Vegan Moms

Dulmaria · February 2016

Hey! Im almost 6 weeks pregnant and a recent vegan, any other vegan preggers here?

kateleap · February 2016

I'm not vegan but I'm a strict vegetarian. Though these days I feel like I'm actually a potato-and-applesauce-tarian since some days that's all I can stomach! Not anticipating any nutrition issues during my pregnancy...when I can eat like a human, I just try to get more iron-rich foods (for me lately, that tends to be eggs). But my prenatal has plenty of iron. Do you have a vegan-friendly prenatal?

jrmint427 · February 2016

I'm also not vegan, but vegetarian. I take a prenatal that is plant-based (Nexa Plus). How long have you been vegan/vegetarian? I was vegetarian during my first pregnancy too and didn't have any issues.

JDMRS · February 2016

Sort of related to this topic- how are you raising your kids? I'm a vegan/vegetarian- meat free for 22 years, strict vegan for 8 years but now I incorporate some animal protein into my diet
but I am considering going full vegan
again. My husband is pretty meat centric. I don't want to make a unilateral decision on this important child rearing topic. Anyone else in a mixed relationship? How are you handling it?

jrmint427 · February 2016

@JDMRS I've been vegetarian for almost 6 years, and my husband is not. He's not a picky eater though, and will eat vegetarian at home with me when I cook. He gets meat either at work or when we go out to eat.

We're still discussing how to raise our daughter. She is 17 months and vegetarian so far, but we haven't made any long term decisions. I feel strongly about wanting her to be vegetarian until she is old enough to decide if she wants to eat meat, but I'm not sure what age that will be. I'm sure she will try it eventually, but we're putting it off as long as we can.

My husband has mixed feelings about it. He would love her to try meat, but has been very respectful of my feelings on the topic, and knows our daughter eats healthy foods. We've talked to our pediatrician together and she is supportive of a vegetarian diet (but did say she would have some concerns if we were feeding her a vegan diet). So we've been fine with the decision so far.

I'm interested in how others have handled a mixed household too!

moosette113 · February 2016

@JDMRS I have been a pescatarian for 12 years and H eats meat but no fish, so when I cook "composed" meals for us it is vegetarian (I just finished up a baked ziti for dinner and leftovers). H is starting to lean towards limiting meat consumption because of environmental concerns, so I think as little one grows we will probably keep to a mainly vegetarian diet with the occasional meat meal. For me, my diet is based more on environmental issues than ethics, so I don't have a moral problem with H or LO eating meat. As LO grows, I'll be honest about why I eat the way I eat (and that other people have their own valid reasons for having different diets) and go from there.

EJChapman123 · February 2016

When not pregnant, I eat very little meat, primarily for environmental reasons. I know this makes me most decidedly not vegetarian or vegan, but I totally sympathize and admire the decision.

If you read the ohsheglows blog (awesome vegan recipes), she decided to not raise her daughter vegan because her husband is not. She has actually got an incredible amount of backlash for it, which is a shame. We are all trying to do the best we can in mommy hood. She has written a few posts about her decision and why she came to it. I actually don't really feed my kids meat and they don't really like it. Since we are really fussy about how we source the meat we do buy, its prohibitively expense and if they don't care about it, its not worth feeding to them.

JDMRS · February 2016

I am concerned about "meat sneaking" by my in laws, and some of my own family members. It's infuriating to think about someone going behind our back and giving our kid something that we have made a decision not to let our kid have. At least this won't be an issue right out of the gate.
@EJChapman123 - my choice is based on the ethics of farming and I have no problem with DH eating meat so long as it is properly sourced.

thedouglas · February 2016

I'm a vegan! It's been very frustrating because I seem to have an aversion to veggies. I can eat fruit and whole grains, but I'm super bummed that I can't get my greens in. I'll be raising the baby as vegan as possible, but am also prepared for the probability that other people could sneak animal foods in.

jrmint427 · March 2016

I worry a little bit about food sneaking too. Our families joke about it but I don't think they actually would sneak meat (at least I hope not). But, I've watched the kids at daycare stealing food off of each other's plates, my daughter included, so it wouldn't surprise me if she has snuck meat from the other toddlers in her class.

hazeleyedsaintlouisgirl · March 2016

So glad someone brought up this topic! I'm vegetarian, my husband eats meat. I'm a city girl and he's from the country and his fam is very "into meat." I think we kind of decided to start our child off with being vegetarian until he/she is old enough to decide--although, I don't think I could ever have a child that eats meat--I have very strong morals and intend to pass them along. Other than morals, I have lots of other benefits on my side of the argument as to why our child should be raised vegetarian--it's definitely healthier and better for the environment and my husband definitely agrees with those points.

@JDMRS we have no kids yet but once this one is born, I'm worried about in-laws eventually sneaking meat, too..if I ever find out that happens that would be the last time they saw their grand child for a very long time, though.

thedouglas · March 2016

Hey guys - do you have any tips on how to get more vegan fats into your diet? I think I've been craving sugar and junk food because I don't eat enough fat. I'm not a big fan of vegan fats like nuts, avocados, and olives.

JDMRS · March 2016

@thedouglas Hmm that is tough. Maybe get some coconut into your diet. I am obsessed with avocados and that was my go-to for fats when I was strict vegan. Is your aversion to plain avocado or all avocado? You can also do an awesome "pudding" with your choice of non-dairy milk (I love almond-coconut the best!) and chia seeds. I am mildly obsessed with chia! I know you said you're not a big fan of nuts, but what about nut butter? I love Teddie peanut butter on wasa crisp bread.

kateleap · March 2016

My husband is also vegetarian, but he's a funny case because growing up (in a Greek, meat-eating household), he rejected all forms of meat/poultry/fish from the time he could eat solid foods, it's just a really deep aversion. He wouldn't mind if our kids ate meat, but I plan to raise them vegetarian and explain to them as they grow up why I've made the conscious decision I have, and as they get older and able to make the decision for themselves, I'll cross that bridge when we get to it!

@thedouglas Knowing that you're not really into olives, have you tried different olive oils? It won't be a HUGE source of fats but if you got some nice olive oils with flavors you liked (even better with good flavorful balsamic vinegars), you could at least dip bread into it, put it on veggies or use it for sauteeing.

thedouglas · March 2016

Thanks for the ideas, @JDMRS and @kateleap! I'll try adding more of those to my diet. I didn't even think about coconut!

niki.black · March 2016

I'm a vegan, have been for 2 1/2 years. My Husband is a meat eater, but only eats it at work or outside our home.

We have a 3 year old that's a vegetarian, she couldn't keep meat down. So we decided to change our diets to support her.

I'm currently 9 weeks right now, we intend to raise this child the same as our 3 year old.

kateleap · March 2016

@thedouglas One other idea, knowing you don't dig avocados, is that they blend really well into smoothies pretty much without a trace (especially if you're using berries or more tropical fruits with strong flavors). I have to sneak it in sometimes just sending on my mood, so that might help a little! ☺️

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