Becoming Vegan

[TarekF]

Okay I am what I call pseudo vegan...

I drink only soy milk, I have cheese basically never (except when my mom puts a sprinkle on pasta or the very rare times we have pizza)

The reason is that my mom absolutely thinks it is crazy, and I am having a hard time telling her. I will likely go as soon as I am in college and I am at school and everywhere but the rare times when my mom puts crazy pressure on me. I am 18 but still, I hate to talk to her about things like this.

Anyway, I want to hear all of your stories in becoming vegan. I just would like to get some inspiration, maybe somebody has a story somewhat like mine but anyone's story is much appreciated.

Any advice would also be appreciated

[Asleep on a sunbeam]

you're 18, so I presume you can cook for yourself? and use vegetables? couldn't you just not eat the pizza and cheesy pasta?

anyway, more on topic, not vegan, infact many many years before that (they may be boring):

I was about, 10?11? and my brother (about 19?) started boycotting nestle, whilst home, he told me about it.

Well I started boycotting to, mum would say "just finish what we've got left in the house and I'll not buy it again, don't waste it" I'd finish the nestlé item, and she'd buy it again, after about 3 times I just stopped having it and said "fine I'll waste it, better then you buying it again" (or an argument similar to that).

Amusingly now he says he boycotts nestle still (I still do) yet he eats after eight and drinks buxton water .

another story, not a problem. I turned vegan, then my collar bone went snap (due to judo) and my mum decided I wasn't getting enough calcium and that was why. Perhaps it was part of the reason perhaps it wasn't, anyway, I end up seeing a dietitian (a few months ago) and telling her where I got X Y and Z from, etc. every 5 seconds she was turning the page in the text book and realising yes, I was, and just ended up telling me to eat more mushrooms (not really a problem, although I should get some more in thinking about it). I found it crazy that I was telling her that I got calcium from spinach, as well as iron, and the same from broccoli, and she had to check it because she didn't know.

[erske]

I was 18 when I turned vegan to! After my mom forced (well urged) me to read up on the nutrition, when realizing I wouldn't give it up, I asked her to read the books her self. She did, and evens stopped eating meat as a result of reading them...

[TarekF]

My mom was the same way when I sprained my ankle, she said I had brittle bones because I didn't eat milk a lot. So she actually got me soy milk for the first time.

Judo

no way, I used to do judo until I broke my leg (which I am still having problems with now) and I am thinking of joining again, over christmas hopefully.

Back to the subject.
We havent gotten pizza for a couple weeks now and i just now found out that pesto sauce has milk ingredients too, which sucks, but I am just gonna stick with tomato sauce next time I have pasta, I will just dish out the pasta myself before she puts the cheese on.

She did, and evens stopped eating meat as a result of reading them...

That is awesome, hopefully my mom is close to becoming a vegetarian... (no way) maybe if she did some reading or saw the videos from the slaughterhouses (she refuses because she knows that in doing so she will probably know that she is wrong).

[erske]

That is awesome, hopefully my mom is close to becoming a vegetarian... (no way) maybe if she did some reading or saw the videos from the slaughterhouses (she refuses because she knows that in doing so she will probably know that she is wrong).

I'd go for the books in the first place, a violent video risks making her just shut of and stop listening... A good nutrition book, preferably from a source she feel confidence in, is a good first step to make her let go of the anxiety and worry she is undoubtedly feeling for you. and after that try to make her understand your reasons for making the switch...

[flightlessbirds]

My mom's a doctor so I got a lot of "where's the protein in that meal! are you getting enough iron? Where's your calcium coming from?" when I was growing up. I ended up learning a lot about nutrition just from my mom hassling me at meals after I went veg. It was annoying at the time but I am quite thankful now!

I agree about the reading books suggestion above. If you sound like you know what you're talking about in terms of your own nutrition your mom will probably be less worried.

See if you can find some substitutes for cheese to put in your pasta meals. I used to take firm tofu, onions, garlic, peppers and whatever other random veggies and cook 'em up in a pan for a bit until the tofu is getting browned and then dump the tomato sauce on top at the end to heat it up. Add a bit of nutritional yeast for a bit of a nutty/cheesy flavour.
You could also take over the kitchen for a bit on a weekend and make up some sort of bean or lentil dish that you could eat through the week. Like share the vegan parts of your family meals and then have your protein dish on the side.

[Hiking Fox]

I went vegetarian when I was 12 and my parents weren't happy about it at all. We were a meat-three-times-a-day family.

I had to earn to cook at a young age, cos there was no way my mum was going to do me separate food.

