Newish Vegan Trying to Transition Family

DeliriumCanBeFun

I spent last year slowly transitioning to being closer to vegetarian; and when it really hit me hard one day that I would never be able to kill an animal, I ceased eating meat from that day forward. It only took 2 more weeks from me to decide I needed to be completely plant based, and almost 2 months later I know it's one of the best decisions I've ever made for many reasons. I've done a good bit of research, and I have become more passionate about my decision by the day. For me the transition has been about both ethical and health reasons, and it has been pretty easy because I love all fruits and veggies and experimenting in the kitchen. My only real problem is that I do all the shopping and cooking for my husband and 4 kids, and they are all very "spoiled" for good home cooking. I'm trying to gently steer them in my direction, and so far it's going pretty well. It's been just over a week and I've transitioned them to vegetarian/pescetarian so far. I've done all the shopping and meal planning for this coming week, but it was definitely a bit of a struggle coming up with a menu we could all live with. I deal with varied interests in fruits, but even the least picky is not near the veggie lover that I am. I would love to get any kind of advice on what worked for you with your families or any recipes and food ideas you may have.

Laurend224

My 3 kids were still fairly young when we transitioned, 7, 4, and 1. They have always been 'good eaters' not picky in the least, so it wasn't a hard transition for us. We started out with things like TVP tacos, and 3 bean chili, things where the meat isn't missed at all. They love all fruits and veggies, and sunbutter (my youngest has a peanut allergy)
Lately I've been making a baked seitan loaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. They always ask for this.
Casseroles are good too. Like a pasta and broccoli bake, or lentil loaf. And, of course mac and 'cheese' is a kid friendly favorite. I usually make mine with a roux, and add nutritional yeast and some Daiya shreds. Baked in the oven with a bread crumb topping... yum.

It's been over two years, and, while the kids occasionally have non vegan treats at school (classmates bringing in cupcakes and the like) they're doing really well. My youngest has always been vegan, to him it's just what we eat.