Comments (1)

By laviyah, August 24, 2010 12:47 PM

As the mother of four healthy vegan children I get asked a lot of questions. The questions are often specific to what my children eat. If you are a vegan and want your children to be too, its actually quite simple. I will let you in on a little secret. Make good food. I have an 11 and 9 year old who will eat almost anything I make. The reason for this is a)they have no choice b)they have been eating this way since infancy.

Continue reading 'Raising healthy vegan children (Part 1)'»

Comments (0)

By laviyah, July 16, 2009 10:45 PM

For those of you that have been reading about my baby son’s condition, he is scheduled for his outpatient procedure on the 29th.  We met with the surgeon today and she was straightforward and open with us.  Of course my little boy was oblivious and was more interested in playing with the toy on the wall.

Walking into the hospital, he appears like such a tiny little thing.  It’s all a novelty to him, just one big adventure.  Now, when we leave the house, he asks if we are going to the doctor, because he had so much fun the last time!

I am just thankful and grateful that he is a healthy child.  I know there are parents sitting in hospitals wishing that they were just there for a bump and a bruise.  Walking up to the hospital I said a silent prayer for parents of children with serious illnesses, that they have the strength to cope, to be strong for their babies, to have hope.

Although it is important that he get this procedure, I also know that there are far worse things than fluid leaking into my babies little sack.

Comments (3)

By laviyah, May 28, 2009 8:55 PM

The Princess

One question I get asked a lot after I tell people that I am the vegan mother of four children is:

Are your children vegan?

I always think it  is an odd question. I can’t imagine being a vegan and raising meat eating children.  The idea of cooking separate meals within a family environment is just plain silly.  To answer the question, yes my children are vegan and they will eat vegan as long as I purchase and prepare their meals.

With increasing rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes among American children, raising my children as vegans is the best choice for our family.  I know that I am blessed, having given birth to four healthy children without any complications, however I do feel that excellent health is much more about maintenance rather than luck.

The constant in our household is lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Most meals (we indulge from time to time) are cooked from scratch and more often than not, nothing goes to waste because my children clean their plates  and ask for more at almost every meal.  We don’t buy a lot of juice.  If we are thirsty we mainly drink water.  We go through a lot of broccoli, fresh garlic, onions, parsely, cilantro, green onions, apples, bananas, pears, carrots, and peppers of all types.  We eat basmati rice, cous cous, we buy dry beans (pinto, black, navy, garbanzo) and soak them before cooking, we also eat a lot of other grains (barley, quinoa, bulgar, millet).  We cook brown and orange lentils.  We us olive oil, sesame oil, vegetable oil and vegan margarine.  With such an interesting variety to choose from we manage to keep the menu exciting.

Cooking with fresh wholesome ingredients plays a big part in whether or not your children will eat healthy for a life-time rather than part-time.  My eldest will eat an entire container of cherry tomatoes.  My middle son will beg for a banana smoothie to start his day.  My youngest son will eat just about anything you place in front of him.  All of my children have been or are currently breast-fed.  I believe that breastfeeding is absolutely the single most important thing that you can do for your baby.  Breastfeeding helps children develop healthy appetites as well as a healthy immune system.

Vegan children are not as picky eaters and tend to be just as adventurous as their parents.  I love this.  I don’t get strange looks when I use curry spices or when making a sofrito for my spanish yellow rice, or when I use seaweed or any other not so average spice or flavor combination.

I would love to hear from other vegans out there who are raising vegan children and vegans who are not raising vegan children.  What are the choices of the different households?  What is grocery shopping like?  Are you a meat eating parent with a child who refused to eat the Standard American Diet?  Are your children vegan?