My family doesnt want me to be vegan!?

Question

I have been a vegetarian for about a year now, and in the past week i have decided to take the next step in helping animals and the enviroment and become vegan. My mother says that because im only 14 i will never stick with it and that its not healthy for me. she says its too much of a hassle and im going to make cooking a huge problem with her because i wont eat anything. my brother is making fun of it and keeps offering me meaty foods. For lunch my mother is making hamburger and hotdogs for my brother and his friends. When i asked her to get me some lettuce, tomatoes, and vinagerette she seemed to get angry because i wasnt going to be eating what she was cooking. I want to stay vegan but i dont know if i should! are there any easy, delicious recipes that i could try and possibly serve to my family to try and change there minds? everyone thinks im really stupid for trying to become vegan.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

Answer 1

You are not old enough to make a decision that affects your family.

Answer 2

In 4 years you'll be able to eat whatever you want with more freedom and will be older and therefore more likely to stick to your decision. Just eat like most people your age eat til you turn 18, and then if your family still has a problem tell them you're sure there's plenty of foods they don't like to put in their mouths as well..and you just happen to wish to not eat any animal product.

Answer 3

s***w em man. Do waht you want

Answer 4

There's plenty of resources online for vegan recipes and, the decision to be vegan has gathered some steam over the years.  However, as a past vegan, I will acknowledge that it is a difficult way of life.  It's high maintenance.  Society's addiction to animal products is probably the worst in terms of ability (or desire) to overcome it.  

I will say as a former vegan, my decision was NOT for animal rights or environmental reasons.  It was for ME.  What motivated me to be vegan was the need to give my system a break, detoxify, with all the c**p that is used in ALL food processing, I thought it'd be the thing to do; and it was for a while.  Furthermore, I wanted to embrace my past as a child, which I observed was a more honest self, staying true to what I like and don't like, and, as a child, I never really liked meat or cheese so I thought vegan was the way to go.  I figured I'd stay true to my real "self".  However, I like eggs and some other animal products as well as seafood, and as someone with a high metabolism (though it's slower nowadays) not having appropriate amounts of protein, or vitamins and minerals can be detrimental.  

I'd suggest to give it more thought.  Explore your reasons for going vegan.  If it's motivated by animal rights etc. go deeper and figure that there must be something INSIDE YOU that makes you want to go vegan.  Outside influences are often a wayward path.  That's how we get into a "throw away society" in the first place.  We follow trends rather than ourselves.  

If you find you're sincere about being a vegan, I would suggest making peace with those around you.  I would take the responsibility of cooking away from others and cook for myself.  Even if, later I find veganism is not giving me what I want, cooking is a good skill to have, and learning to cook vegan is some of the most challenging.

Perhaps as a vegan cook you'll even be able to turn others on to vegan meals if not the ideology.  Maybe your family will allow a once a month vegan night, perhaps there are restaurants that do vegan that you can visit.  Explore and have fun!

Answer 5

I am a mother and I would be so proud if my child wanted to make a lifestyle change based on her beliefs (even if they differed from mine).  Unfortunately, your mother does not see it that way.  You made the comment that she said 'you won't stick to it.'  Maybe she has some reason to think that you will grow tired of it.  I think you simply need to prove to her that you will stick with it.  Asking this question was a good start in showing your commitment.  

Do some research to show her the benefits of going vegan and take the step to find some great recipes and prepare them for your family. Your going to need to test them on your self first.  Also, think about the foods your mom already makes that are vegan.  You can point these out to her.

You need to be armed with nutritional info so you can prove that you will be doing this healthfully (not just eating spaghetti at every meal).

If you put this type of effort into this, your mom might be more willing to support you.  Especially if you take some of the load by helping her prepare your foods and showing her that she already buys vegan foods that meets your needs.

