If you and your family have recently made the switch to vegetarianism, you remember well that it took some time and adjustments before you each worked through the transition stage successfully. Even if you stopped eating meat overnight, it probably took awhile before you began to think of yourselves as truly vegetarian, for the changes to feel natural and to be positive you would stick with it. Perhaps you even had a few setbacks along the way. Whatever the details of your family's meat-reducing journey and regardless of how long it took to travel the path to full-time vegetarian eating, the switch to veganism will be much the same.
How difficult making the change will be for your family depends on many factors. If you are accustomed to eating a very high fat vegetarian diet, with lots of eggs and dairy, the transformation may take a little longer. If your children are at an age when they are particularly resistant to change, you may need to look at this as a long-term project and be prepared for some disappointment. And if your spouse is not wholeheartedly with you in your resolution, there will be compromises to me made. But rest assured that it can be done, and every little successful step along the way is worthwhile-regardless of the final outcome.
Deciding to become a vegan family means that you will not only be leaving behind all meat, but also eggs, dairy and honey and moving away from the use of animal by-products like leather and silk. It sounds like a tall order, but don't let the size of the task dishearten you! Just as you may have once felt that meat was an indispensable part of your diet, your life, and had to grow to a point where you no longer missed it, you will also reach a place where you are happy not eating any animal products and choosing non-animal alternatives for clothing and accessories is second nature to you. You will find that your thinking changes from "what we cannot eat or buy" to "what we can eat and buy" and, finally, to "what we choose to eat and buy." Following are some practical suggestion for beginning your journey.
First and foremost, set your mind right.
This doesn't have to be an all or nothing venture right from the start. Gentle World, the producers of Incredibly Delicious: The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook, advise that you go easy on yourself and try not to think of the transition as forever, if that's too much for you. Tell your children you want to give this new lifestyle a try, that you're going to take it slowly and give them a finite amount of time to begin with. You can extend that time later. Set whatever time goal feels achievable to you. As the old saying goes-take it one day at a time.
Start out simply.
Ask yourself: What are the easiest things to change in our diet and wardrobe? The items with obvious substitutes should go first. Use margarine instead of butter. Try switching soy, rice, oat or almond milk for cow's milk; first in your baking, then for drinking. If your family is really addicted to the taste of dairy milk, mix it at a 25/75 ratio and gradually increase the vegan milk till they like the taste. Remember how hard it was to switch from whole milk to 2% or from 2% to skim? This is much the same-you do get used to it. Buy an egg replacer (Ener-G is a good choice), a powdered substance that works wonders in baking. Buy maple syrup instead of honey. As for your wardrobe, take the less-expensive and easily replaceable items to Goodwill and pledge to replace the more expensive leather shoes, belts, etc. with vegan alternatives when they wear out. These are changes that probably won't upset the balance too much, and you can make family projects out of cleaning out the closets and visiting the health food store with new goals in mind.
Brave your local health food market.
I know these places can be daunting--full of strange items you've never even heard of, herbs that you can't imagine ever using and bin upon bin of bulk items you're accustomed to buying measured and packaged. You don't want to waste money by buying a bunch of things you aren't going to use, so you need to set out with clear list and an open mind. You should already have purchased a good vegan cookbook (see list below) and made note of a few recipes you and your family are willing to try. Make your shopping list based on these recipes and buy items in the smallest amounts possible (that's where those bulk bins come in handy). Don't be shy about talking to the workers. Health food markets often employ people who are knowledgeable in using the items you are considering. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to find out about good products. Ask them to recommend a trusted brand of falafel mix or a tasty vegan cookie.
Expand your food horizons.
Many children (and adults!) find change hard to take, so try introducing new foods in combination with old favorites. And keep in mind that you don't have to serve new foods every day. In fact, it may be better not to if you don't want to risk mutiny. Try having an entirely new vegan meal only once or twice a week in the beginning. An idea adapted from Virginia and Mark Messina's book Total Health for You and Your Family the Vegetarian Way is to list several foods your family enjoys that are already vegan. Can't think of any? How about spaghetti with crumbled veggie burgers, a green salad and bread? Or tofu-vegetable stir-fry over rice? Then make small changes in a few recipes your family already enjoys to make them vegan. Try bean burritos with shredded lettuce, homemade tomato salsa with corn chips and sautéed onions and zucchini on the side. You could even get adventurous and add a simple tofu sour cream. Finally, the Messinas suggest you add a few new menu items. Your kids are sure to enjoy falafel-filled pitas with hummus, and you can throw in a tomato and cucumber salad to round it out. If they don't take to the new foods right away, don't fret it. Just keep trying and experimenting.
Educate yourself on vegan nutrition.
This is another area where your choice of a vegan cookbook or manual can serve a useful purpose. Contrary to common belief, it is not difficult to get the nutrition one needs from a balanced vegan diet. The key to that statement is balanced. Anyone with children knows that task can be challenging, and if you've just cut out another food group, you may be worried. Rest assured that families all over the world are meeting their families' protein, iron and zinc needs by serving a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils and other delicious vegan foods; including enriched items like ricemilk or packaged cereals in the diet to ensure adequate consumption of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D; and serving lots of greens, tofu and enriched soymilk to meet their calcium needs. Make the most of snacks by opting for choices that are high in nutrients. Rid your cabinet of empty calories-make every bite count!
Form a support network.
Find support in the form of friends, organizations, internet communities, books and magazines. Because you may not only be facing the reluctance of your spouse and husband but also the pessimism and possible disapproval of extended family members, it is that much more important to create a support network. Locate your local vegetarian organization or consider starting one yourself by putting up a notice at the natural food store or running a classified in the Sunday paper. Peruse the websites of the Vegetarian Resource Group (www.vrg.org) and the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (www.pcrm.org) for information, or visit VegFamily (www.vegfamily.com) for moral support in becoming a vegan family. Scour the cooking and nutrition section of the bookstore for titles that appeal to you. Search Ebay or Amazon.com auctions for the titles you want at a discount. Better yet, borrow a book from the library (some can get books shipped in from other libraries at no charge) or a friend to see if it's something you'll really use. Subscribe to a magazine if you can afford it. Surround yourself with reminders of why you are embarking on this journey for the times when your motivation falters.
All of these are important steps on the path to becoming vegan family. Above all, remember that it is a continual process, not a mission, a goal to be attained in a set period of time. As Joanne Stepaniak, author of many vegan cookbooks, points out, "Longtime vegans rarely view their practice as a final destination. Rather, it is seen as an endless path-a stream of consciousness leading to deeper awareness." Making the move toward a vegan lifestyle as a family presents challenges that are different from the route of the single vegan convert, but the reward is having traveled together, grown and learned as a unit, and nurtured one other along the path as only a family can.
--Melanie Wilson is the editor of Vegetarian Baby and Child magazine.
