New Vegan Classes Coming This Month!
Fall is here and it just happens to be one of my favorite seasons. Lot’s of good stuff coming up that I’m excited to share with you.
I’m about to start writing my second book (yep! more on that soon). And I’m putting the final touches on a brand new series of vegan classes starting September 25th. Look for a special email early next week with all the juicy details. And my 45th birthday is on September 30th, and I’ll be giving you a special gift! More on that in next week’s ezine.
But for now, on to this week’s feature article about raising children vegan…and a delish chocolate dessert recipe that follows.
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Of Course It’s OK to Raise Your Child Vegan
I stopped by to visit a friend and her new baby last week, and she surprised me by asking, “Is it ok to raise my daughter vegan?” She said she and her husband have been seriously thinking about having the family become vegan. My answer was, “Of course it’s OK to raise your child vegan!”
My friend is one of many new moms (and moms-to-be) who’ve asked me this same question over the years. They’ve heard that it’s not safe to raise children on a vegan diet—maybe even dangerous. They’ve heard from parents or friends that their children will be nutritionally-deficient, anemic, and even mentally or physically weak.
Well, if you’ve been wondering about the same thing, rest assured. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Vegan diets provide optimal nutrition for all stages of childhood, from birth through adolescence. In fact, raising children on vegan foods is one of the best ways to ensure they have bright and healthy futures.
But don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what the American Dietetic Association has to say as the world’s largest organization of food and nutritional professionals.
“Appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes.”
Even famed baby expert Dr. Benjamin Spock advocated vegan diets in the 7th edition of Baby and Child Care, the world’s leading parenting guide.
The fact is, vegan children grow up to be healthier, slimmer, and live longer than their omnivore (meat-eating) friends.
And get this: vegan children are not only healthier, they’re smarter, too. According to Latest in Clinical Nutrition: 2007, it’s been known for three decades that vegan children have IQs that test 16 points above average and a mental age that is one year ahead of children who eat meat and dairy. Now that’s some good news about our children’s health, for a change.
So if you’re thinking about raising vegan children, here are some tips from two great resources: Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, and from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM):
- For at least the first six months of life, vegan babies, like all infants, should be fed mother’s milk. If breast milk is not available, an organic soy-based formula can be substituted to avoid dairy allergies from cow’s milk formulas.
- After about six to eight months, babies can be introduced to foods such as mashed fruits, vegetables, and infant cereal. This can be followed by beans and grains that have been well-cooked and mashed.
- When children are ready to eat solid foods exclusively, they should eat generously from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes (beans and nuts). These vegan foods provide abundant protein, calcium and other essential nutrients to keep rapidly growing bodies healthy and strong.
- To ensure that children receive adequate amounts of vitamin B-12, any common children’s multivitamin will work. This goes for vegan and omnivore children alike, since many meat-eaters also don’t get adequate amounts of vitamin B-12, which originates from bacteria, not animals.
And one more thing: the Centers for Disease Control reports that 1 in 200 children are vegetarian (which includes vegans). In fact, your city’s vegetarian organization is likely to have a play group for vegan families. So for veg-curious parents, relax. Raising children vegan is a lot more common than you think.
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Chocolate Mousse Tart Recipe
Have you tried my recipe for Chocolate Mousse Tart from By Any Greens Necessary? One of our Facebook family made it this week and said “Hi, Tracye. I just tried your Chocolate Mousse and I am IN LOVE!” (I know the feeling!)
For the Crust:
1 cup pecans
1 cup raw macademia nuts
1/2 cup pitted medjool dates (7 or 8 dates)
1 or 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
For the Filling:
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded
1/2 cup raw agave nectar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut water or plain water (use more or less water for desired thickness)
To make the crust, place the nuts and dates in a food processor using the S blade and process until a well-mixed dough is created. Press the dough into the bottoms of four to six 4-inch tartlet pans. Sprinkle the coconut on top of the dough.
For the filling, place all ingredients in a blender and mix well. Scoop the filling into the pans, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes. Makes four to six servings. Keeps about two days in the fridge stored in a sealed container. Enjoy!
Have a great week!
Vibrantly Yours,
Tracye
