Is it really that hard.....? 🤔

[StillGotBabyBrain]

My family is vegan, not a massive deal.

When the school has events, no vegan option, so everyone gets a bbq or food catered and we don't. Not even a dairy free alternative for hot drinks! (Primary school, high school is better).

When they go for sleepovers I get worried parents asking me what should they do, can I provide food and drinks for them...

Pubs and restaurants barely cater for adults let alone add options for the kids menu.

Went to a choir meeting the other week, nothing I could eat from the food included in my ticket price.

Am I being unreasonable thinking it's really not that difficult to provide bread and houmous or vegetable dishes? They're suitable for everyone, so isn't a waste of food! Blows my mind.

Vegan isn't as straightforward anymore, dirty vegans, wholefood only, ect, it's only right to at least provide fresh fruit and vegetables as a basic.

I mean even IF your own kids would eat all that... You cannot possibly believe an entire sleepover of children would???

I cook the vast majority of food from scratch and work hard to make sure my children have a balanced and (relatively) healthy diet but not in a month of Sundays would they eat half of what you've just suggested being 'easy'. I have zero tolerance for fussy kids but that's taking the complete and utter piss!

I do not know any vegans who do that, and I know a lot of vegans

I agree if you're talking about the more committed vegans, OP, and happily I know plenty myself

It was the "latest fad" type I was describing though ...

Don't be silly. I've been attacked numerous times as a parent on this thread and had no end of rude comments thrown at me. I've responded truthfully and factually, not came at you all based on my different ethical beliefs....

There are a certain amount of people who are anti vegan. That's the world. It's okay. I'll survive.

Some of the people on here are vile - OP just wants to eat some fruit and veg, not stir fry your first born!

There are dozens of easy and delicious vegan meals that can be made from things you'll find in the average UK omni kitchen. It doesn't have to be hard. I'm sure there are plenty of people on here who could do with eating more plants but they won't want to hear that!

Yep this! My husband is celiac. He has no choice about that.

His diet is already so restricted, and not by choice. When we eat out, he is then faced with no option but to restrict his diet either further by having only Vegan options as a Gf option.

Why? It’s a MEDICAL need? Why is there no simply GF option? Is he now not allowed to eat dairy, eggs and meat either, as well as not being able to eat most anything else he used to enjoy?

It couldn't be easier these days to cater for vegans and vegetarians. Doesn't take a lot of headspace, come on!

DD is vegetarian (adult) and I've been amazed at some friend's panic when trying to cater for her. The amount of people who have said "what does she eat"! And that's veggie not vegan, bizarre. Do they really eat meat for every single meal.

I’m vegan, so are my children. It’s not a huge thing. They’re not socially isolated and all that other guff. We chat about it a bit, if they’re interested, and I explain that when you’re little your mummy and daddy make choices for you and as you grow up, you make more of your own choices and if you want to not be vegan anymore then that’s fine and your choice. They’re both on the top quarter for height and weight, get very few illnesses that are going around, fit, active, healthy, happy.
We became vegetarians as an ethical animal-loving choice then when the children’s arrived they had cow’s milk allergies they haven’t outgrown so it seemed easier to become vegan. We had also become more aware of the climate and the role that meat and dairy consumption has in that.
When they go to parties or people’s houses I generally have something with me, but if people ask (which they often do) I say that beans on toast, jam butties, peanut butter, chips etc are all vegan and most people are happy to rustle something up.
I agree with the OP that sometimes it can be tricky or annoying to find that no one has considered a vegan option. School fair last week had only pizza, which was disappointing, but we bought a bag of chips on the way home.
The strength of feeling shown by a lot of the posters here is really bizarre to me. Why do you care so much?

I would quite like someone to come and look at my fridge and cupboards and make some vegan meals. I expect I would be surprised at how much could be made (am now wondering if my lazy 18y old’s
Pot Noodles are vegan…!).

I have a very large family and we have two people that are vegans, 1 veggie, 1 coeliac disease, 1 nut allergy, 1 dairy allergy and 1 with a shellfish allergy and as you can imagine it is a nightmare when we have family gathering, I do try and cater for all their allergies by doing veggie chilli, jacket spuds, hummus and dips etc

BUT in our house we eat meat, fish , dairy, nuts and wheat so their will be proteins of all of those items in my kitchen, on utensils, cutlery and crockery which means they technically shouldn’t eat in my home so for restaurants who have to be even more careful than I am I do understand sometimes that vegans/allergy sufferers are hard to cater for due to the allergens in the air and on surfaces and not a lot of restaurants can unfortunately have a extra vegan free/allergy free kitchen! But I do feel sorry for you I just don’t know the answer unless you ring ahead and warn them

Some of the people on here are vile - OP just wants to eat some fruit and veg, not stir fry your first born!

