Becoming Vegan

I'm a nutritional herbologist and just wanted to clear up the protein and calcium issue for many who think you won't get what you need. There is more protein per calorie in broccoli than in a steak and it is packed with assimible organic calcium. Other vegetables are very similar in nature. Getting these two items from plant based foods makes it easier on the body to assimilate and use them because of the form they come in and the fact that they come with all the other nutrients necessary for the process of assimilation and in the end the body doesn't end up with unused product as it would with animals foods.

As long as you make sure you are switching to a plant based diet and keeping the foods you eat as close to the original/fresh state you will do fine by eating a small variety of foods. If you eat what can be grown locally that is variety enough to give your bodies the nutrition you need without having to add supplements of any kind, but you don't need to limit yourself to a local variety. Stay away from soy replacements/replicas for filling in for what you take out. Making this kind of change requires a change in lifestyle, but one that will be for the betterment of your body.

We are not vegan, or even vegetarian, in our home, but keep our diet to a 90% fresh plant-based diet. Making this change came a little at a time. We found many recipes and books on the internet. You could try looking there for help in the food preparation area. As far as going out to eat, you will find there aren't that many options. In fact, that is where the other 10% of our diet is. We usually eat at Asian restaurants as they have a vegetable based diet that comes from their heritage. When we are invited to eat at others homes we would be gracious and eat what they prepared without the expectation that they prepare food according to our nutritional preferences and expected our children to do the same. Forcing others to adhere to your choices will only light fires, but be gracious and set a good example and others will eventually follow in your footsteps when they see how much your health improves.

If we invite people to our house for meals, we prepare our favorite dishes and have received the same courtesy from them as we have shown in their homes. It's hard to not enthusiastically share something with those you love what you know to be a great and beneficial thing, but the best way to do that is with respect. This I say from experience. If you occasionally eat the less than healthy foods your body will be able to cleanse itself as you mostly consume good foods. I would advise you to not worry about the occasional group/party eating and enjoy what is served and the company you keep, then return to your healthy lifestyle in your own home. If your children, while they are very small, won't eat what is there then take something for them, but as they get older (past the toddler stage) it could be considered by others to be rude if you take a meal for your family when you have been kindly invited to join others for a special meal.

As you learn what you like to prepare you will learn what tools you need as well as what spices/herbs, vinegars and oils you like to use. I use many more different flavors now than I ever did before we made our dietary changes. I would suggest learning how to pair flavors of foods and spices. A good book for this is "The Flavor Bible" by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. I have found this to be the most helpful for me as I learn to make my own dishes from fresh plant-based foods. You may also want to look for a book on basic cooking tips if you don't have much experience in creating your own meals or changing recipes to be vegan. I have found that teaching myself to cook without recipes to be a challenge, but more rewarding.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Good luck. Please feel free to drop me a note if you have any questions you feel I could answer.

2 moms found this helpful

My best advice is to have "home rules" and "outside the home" rules for being vegan. I was vegan for about a year, and vegetarian for 12. Being vegan is way harder, honestly. That's of course not saying that you can't do it, but it is substantially more of a commitment than being vegetarian.

This was how I handled it: for products that I bought and kept at home, I was a label-reader. (Making sure there were no hidden eggs or dairy in a loaf of bread, for example). When I was out, I basically used the "safe-bet" rule. In other words, it's a pretty safe bet that the bread doesn't have any animal products in it, so I'll eat it. The pasta probably doesn't have eggs, etc. I just thought it was rude to ask for a total list of ingredients at either a restaurant or a friend's house. Also, if I made an ordering mistake, I would just work around it (so if I ordered vegetarian pad thai, and I forgot to say "no egg" I would eat it, because it wasn't their fault I messed up). Being flexible in that way meant that I could still eat with friends who weren't vegan without it being a really unpleasant experience.

