Vegan Vegkins Halloween Party Part Deux

The second annual vegan Vegkins Halloween party was a success. Twin cities represent! To keep it simple for food, we did a potluck again. I can't think of a more perfect way to learn new family friendly recipes, than having parents make their favorites at a potluck. If you are looking for other party ideas, check out my previous posts on Easy Vegan Halloween Food, White Chocolate Ghosts, and Homemade Halloween Candy.

There were a few Halloween themed goodies I just have to share with you. The first was a mom's first time baking vegan, and boy did it turn out delicious and festive! She told me that the recipe came from Veg News, which was linked up to Chef Chloe's recipe for Witches Fingers, you know the one that won Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. Yep, a vegan cupcake took the cake so to speak!

The next thematic dish was spaghetti worms with veggie meat eyeballs. Not only was it eye-catching (get it, eye catching), but it was a festive dish for our event. This was made by Betsy, who also shared her technique for peanut butter blossoms. She has some mad talent!

Not only did she make the kid-friendly spaghetti dish, she also carved this awesome brain watermelon. It looked fabulous!

I could go on and on about the other food, but lets get on to the fun had all around, with a craft, games, and a costume contest. Here is Anna from These Little Piggies have Tofu working on a Halloween mobile.

Between meal time and games, the kids all created a kid "mosh pit" type of game inside at folded up gymnastic floor mat. Kids really can have fun with just about anything!

Al and his wife Jen from These Little Piggies Had Tofu, planned the games for the party. They did not disappoint! The first was a musical shapes game. The kid's danced to music, when it stopped they needed to find an animal to stand on. Everyone played until they all had a chance to win.

The kid's loved Pin the Tail on the Cat, and some wanted multiple turns. Look how cute the kitty cat blind fold glasses were for the game!

At the end, we announced winners of the costume contest and then everyone got a treat bag full of vegan goodies to take home.

Do you attend or throw a vegan Halloween party for your kiddos? If not, you can always start up your own group. A fine place to start is Meetup.com online. There are vegan meet up groups all over the country on there, a perfect place to meet other parents. Our group is linked in with the Animal Rights Coalition, which send prospective families our way as well. Happy Party Planning

Don't forget to enter the contest to win either some butterscotch chips or a copy of 30 Day Vegan Challenge.

Pre-school Season Vegan Snack Time

It is that time of year again, and the kids start pre-school tomorrow. It will be Elliott's second year and Evelyn's first. They always have a snack in the mornings and it is provided by the parents on a rotating schedule. I always send vegan options like hemp, soy, or almond milk and vegan cheese crackers.

If you are interested in some guidelines for what worked for our family communicating about vegan options, see our list/instructions below.

How does your school do it? What does your family do for snack time and treats at school?

List of Vegan Snacks He/She Can Eat

• Fruit (fresh and dried)
• Veggies
• Graham Crackers
• Teddy Grahams
• Pretzels
• Stauffer’s and Barnum and Bailey’s Animal Crackers
• Cheerios, Kix, Life, Chex Cereal
• Veggie Booty
• Earth’s Best Organic Smiley Snacks
• Wheat Thins (All kinds EXCLUDING Parmesan Basil, Cream Cheese & Chives, Ranch)
• Triscuits (All kinds EXCLUDING Parmesan Garlic and Quattro Formaggio
• Soy or Coconut Yogurt
• Hummus
• Stacy’s Pita Chips (All kinds EXCLUDING Parmesan Garlic)
• Stacy’s Bagel Bites
• Ritz Crackers 
• Sesame Sticks
• Trader Joe’s Bagel Chips: Whole Wheat, Everything, or Sea Salt
• Popcorn (Without butter or cheese)
• Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes
• Pita Chips: Cinnamon & Sugar, w/Sea Salt, w/ Sesame Seeds
• Pirate’s Veggie Booty
•  Eco Planet’s Pretzel Crackers and Cheddar Non-Dairy Crackers
• Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks
• Applesauce

Non-Vegan Item’s He/She Should Not Eat

• Any meat, chicken, fish products
• Dairy Products (Cheese, yogurt, milk, cottage cheese)
• Eggs
• Pepperidge Farm Fish Crackers (all kinds contain dairy)
• Gelatin

Helpful Hint: at the end of all ingredient lists manufacturers are required to list if common allergens in the product. This includes milk, milk products, and eggs. (see red arrow in example picture below).

Note: We DO eat products labeled like the label on the right, where the product was manufactured or may contain trace amounts of milk or eggs.

Vegan and Vegetarian Family 101

A friend told me her son was refusing to eat chicken when he understood what it really was. She is being supportive of his decision and exploration of his personal self, and asked for my help on some vegetarian alternatives that aren't all highly processed soy-based foods.

