The KInd Life Community Forum
Use this space to share stories, exchange ideas, ask questions, and contribute to our growing community!
One week (mostly) vegan...any support and advice is appreciated!
Started
by CarolineB88
on December 21, 2012
I finished reading The Kind Life last week. I work at a no-kill animal shelter, so the book really hit home for me. How can I be working so hard to save a few types of animals and not be working to save them all? I've had a few times this week I haven't been able to be 100% vegan, and they've centered around family. My dad, sweet man that he is, is a big meat eater but was willing to try a veggie lasagna for dinner, but not a vegan one. Any advice on how to stay vegan around a non-vegan family would be appreciated and loved!
For me, becoming vegan made me fall in love with cooking. I could barely boil water before but making the switch made me realize that other people aren't going to make amends to support my new diet so I have to! Since then, nothing makes me happier than feeding yummy vegan food to non-vegans and then being asked for the recipe. That being said, my best advice would be to really take charge of what you're eating. Offer to help out in the kitchen. I know living with non-vegans can be challenging but maybe a conversation with your parents about how your new lifestyle fits into their current one will make a big difference. (Especially if you're offering to cook!) There's no end to all the easy vegan recipes out there. I've found that my local Publix carries a lot of what I need to make those recipes so visiting a whole foods market or specialty groccery is rarely neccessary.Good luck!
P.S: My boyfriend is a major cheese-lover and I never thought I would convince him otherwise. He told me he could give up meat but never cheese. However, I recently replaced his usual Parmesan topping with a homemade version made from cashews and he LOVED it. I also use Daiya shredded cheese topping when cooking and he doesn't even know the difference! (Until I tell him, of course.) As long as your family is willing to keep an open mind and you're not shoving your beliefs down their throat, it should be simple to get everyone on board with your switch.
I think you just have to set the boundary for yourself. Be kind, and let them know this is a life choice you have made for yourself, and not a judgement on them. Assure them that you want to respect their choices, and ask them to respect yours. I think learning to cook is a great asset. I made a dish the other night, veggie jambalaya and the meat eaters tried to convince me that they sausage I put in it was meat. haha.
I find being vegan to be really hard at family events, so am actually a vegetarian at those times. I always bring a vegan dish, but will eat vegetarian things. It makes it easier for my family, so they do not get too stressed about what to feed me, and my conscious is okay with it. This is a personal choice, however, and you need to do what your heart tells you to do.
I am the same way as elie. I cook most of my meals and i cook only vegan for myself but when ilm with family or ffriends they always try hard to accomidate to me not eating meat. They are more health concious for themselves now as because of it. But when somebody goes out of there way to make sure i can eat something vegeterian is ok with me. I try not for people to worry with what i can eat because i can always find something but they still do. Lol before i was vegan or veg i was a big eater, it was sort of my personality. Lol so people tend to "feel sorry" for me because i "can't" eat those things. Granit i can't digest meat but for the nost part i'm fine with it and i made that cchoice.
My sister sent me The Kind Diet for Christmas and I can't thank her ( and Alicia of course!) enough for changing my life! I'm only on page 65 right now, but by page 5 I was already throwing away my cheese and making vegan lasagna! I put it next to the toilet and my fiance is reading it too. He is a huge BBQ'er- meat and cheese loving person. But the other day he told me he's going to make his New Year resolution to becoming a vegan too! I'm just so excited to start my journey, and read other people's thoughts, ideas, and stories. I just read the post on the Mama's out there who are raising vegan children and I think that is so wonderful. I can't wait for James and I to have a child and I'm so lucky to have this information before I get pregnant. So cheers to my first week at becoming a new and improved version of me!
I'm the only vegetarian/vegan in my family! As a college student, I do live with my parents. I cook mostly all of my own meals, and I always offer to share what I make with my parents, although they politely refuse (my mom usually tries things to make me feel better though). I use a lot of vegetables that my Dad won't eat (mushrooms, leafy greens, broccoli) - My parents are not health-conscious and it does concern me and make me worry about them, but I just stick to cooking what I know is great for my body and makes me feel good. I just make sure that I go on the grocery store trips and pick out a few things and try to convince my mom to make switches (sometimes successful, other times not at all). I end up eating different meals than my family but I try to cook the vegan version of whatever they are having when it's possible, so I feel like I fit in a little more around the dinner table.
6 Comments