I am not a vegan, but I do grill tofu on my Foreman grill pretty regularly.  Buy extra firm tofu and slice it into little steaks.  Marinate it in whatever type of marinade/sauce you like and grill it until it gets those beautiful grill marks on it (about 5-8 minutes) and it's wonderful.  My favorite so far has been to use pesto as my marinade and serve that with pesto pasta (you can add in veggies) and a salad. You can make a fresh pesto (just blend together basil, garlic, olive oil, some lemon juice & pine nuts w/o using any parmesian) and blow your family away. They can add tehir own parmesian if they want to after it's cooked.  It's VERY easy. Even my 2 yr old daughter likes it (she thinks it's chicken even though I tell her it's tofu). Note: you can use walnuts if pine nuts are hard to find.

Good luck!  I am impressed with your moral fiber! You show great character and people will tease you for this but over time you don't care.  I became a vegetarian at 14 any my family did not do anything to make it easier for me either. Now that I am adult, they do go actually try to prepare foods that I can eat....guess they think I'm serious now that it's been 21 yrs.

Answer 6

unfortunately as a minor, her house, her rules, once your 18 and outta there do what you please.

If you want your family to conform to your views, you'll have to be willing to accept some of their terms until your on your own. While living with them becoming a full time vegan or vegetarian is probably gonna be a pain.

Answer 7

well sometimes being vegan can be very unhealthy. people who are vegan need regular check ups and need to take medications to make sure they have plenty neccesary nutrients. it might be difficult for her to make foods for you if everyone in the house wants meat and you dont. I also think vegan is a little extreme, I dont see who you are hurting if you are drinking milk. but i applaud not buying baby seal bags. offer to cook your own meals, eventually your family will come around.

Answer 8

I am also going vegan. I give up one animal product a month to ease into it so my body can handle it. Silk soy milk is an excellent source of calcium and nuts and veggie burgers are good sources of protein. you can buy boca burgers and boca chicken nuggets at the grocery store.they are all soy and very yummy. Morning Star brands of food are good too. Oatmeal with vanilla soy milk is a good breakfeast food if you're not in the mood for fruit. there are lots of websites that can give you tips on being vegan and lists of vegan food. they help me. :)

Visit:

http://www.veganwolf.com/index.html

Answer 9

Oh sweetie I wish I could o what you are doing.  But you can't expect others to cater to what YOU want all the time.  Show your family you are serious about this.  being a Vegan is expensive.  You can't expect your mom to dish out extra cash at the grocery store just because YOU feel like changing your diet.  I agree that your family should have a little more respect for you and your changes.  But not enough to dish out close to 30 dollars a day for you.  Not even.  So here is what you do.  Get a part time job or mow lawns and buy your own meals.  Show that you mean business.  That you are serious about the enviornment.  If you can't afford your own food then maybe you should hold off on becomming a full fledged vegan until you live on your own.  But you cannot expect others to dish out cash for YOUR lifestyle.  Even if they are your parents.  Be mature.  Do it yourself.  Buy and prepare your own food.

Answer 10

My mom didn't want me to be but were having alot of issues anyway (i'm 15) Be vegan if you want to be!!! Thats one thing that someone can't decide for you!!! And people who make fun are losers cause its not funny. Whats funny is ignorant people not noticing their ignorance!

Answer 11

One sec.... I need to finish this steak... Mmmm....

Answer 12

I agree with your mom, it is a pain in the butt...so, if you want to be a vegan, do the research and make your own food...your mom is not a short order cook...

Answer 13

My dad's vegan and my friend who is about your age has been vegeterian since she was 7 and vegan for about 4 years now.

Answer 14

I had the same problem (I'm 15).

I read up on veganism for a while so I was ready for her questions.

http://www.vegansociety.com/newsroom/ind...

If you look through the FAQs you will get a better idea of how to respond to her questions, it really helped me!

I also made a note of all the things people think you can only get in meat and put the subsitute next to it.

A few recipes they might like and your mum might feel happier if she is sharing the cooking chores with you:

Cottage pie:

Boil some potatoes and mash with vegan margarine (tastes better than the real stuff). Put to one side.

