How can I get my family on-board?

Shopping vegan doesn't have to be
expensive - and you really can
keep some of the favorites!

How Do You Get Your Family To Eat Vegan?

The hardest thing about any kind of lifestyle change is not convincing yourself, it's convincing your family to go along. Although I had very little trouble talking my family into trying a vegan diet, I realize that a huge part of that is the fact that I am a work-at-home mom who loves to cook, and can easily hop up at any point during my day to tend to something in the kitchen! This is a luxury that most American women don't have. Chances are much greater that you and your husband work outside the home. Your children are in school and you generally only get together evenings and weekends -- mostly on the run!

In addition to the time aspect of being vegan is the money. Most vegan cookbooks and websites list ingredients that your local market has never heard of and have NO intention of stocking. For instance, I just finished reading a vegan cookbook (one with a title containing the word "fusion", which my husband swears should have set off the warning bells!). Reading it made me feel lazy, or at the very least, unimaginative... and I'm not. I think I'm a vegan like most out there, making my way through the minefield that my local supermarket has become, all the while trying not to bankrupt my family with expensive ingredients that can only be obtained from an online source.

So, if you're trying to lead your family to a plant-based diet that doesn't cause your monthly grocery expenditure to double AND manages to keep the kids from going begging at the neighbor's house for "real" food... read on.

While the thought of something exotic like summer rolls made with rice paper, rice noodles, freshly chopped veggies, mint & basil beside brown rice made with fresh Coconut Milk might appeal to your palette, I'm guessing that:

1. The kids will look at those see-through rolls of vegetables and herbs and say "no way"
2. The hours spent hunting for ingredients and food preparation simply put this menu option out of range for a typical day's meal
3. The family grocery budget won't allow for the $23 - $25 that this one meal costs - if you're able to find all the ingredients. 

 So, what DO you do to keep your family on the vegan path?

First, lighten up on yourself - this is a process, if you make a mistake and give in to your 3-year-old's demand for goldfish crackers instead of steering them towards the vegan option of Nabisco Teddy Grahams, it's OK. Catch it next time.

Second, take a little of your limited time to go through and bookmark the lists below - you would be shocked at the number of vegan-friendly items available at your local supermarket!

Third, think sneaky - that's right, I said sneaky! A typical day might look something like this:

• Breakfast: Try some Bagels with Peanut Butter and sliced bananas
• Lunch: Tomato Soup with baby carrots and apple slices
• Dinner: Bean burritos with frozen corn on the cob on the side and Jell-O Chocolate Pudding (made with soy or almond milk) with banana and strawberry slices in it for desert... 

All of the items listed are readily available in your local supermarket and you've not only provided an entire day's worth of food for about 1/3 the cost of the fusion vegan meal mentioned above, but you are your kid's hero and you've provided a vegan menu with six servings of fruits and veggies snuck in!

Now, of course, you want to wean yourself and your family off of processed foods as much as possible, but in the meantime, commit yourself to offering fun vegetables and/or fruits with EVERY meal. Be very cautious about the processed foods you purchase as the huge mega-corporations that offer such good prices are constantly tweaking recipes to save money. A simple choice that you might get in the habit of purchasing, such as cold cereal can be vegan one day and not-so-vegan the next:

We thought Kellogg's Raisin Bran was completely animal product free but MJR User Lulubell called Kellogg's and found out their Vitamin D source comes from animals. Thanks for the help, Lulubell!

So, unfortunately, the grocery store will always be a bit of a minefield, but us vegans tend to look out for each other. Keep up to date by visiting the sites listed below and always read the labels. Before you know it, you and your family will be happy, healthy vegans.

Lists of Vegan foods in the grocery store:

PETAKids.com
Group for Education of Animal Related Issues (GEARI)
PETA's Accidentally Vegan

One more thing: don't hesitate to contact the company and ask them - they will gladly answer your email or phone call. This is how I found out that Mocha Mix non-dairy creamer was vegan - Yay!! :-)