At informal parties, I always offered to bring something that I (and others) could eat. At things like weddings, I requested a vegetarian meal when I could, worked around the cheese if there was any, and always brought snacks to eat in the car. I guess I just felt that it wasn't fair to impose my eating philosophy on the people cooking for me. In this way, it's much easier to be vegetarian - people understand that and will cook you pasta : ) You could certainly also consider being vegan at home and vegetarian when out of the house until you get a good handle on all of your vegan options.

Hope this wasn't discouraging. The one other piece of feedback is that while your kids can certainly be healthy eating a vegan diet, please be open and receptive to feedback from their pediatrician. You do not want a "lifestyle choice" to be come more important than what their doctor believes about their health. Good luck! I wish you many delicious meals.

2 moms found this helpful

Hi--
I just had a thought that might convince your husband on the dairy issue. Cows have 4 stomachs and digest things twice---how can milk that is specifically made for baby cows be good for humans who only have one stomach and digest only once?
Another side note--a lot of vegans get a lot of their protein from soy. A lot of soy is genetically modified which makes it not only less than ideal, but downright bad for you. Make sure you do your research on this issue. Also, for males a lot of soy actually causes hormonal imbalance due to the phyto-estrogens in it. The asian diet only consists of about 1 1/2% soy.
As for going out---try Watercourse foods in downtown denver. Salads are always an option just about anywhere, as is pasta. When going to someone's house make sure you bring something you can eat and make sure your friends know. It's easy when making bulk items like soup or chili to leave the meat on the side for people to choose whether they want it or not.
Good luck!
J.

1 mom found this helpful

I think it's great you're looking into ways to improve your family's diet! I agree, milk is not necessary for a healthy diet. I have a son who is allergic to milk so we have had to look for other ways for him to get the calcium and vitamins he's missing from it. We're going on 4 years of no milk (in any form) for him and he has grown and developed just fine.
My sister got me turned on to green smoothies (http://rawfamily.com/). This family also wrote some great books on eating a raw foods diet (Green for Life, and Raw Family Signature dishes). Although I don't think you're looking to change to a raw foods diet, simply incorporating green leafy vegetables (and a lot of the raw foods principles) into your vegan diet will go a long way in getting you and your family the nutrition you need (vitamins A, C, and K, folate, iron and calcium, plus fiber). I've found that green smoothies are an easy and healthy way to get as much of the green leafy veggies as your body really needs (I mean, how much salad can a person eat in a day?). I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but just adding green smoothies to my usual diet has made me so much healthier, so I can imagine how well they would fit into a vegan diet. My husband has had high blood pressure and arthritis all over his body (the man is only 32! and in otherwise good health), but after a month or two eating a green smoothie every morning for breakfast he is off his BP meds and his whole body feels better. Oh, and these can actually taste good too. Even my picky kids eat them!
Okay, I didn't mean to sound like a commercial. :) Seriously, it doesn't cost you anything--you can find a lot of information on their website and could probably find their books at your library.
Best wishes in your vegan quest! :)

1 mom found this helpful

I have been a veggie for a long time. Make sure your getting all your nutritional needs met. That was my biggest problem, I had no choice but to start eating meat again. I have such tummy issues that beans and nuts were no longer an option for me. I started to have bad effects of not having the right balance.

There are lots of sites you can visit and get great recipes. One think I always did was when invited to someones home for a dinner or cookout. I bought something I could share and eat also. I did love being a vegetarian. But for health reasons I needed a more balanced lifesyle. Good luck!

Hi J.,

I'm not sure I have much to help. We are not vegan but don't eat much meat, so I would say nearly vegetarians. I strongly believe it's better for our health and our planet, but we never actually made the jump to 100% vegan.

One important thing is to ensure that you and your children get all the nutrients (not only the proteins but also some vitamins, iron...) needed. There was a case in France a couple of years ago of a baby who died of malnutrition because his parents were strictly vegan but not educated and they didn't realize what were the nutritional needs of a baby.

