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Are The Kids Going Vegan?

posted on January 15, 2009 14:49

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently completed a study of those under the age of 17 and discovered that one in every 200 surveyed considered themselves vegetarian.  This is a larger-than-expected finding.

In this study, vegetarian was defined as no red or white meat.  (there are further iterations of vegetarian, such as no eggs or cheese).  In a conclusion that seems to be supported by other studies, the CDC  offered that kids seem to becoming more aware of all issues environmental.  The reason most gave for eating vegetarian was  concerns about animal welfare.

With two vegetarian children in tow, one of whom just doesn't like the taste of meat, it is a home cook's dailly challenge to ensure that enough protein is available from other sources each day (rice and beans, etc.). 

Do your kids eat vegetarian?  What is their reasoning?  How do you make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need?  Finally, got a favorite recipe to share?  Once the Food Maven discovered the wonders of spaghetti squash as a base, life got a whole lot simpler!

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Comments

# Phillip P.
Thursday, January 15, 2009 7:39 PM
Mixing up my household menu when prepping a meal for vegetarian guests adds a "Top Chef" element to the table; thinking outside the box when deciding what foods and recipes to use is fun and you can learn a LOT about food choices. Produce departments offer a wealth of food options like the squash (Spaghetti Squash) that the author mentioned and awesome greens like Chard and Kale. Although many people live a "no meat" lifestyle, meat markets still offer creative ways to serve meat while being friendly to the animal kingdom and avoiding some tastes that aren't for everybody (ex. some red meats) by providing selections from the sea! Adding a seafood combo to a simple olive oil pasta or scallops seared in butter to your table can be a dream come true for any appetite!
# The Food Maven
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 2:25 PM
Thanks for your comment, Phillip. Sometimes I think we get so serious about food that we forget to let our creativity reign. When faced with cooking "outside the box or pan", it's that time when you can take a look around and wonder, what would this recipe be like with tofu? Or maybe rice and some tasty nuts would work in place of red meat? Cooking off the recipe really lets you experiment. Sometimes, for example, you just have too much zucchini, and need to find clever ways to use it , substitute with it, or perhaps disguise it! Other times, you might run across some amazing vegetables,as you mention, and decide to audition them for your next entree. You can end up with some pretty amazing meals when you step out of that recipe comfort zone.
# James C.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 10:24 AM
I've noticed this in my family too. Both of my sisters have switched to a vegetarian diet, and my wife just borrowed a cookbook from them to start making her own vegetarian deserts after we tried some peanut-apple bars they made.
# The Food Maven
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 2:38 PM
Speaking of families, if you have get-togethers that invariably include food and meals, do you offer vegetarian dishes as a matter of course? I find that I will make a meat-based entree (say, for Thanksgiving it was...turkey, of course!), and include one or two others that qualify as vegetarian, such as a butternut squash risotto or a simple pasta. These appeal to everyone at the table. However, James, I'm interested in vegetarian desserts. Neither of my two vegans have offered up any direction in this area yet! Thanks for your comment.

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