@YourApplePie No, that’s simply not true. She wants everyone else to cater to the ridiculous dietary rules she’s foisted on her poor kids.

It's is not what 'vegans' say. It's his been studied and documented that it is appropriate.

Someone else somewhere here said they hope I give my children B12 supplements, but, how many meat eaters and vegetarians are B12 deficient? Why is that not talked about.

Sadly we live in a toxic world these days - meat or no meat. In health terms we can’t underestimate the impact of pesticides. How many families can afford to eat all organic, vegan or non? The soil quality is declining at an alarming rate due to these non sustainable, industrial
farming practices (meat farming aside).
So before long we won’t be able to grow anything at all. But how do you feed a growing population using the costly, organic, sustainable practices alone? I fear there are no easy answers, including us all converting to veganism. I think it’s ill advised and wrong of people to suggest that dropping meat from your diet is a way to prevent cancer or health issues. It’s fair to say that most meat eaters need to up the quantity and variety of their veg consumption. But I also think someone who is vegan needs to be working very hard to be getting a nutritionally adequate and well varied diet.

Everyone has different nutritional needs and food is only one aspect of health. People shouldn’t underestimate the impact of cleaning, personal care products, air and water quality, poor sleep, stress levels etc etc when looking at long term health prospects.

Health issues have forced me to eat a very restrictive diet which involves no dairy or hens eggs, gluten etc etc. I do eat high quality wild or organic meat and fish as my diet would be nutritionally devoid if I didn’t. I wouldn’t dream of just turning up somewhere expecting to be catered for, nor expecting people to bend over backwards to accommodate my needs. I often prefer to take my own food anyway as I know it’s safe for me and meets my requirements.

I agree with the OP that sometimes it can be tricky or annoying to find that no one has considered a vegan option. School fair last week had only pizza, which was disappointing, but we bought a bag of chips on the way home

Ah, you did alright, you didn't have to walk past the chip shop because the chips were rendered unsafe due to being cooked in the same oil as the fish and sausages in batter.

Most kids grow up eating like their parents. I'm confident that there are loads of things my DD never tried growing up because I don't eat them.

She's asking people to respect her (not particularly restrictive) beliefs.

I fecking hate this. I'm a coeliac gluten free stuff is bad enough without having to have the misery of no dairy or eggs.

Veganism is a choice. Everyone's choices can't possibly be catered for. If you have restrictive food preferences, you need to sort it out for yourself.

It has been clearly shown that a B12 deficiency is a common occurrence in vegans and vegetarians. The research is clear. Given that B12 is only present in animal products naturally this isn't a surprise. Lack of B12 particularly in childhood can lead to long-term issues such as cardiovascular disease.
B12 is present in fortified foods such as cereal though these aren't particularly healthy to eat in vast quantities so not the best source.

Why wouldn't you just give them some B12 I don't understand?

Again, no she isn’t. She’s asking people to fanny around because she’s forced her kids to be vegan.

Nope. I wouldn’t be catering to them. It’s her fault her kids are being left out, nobody else’s.

Why wouldn't you just give them some B12 I don't understand?

Marmite

I can understand your frustration but I would just accept that's the situation and either take your own food or not go. I'm coeliac and have dairy/soy allergy. I've lost count of the times we've been to places and there's been nothing I can eat i just have a drink and eat either before we go out or when we come back.

Plant based options on menus can often contain gluten and then there's always the contamination issue to contend with - a buffet is a minefield even with suitable options. Different spoons going in different dishes, crumbs being dropped etc. Any events revolving around food I take my own or don't go. That's just the way it is sometimes

B12 is often given to farm animals as a supplement now. They don’t always get enough from soil anymore.

🫠

Who said I do not provide for my children I terms of B12, I certainly didn't.

I did say that many meat eaters are also deficient.... animals are rarely grazed now.

Schools, choirs, PTA type things I can understand as it IS a lot more money and faff providing for vegans - and you say ‘oh we just want veg’ but the amount of threads I’ve seen from people saying why do people think we just want to eat veg!!!? However I’ve never had a problem in restaurants and cafes these days. Both my children have been Dairy Free as babies and with the first (6 years ago) options were non existent but I don’t know many places that don’t cater to Vegans AT ALL now.

You are right - my children would eat like this but most wouldn't. Bean and chips it is 😀