TheVeggieTraveler.com - Eating Healthy Vegetarian and Vegan All Over The World

TheVeggieTraveler is all about living the vegetarian lifestyle; cooking at home, eating out at restaurants, and traveling around the world while enjoying vegetarian cuisine.

  • Home
  • About
  • Living As A Vegetarian
    • Adults
    • Children
    • Teens
  • Meal Planning
    • Eating In
    • Eating Out
    • Recipes
    • Travel
  • Resources
    • Apps and Sites
    • Books and Videos
    • Education
  • Veggie 101
    • Environmental Impact
    • How-To’s
    • Nutrition

Teaching Family Members About Vegetarians

The conversation has always been similar in nature:

“Will she eat a little turkey?”

“Do you like fish?”

“Can I make you a corn dog?”

You probably have someone in your family like that too. For some reason, I’ve never been able to make my mom understand what being vegetarian really means. Every time she presents one of her “questions”, I have to ask her if she truly understands what being vegetarian really means? I get the blank stare. She asks “what will she eat?” And we start all over again.

I’ve had cousins ask why I cater to her finickiness – “why don’t you just feed her meat, you’re the parent.”

I’ve had people ask if I’m worried about her nutrition – “are you sure she’s getting enough vitamins/minerals/protein?”

1. Do your research.

Once you’ve decided to go vegetarian or vegan, do your own research. I’ve read every book I can get a hold of on raising a vegetarian child. There are many out there, and you’ll find a wealth of information from others that have been there, done that.

2. Be ready with an answer.

The more you learn, the more prepared you’ll be for some of the questions. I often tell people when they question where she’s getting protein from:

Do you know she gets more protein from a cup of bok choy than from a chicken breast? And she’s not getting the chemicals mixed into the chickens feed too – its a double benefit!

Yep, that usually pushes people into a discussion they really don’t want to get into. But I figure if they want to question my habits of not eating meat, I can question their habits of eating chemically fed animal products! 😉

3. Take it one step at a time.

Don’t push ideas too quickly. Because my mom never can remember what vegetarian truly means, I use different comebacks every time she questions our eating habits. Sometimes I explain what vegetarian means. Sometimes I go into discussions on nutrition. I use whatever comes to mind at the time, give her a short explanation and move on.

For some people, they will never understand the path you are taking. That’s okay. As long as you are comfortable with your choices and teach your child great eating habits … that’s all that matters.

Filed Under: Children

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome To The Veggie Traveler

We’re Lori and Andrew. We’re Vegetarian. We love to travel.

TheVeggieTraveler helps average Joes and Janes eat healthier.

There’s a lot of B.S. out there about vegetarianism. We’re working to put a stop to it.

Read More>>

My Favorite Cookbooks


See My List Of Favorites
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

The Latest Posts…

  • What’s Happening To Our Organic Food?
  • Transitioning To A Plant-Based Diet – Is It The Same As Being Vegan?
  • A Primer On Gut Bacteria
  • Is Sugar Causing Obesity
  • Can You Get Too Much Protein?
  • Dear Chain Restaurants: Vegetarians Eat Out Too
  • How To Build A Grocery List That Supports Your Vegetarian Lifestyle
  • Pairing Wine With Tofu and Other Vegetarian Meals
Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

“What is it with females and their chocolate?” Andrew says this every time I make my way into the kitchen looking for something sweet. I’m not a big sweets person. And after reducing my sugar intake substantially over the years, it’s more difficult than ever for me to eat prepackaged desserts. Sure, I’ll have gelato […]

White Bean and Spinach Vegetable Wraps

White Bean and Spinach Vegetable Wraps

I love summer. Summer means playing outside, long hikes, days at the beach, summer concerts and outdoor plays. Because we’re outside more than we are in, I look for a variety of recipes that are quick to make and even easier to throw in our cooler and be ready for a meal anywhere we choose […]

Cantaloupe and Bulgur Salad

Cantaloupe and Bulgur Salad

This past weekend, the heat raged on. Hitting our tenth consecutive day above 90 degrees, I knew the nightly dinner routine would NOT include turning on the oven. Before I made the switch to a vegetarian diet, we would visit PF Changs every couple of months when I got a craving for their Shrimp with […]

Copyright © 2019 · TheVeggieTraveler.com · Disclaimer