Mom's Diary of a 10-year old self-declared vegetarian . . .
Saturday, July 10, 2010
A day or so ago, our 10-year old daughter, Carley, told us she is now a vegetarian. We weren't as shocked as she thought we might be - she's has spent the last 6 months asking a lot of questions about where the meat we sell to restaurants and include in our meat share come from, and we have answered her honestly. We tell her that all of our meat producers are humane to the animals they raise and how they are raised, and we also tell her about the end of that animal's life. While my husband and I and our 15-year old daughter, Rachel, remain omnivours, we have all agreed to try to share in Carley's preferred diet.
Today, I am making my first vegetarian meal which our entire family will share (however, the three of us will also parttake of grass-fed porterhouse on the grill with Carley's permission to eat it in front of her). Understand, I am a good cook and a better baker, and since I was raised on a farm, vegetables have always played a huge part in my diet. Making sure my daughter gets everything she needs as a vegetarian is another story.
Any advice you have for me, feel free to post it on our blog, or you can join us on Facebook at Simply Wisconsin, LLC, and advise me from there.
Tonight's menu (which Carley helped me plan with the help of some of my cookbooks and the internet)consists of:
Fresh shelling peas, cheese summer squash bake (which includes bread an an ingredient) with fresh parmesan, and kale sauteed in hickory smoked grapeseed oil with lemon-herb seasoning and sea salt.
I love kale, although Carley has never given it a fair shake, and everyone in our family loves peas and summer squash. Let's hope that Carley enjoys her first official vegetarian meal - I will keep you posted!
Deb
I've been a vegetarian since I was 14, and have never regretted my choice! Because Carley is still growing, you should be aware of calcium and protein intake. You may even want to make sure her doctor is aware of her new dietary choice. But I've never had trouble getting all my nutritional needs met. I've always taken a multivitamin and eaten a varied diet (lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lots of dairy). For protein, I like quinoa, black eyed peas, chickpeas and hummus, black beans, tofu, and veggie burgers. If Carley continues with her vegetarian lifestyle, you may also need to think about an iron supplement when her period starts. I'm guessing your family typically eats very healthy, well-balanced meals, so with just a little bit of extra awareness Carley should be fine.
Please let me know if you need some easy vegetarian recipes or meal ideas. I'm not a great cook (I'm a better baker too!), but I do alright.
At the moment, my 4yo daughter has no such ethical dilemmas. When she saw her first live chicken up close at the Boone County Fair she turned to me and said, "Yum!"
We also love "Passionate Vegetarian" and "The Cornbread Gospels" for veggie inspiration from Crescent Dragonwagon. @CDragonWagon on Twitter.
I also tried to go veg at 14 but my family was not nearly as supportive as yours so bravo to you! As an adult, I've been a vegetarian for 8 years and it has brought me a better awareness of everything I eat (and helped steer me towards local food and the CSA!) - all this after I got my B.S. and M.S. in Animal Science (which is essentially the study of animals for food production). Oh, the irony! Anyway, I agree with what's been said so far - a multi-vitamin every day or every other day is good for just about anyone, veg or not, and vegetarians have to be more aware of their entire day's nutrition, not just from one meal to the next. How much and what type of protein did I eat at breakfast? Have I relied only on dairy for my protein today? Should I take my own veggie burger to the BBQ this afternoon (almost always a "yes")? How can I get more protein in unexpected ways? One of my favorites for this last one is to make baked pasta but modify the sauce. I will puree cannelini beans in with the marinara sauce and add that to my already cooked pasta, top it with mozzarella and bake it. The cannelinis complement the italian food and give the protein content a boost as well as some variety.
My favorite cookbook in all of this is Deboran Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Without a doubt, it has been invaluable in helping me cook - especially with items from the CSA I didn't know what to do with otherwise. She has great tips and all sorts of recipes from easy weeknighters to more involved feasts. My cover got destroyed a few years ago and many of the pages have stains galore - it's the first one I reach for!
Best of luck to your daughter and your family on what may be a fun new adventure!