What is best to serve vegan children at a party?

Question

I have got to cater for 2 vegan children aged 5 and 3 at my sons party. Any ideas would be appreciated. Due to the venue I will not have much time to prepare, so complicated recipes are out. The other kids will be having a sandwich buffet, sausage rolls, the usual, I dont want these kids to feel too different from the others.Who is the best retailer to try? (in uk) Also where can I buy chocolate/jelly sweets for the goody bags?

Answer 1

Just buy a package of soy sausages for them. Grill them up with the rest. Just make sure anything condiments your making either keep it free of meat, dairy and eggs (i'm not sure if they ban other things as well) or make a small vegan version of sauce for them. I'm in the U.S. so, I'm not too sure about your retailers or brands. If you have access to Morningstar brand, it's very good. You could also call up these childrens mother and ask her about sausages she uses and where to buy, I'm sure she's so appreciates your effort, she's be more than happy to help to make things easier for you.

Answer 2

Soy yogurts come in a variety of flavours, you can buy them at a health foods store. Kids will love chocolate flavour. You can buy vegan chocolate from Holland & Barrett (or other good health foods store). I would imagine that Flavoured soya milk cartons would be popular with kids.

Fruit is extremely nutritious, and is probably the best snacking option especially because it means the children are getting essential vitamins & minerals in every bite. Slice some apples up, and mix them with grapes and pineapple chunks- Fruit salad!

Carrot batons dipped in hummus are tasty.

Nuts are not suitable for children- they pose a choking hazard.

Oh, and  children being vegan is NOT child abuse.

Hope this helps!

[edit] You can buy vegan soya spread from a health foods store. You can also buy it from Morrisons. Its called 'Pure Soya'. It's certified by the Vegan Society.

Answer 3

Hi!

This is a recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes that doesn't require any obscure ingredients: http://www.chow.com/recipes/10794

I make this recipe frequently - none of my non-vegan friends can tell they're vegan, all they do is RAVE about 'em!  They're easy, and turn-out perfect every time.

Your vegan guests can also participate in the sandwich buffet so long as you're offering vegan bread (if you can't find vegan bread, use flour tortillas so that they can make wraps) and plenty of vegetables.  Hummus makes a great sandwich spread, too, and it's cheap and easy to make if you've got a food processor.  You can also offer peanut-butter (or any nut-butter) and jam.

And as long as there are fruits and vegetables, the vegan guests will have plenty to choose from.

I don't know about UK retailers, but you can often find vegan goodies at your local grocer - just check the label for ingredients like glycerine and gelatin.

Ooh, also... check out the forums at THEPPK.COM.  There are oodles of vegan parents there, and there are members from the UK, all of whom I'm sure would have even more ideas and be more than happy to help you.

And if all else fails, talk to their parents and ask for suggestions of what to provide for their kids.  They might even offer to bring some goodies!  (Every vegan I know loves sharing food!)

I just want to say that I think it's truly awesome of you for making efforts to cater to these vegan kids.  May the good Karma come your way!

Best of luck!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

Summer: You're quite misinformed.  Veganism is appropriate for children, and for anyone at any stage of life and development.

Some Guy: Veganism isn't a cult.  Don't feel sorry for the kids - feel sorry for yourself and everyone who thinks like you.

Rookethorne: Actually, my parents DIDN'T respect my decision to be vegetarian.  When I was a teenager and still living at home, my father THREATENED me that should I persue vegetarianism, he'd make my life miserable for me.  I became vegan at 26 when I was independent and living in my own home.

Vegan parents live in the same reality that non-vegan parents live in:  they're aware that despite a parent's best efforts in teaching them right from wrong, kids have minds of their own and will do what they will do.  

That said, my home will be operated in accordance with MY (and my husband's) values, and there will be house rules - it no drugs, no alcohol, no meat, egg, or dairy.  If my children decide to dabble in these things, it won't be supported and it won't be in our home.  That's not oppression - that's PARENTING.  I'm not going to disown my children if they eat a slice of pepperoni pizza, but I'm not going to compromise my values to accomodate a maladaptive behaviour either.  

If my future children are anything like the other vegan children I know, they will be more passionate about their veganism than their parents.

Veganism is not like abstaining from a treat like cookies, and raising a child who suddenly realizes the rest of the world eats cookies and she decides she wants in on that.  From a vegan standpoint meat, eggs and dairy simply aren't food - we're not tempted to eat cruelty any more than we're tempted to eat dog vomit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

EDIT: You're right, not all vegans enjoy all foods that are vegan, but trust me on this one: hummus is to vegans as oxygen is to the rest of humanity.  We LOVE hummus.  Give us each a pita with  hummus and fresh veggies, and we're very happy people.

