My five year old grandson is very open to a wide variety of foods, since he is growing up in a bicultural family, eats regularly with people from  Cambodian/ Chinese/ Thai/ Vietnamese/ Vegetarian/ Vegan and SAD (standard American diet) backgrounds. He is usually eager to try things I make for the first time, even if I do not offer them. What I have found works best is to introduce a new food by having it on the table and on my own plate and something familiar on his. Invariably, he will ask to sample the new item and request second helpings. This scenario works very well for us and has helped him increase his interest in all kinds of food without pressure. It allows him to feel in control and makes eating an adventure!

Breaking Tradition, Causing Distress

Recently, though, I had just discovered the beautiful blog Raw on $10 a Day and fell in love with Lisa’s Pad Thai recipe. I made the sauce and let my grandson sample it – he thought it was delicious. But because of my love for this raw dish (and most everything on that particular blog), I broke tradition and created two bowls of the same for lunch. Probably due to his being very, very tired, my little grandson looked at the unknown on his plate and asked, “Can I have something normal, please?”

That sentence has been reverbating in my head for the past few weeks. I know the feeling of wanting something normal. In a world that seems upside down, where corporations are rewarded for exploitation of the environment and those who want to protect it are called eco-terrorists, where animals are tormented and rendered homeless at every turn and those who care about them are considered radical, it is not easy to imagine what true normal would feel like. Sadly, in this world, the ability to detach from reality seems part of the accepted normalcy. But what is normal to a child growing up biracial, bicultural, in love with life, and encountering extreme differences between next door neighbors, both of whom are beloved family members?

Creating the New Normal

Of course, this child was longing for something familiar, something that was safe and did not require any energy adventuring or discovering. Being tired, he just wanted the comfort of the routine, regular, expected food that meant he was where he belonged and all was right with the world. I long for that comfort, that knowledge that all is right with the world, too. But being an adult, it is so apparent to me that all is not right. I have to accept responsibility for changing the world in some way, so that those who abhor exploitation of the natural world will be the new normal, where concern for animal beings and human beings is accepted by all, and where our connection with all forms of life is once again intact and secure. A world that is undergoing stress can be a scary place, but it can also be a place ripe for change. As a vegan, I have chosen a life outside the majority, I have made myself a person that is not considered normal by the bulk of humanity. If I want what I consider a normal world, first I have to help create it. I know that change is coming, but admit that at times, like my grandson, I too grow weary of trying new things and well know that longing: Can I have some normal, please?

Due to a family wedding, I inherited two small non-vegan visitors for the week, ages five and ten. The five year old loves any food you give him; he even loves Daiya cheese. (“DIE yuh, not diet,” he will tell you.) Older brother is more the typical finicky eater – he wrinkles his nose to everything you offer before even tasting. Armed with the information in Myléne Oullet’s recent article, Some Musings on Hosting, I was ready to imitate meals that were familiar and try to keep the meals relatively kid-friendly.

First up was a homemade vegan pizza.  This was a big hit with the little guy, but was only passable to big brother.  Spaghetti is always a favorite, and no one seems to complain about what is or is not in the sauce. Two meals down, five to go.

I made some homemade vegan sausage, which had been a surprising hit when prepared for other family omnivores, but this time used barbecue sauce and offered Mac ‘N Gees, always popular with little brother.  That meal was not moving off the plates of big brother until I reminded him: no clean plate, no dessert.  He loves homemade vegan ice cream, so with a little salt and pepper, the entire plate appeared to be licked clean in no time. Vegan quesadillas are a regular and those are well received; the recipe I use is vegan-cheese-free, but you can always add a little some to give that gooey feel to the meal.  Tacos are usually well accepted, too – bowls of chopped lettuce, grated veggies, vegan crumbles, salsa, and a little Daiya cheese make this only a little different than what is served at home. The most significant difference, of course, is that these meals are cruelty-free, or as cruelty-free as I know how to make them.

I have heard that when preparing meals for omnivores, add extra salt and fat (Earth Balance Organic?) to mimic familiar tastes from over-processed foods.  Big brother likes raw vegetables, but a pleasant surprise was when little brother discovered lightly cooked broccoli – he ate a triple serving and was asking for more vegetables all week! He asks for Earth Balance by name and loves most anything that has that spread or melted over it.

Breakfasts needed to be made quickly so we could scoot off to school. Orange-banana smoothies, vegan waffles, oatmeal, scones, soy yogurt and fresh fruit kept tummies full enough to last until lunch time.

Lessons Learned In the Feeding  and Care of Young Non-Vegans

Some of what I learned during this week:

• Pizza – best to heat the crust and topping a bit before adding the Daiya cheese – it tends to brown rather quickly. Live and learn. Little brother can eat most of a pizza by himself!  Always make two  - extras will be eaten the next   day or may be frozen.Favorite crust recipes are from Barnard and Webb’s Get Healthy, Go Vegan cookbook, and Goudreau’s Vegan Table. Both are excellent.