This got me to thinking about compiling a list of resources, which have been helpful to our family. These are merely a drop in the bucket, but a great place to start.

First and foremost, I wanted to share a site I came across, which chronicles real vegan babies and children's lives. It it a more detailed look at a vegan lifestyle, and demonstrates how a well-balanced vegan diet is a healthy option for children and babies.

The most common concerns for parents feeding their children a vegan or vegetarian diet are: nutrition, healthy recipes, and social implications.

My favorite books I have returned to time and again for raising my children vegan are: Raising Vegetarian Children by Joanne Stepaniak and Raising Vegan Children in a Non-Vegan World by Erin Pavlina.

The second book is unfortunately out of print, but there are some used copies available. If you are having trouble tracking down a copy, I recommend checking the library first or local animal rights groups which may have a copy to loan or sell. Lastly, check around with friends to see if they have one you could borrow.

While my kids are not in school yet, I couldn't resist ordering Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifer McCann. It contains many great recipes and fun ideas to spruce up lunch time for your kids. There are recipes for quick meals and more involved ones - something for everyone. In fact, sometime soon I'm going to give away a copy on here, so stay tuned.

Along with books for adults, I highly recommend Happy, Healthy Vegan Kids by Tracie DeMotte. It is loaded with lots of colorful pictures of animals, and my kids really enjoy it. I do edit it to keep it appropriate for the age. For example, there are a couple longer pages that give more detail than I think my children are ready for at their age.

Another favorite of my children is Victor's Picnic with the Vegetarian Animals by Radha Vignola. I like this one a lot, because it does a great job illustrating the myriad of vegetarian animals, from mice to gorillas to elephants.

I help run a local vegan and vegetarian family group called Vegkins, through the Animal Rights Coalition. They helped to organize a story time conducted by Teaching Compassion MN for our group. It is an excellent local resource for teachers and parents. My favorite story from that event was Hey Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose.

For older children, I recommend That's Why We Don't Eat Animals by Ruby Roth. The pictures are somewhat darker in nature at times, and I personally decided to save this one for when my kids are school age.

There are numerous web resources available. Here are a few of my favorites:

• http://spawnbetter.com/ - run by a Council of Vegan Parents, covers nutrition and social aspects
• http://www.vegfamily.com/ - online magazine for vegan families, recipes, nutritional info, etc.
• http://www.kidsgethealthy.org/ - everything from how to go veg, recipes, meal plans, i-phone apps, nutrition, etc.
• http://vegweb.com/ - superb recipe site, which is user reviewed (weeds out blah recipes)
• http://www.vegguide.org/ - community-maintained, world-wide guide to veg restaurants, grocers, etc.

Magical Pink Salt, Getting Your Kids to Eat Their Veggies

A common question that people often ask is, "How do you get them to eat that?" Typically it is in reference to vegetables, but not always. Our kids often eat all their broccoli or cauliflower first and ask for more before eating anything else. No we are not miracle workers. There are a few simple ways you can achieve the same willingness to try new things, and often new foods will become well liked.

1) Eat the vegetables yourself. It sounds silly, but kids notice what you eat. I put this one first, because I think it is the most important. You are your child's model. Every time I sit down at the table to eat, I start with my veggies because they pick up on that. Typically a child will eat what they like best first, so when they see you chow down all your broccoli first it makes an impression on them. I've actually watched my son observe me doing that, and then pick up whatever I was eating, finish it off, and ask for more.

2) Try, try, try again. If they don't eat it, continue to offer it to them even if they leave it on their plate. Eventually they will try it. Trust me on this one. It may take 20 times, but you will break them down.

3) Never force them to eat more than a bite. Trying the food should be praised with a "nice job trying that" and then move on. Don't make a big deal about it, because if you do they will file it away as a way to push your buttons later or create a power struggle.

4) It's all in a name. Be creative with what you call the food. If they like dinosaurs, call broccoli dinosaur trees. Our kids eat roasted kale and spinach because we call them kale or spinach chips. What kid doesn't want to eat chips? Once we made polenta patties and my son wouldn't eat it. The next time I made it, when I presented it as a corn chip he ate three of them. Since my kids like broccoli, I called cauliflower "white broccoli." I'm not wild about being dishonest, so once they eat a new food and proclaim it edible, I always say, "this is also called X."

5) Special colors or pointing out brightly colored food, often makes something appealing. I recently bought unprocessed Himalayan pink salt, and used that as a motivator to try new things. Whenever they were reluctant and it was appropriate to add salt, I offered the "cool" pink salt. It worked like a charm. My son also really like the fact that he could grind it himself.

6) Try new things when they are really hungry. If they eat poorly at breakfast, try something new at lunch. Put out the new food first.

