Mom decided to put the children on a “green” diet. Not for long – for a week. Just see what happens. And here’s what happened.
This story was told by a mother of two. … We found her experience amusing, so we decided to share it with our readers.
“I’ve always been a natural vegetarian, I just don’t like the taste of meat. I was even going to become a vegan, but I didn’t dare. Moreover, I had twins three years ago. And then I decided – I’ll try it myself, and experiment with the boys. I’ll see how they like the vegetarian lifestyle.
The health of my children is the most important thing for me. We recently visited our pediatrician, so I was sure that everything was fine with them. I decided to give them an extra daily dose of vitamin B12, we get it only from animal products. I also gave my sons a multivitamin containing omega-3 fatty acids.
What is the experiment
For a week, I fed the children with plant foods. I explained to them that we are trying to get rid of animal products. No, I didn’t tell the boys about the killing and exploitation of animals for food. There is no need to scare them. If they refused to eat what I gave them, I fed them their usual food – non-vegetarian. I’m not Cruella De Ville. To be honest, I didn’t think it would be so difficult. It seemed difficult – just feed the children with pies, not nuggets. No matter how it is.
Day 1: not all milk is created equal
Day one, 5:45 am. Time for the first cup of milk. Lolo had seen me drink soy milk before and asked me to try it. Usually I refused: it is expensive, I would not want to translate it in vain. What if he spits it out? He was glad that he would finally get what his mother was drinking, and he liked it! But Remi was not impressed with soy milk. So much so that they vomited him. And I was sick all morning. Almond milk didn’t suit him either. Even with chocolate syrup.
Day 2: love the fruit – or worse
This is what it means to be a vegan – if you don’t want to eat refined foods, convenience foods and the like, you must be very fond of fruits and vegetables. Especially 0 if you are a raw foodist. Otherwise, every meal will turn into torture.
I tried to cook vegetables for my sons. “Mom, can I eat a cracker better? ..” – asked the son, looking incredulously at the hummus. But crackers weren’t good for our vegan diet. I barely managed to find vegan bread. Uff …
Day 3: I am the kitchen slave
A week before the experiment, I cooked homemade sausage and cabbage soup. I decided to try to build their vegan counterparts – tofu sausage, and vegetable broth soup instead of chicken. I managed! God, this is my first success. Children dared everything for a sweet soul.
Success inspires, of course, but I realized: if you want to make something tasty and at the same time vegan – be ready to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. No, I love to cook, I even wanted to go to study as a pastry chef. But when you HAVE to do something every day and for a long time, this is no longer a hobby, but a job. But children need not only food, but also attention! In the pre-vegan period, I could make a stew with rice in 20 minutes. And now…
There may be some quick vegan recipes. But I didn’t have them. Imagine how I felt: you kill half a day in the kitchen, and the children turn up their noses from what I cooked and ask for pasta or cereal.
Day 4: cheese trial
If truth be told, it’s completely out of my head that cheese is not vegan either. I was hoping to just give up hot dogs and nuggets. But precious macaroni and cheese – it was too much … My children just love this dish. So much so that they themselves choose what form of pasta to cook today and what kind of sauce they will use: white, yellow or cheddar. And they watch how I cook it all.
I tried to make a kind of cheese sauce with cashews, coconut milk and cereal. The husband said that it turned out very tasty. The children tactfully said that this, of course, was not complete rubbish. But not macaroni and cheese either.
Day 5: the hunger games
My children have always had a great appetite. They can grind a bowl of pasta, a huge sandwich or scrambled eggs in the morning without any problem. But when I started introducing them to all the new vegetables and fruits, such as pea casseroles or zucchini pancakes, I noticed that the boys began to eat much less than usual. I try my best to invent snacks for them that they can eat on the go. But when you consider that they hate nuts and peanut butter, there aren’t many options.
Maybe my imagination ran wild, but it really began to seem to me that the boys were much more energetic when I gave them cheese sticks and yoghurts. I felt great, I ate a bunch of different vegetables and fruits of all colors of the rainbow. But they are not. At their young age, they still didn’t like vegetables enough to eat a ton of vegetation every day.
Day 6: Vegan baked goods – awesome!
On Tuesdays, I usually bake various buns with the kids. This time I decided to try baking vegan chocolate chip cookies with almonds, brown sugar and coconut oil. I may have forgotten to see if my chocolate chips were 100 percent vegan. But the result came out – mmm … All in all, they were great.
Until that moment, I did not realize how much in my life and the life of children revolves around food: cooking, eating, cleaning. It was nice that this weekly baking ritual of ours was preserved.
Day 7: battle for eggs
This morning I woke up with a terrible desire to eat an egg. I had a workout at the gym the night before, and I craved protein instead of the oatmeal that I had for breakfast all week. I decided to quietly eat an egg while everyone was asleep. But Lolo heard me put the frying pan on the stove, and immediately rushed to the kitchen.
“Eggs! Are you making eggs? Can I have an egg? ” – he jumped around me.
Damn, I was exposed. At first I thought of offering him some oatmeal. But then I thought that a fresh egg from the farm is still healthier than processed grain. So we ate scrambled eggs and they were delicious.
Instead of morality
When our vegan week was over, I realized that it was possible to switch children to a plant-based diet. But until they have discovered the full variety of fruits and vegetables, they will have to include in their diet and animal products – at least a little.
In addition, I felt like Cinderella in my own home. And not at the moment when she is dancing at a ball in a beautiful dress. Maybe it makes sense to go vegetarian one day a week? Need to think. But I’ll definitely leave the cheese.