Also, while most non-vegans prefer the processed analog meats and cheeses, most vegans I know won't touch them.

Just stick with the basics: fresh fruits and veggies.  Serve that and some pita bread and hummus, and you'll be a star.

I don't know about ready-made cakes and whatnot (I don't eat pre-packaged foods, and I don't know what's available in your area).  But I know Oreos are vegan!

But seriously: go to theppk.com forums.  There are dozens of UK vegans there (who have children, who have birthday parties), and they're always super-helpful.

Answer 4

im vegan, at partys when i was wee i just got little fruit thingys and humous and carot sticks

Answer 5

I'd ask the parents what sort of things their kids like and where to get them, including stuff for the goody bag.

You could buy baby carrots and other crudites and serve with hummus.  Chips and salsa.  If you're making cold-cut sandwiches, Tofurkey has vegan deli slices (I hope they're available in the U.K.).  There are vegan sausage patties available, but I don't know the brands in the U.K.

Green and Blacks makes vegan dark chocolate.   Most natural foods stores will have vegan candies.  And if they have them there, check out fruit leathers (but make sure they're just fruit and fruit juice).  They're between 50 and 60 cents a piece here in the U.S., come in many flavors, and make a quick tasty snack.

Answer 6

You could buy quorn products but make sure they have no dairy products in..I guess checking the back would tell you if they did :)

You can usually get stuff like that from most stores

you could fill their sandwiches with tomatoes and other salad type products

or make some pasta with a tomato based sauce?

If you're still stuck..research it :)

hope this helps

Answer 7

-If you get dried pasta most of them are suitable for vegans serve cold with a simple tomato sauce.

-veggie sausage (soya or quorn but check label first as all aren't vegan friendly)

-jelly powder is gelatin free  

-mushroom pate

As far as the sweets try health food shops like Holland and Barretts they also stock a selection on fresh and frozen vegan foods.

Hope this has helped ;)

Answer 8

just open the front door so they can graze on the lawn ;-)

Answer 9

At Holland & Barret and at some supermarkets (and at Fresh and Wild if you're lucky enough to live near one) you can find Redwood products; they do deli-slices (mock chicken, ham etc) for sandwiches and vegan cheeses and sausages. You will also find some sweets and chocolates in H&B.

Vegan cakes are a little trickier if you're not making your own, but again H&B might be able to offer something.

Edit** Most breads you buy in a supermarket will be vegan; PURE is a spread that can be found in almost all supermarkets with the margarines and is an excellent substitute.

Marks & Spencer do individual fruit jellies - usually raspberry -

that are suitable; the label says suitable for vegetarians, but I've checked and they're vegan.

Check out ranges like Sainsbuy's 'Free From' - sometimes cakes can be found there. Failing that, I'd suggest to their parents that they knock up a cake or cakes.

Tofutti and Swedish Glace ice creams are vegan - Swedish Glace is stocked by most supermarkets and is delicious.

Almost all brands of chocolate bourbon biscuits are vegan.

Answer 10

Ask their parents what good finger foods that their children would enjoy. All the kids will eat them as well. The parents have all the diet needs and sources covered. For you to ask will show that you are considerate and caring enough to do so and I'm sure that offers will be made to bring some great treats by those parents as well.

Answer 11

I am surprised that you don't know what to feed vegan children and living in the UK?

UK - the founding of the vegan society.

In fact some stuff I have to order from the UK to get to the US (though we now internet companies that are importing the stuff over here).

I had a long answer for you, but my best answer overall is to advise you to call the kids's parents and ask them for help. They could provide you info on where they get their stuff, and what their kids like to have on special days. Mine like dark chocolate candy bars (nondairy of course) and we have a local healthfood shop that has seiten/wheatmeat deli slices for the kids (they like the apple sage variety) for their school lunches.

I usually have to either make my vegan kids eat before they go to a party, or I pack a lunch for them to take and eat when they get there. If a parent were to call me up I would be happy to help them. I would be flattered that a parent would care enough about my kids about having a good time at their party!

Hope this helps.

Answer 12

I haven't dealt much with vegan children, but I do know a few vegan kid friendly dishes.  What about pigs in a blanket?  All you need are refrigerated croissants, biscuits, Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, or Pillsbury pizza dough and hot dog weenies (Tofu Pups or Smart Dogs)...all vegan of coarse.  You can bake ahead of time and warm up the day of or even serve room temp with ketchup and mustard.  Or you can do almost the same thing with corndogs.  You would just need to dip the weenies in cornbread batter and bake or fry ahead of time...ketchup or mustard are a must as well.

