The idea of raising a child as vegan is incomprehensible for some people but here, I talk to two people who have done exactly that! The plant powered parents (@theplantpoweredparents) consists of mum Lindsay and dad Tom who have two gorgeous girls Pier and Quinn.
Hi guys! Great to speak with you. Let’s start with an important question…what made you decide to become vegans?
We became vegan for our health in the beginning. It was a very health conscience driven
decision. There are 3 main reasons one chooses this lifestyle it’s either health, environment, or for the animals. But we are firm believers that no matter how you start
the others come attached to this way of life. You develop the compassion and become
aware of the environment and then they just fall into place and become a large part of
how you live your life.
Lindsay you are a recipe specialist for the wonderful magazine Raise Vegan, can you tell the readers what this magazine is about?
The magazine is a wide variety of everything vegan between food, products, and articles.
There is a strong focus on vegan pregnancy and parenting, but it is also a great community for new vegans, veteran vegans, and anyone thinking about veganism. It is ran by a group of strong woman that believe in something bigger and getting their voices heard to change peoples outlook on this lifestyle.
Lindsay, how did you get into recipe development?
I have always loved being in the kitchen ever since I was a little kid sitting a my little tykes table cutting out biscuits for Sunday breakfast. Such a great bonding time for parents and kids to cook together. Once we made this decision the food was so daunting to me. Our meals were solely driven on lean meats and dairy products and my taste was far from eating salads for every meal. So, I decided this was the time to make food that fit my needs, my taste buds, and then decided why not share it with newly plant-based people as well.
Your food looks stunning, where do you get your inspiration from?
I’m far from a plating expert, but most of my inspiration comes from the concept that you eat with your eyes first. I try and make food aesthetically pleasing but also healthy.
Does Tom love to cook as much as you? How do you integrate the girls into your cooking practices?
My husband also cooks, but in all honesty it’s kind of “my thing “around the house. Piper
is 3 and every time I am in the kitchen she wants to help. We name vegetables, count
ingredients, and she loves to stir and mix. The more she knows about the food we mke
the more she wants to try it.
I don’t know if you can buy vegan formula! When your girls were young when did you introduce plant-based milks?
Piper was already 2 when this was introduced to our family and Quinn had a soy reaction as a small baby. I breast fed as long as I could and had to supplement for a little while but the day she turned 1 that was it. She no longer had a bottle and then I introduced plant milk a few months later just in cereals and oatmeal. They both love oatmilk and almond milk.
Early life is key for development of the infant, did you give the girls any dietary
supplements to aid this?
Yes, we incorporated vegan D3 and DHA drops and for B12 nutritional yeast was a great
help. Luckily children don’t need as much as us so it’s great that there are children’s vegan options out there now. I believe there is even fortified plant milk as well which I huge.
When the girls were very young and had a small appetite how did you ensure they were getting all the nutrients they needed in those small meals?
SMOOTHIES! We added flax, hemp seed, and small amounts of greens. Hiding veggies is
always a great route as well in their pastas and sauces.
Have the girls ever shown an interest in eating animal products, for example when they goto a friend’s house and how have you dealt with this?
Piper is picky so if she doesn’t recognize it she wont eat it. and Quinn is too young at this
point so I haven’t had to address this as of yet.
A lot of kids don’t like eating their vegetables, I am sure this isn’t a problem in your house! Was it difficult at first or have the girls always loved veggies?
The green vegetables were always an issue here so we had a rule with Piper to try
something new and she had to just have 3 bites. If she didn’t like it we didn’t give up we
just reintroduce it a few weeks later and no she loves a majority of them.
What are your opinions on using food as a reward?
I do this quite a bit with homemade popsicles or peanut butter and apples. I honestly
don’t see the harm as long as the option is still healthy. If you give kids an apple just as
excited as you would giving them a cupcake they will be excited too. It’s all in the
presentation.
Do you get any judgement from other parents who are raising their children in the
conventional way? If so, how do you approach this?
I don’t get judgement and I don’t judge others for what they feed their families. I get a lot of questions which I encourage because I want parents to understand why I chose this lifestyle and let them know this isn’t a frivolous notion or idea we had and didn’t research it. We read the books, researched what our children needed, and planned accordingly.
What advice can you give to couples who want to raise their child the plant powered way?
To any parent I think becoming educated about your children’s nutritional needs are
important. Don’t listen to the hype that if you don’t give your children meat or dairy they
will somehow starve. Be confident in your choices and stand by them because you are
doing what you think is best for family.
Thank you so much for sharing with me! To all the readers go and check out beautiful
recipes on their Instagram @theplantpoweredparents!