As you know, you and your family can get all the nutrition you need from many sources. Just educate yourself about what those needs are at different stages (baby, toddler, adult).
Many websites, including website defending animal rights, sell vegan starter kits with information, recipe books... This could be a good starting point of you don't have books already. You can google "vegan starter kit" and find many resources.

Your single biggest concern with becoming vegetarian/vegan should be vitamin B12...for your whole family. This is the only nutrient that isn't in a reliable plant-based food source.You need to ensure that you are eating fortified foods or taking supplements.

It doesn't take much but is linked to nervous system development, maintaining healthy hemoglobin, and is important during pregnancy and nursing. It has also been linked to long-term heart health.

It is possible and can be healthy, but it will take a lot more attention to everyone's diet. Especially during the developmental and picky eater years.

Alicia Silverstone has a book/cookbook out-she's vegan. There's all sorts of stuff out there you'll just need to do some research. I would be very careful with too much soy products-there's a lot of contraversy on them because they contain an estrogen like substance. There is rice milk, almond milk and coconut milk.

My daughter is allergic to dairy, so I had to find dairy free recipes. She is strong and healthy so you are totally fine not giving your kids dairy. My husband got me the cafe flora cookbook. Cafe Flora is a really popular vegetarian restaurant in Seattle so the cook book is of course vegetarian, not totally vegan but there are a lot of vegan recipes in it and you can substitute. I would highly recommend it. Many of the recipes are a bit involved but they are stellar. We love stir fry and my 13 month old daughter loves it too. Many of the recipes for the sauce call for chicken broth but vegetable broth works just as well. I also make curry, there are recipes with dairy, but some without. I have a good one that uses none. I have modified it:) If you want it just send me a message. We use rice milk with cereal, even my husband doesn't drink regular milk, (except on occasion). I like it better than soy, which I can't have when I'm nursing anyway. Bean, and vegetable soups are also great and way easy. I even make homemade vegan pizza. If you are looking for dairy substitutes, try smart butter for butter. You have to make sure you get the non diary kind though. There are substitutes for cream cheese and sour cream if you like. There is also a book out there that i am thinking about ordering. I can't remember what it is called off the top of my head, if you are interested I will go find the info but it is for parents of kids with allergies, like dairy. so it would obviously have non diary-recipes.
I just learned, when eating out to ask about the ingredients in everything. Most places have at least something or they can modify it for you.
As far as eating in groups, you just have to decide how you want to deal with it. Because obviously I don't think you should expect everybody to cater to you, but most people will try to accommodate you in some way. I just learned to always have a clif bar or something in my purse in case there weren't enough things that I could eat. It can seem hard at first because dairy seems to be in everything.
anyway i hope some of this info was useful and good luck.

Hi J.,

I get so excited about this topic but I'll try to be concise, you've received lots of responses already! My family is vegetarian, and I am close to vegan (the only dairy I get is generally when something is baked in- like eggs in bread, or parmesan cheese in pasta sauce- close, just not quite there).

My daughter has been vegetarian since birth- she's almost 10 now. You're right, it was so easy for her because she's never known anything else. I was worried that I would meet resistance when I told her pediatrician that we intended to raise her vegetarian but they were actually very supportive, and surprised that I would be worried about it. I will say that I imagine you will get some concerns about not feeding the 5 month old whole milk when they turn 1. Doing research will help you be armed with the info that makes it ok, or will make you reconsider that one thing. Plenty of kids have dairy allergies and didn't have whole milk and are fine. I honestly don't know the whole story with the whole milk. My daughter has trouble digesting too much dairy, so maybe there's something to finding alternatives. You sound fully willing to find the answers!

As for starting out, I would get books from the library- nutrition and cookbooks. I read a book, I'm pretty sure called "super baby food" that was surprisingly pro-vegetarian but was an overall baby food/nutrition book. I found it easy to read and really helpful with ideas. As far as cookbooks, getting a bunch from the library is best because you'll quickly know what ones you like and don't, and you're not out any money. Alicia Silverstone (I think that's her name, the actress?) just wrote a book called The Kind Diet- I believe it's completely vegan. Haven't got it just yet, but hope to.