Saute onions and carrots in olive oil. Add soya mince. Add garlic and a little corriander. Place in the bottom of an oven proof dish and pour vegetable stock on top, then carefully place mashed potato on top. Place in oven until potato goes slightly brown.

Pasta salad:

Boil some pasta according to instructions and leave to cool. Add chopped raw peppers, onions, cucumber, sweetcorn and whatever else you and your family all like then add some vegan mayonaise.

Spaghetti 'bolognese':

Fry onions, carrots, courgette, pepper (any veg you all like) in olive oil and a little soy sauce. Add chopped tomatoes, some herbs and some garlic and heat up. Serve with spaghetti.

Hamburger:

Look for a vegan burger mix (you just add water and oil) and make according to the instructions. then serve as a normal burger.

Many recipes can be converted by substituting meat for soya meat.

I compared the soya milk to our regular milk and found that soya milk has half the fat, 0.2 more protein, more calcium and less calories. So try pointing that out to your mum!

If she can't understand why you want to be vegan show her this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC...

This website has more nutritional info if she is worried you won't be healthy: http://www.eatthis.org.uk/health_kick.ht...

being vegan doesn't have to be expensive if you don't buy all the fancy fake stuff, my mum actually prefers buying soya in some cases since it's cheaper. It depends if your mum wants you to be healthy being vegan or unhealthy by eating meat really.

This is a good website for recipes: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

Answer 15

I think that you should be wat u wanna be! Just make a deal with ur mom that you would cook for urself on days that she iz making something u cant eat. It sounds like she iz very frustrated with you but she shouldnt be. I know I COULD NEVER be vegan but that's me,, I follow my beliefs ((same as ur mom does)) and she should let u follow urs.

Answer 16

When you are an adult you can decide your own religion , but for the time being you are suppose to conform to your parents beliefs.

Answer 17

to start off, you can not expect your mom to make you dinner anymore if you want to become vegan, you need to learn to cook for yourself, explain why you want to go vegan and how much it means to you, go grocery shopping with your mom to make sure you are getting food and ingrendinets you can eat,

why was your mom mad about you not eating that lunch if you have vegetarian for a year that shouldnt be a suprise you wouldnt eat that?

Answer 18

start to cook more of your own meels, offer to cook dinner twice a week.  your mom will be happy

Answer 19

i dont no recipe wise but i think you should stick with being vegan if your mother doesnt like it then she not very good at supporting her child is she!!

i am  very annoyed at your mothers approch 2 this dont let her bring you down!!

Answer 20

If you want to be vegan then the responsible thing would be to buy your own groceries and make your own food. Don't expect your family to change just because you have made a choice. If you don't want to eat what you mother makes it's not her responsibility to suffer the consequences of your decision.

Stop holding other people accountable for YOUR choices. If you are not capable of supporting your decision then it's not a smart decision.

Answer 21

if that's what you want to do then just do it but think about it really hard. vegans can sometimes have health problems if they don't learn to balance what they eat. most of the time they don't get enough protein because they forget to replace the animal meat with something that has an equal or greater amount of protein in it. all i can say is to just be careful.

Answer 22

Learn to cook your own well balanced vegan meals instead of putting that load on your parents . Instead of asking her to get you an alternate meal, do it yourself. And maybe volunteer to cook a vegan meal for the family once a week. This will help your mom realize you're mature enough to make your own decisions. Make sure you're informed about getting balanced proteins and all of the nutrients you need as a vegan. Check out some books from the library and show your parents that you're reading them.

Also while you live in their house, can you compromise?

Ask your parents to get some soy milk in addition to regular and go 50%/50%.  Or convince them to buy organic/free range milk and eggs from family farms which treat the animals more humanely. This is more expensive, so offer to chip in your allowance toward the price difference.

And cut out the stuff that they don't care about -- cakes & stuff that contain eggs, candy that contains byproducts, etc.