7) Grow your own vegetables and have your child help. Even if it is simply putting seeds in the ground, watering, or pulling up carrots. They really enjoy learning about where food comes and being a part of the process. You don't need to start a huge garden, just try one or two things that you'd like your child to learn to eat.

8) Have them help prepare the food. The first time our son had cauliflower he ate tons of it, because he helped break it up into smaller pieces.

These are what worked for us, and I am not claiming in any way to be an expert. The majority of these ideas came from books or ECFE. Right now my son is in a really picky stage, so we have to work harder to encourage him. My daughter is still at the "eats most anything" stage. We'll enjoy it while it lasts!

Vegkins Halloween Party

This year, the vegan/vegetarian family group which I lead, Vegkins, had a Halloween party. We decided to make it a potluck to take the burden off of organizers to prepare and purchase all the food. That worked out really well using evite's potluck option, so everyone could select a variety of dishes to bring.

The Animal Rights Coalition graciously paid for the room rental at a local park's recreational room. A couple parents chipped in to pay for the rest of the items (prizes, dinner ware, crafts, and treats). Overall it was a big hit.

The turn out was really great, and the families had a nice time. If you are interested in planning a vegan Halloween party in your city, I recommend contacting local animal rights groups for help getting the word out and organizing.

Considering the success of this year's party, I know we'll be having another one next year.

Pre-school Selection and Prepartion

The rush to research and apply for pre-schools started quite awhile ago. It is hard to believe you need to start applying for pre-school so far in advance, but that is how it is here. Sometimes I put too much thought into things than is really necessary, but I strongly feel early childhood learning is an important part of my child's education. It may be due to having a busy boy who has boundless amounts of energy, but I want to make sure he has good practice learning to follow an instructor's directions, variety in activities, and good social experience.

While being vegan doesn't have a whole lot to do with choosing where to go, it is nice to find a place that will acknowledge and respect our dietary lifestyle. We applied two places and our son got into both. At one school the parents have a rotating responsibility for bringing in a snack and at the other it is provided by the school. They both seem pretty aware about respecting our choices, but one certainly stands out more on that front than the other. When we toured the school, we noticed a chart on the wall with each child's name and a list of common allergens and checks by any restrictions. While this is not a top factor in determining where to go, we also want to be sensitive to our son. What parent doesn't want to make life easier for their child?

Instead of worrying too much about which school, I decided to really start to discuss what we eat and why. This isn't just a vegan thing either. We talk about eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains because they are good for our bodies. It is interesting to observe how Elliott has responded. Lately he asks what everything is made from and who made it. I think this is great. So many people put little thought into it, and here is our three year old just fascinated with the components for his vegan mac and soy cheese. From mangoes, to vegan pizzas, to soup, and zucchini he wants to know where they came from and who "made it." Whether it is homemade or not, I believe it helps to appreciate the food we have to eat.

The ultimate hope from all this is that he does grow up to put thought into what he eats - vegan diet or not. I've been starting a good collection of books which cover vegetarian/vegan diets, so we can teach him what we eat. This seems to work well for some friends of ours. Their daughter is in pre-school and is completely at home asking if something is vegan. You should check out his blog by the way. It is This Little Piggy Had Tofu, clever name huh? We will find out in the fall how things go. Stay tuned.....

What's in a Name?

Since our eldest was young we made a conscious decision to "take back" the word milk. After contemplating it, we thought it would be good to refute the common acceptance of cow's milk taking the all-encompassing title of "milk". While this seemed like a good idea, it turned out to be unhelpful for our son.

Both kids are in early education classes, therefore require sibling care when I'm with the other one in class. Their school has been pretty good about our vegan diet. For the snack rotation between parents, they've sent a list home which specifies what food is okay to bring. Past experience taught it is easier to tell people what to bring versus what they can't. When signing them up for sibling care I gave specific instructions about snack and what they don't eat. Since I know they often serve goldfish cheese crackers, I sent a vegan version for the kids.

One day when I arrived to drop off my son the child care provider who typically was there was out. I thought nothing of it until pick up time. The person there told me that he requested milk at snack, so she gave it to him. I clarified the type of milk, and was disappointed to discover it was cow's milk. Right at that moment I addressed the issue, and reiterated his dietary guidelines. She was extremely apologetic and ensured me it would not happen again.

The next time we came in and the regular child care provider also apologized profusely and explained the steps they took to prevent it from happening again. I think it really shook things up as it could have ended quite differently had it been an allergy related issue.

The day we went home after my son drank cow's milk, I immediately began to call what we drink soy milk. We then sat down and talked about the different types of milk. Interestingly he said that cow's milk is for cow babies. I guess he deduced this from seeing me nurse his little sister.

In the end trying to redefine the meaning of milk was a disservice to our son. We learned the hard way, but he now knows to ask what type of milk if it is offered to him. He told my sister the other day, "I don't drink cow's milk, I drink soy milk." We've always told our kids that we eat vegan, but going forward the more tools we can provide them, the better off they will be, until they can decide for themselves.

