Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Eat for good
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Eat for good
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
No Result
View All Result

How we provide emotional and practical support to our vegetarian child

Fry's

Brought to you by Fry's

Independent Contributor by Independent Contributor
December 13, 2021
in Features, Partner content
0
Fry's nuggets
0
SHARES
6.4k
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

I consider myself a flexitarian, but my 8-year-old son, Aidan, is a proud vegetarian, and has been for the past six years. He made this decision by himself and my husband and I have respected this, even though he was only a toddler when he announced that he “didn’t want animals to die to be his food”.

As a family, we’ve had to figure out how to best support his choices – making sure he is properly nourished but also figuring out how to make simple swops so that dinner and snack time are not overly complicated.

Here are some of the ways my husband, Robin, and I have supported him, emotionally and practically.

How we provide emotional and practical support to our vegetarian child
The author, Eleanor Douglas-Meyers, and her son, Aiden. Image supplied.

We respect his decision

This meant talking to him about his decision and never trying to trick him as many people have suggested. People have insisted that he wouldn’t know the difference if we snuck meat into his meals, but we know that he made the decision due to his love of animals and didn’t want to betray his trust.

We advocate for him

This means explaining to his teachers, his friends’ parents and our family that he does not eat meat and that this is non-negotiable to him (even though we do). We do this so he never feels like he has to defend himself at mealtimes. If they know ahead of time, it cuts out the awkwardness.

We supplement his diet

We make sure to give him multi-vitamins, add plant protein to his “milkshakes”, and feed him iron-fortified treats. I’m no dietician, but I feel better knowing that he is getting the additional nutrients that many would argue come from meat.

bolognese
One of Aiden’s favourite meals: meat-free Bolognese

We pack lunchboxes

When he goes on play dates and to parties, we always bring additional food so that the host does not to have to go out of their way too much. However, he prefers a very basic diet and you can never go wrong with a glass of milk, a toasted cheese or some Fry’s plant-based chicken nuggets!

We empower him

People think cooking vegetarian meals are a big shlep, but it can be really simple. So we have been teaching him how to make basic food himself. He will come home from school and make lunch for himself and his younger cousin. He makes things like grilled cheese sandwiches, pancakes and air-fryer cooked items such as pre-cut chips, plant-based nuggets, meatballs or sausage rolls from Fry’s.

We plan family dinners

We try to have family dinners where we can simply swop the meat for plant-based alternatives. I have some tried and true recipes that we love and often we will all eat the vegetarian meal. In some cases, we can’t even tell the difference!

Here are some of our go-to flexi meals:

Meat-free Bolognese

Meat-free burgers

Boerie rolls with chilli peach chutney

We don’t know if this is just a phase – it might be – but for now we choose to support him and his massive love for animals.

big-fry-burger
Another of Aiden’s favourite meals: meat-free burgers

About the author:

Eleanor Douglas-Meyers is a journalist, blogger and event planner. She lives in the Eastern Cape with her son and husband.

Tags: FeaturesGuideHealthyPartner Content


Related Posts

We compared different cooking methods for lamb chops and found the best ways to cook them
Cooking Guides and Tips

We compared different cooking methods for lamb chops and found the best ways to cook them

May 19, 2022
rusks
Featured

We tasted store-bought buttermilk rusks and found the best one – just in time for winter

May 18, 2022
5-cooking-tips
Cooking Guides and Tips

5 horrifying cooking mistakes to avoid in the kitchen

May 17, 2022
Next Post
knorr tacos

PARTNER CONTENT: Knorr teams up with McCain Foods to help the South African’s move towards a better food future

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Food24 Team Loves

mielie rice

Whatever happened to mielie rice?

March 18, 2022
Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines goes global

Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines goes global

March 17, 2022
banana-peel-uses

3 fruit peels you’ll love for their waste-reducing appeal

March 10, 2022
sushi

Eat Out has announced its panel of judges for the first time ever

March 7, 2022
8 ingredients South Africans will be eating more of this year

8 ingredients South Africans will be eating more of this year

March 1, 2022

Recent favourites

  • rusks

    We tasted store-bought buttermilk rusks and found the best one – just in time for winter

    1 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • This is officially the best beer in Africa

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 5 horrifying cooking mistakes to avoid in the kitchen

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 5 mistakes you may be making when buying olive oil

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • WATCH: Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen shares his go-to braai salad

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get weekly access to our best recipes, tips and tricks

Sign Up
Footer

Quick links

  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Win

Collections

  • New Recipes
  • Festive
  • Baking
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Braai Recipes
  • Lunchbox
  • South African Recipes
  • Pasta Recipes

Other links

  • Advertise with Food24
  • Editorial Policy
  • How to Pitch
  • Contact us

Not in the mood to cook?

Visit eatout.co.za to find the perfect restaurant near you.

eatout.co.za

© 2020 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

  • About us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • New Media
IAB
No Result
View All Result
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Eat for good
    • Win

© 2019 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms below to register

Subscribe to Newsletter

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Close
Food24
Recipe Disclaimer

All recipe content is the responsibility of the party from whom such content originated. You agree that you use the content on Food24 at your own risk. Please read our editorial policy.
Close
Food24
Get the latest recipes delivered to your inbox weekly
Promotional Newsletter

Be the first to receive information about competitions and special offers from Food24 and it's partners.

You have successfully been subscribed!
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Make sure you have completed all required fields.
I don't want to see this again