Daughter going vegan.....help!!!!!

Vitamin B12 supplement is essential

Here's an article from the American Dietetic Association that I think you'll find helpful.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/2009_ADA_position_paper.pdf

Just a quick google:

http://www.vegancoach.com/nutrition-for-a-vegan.html

I'm sure there are plenty more sites out there with good information.

It's easy enough to get protein in with vegetables, grains, and legumes. If she chooses to eat meat replacements, like Quorn or veggie burgers, those are usually full of protein. Non-dairy milks, especially soy milk, are usually pretty high in protein. Seitan, a "faux" meat made from gluten is really easy to make at home and it's delicious when it's done well.

They even have vegan protein powders. I use a hemp protein powder on days I need a bit more protein.

Try to see if you have a co-op grocery store or a "natural" food store in your area. They usually have a lot of vegan options that the whole family can try to incorporate into their meals. Pick up some vegan cheese and black bean burgers and have a burger night for the whole family. Making a few "family" meals that she can eat will go a long way towards helping ease her into a new diet. It will also help it become a more permanent diet shift. There's nothing worse than being the only one unable to eat with the rest of your family at every single meal. If my family didn't make attempts to eat vegetarian meals every once in a while, I may have given up and reverted to my old diet by now

I went vegan at a similar age (14 yrs ago). My meat eating mother would make a curry for all with a small pan without the meat for me or spag bol with soya mince (pretending it was meat to the rest of family who didn't notice). There are loads of products that you can put in the oven that are vegan, especially Linda McCartney stuff. Cereal with soya milk for breakfast. Pasta with sauces.

Also B12 supplements aren't essential as it is generally an additive in soya milk's, fake meats etc. I have never taken a supplement in my life.

Another thing.... my tracking on MFP has shown that I am getting all my nutritional needs met on a vegan diet (other than the B12), but I do recommend that she track for a little while to check that she's doing that and that she's eating enough calories. Vegan foods are often lower in calories and people sometimes lose weight unintentionally when switching. And sometimes people make the mistake of just dropping meat/dairy/eggs without thinking what to replace them with that have the same nutrients. Tracking helped me figure out that I was shorting myself on iron consistently and then address it. Transitioning from vegetarian to vegan, I realized (from tracking) that I had been relying heavily on dairy for protein and calcium, so I had to do some research on that too.

I prefer to also take supplements just as a precaution, but also get my minimums from diet (I actually did the same thing as an omnivore, so that isn't really a change). The ones I take are (1) Ovega-3 Vegetarian Softgels for omega 3 from seaweed, (2) Deva Vegan Vitamins Daily Multivitamin as just a general vitamin. Is formulated for vegans and contains extra B12 and (3) RAINBOW LIGHT Everyday Calcium for extra calcium. I get these on Amazon.

Your lists of foods are good... here are a few more ideas. I get all of these at Whole Foods: blackstrap molasses, Whole Soy & Company soy milk yogurt, SoDelicous almond milk that is fortified with protein/calcium, seitan, lots of green veggies for iron, Cliff Builder's Bars (20 grams of vegan protein, tastes good, and makes a nice snack). There are a lot of iron fortified cereals out there, so check labels to find some.

In addition, there is an organisation encouraging people to go vegan for November. They have a bunch of different recipes and info on there which may be helpful.

http://www.govegan.org.uk/

Tell her to make her own food. Problem solved.

Just in the interest of making your life simpler, you might want to organize most of your dinners around separate dishes: a grain or starch (preferably whole grains or a starchy veg that everyone can eat), veggies prepared without animal or gluten products (or any sauce containing those things served on the side), an animal-based protein (roasts, steaks, chops, chicken whole or in parts, fish, etc.) for most of you (again, with any gluten-containing sauce, like a wheat flour-thickened gravy, on the side), and a vegan protein (whole beans or lentils are generally the most versatile and least work -- you can make a potful from dried beans at the beginning of the week, or use canned if money and sodium aren't issues, and add different seasonings to go with each night's dinner-- or better yet have your daughter do it herself; tofu, tempeh, and seitan are other options -- keep the seitan away from your older daughter, as it is essentially all gluten).

This is in contrast to making a lot of casseroles and stews and such where the animal protein is all mixed in, so you have to make a completely different meal for your younger daughter (although you could do a veggie and grain based stew, and serve separately cooked proteins for people to add to their individual bowls -- some people might want both meat and beans added to their chili, or whatever). But, obviously, if your family likes casseroles and stews enough for it to be worth it to you to make two different meals, ignore this advice.

As far as her getting enough nutrients, I think you're hitting most of the bases, with the addition of B12 which someone mentioned (some nutritional yeasts are fortified with B12, and some people find it to be a tasty replacement for cheese -- I like it well enough, but I don't think it tastes like real cheese).

I'm not vegan, but I have a lot of meals and even days that are either meat-free or animal-product-free. I think soy milk is probably the best substitute for dairy milk from a nutritional standpoint; try different brands, because if she doesn't like one, she might like another (personally, I prefer the ones without added sugar; the ones with sugar are a lot sweeter than dairy milk). Without meat, dairy, and eggs in her diet, all else being equal (and assuming a relatively healthy diet that doesn't consist of french fries twice a day and a "vegan" pastry for breakfast), she should easily be able to afford the extra fat and calories from a serving or two of nuts a day (I probably averaged about two servings of nuts a days while I was losing 40 pounds in my 50s, so a growing teenager with no weight problem, or at least none that you've mentioned, should be able to handle that). Chia and flax seeds are also good sources of fat, fiber, and protein (add to cereal, smoothies, cooked grains, baked goods). If she gets a lot of legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, veggies, and fruits, and you address the B12 issue, she should be fine. Since a lot of people manage to survive their teen years by eating fatty burgers, fries, pizzas loaded with fatty meats, soda, chips, and candy, she'll probably be OK being a vegan with a mom as conscientious as you.

I would second the suggestion to see a nutritionist together, if that's an option, or (cheaper and honestly, perhaps better, because you won't be limited to one person's views, and I've heard some questionable things from people calling themselves nutritionists) just do some research and reading (again, together -- she needs to know about this herself because you're not going to be preparing all her meals for her for the rest of her life).

Good luck with this. You sound like a great mom.

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

Just in the interest of making your life simpler, you might want to organize most of your dinners around separate dishes: a grain or starch (preferably whole grains or a starchy veg that everyone can eat), veggies prepared without animal or gluten products (or any sauce containing those things served on the side), an animal-based protein (roasts, steaks, chops, chicken whole or in parts, fish, etc.) for most of you (again, with any gluten-containing sauce, like a wheat flour-thickened gravy, on the side), and a vegan protein (whole beans or lentils are generally the most versatile and least work -- you can make a potful from dried beans at the beginning of the week, or use canned if money and sodium aren't issues, and add different seasonings to go with each night's dinner-- or better yet have your daughter do it herself; tofu, tempeh, and seitan are other options -- keep the seitan away from your older daughter, as it is essentially all gluten).

This is essentially how my family eats when we're all together -- I'm veg, my mom and dad are 90% veg, my sister has Celiac disease and my brother would be happy eating just meat and potatoes.

Get some wagyu filets and serve them medium rare. She'll change her mind.

Pedal_Pusher2point0 wrote: »

Tell her to make her own food. Problem solved.

^^^^^^^
This. Exactly this.