Answer 23

At 14, you are putting a load on your mom to have her repare you something special.  Let her cook what she plans on cooking, eat the sides and a salad.  When you are old enough to pay for and prepare your own meals, then you can be a vegan.  It is unfair of you to expect your mom to cater to your needs when she has others in the family that are not vegan and you were not raised vegan.  After a while, when you prove to her that you are sticking to it, and you've grown up a bit, you can sit down with her and explain the benefits you feel you gain from being a vegan and maybe prepare some vegan meals for the family yourself.  Until then, YOU need to adjust to what you want, you can't expect them to adjust to you.

Answer 24

Check out vegweb.com they have some great vegan recipes that are really easy!  I'm sure if you made some of them for your family they wouldn't be able to tell that it was vegan.  Begin vegan is great for your health (and for the animals)!!  Good luck!!

Answer 25

good for you. my mother said the same to me for being a veggie but she soon realised that i was serious.and my brother always shoves meat in my face and ask's me if i want some the next time he does knock it out of his hand and tell him where he can shove it!!

try www.veg.org for recipes and vegweb

you can find loads of recipes there and

google vegan and you will find loads of helpfull websites like www.vegan.org which also has tons of recipes

this tells you everything about the vegan diet  and you can sign up for a newsletter to help you along!

Answer 26

I'm only a vegetarian so I'm not too sure of vegan recipes but I have a vegetarian recipe book so I'm guessing that vegan recipe books are definitely out there... You could try Amazon and cook your family something from a recipe book from there... I'm guessing there will also be vegan recipes on the Net somewhere, seeing as there are many people who are vegans. I think 14 is old enough to make a decision about something like this... I was 11/12 when I decided to become a vegetarian and I don't regret it 8 years later. There are foods available fortified with calcium and what not, just have a look around your local supermarket to see if you can find anything... I think soya milk is an alternative to milk and I'm pretty sure you can get egg-free pasta... Sorry I can't be more help. Just try explaining to your family that you want to do this and do some research on how to get the essential vitamins you'll be missing out on by not eating diary products etc. Good luck!

Answer 27

I'm  vegitarian and 15. I got a job so I would be able to pay for 1/2 of what my mom spends on my vegitarian meals. At first, she didn't take me seriously, but after I searched for recipes online, paid for my food, and didn't get involved with meat, she understood I was really serious about it.

Don't automatically get defensive when your mom makes meat for your brother and his friends, that will just make her think you aren't mature enough to make your own decisions.

Besides that, you really aren't going to be able to change their minds. If they are into meat, thats the way it is. But you could make them dinner to open up their options.

Answer 28

First, I think your mother is over reacting, second, What? Since when are vegetables not healthy, meats can be easily replaced, and tofu/beans are cheap and mostly already prepared.  For vegy, just heat it up, apply some soy sauce, hot sauce, or ranch. Some veggies, like broccoli, is very easy, just boil it and wala, soft vegy dish you can cover up in any type of sauce you want. Mash potatoes and such is a conventional American meal, so just don't put gravy and pick out what your family decides to cook. Even if it might be bland, be patient with your family and just take out the meat in the burger, even if your family won't be patient with you.

Answer 29

You follow your beliefs no matter what anyone says or does.  Your heart is more important than what anyone thinks.  Even if it causes trouble and you are under stress because of the way your family is being, it will only make you a stronger vegan in the end.  I am vegan and my will is as hard as steel.

Answer 30

I'm vegetarian and that's already tough on my family, so I couldn't imagine how it would be being vegan. I think that while you are in your parents house you should be just vegetarian since its a bit easier to cook for. Then when you leave the house, you can make your own meal plans and you will not have people around criticizing your choices. I think its a good idea to help out. It will show your parents that you are dedicated and maybe it will open up their eyes a bit more. Good Luck!!

Answer 31

hey...it's cool....become vegan....get some birkenstocks....sing folk music....stop shaving your picks....fall in love with a LPGA golfer....it's all good