Eating out can really be frustrating. It's hard enough just being vegetarian, I can't even imagine vegan. Have you been to Watercourse Foods restaurant downtown? Completely vegetarian restaurant, and they indicate when things are vegan. Awesome place. Maybe eat in Boulder a lot, too!! :-)

I feel like I do a good job of keeping up on nutrtition, but I do give my daughter a multivitamin, and calcium and vitamin D supplement just because. Whole Foods has vegetarian/vegan ones. Good luck!

J., I became a Vegan in September because of a Bible Study I was a part of, It was easier than I thought. I through out some foods, esp. those with a lot of sugar and ingredients I couldn't read (I didn't want to give away what I considered bad for your health). There are different websites you can go to for recipes, they usually have notes from people on changes they made, read through and make changes according to your families likes and dislikes. My husband and I love everything about eating Vegan. I find using the stove/oven for Chick n, Spicy Bean Burgers etc. helps with taste. You can use rice milk or soy milk, maybe start with the vanilla flavored ones. People are always asking me "Don't you need protein" or questions like that, I comment back that I probably get more protein than they do and then list all my sources.

I love hearing of young mothers with small children changing the way they eat. You will be so glad you started eating healthy and so will your body.

I am currently in the process of doing something similar, but my kids are older and more set in their ways. One of the things I have found that I can drink without scrunching up my face is almond milk. I also love milk, so it was important to me to find a suitable alternative. I am reading Eat To Live by Dr. Fuhrman and another book on GAPS Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Both have good research in them and recipes and alternatives. Like I said, just starting the journey myself and I live in a small town in a rural state with few resources and alternatives, so I know I'll have to be creative. Good luck.

I think it is wonderful that you are taking the time to make this switch - I try to get my family to eat a couple of vegetarian meals each week, but we are pretty much meat and dairy lovers.

Even though I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian, I have had a lot of friends switch over to this lifestyle for various reasons and in addition to the great advice you have already received, I would recommend making an appointment with a dietitian or nutritionist to learn how to meet all of the needs you and your family need. Some of my friends who only researched online or through books overlooked some important supplements and ended up getting very ill as a result - one even had to go back to eating meat for a time to heal her body!

As for when you go over to other people's houses for meals, I would recommend bringing a yummy dish to share. When my husband was in grad school many of our friends were from other countries and had religious or cultural restrictions where they would only eat vegetarian or chicken dishes. When we would have them over I would be sure to have a dish or two specifically to meet these needs and they would always bring over something as well.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

I'm not vegan, but my MIL is - there are a TON of great vegan cookbooks out there - as far as dairy - you can always "wean" yourselves (or your husband) off of it - if you substitute with soy milk (especially vanilla! *yum* he'll probably have no complaints)

I personally love some of the soy products - tofu, soy bacon, soy sausages - all really good - and the veggie burgers - delish!

For me if I was going to go vegan I would throw out or donate anything in the house that wasn't since I know I would have a weak moment...

When we eat out with my MIL we usually go to pizza (just order veggie with no cheese - usually OK), thai food or indian food, chinese, and olive garden - it's easy to eat out vegan! Even at fast food - my friend was vegan and we could go to Taco Bell for lunch or whatever - you just have to get creative ;)

Both of your babies need to be vegetarians rather than vegan, imo. Babies need milk and kids need lots of protein, more than adults. Mother nature has shown that babies survive on milk primarily, and then slowly get other food. Also, they need to get their nutrients from food rather than from supplements.

There was a couple in Las Vegas a while ago that was arrested because they starved their baby to death on a vegan diet. They didn't mean to hurt her, but they were not giving her any milk and she stopped gaining weight and either died or almost died, I can't remember.

I'm looking into this myself, and just checked a few yummy-looking vegan cookbooks out at the library. They had several. Good luck.