• Having the ice cream, which is a special treat for older brother, helped him (along with salt and pepper) get through the meals he found too alien. Barbecue sauce didn’t hurt, either.

• Reading a Dr. Seuss book (Oh Say Can You Say) on tongue twisters (no turning the page until mouths were full) helped make breakfast fun and kept the focus on laughing while encouraging those bites, too. Soon they were eager to get to the table to see if I would make mistakes. Happily, I usually do. Every slip of the tongue unleashed gales of laughter – such easy entertainment!

• Books to the rescue again – each selected a book before bedtime and both seemed to love the reading time equally. It is always a ritual are our house to read before bedtime.  No reading until every tooth has been brushed, baths taken, and jammies worn.  There was no resistance to bedtime.

• Options are good, but not too many. I often made two or more vegetables and they could select what they wanted. Sometimes the choices were surprising. Dessert choices were often fresh sliced apples or persimmons.

I will keep kid-testing more new vegan recipes and continue to enlarge my recipe file. The older boy requested another pizza, despite his seeming disdain. But the biggest success of the week was finding out that big brother, who was taught to step on bugs, now saves them and carefully takes them outdoors. Skitter the Cat actually crawled up on big brother’s lap at one point – a real landmark for her and for him, too. After all, veganism is not about diet — and they are learning the important part.

Helping children develop good eating habits is an important goal towards their ultimate good health and nutrition.  With childhood diabetes on the rise, very young is a good time to instill healthy habits in those children around us. Keeping meals appetizing and colorful can attract the most rigid palate.  A few tricks can really help kids learn to appreciate new food, vegan food, and healthy food.

First of all, include them in the process. If you are trying out a new recipe, set things up so the younger children can help out.  If they invest in the creation, they are more likely to want to try it out and feel a part of it.  For the very young, call it something intriguing to garner their interest.  Peanut butter toast with brown sugar on it (cut into the right shapes each slice becomes eight or ten) is called “Dirty Toes” at our house – and may even include some “toenails” (banana slices) if we are feeling particularly wicked.  The little ones think it is so much fun to hear what we are eating.  (Tofu was called “toe food” at our house for a long time, so eating “Dirty Toes” was not that big of a stretch.)  We have some small red bowls which are used for snacks such as raisins and celery, or apple slices with peanut butter. (Be sure the children are old enough for bits of food before trying this one.)  Those little bowls usually mean something good is about to be served and they are now considered the harbinger of “treats.”

Secondly, make changes gradually.  When I first transitioned to veganism, I utilized the many substitute soy products that mimic familiar meat products. Soy nuggets were not all that different from chicken nuggets, especially if the dipping sauce was similar.  Vegan cookies were always popular and so were banana cake and gingerbread. Seitan was introduced with Vegan Teriyaki Sauce which overcame all obstacles and objections.  Favorites of the kids, such as pizza, spaghetti, and tacos, are easily made vegan with the help of so many new vegan products to make things seem familiar: soy cheese shreds, veggie or soy crumbles, soy deli slices, and so on.  When I try out a new recipe, often I only give a serving to myself; before long little voices are requesting their own serving!

Third, answer children’s questions as honestly as you can.  Let them know why  you are a vegan, but let them find their own voice, too. Sometimes using a book, such as That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals by Ruby Roth, can be helpful in letting children explore their world and understand why people make different choices regarding eating habits. Let your response be age-appropriate, and remember to answer questions asked rather than volunteering too much information. Children learn best by observation, rather than indoctrination. Providing them with delicious healthy foods and introducing them to compassion for other living things is sure to help.  We  are currently saving all found nickels and dimes in a jar that will be donated to help the animals at the end of the year. This project was readily embraced by the children and together we are deciding where to donate our small sum.

Your positive attitude towards food, the earth, and other living creatures is the best teaching tool of all.  Enjoy your children and let them learn to enjoy meal times!

That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Book About Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things (Hardcover) by Ruby Roth

Ms. Roth’s books will be released on May 26, 2009, but it is worthy of an early pre-purchase peek. Ms. Roth was teaching art in an elementary school when she was kept busy answering questions posed to her by her curious students about her veganism.  To help answer their many questions as well as to help other children understand this lifestyle choice, Ms. Roth developed her soon-to-be-published book.   Her book discusses the emotional lives of animals, the conditions under which animals must live when they are reduced to commodities in factory farming, the connection between what we eat and how the planet fares, and the interconnectedness of life on our planet.   Endorsements by Ingrid Newkirk, Ed Begley, Jr., Jane Goodall and others grace the back cover.  The illustrations have also been created by Ms. Roth; they do not gloss over the serious subject, but they do offer a beautiful and safe way to discuss the subject with young children.