here are several ways to help your children live vegan with less protest:
Allow your kids to splurge (veganly) every once in a while. Many cities host pastry shops, ice cream parlors, or coffee shops that offer vegan treats. By visiting these special places once or twice a month, your kid will be excited about his new diet. Holding your son’s birthday party at a vegan restaurant and preplanning a spectacular cake and treats will help your child feel “normal.” Plus he’ll have the added benefit of introducing delicious vegan foods to his friends.
Encourage your family to do some research on famous vegans. Going to a concert performed by a famous vegan (or group of vegans) like Moby, Fiona Apple, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, or André 3000 can help your kid feel proud of his lifestyle. Renting movies with vegans like Woody Harrelson, Daryl Hannah, James Cromwell from Babe, or Casey Affleck also can help kids feel cool and represented.
Take your family to a farm animal sanctuary or other animal rescue shelter. Doing so offers your child an opportunity to talk about animal rights, cruelty-free living, and vegan food. You don’t need to graphically detail the horrors of what happens to animals, but sharing a loving connection with animals solidifies the reasons for not taking advantage of other creatures.
Plan ahead to ensure that your home is an easy, fun place for your children to get the food that they need and love. Offer delicious vegan alternatives to old favorites. Remind them that they can eat something fun because it