You said that the other kids are having a sandwich buffet.  What about giving the two vegan kids vegan sandwich alternatives - Veganaise, mustard, veggies, Smart Deli sandwich meat (they even have kid favorite bologna!), and vegan bread or rolls.  Even plain jane Sunbeam bread is vegan.  Sandwich spreads like guacamole and hummus are well accepted as well.

Are you going to have any desserts like cake or cookies?  If so, grab a copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and just make those for all of the kids.  I make them for every bakesale and they are the first to go.  A basic one like basic chocolate cupcake w/ cookies n cream frosting would be a sure winner.  This recipe from the book can actually be found online.  - http://www.chow.com/recipes/10794

Jujubees, Jujyfruits, Keebler's Animal Crackers, Mambas, several types of Nabisco cookies, Dum Dums, Ring Pops, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, Twizzlers, some Dove chocolate bars...are a few vegan items that can go in goody bags.

Check out this website to find a ton of vegan foods -

http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/

Sorry if this is no new info for you, but this is all that I could think of!  It is very pleasant of you to put forth this effort for the two little ones.  Bravo!

Answer 13

Just ask the parents.

Its very nice that you are considering these children but I am sure they don't need you to go making anything majorly special.

Speaking as a vegetarian, myself and my children like simple food. At the end of the day crisps as a rule are vegan.

Just ask.

Answer 14

nuts

Answer 15

Have the mom bring their food.  It's her choice making the kids "different" and she can do the extra work for them.  Being treated special is part of the Vegan cult thing and I would not enable it by buying special food for them. Planning a party is enough work and if they kids don't like what you make, what are you going to do with it? No cake for the kids anyway and that will be what makes them feel left out.

I feel sorry for the kids.

Answer 16

I'm not familiar with the products and stores in the UK, but this site has a great list of easy vegan meals for kids:

http://www.vegcooking.com/backtoschool.a...

You could make some sandwiches with vegan deli meats, grilled cheese with vegan soy cheese, etc. I wouldn't hesitate to call the parents and ask what their kids like to eat. Thank you for being so thoughtful and respectful; I'm sure the kids and parents will appreciate it.

To Summer and people with the same opinion -- please look at these photos of happy, healthy vegan kids: http://veganhealth.org/articles/realvega...

The American Dietetic Association is one of the nation's leading nutrition experts and it supports vegan diets for all ages: "Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence." http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

Answer 17

Theres a vegan burger mix available at most health stores in the uk, i'd cook them up some mini apple burgers in mini buns. Tescos veggy range is quite good, just watch out for eggs!

Might be also good to check out the health stores for dairy/meat product free treats aswell.

Answer 18

There are lots of yummy vegan treats you can bake & cook. Here is one of my fave websites. I love it because its made by a mom who child tests all her vegan recipes. They're must pass her childrens taste test before she posts them. They all yummy, I've even baked some of the recipes myself.

http://kidsarevegantoo.blogspot.com/

Answer 19

I agree with Mike, the simplest solution is just to ask thier parents.

One person mentions Quorn...all quorn products have eggs in them and not vegan.

You can try a healthfood shop, either an independent or somewhere like Holland and Barrett - they have vegan sausages, snacks, sweets and treats. You can also get vegan "ham" slices and cheese for sandwiches ( a lot of bread is vegan ), use a soya spread.

You can buy vegan cakes/jam tarts in the "free-from" ranges at Sainsbury's.

I don't think you need to worry about nutritian for a kids party - all kids deserve the occassional "sweets and treats" meal.

Answer 20

As usual, a multitude of debates normally focussed around a couple of people who dare to decry a set of beliefs.

Please consider this: as children you or your parents were probably brought up favouring the omnivourous diet.

You had the choice to decide if you wanted to forego meat and dairy products.

Remember that your children also have a choice ( its what we fought for to provide an oppression free world), they have a right to chose, and they may choose to go against the restrictions and dictatorships place on them by their parents and sample dairy, or even meat products.

I do hope that if they decide to follow the omnivourous diet to which they have the capability in most cases to consume, that you as parents are just as able to accept this choice as your parents did with you.

Edit for Julie, I wasn't referring to you. but parents that bring their children up without choice.

Try reading the answer rather than make assumptions.

Edit for Veggie-wedgie, so you are just the same as your parents then, running a dictatorship with YOUR rules and NO choice.