Teaching Compassion at a Vegan Bake Sale

Today our family participated in a vegan bake sale to benefit victims in Haiti. My husband and I have been busy the past couple of nights making vegan truffles (above), peanut and pecan brittle, and white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies. They were all a big hit! All in all our efforts raised money for a good cause.

We wanted to be sure to include it as a lesson to the little ones about helping to make a difference in the world. If there is one thing a toddler can understand, it is making/purchasing goodies to raise money for a charitable organization. What kid doesn't love vegan cookies, chocolates, muffins, cupcakes, and brownies?

Our eldest is still a wee three year old, so I tried to keep the explanation simple. It needed to be summarized in three year old speak, which isn't always easy when the subject matter involves the devastation caused by a massive earthquake. We explained people's homes fell down and they needed help to rebuild them. The animals in Haiti needed help as well. When I compared it to help for our animals if they were lost, that really hit home for him.

This is one of the many ways we plan to teach compassion to our children, through the importance of donations and particating in charitable fundraisers. They will learn more about it next month too at the Kiddie Karnival at their school. We'll be donating to the silent auction and have Elliott help pick out what we buy. It is part of the vegan values we hope to instill in our children.

Vegan Family Politics

As my children grow older, we begin to venture into the realm of vegan family politics. My eldest is beginning to notice he eats differently than other people. He attends an ECFE class as does his sister. They each have sibling care when the other is in class. There is typically a snack time, and goldfish crackers are a common selection by the school. I am not sure why these are so popular as they don't seem to be a healthy, wholesome snack regardless of not being vegan. We brought in Eco Planet Cheddar Non-Dairy crackers for them to eat at snack time. Today Elliott talked about his classmate friend having" fish" and that he did not eat fish. He loves the Eco Planet crackers, and for now is happy with this alternative. As peer acceptance becomes more of a priority we'll have to decide how to handle that.

The political aspect of family food choices is a challenge for me. While I feel strongly about following a vegan diet, I feel the same way about respecting other's choices. That doesn't mean I am against promoting a vegan lifestyle, I am all for it, but in a positive constructive way. When I first became a vegetarian, I remember being ostracized for eating dairy and eggs. It totally turned me off to the idea of abstaining from them, and only eventually made that choice after getting there on my own terms. For these reasons, I struggle with the best way to discuss other's eating meat and animal products in a way where my child will not feel superior to others. I absolutely loathe religion being shoved down my throat, and can't help but see some parallels between the two.

When we discuss it now, my explanation for eating the way we do is simple, keeping in mind the age of the audience. All we say, is that we do not eat those things because we do not have to. Elliott came up with his own explanation for why we don't eat meat, because "they would be sad." He was 32 months old when he determined this. It was interesting to witness the "ah-ha" moment of understanding what it means when people talk about eating chicken or turkey. There is no hiding what it comes from like cows or pigs. We had just seen wild turkeys at the nature center by our house, and at lunch I told him I was making a veggie turkey sandwich when he inquired. A quizzical look fell upon his face, and he asked about the turkey part. I assured him it was not actually from a turkey, and that is when he divulged the "it would make them sad" explanation. I guess I never thought about having this moment since we are vegan.

It is interesting to point out how completely comfortable others feel at questioning our decision to raise our kids vegan. I often wonder how well it would be appreciated it I did the same for religious beliefs someone was teaching their children, but I "do unto others as I would prefer them do to me." While veganism is not a religion, it is much more than a diet. It is more accurately described as a lifestyle, which follows compassion. This is clearly founded on moral beliefs, the same as religion, but most people do not seem to view it as such.

As veganism becomes more mainstream, I believe this will become less common. It is amazing to see how far things have come from when I first choose a vegan lifestyle over 10 years ago. For now I will try remain optimistic about what the future will bring in this regard, but like any other parents we are figuring it out as we go along.

Vegkins Family Group

For a little more than a year I've been organizing Vegkins Family monthly meetings for vegan and vegetarian families. The Animal Right Coalition (ARC) started it and supports it. In the summer we met at parks for play dates. We've also visited the Como Conservatory, an apple orchard, and dinner at Evergreen Chinese Restaurant. Soon we'll do a music class together and a potluck. If you are interested in this group check us out Facebook by searching for Vegkins.

My family has found it helpful to discuss things about vegan parenting. The part we like best is for Elliott and Evelyn to have some fellow vegan playmates. Right now Elliott is starting to learn that we eat differently and once Evelyn is older she will start to realize that too. It is nice to learn how other families deal with different situations, and go to other vegan birthday parties!

If you don't have a group where you live, try connecting up with a local animal rights group to support and recruit putting together a group.