DC going vegan?

[57mama]

My DC are 12 & 14. They've decided that they want to go vegan because it's "healthier". They've been vegetarian for almost 5 years because they just refuse to eat any meat or fish we serve to them (except the gravy and roast potatoes that they think are vegan ). DH and I will absolutely not be going vegan, whether we let the DC do it or not. I've heard all the stories about vegan kids being malnourished etc, but AIBU to let them? DH thinks it's dangerous and inconvenient, but they'll be cooking for themselves, and surely they can just stop if they want/need to? Any advice would be appreciated!

mother what part of the vegan society says otherwise are you not understanding?

Becareful with b12. I've been vegan 18 years, supplementing and mine went too high. It's very easy being vegan nowadays. To the poster who says veganism is a fad diet, veganism is protected in the work place and is almost a religion to some people, cannot fathom why someone would think that.
And OP, they are trusting you to respect their vegetarianism and although I would check in a restaurant etc, they're your children and they dont think youd do something horrible like that to them. Pretty shitty.

Hairspray

You can't have too high B12, it's non toxic, so even very high figures won't harm & may help if deficient. Mine is frequently over 3,500 & neither GPS or haematology are concerned. It's just above the range that's all, it doesn't mean anything.

I completely understand your DC's reasoning. I was a vegetarian for years, thinking I was healthy and managing it well until I developed pneumonia and blood tests showed I was deficient in practically everything. I then grudgingly started eating a little meat but felt great and thought hey, I'm doing really well, I will try veganism for ethical reasons ( and well researched veganism at that). Recently been told yet again that the deficiencies are back.
I totally get the reasons why veganism or vegetarianism appeal, but I think you have to be very careful.

Well, you did say she'd soon "get bored fast" as you've got pasta and beans and that's about it.
So does sound like you'd try to make it as difficult/miserable as possible in the hope she'd get over her "fad."

No not making difficult, just not buying anything i normally wouldnt.

We GET IT. You're a huge meat eater who needs to tell vegetarians/vegans how much you love meat. We don't care. It's getting a bit tedious now

Oh wah, public forum, im allowed to respond, dont like my posts, you can scroll on past

Would she be ok with lies about food being kosher? Or halal? Or gluten free? Or anything else
kosher and halal i wouldnt cater too, religion is a CHOICE
gluten free, id cater to but be pissed if i find out its down to lifestyle choice and not actual intolerance

I don’t know anyone who has to ‘hide’ vegetables in meals
We do, carrots in spag bog
onion and carrot in homemade sausage rolls
kidney beans blended to a paste in chilli con carne

kosher and halal I wouldn't cater for, religion is a CHOICE
Just out of interest, do you ever invite anyone over for dinner?!
You sound a right trial lol, I'm imagining a Basil Fawlty type tutting and rolling they're eyes at the mere idea of the guests getting ideas above their stations or expressing dietary requirements lol

their eyes

My DCs are vegan, me and DH are not. Dcs often cook for themselves and their food is very very healthy. Yes, they do supplement with B12 and they do calculate the protein and nutrients they’re getting. They are far more conscious about what they’re eating than the rest of us. It’s easy to be vegan now, takes a bit of planning and intelligence but it’s not expensive and choices out there are amazing now as are the online suggestions for balanced meals.

I never thought this was a fad, my DCs weren’t ever faddy eaters. I guess if your kids tend to be faddy eaters you may suspect that this is another fad.

As a child, my mum served me meat that she told me was a soya product. I’m in my forties and I haven’t forgiven her for betraying my trust and showing such little respect for my feelings and opinions. It still feels like a violation. Yes, I’m still veggie.

Well done your children.

But it is nasty to knowingly feed them meat products without telling them. They are human beings you know.

Karma is a bitch.

rocking my gp seemed concerned and told me not to take it any longer but I guess a lot of gps seem to know little about some things so fair enough

Hairspray

Sadly no real surprise as regards your GP, there is a scary amount of ignorance amongst too many medical professionals as regards B12, we've met a few doozies too. Like the one who wrote a letter to our GP accusing me of FII because I argued that my DDs blood results didn't mean anything as the tests were known to be flawed & could she have the therapeutic trial of B12 to fully rule it out or confirm it as per NICE & everything else.

A good place for reliable info is Tracy Wittys B12 website, just google that to find it. She's won an MBE for her work in putting the correct info out there & educating medics as well as the public. Her site & linked group were an absolute godsend to us & thanks to them my daughter was out of a wheelchair in under 2 weeks after other doctors wrote her off to a life in a wheelchair & severe pain. She's never looked back.😊

countryescape the animals get their B12 from a supplement too. That’s not very natural either is it? Not much different from just taking the supplement yourself instead.

For those saying it is not 'natural' to supplement B12, you do realise it is given to cows as a supplement now as many are reared indoors. B12 comes from dirt.

I get my B12 from oat milk, nutritional yeast, marmite and cereal. Occasionally I take a vitamin tablet but only once or twice a month. My B12, Iron , calcium etc are all fine. I eat lots of greens!

Dd is a vegetarian and it’s fine, we don’t eat much meat as a family anyway and I find it easy to cook things with a few tweaks that we can all eat. BUT when she said she wanted to go Vegan I said that while I shopped and cooked I wouldn’t be cooking vegan meals just for her and I wasn’t forking out for cheese substitutes etc. I’ve told her to do it when she leaves home. She won’t eat eggs (things with eggs in such as cakes etc are fine) but eats/drinks dairy produce

For those concerned about protein, we don't need as much as we have been led to believe and anyway it is present in loads of foods.

Tofu
Seitan
Soya
Quinoa
Wild Rice
Chick peas
Beans
Green Peas
Nuts
Nut butters
Nutritional yeast
Seeds
Fruit/veg (although often low in protein they do contain some and a couple of cups of the more protein rich ones contains 10g).

If you don't like Game Changers - have a look at The China Study.

Even if you ate 2000 or 2500 calories of potatoes, depending on your weight, you could get enough daily protein from that! I don’t recommend necessarily doing that (that are people that do a potato diet thing!) but people thinking you can only get proteins from meat is messed up and pretty uneducated.

@Countryescape
Please read an actual book about nutrition. Not a Daily Mail article or something someone forwarded on Facebook. An actual book. I would say bookS but I think one book would be a good start for you. Then perhaps you can contribute something intelligent to the debate about the relative merits of specific diets.

@Scarlettpixie - those foods do not contain all the essential aminoacids children need. All proteins are not the same.

We obviously don't need meat everyday, but all the posters who are condoning malnourishing their children is appalling.

Just out of interest, do you ever invite anyone over for dinner?

Nope, i HATE cooking with a passion, HATE HATE HATE it
I will never offer to cook for a group lol
and will always worm my way out of it if it looks like it may fall on me

You think she has friends
Ooh did you try make a hurty? Well done sweet cheeks, hope you didnt hurt your brain thinking that one up

I imagine she’s too busy trying to stop three billy goats crossing her bridge

And the award for most unoriginal comment goes too @Butchyrestingface

yawn....

I will never offer to cook for a group lol
Well, thank fuck for that at least

Ooh did you try make a hurty? Well done sweet cheeks, hope you didnt hurt your brain thinking that one up

Not as much as you appeared to hurt yours in your very next post, attributing someone else’s post to me...