If I become a vegetarian, what about my growing teenage athletic son who needs protein and loves meat? ?

Question

I can't cook two meals. I work full time and am not a good cook to begin with.

Answer 1

Let your son choose for himself. There's plenty of ways to get protein without eating meat, but that's not what everyone chooses to do.

Answer 2

Teach him to cook. Cooking some protein-ful meals can be well and truly quite simple.  

Answer 3

Let him cook his own meals and you can just have something small on the side.  

Answer 4

Meat isn't the only thing that has protein.

Almost all foods except for alcohol, sugar, and fats are good sources of protein. Vegan sources include: potatoes, whole wheat bread, rice, broccoli, spinach, almonds, peas, chickpeas, peanut butter, tofu, soy milk, lentils, kale.

Besides he's old enough to cook for himself, it would help you also. I decided to become vegan when I was a teen, my parents didn't cook for me. I don't think it would be fair for you to "make" him a vegetarian too, unless he wants to be.

Answer 5

There are many simple meat dishes that he can make himself. Also, there are a lot of dishes that can be made and then meat added to individual portions after the process is complete. Many pasta and stir-fry dishes can be done like that. It will not require much extra effort on your part.

Answer 6

well...what is more important to you? your son or your lifestyle choice?

Answer 7

Why would you bring up protein?

Amino acids are the easiest nutrients to find, they're in almost everything.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/prot...

Just because you make vegetarian food at home, that doesn't mean your son is a vegetarian. He can eat whatever he wants  and you can buy him whatever he wants you to if that's what you choose.

Bread, pasta, cereal, rice, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies can easily offer everything that you need except B12.

http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo

All vegetarians should take a B12 supplement regularly since most people eat meat, dairy AND fortified cereals yet still have a B12 status that is lower than recommended.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/b12

It may help if you see proof that vegetarian people have the same potential as anyone else.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.macdanzig.net/bio.php

http://www.scottjurek.com/career.php

If you need meat or dairy during any stage of your life or to live any certain lifestyle, why does the American Dietetic Association say otherwise?

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

Answer 8

I can speak from experience on this Im 42 now but my folks became veagen in the early 80's. my siblings and I were eating our own meals because we didn't like tofu and tempe  and craved the foods our parents raised us on.It was the end of the family meal. we no longer spent that hour everyday bonding. I also felt at the time that they weren't concerned for us we were on our own basicly. they bought only ready made meals with meat for us it was rough I moved out at 17 as soon as I graduated high school.I was very angry that they were forcing thier diet on me. Im not angry now but our family is also not as close. It effected extended family gathering negetively as well my folks quit going cause there was so little they were willling to eat wait til he goes to colllege if you can if its a choice not a prescriptrd diet from doctor

Answer 9

Being a vegetarian is a personal choice....it would not be right or fair to make your son become one too. It should be his choice.

Answer 10

Um, you don't NEED to cook two meals. Just make the meat in a different pan. It's really not that complicated. If you're having spaghetti, you cook the meat, drain it, then add the plain sauce. Heat the rest of the sauce in a different container. Easy.

You could also tell him it's time to start cooking for himself if he wants special meat dishes. There's plenty of protein in non-meat foods.  

Answer 11

So cook one meal.  Let him learn how to cook his own meat.  Cooking meat is not exactly hard and it will be good for him to learn.  If he decides to be a vegetarian along with you and not cook meat then you can just boost the protein content of the meals you cook for the two of you.  Until then, cook your vegetarian dinners and he can cook himself a slab of meat every few days to go along with it.  Everyone's happy and ain't nobody crying.  :)

Answer 12

Protein is rich many foods besides red meat are high in protein, which means that your kids are likely getting much more protein in their diet.

some protein rich foods are:

Milk

Soy Milk

Eggs

Cheese

Yogurt

Peanut Butter

Beans, Tofu, Lentils, and other Legumes

Grains, including bread and pasta

Nuts and Seeds

Answer 13

Cook a well-rounded meal so your son can eat the way he chooses, then skip the meat yourself. You can add non-animal protein for yourself in the form of soy - edamame added to salads or for a snack is one of my favorites.

Example: Instead of spaghetti with meat sauce, use a non-meat sauce and serve a grilled chicken breast, steak, or sausage on the side.

It's pretty easy to add meat to a vegetarian meal to satisfy you both.

Answer 14

I am a single mother with 2 growing boys and I'm a vegetarian...My boys(12 and 9) both eat meat.  My youngest likes some of the soy meats that I eat, but not all.  What I do is buy whatever meat they want and cook whatever they want.  If you have to cook 2 meals, then so be it.  You will just have to get over this I "Can't" cook 2 meals...sometimes you will have to.  If you are doing this as a diet then you won't be able to eat most of the stuff that your son eats regardless if there's meat in it or not...so 2 meals will have to be the option.  I work full time and have no one else to help me with any of my household duties....so I'm sorry that I am not sympathizing with you here, but I do it everyday.  Some things they can cook for themselves...but I won't take meat away from them just b/c I don't eat it.  They enjoy it and I'm perfectly fine with that..I may not like cooking it or touching it, but I do it b/c I am their mother and am responsible for feeding them and making sure they are healthy.  If later in life they want to be vegetarian, then hey, they have 1st had experience of what it's like to be one...b/c they know what I eat and don't eat.  BTW..their are other ways to get protein besides meat, but if your son likes it, well then you're just gonna have to dig your heels in and go at it.  Take care of your kid, don't be lazy about it, cook the 2 meals if need be...sometimes you can both eat the same things, just minus the meat/animal products for you. good luck!

Answer 15

Fix the meal.  You dont eat the meat.

Besides you dont want to "become a vegetarian" .  

I did that in the 70's and its like a fad, and you go back to your regular lifestyle eventually.  Just like any diet.  

A successful diet comes from graduallyadopting a new life style.

Its same as quitting smoking, the more you try to " become a non smoker" the more you think about smoking.  

The more you think about "becoming slim" the more you want to eat.

Over time, I naturally just liked other things that were good for me.

If I eat meat, its no biggie, but most of the time I dont.  

   Im not doing or becoming anything.

I just am, and it happens to be a non meat diet.