Then I turned vegan when I was 18 (I'd left home by then) and she was funny about it until I showed her that she could get things like tofu and soya milk in the supermarket to have in the fridge for when I visit. This changed her mind and she started to see it as 'normal'. She did think it was a phase I was going through, for a while.

Interestingly, my Dad was told about that time that his cholesterol was dangerously high, and that he should stop eating meat, eggs and cheese. So he went round telling everyone that a vegan diet is obviously the way forward, and that he'd go vegan himself if he 'wasn't too old to change'.

The problem with parents is that if you decide to radically change summat like your diet, you're effectively rejecting the way they brought you up. Your mum could well think that you are saying to her, 'the food you fed me was cruel and unhealthy and I no longer want it', and could take it as a personal insult.

Parents are hard work. Just hang in there and try not to let it turn into arguments and get personal. She'll give up hassling you eventually.

[City_of_F]

I went vegetarian out of the blue when I was 12. My father and grandmother didn't really approve, but my mom was on board. I was probably the world's worst vegetarian, so I ended up going back to eat chicken for awhile (I haven't had red meat in over 20 years). I finally got better educated towards my late teens and early 20s, and then my girlfriend and I got together in my 20s and began to really compile information. At that point, we both went vegan (we had both been lazy vegetarians). We both decided to go vegan on Thanksgiving and had one of the best Thanksgiving we'd ever had (complete with a Tofurkey and all of our best efforts at vegan food). We're pretty commited at this point and have been for a few years now (neither of us could really ever think about going back given the information we've collected).

My mom never really stopped eating chicken. My father has had a stroke and I keep trying to convince them it is a better way to live, but they live in North Dakota and health food (although if they actually tried, they'd probably be able to find more) is kind of rare in their neck of the woods. It isn't a good excuse, but I'm sure they'll keep making it until one of them dies. I've sent my mom about five books on veganism and she already had several on the subject, so I have to mark her as kind of hypocritical now. She lauds us for being vegan, but basically states that my father does the grocery shopping, so she really doesn't have any control over her diet...

My girlfriend had a tougher time of things as her family still believes the "meat to live" theory. She moved out and did her own thing. Sometimes family approval is nice, but not necessary.

[Didi]

The problem with parents is that if you decide to radically change summat like your diet, you're effectively rejecting the way they brought you up. Your mum could well think that you are saying to her, 'the food you fed me was cruel and unhealthy and I no longer want it', and could take it as a personal insult.

That is so true. My mom actually tells me (in a very sad tone) about how she fed me breast milk for however many months so i could have a healthy stomach..and how she has always looked out for my proper nutrition "all so i could throw it away becoming vegan."

I just became a vegan a couple of months ago and dont really know how to deal with my familys comments yet..i mainly throw back a bunch of health facts about veganism that disprove whatever theyr saying and then ignore them.

My storys pretty simple. I always felt guilty when eating meat..to eat the rib of a piggy and imagine that pig..or the wing of a chicken..and think of that chicken..it was always really sick for me..i felt like a cannibal. But i was too small to cook for myself or do anything about it so i often would just say i didnt like it and put it to a side. Until i started a fitness class in my school and we saw all the diseases and stuff that come from animal derived products and as a class we all went vegan for 2 days..and that was pretty much the last push i needed. So instead of 2 days i just stayed vegan. Ive learned to cook a lot since..and since im 18 now i can pretty much survive without my parents cooking for me.

~Didi

[J]

another story, not a problem. I turned vegan, then my collar bone went snap (due to judo) and my mum decided I wasn't getting enough calcium and that was why. Perhaps it was part of the reason perhaps it wasn't, anyway, I end up seeing a dietitian (a few months ago) and telling her where I got X Y and Z from, etc. every 5 seconds she was turning the page in the text book and realising yes, I was, and just ended up telling me to eat more mushrooms (not really a problem, although I should get some more in thinking about it). I found it crazy that I was telling her that I got calcium from spinach, as well as iron, and the same from broccoli, and she had to check it because she didn't know.

Very unlikely that it caused your collar bone to break. A lack of calcium is probably much more of a long term thing. A worry for osteoporosis and such later in life...

BTW, I think the oxalic acid in spinach cancels out the calcium...? (Our bodies release calcium from bones to reduce acidity.) Broccoli is good though. Other than the calcium issue I would expect spinach would be better (dark leafy greens have the highest nutrient to calorie ratio). Not ultimately sure what is the best solution there but I usually choose broccoli as I consider calcium an issue and otherwise my nutrient to calorie ratio is probably way better than omnis anyway considering the rest of my diet.

[littlepurplegoth]

'Mom, you gave me the best start by making me vegan then... I'm just returning to the example you set me first'