Forums >Health and Nutrition>Recommendations for a vegetarian/vegan book for mom with toddlers
I want to reduce and eventually eliminate dairy and meat from my diet. I also have 3 small children and want to be sure I do this the correct way ( make sure they still get all the nutrients etc they need) i honestly dont know where to start. Can you recommend a good book?
Thanks
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Traci
I believe there is a vegetarian group here.
My family doesn't eat meat and our toddler eats what we do. It doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. I try to give her the most nutritious things on her plate first, as those have the greatest chance of being eaten.
And we run because we like itThrough the broad bright land
From the Internet.
Becoming Vegan is a good one - covers all the nutrition basics and if memory serves I believe there is some information specifically on children's dietary needs (can check on that when I get home).
Sorry, I don't have any recommendations for books specific to children. But just wanted to say that our family went plant-based (about 95%- we cheat occasionally) about 6 months ago and the main things I would recommend are that you just feed your kiddos a very varied diet and avoid processed foods. If you're wondering anything more specific, feel free to message me, I'll help you out if I can. : )
"...You have to have faith, to know that you can do what you want to do." -Joseph Nzau
I want to reduce and eventually eliminate dairy and meat from my diet. I also have 3 small children and want to be sure I do this the correct way ( make sure they still get all the nutrients etc they need) i honestly dont know where to start. Can you recommend a good book? Thanks
Hi Traci,
Can I ask you a question? Where do you live? If you're in California, this is going to be easy. But if you're a Northerner, it is super expensive to be vegan in the winter. And the produce tastes like cardboard. Couple that with little sun, and you'll want to stick a gun in your mouth.
That said, good for kids? Vegan Lunch Box and Vegan Lunch Box around the World.
With one major caveat. The woman who wrote the book does not know much at all about food safety or proper food storage. You cannot cook dried beans in a slow cooker or you can get seriously ill - look up Red Kidney Bean poisoning. Also, she doesn't store the food properly in her kids' lunch boxes. Go ahead and make the food, but pack it with cold packs or put it in the fridge.
Not Vegan (Vegetarian) but another good one is Kids Can Cook by Dorothy R Bates- it's written by the folks down at The Farm in Tennessee. If you know what The Farm is, then you're a big hippie.
Ha. I know what The Farm is. Guess I'm a big hippie. And yes, my babies were born at home.
And I live in Maine. Guess we'll see if we make it through the winter.
Booo. I guess Im not a hippie. I live in north AL about 10 minutes from the TENN border so you'd think I know about THEE FARM.
Ha ha.
Thanks for the book recommendations.
Im off to google red kidney bean posioning too. Yikes
Best Present Ever
Ha. I know what The Farm is. Guess I'm a big hippie. And yes, my babies were born at home. And I live in Maine. Guess we'll see if we make it through the winter.
Doesn't everyone know what the Farm is? Though I think of two places: The Farm/hippie commune in Tennessee, gotta love Ina May Gaskin, and the Farm/Camp Peary/CIA training facility That Doesn't Exist. Context usually makes it clear which is being referred to.
I am surprised nobody mentioned Scott Jurek's Eat and Run... awesome book IMO.
I have always been a vegetarian. Recently I turned vegan due to my lactose intolerance. Also, I did not eat any grains until dinner for a few days (by accident not by choice) and it worked great. I love my new diet. I feel light, energetic and happy. I hope it works out well for you as well.
You might want to look up a book on Indian recipes. They are full of vegan foods. For kids, try more lentils. They will get protein and fiber. Meat protein is overrated and unnecessary IMO but let's not start a holy war on that comment ... peace.
running is somewhat like playing golf to me. crappy shots all day long, ready to give it up & wondering why I'm trying so hard just to get this stupid little ball into a stupid little hole but then out of the blue comes a monster drive or a long putt that actually gets into the cup. bingo! that one shot keeps me going for the rest of day no matter how crappy I continue to play & gets me back out again on another day. strange. -- skyedog
Didn't know about the second one. When I hear "The Farm", I think midwives.
Yep - and I own the book, so what does that make me.
I hear you can get eaten by a bear up there in Maine. Or freeze to death. I'm crossing my fingers for you Kristin79! LMAO! (I'm in Massachusetts.)
No, but, a bit less facetiously.... one problem I've found with vegan cookbooks and vegan info in general is that a good amount of it comes out of California, and there's a bit of hubris about ingredient availability. I don't know what it's like in Alabama, though. If you aren't getting good produce in the winter, you can get really down about it if you're not aware of this. The food doesn't taste as good, you'll go to the grocery store and only be able to find half of what's on your list.... it's easy to beat yourself up when you start to compare what's going on in your kitchen to what you might see on someone's blog. At least that's been my experience.
We're not vegan - I'd say we might go an entire month completely vegan in the summer, but the percentage of vegan meals in the house drops as we get into winter, and we'll start to mix in more dairy.
"Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World," a cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, is essential. (What kid doesn't love cupcakes?) I also like another vegan cookbook of hers, "Appetite for Reduction." Easy and tasty recipes that don't take a long time to prepare.
We all love green lentils so that's great.
I ordered the "becoming vegan" book. It was highly rated on amazon. I will look in to the other books. I've always wanted to read Jureks book too.
YES. And they just use weird ingredients that I've never heard of. I'm a noobie, yo. So I bought this cookbook and I LOVE it. I use it daily. Highly recommend. Tons of recipe variety and uses "normal" ingredients. Just made the recipe for carrot/walnut/cranberry bread (like carrot cake in quick bread form) for breakfast this morning and we all loved it.
Yep - and I own the book, so what does that make me. I hear you can get eaten by a bear up there in Maine. Or freeze to death. I'm crossing my fingers for you Kristin79! LMAO! (I'm in Massachusetts.) No, but, a bit less facetiously.... one problem I've found with vegan cookbooks and vegan info in general is that a good amount of it comes out of California, and there's a bit of hubris about ingredient availability. I don't know what it's like in Alabama, though. If you aren't getting good produce in the winter, you can get really down about it if you're not aware of this. The food doesn't taste as good, you'll go to the grocery store and only be able to find half of what's on your list.... it's easy to beat yourself up when you start to compare what's going on in your kitchen to what you might see on someone's blog. At least that's been my experience. We're not vegan - I'd say we might go an entire month completely vegan in the summer, but the percentage of vegan meals in the house drops as we get into winter, and we'll start to mix in more dairy.
read more bad spy fiction in airports. : )