[Jennifer Z]

When you were a kid, did you show a preference for veggies over meat since very young? Were your parents meat eaters?<br><br>
Our daughter will eat meat sometimes, but not always. She pretty much always will eat veggies and yogurt. (opposite of our son who won't touch veggies at all).<br><br>
Did you show a preference for veggies really young and how did your parents handle it? We are in the middle of beef country, so I know I am going to be defending her for a long time if I just go veggie with her, but I am also wondering if I should keep presenting meat to her (but not forcing her to eat it...I don't force my kids to eat ANYTHING they don't want to).<br><br>
Any thoughts?

 

[USAmma]

My parents are big meat eaters. I never have liked meat. I mean, I would eat ground beef and chicken strips and fish sticks, but if it looked like meat on the bone I got really grossed out by it. My parents ridiculed me. I tried being a veg at age 16 but didn't know much about nutrition. I became a veg for good 9 years ago.<br><br>
I would keep offering her choices, but let her make the choice. If she does not want to eat meat you will need to offer-- and make sure she eats-- some non-meat alternatives that offer her a variety of protein sources. You sound like a great mom. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[sapphire_chan]

I gradually cut things out when I found out they came from animals. It wasn't a concious thing until I was 10. My mother was vegetarian, but I never had a sense of "wanting to be just like her".<br><br>
I think that cattle-country would be a much harder place to be vegetarian or have a vegetarian child. Until she makes a choice to not eat meat at all, I'd just be sure to offer a variety of protein sources, and tell people who wonder why she isn't eating meat on a particular occasion "she just doesn't feel like eating that today".<br><br>
Anyway, at this point, just continue to offer a variety of foods and let her body tell her what she needs.<br><br>
"She doesn't like meat much" is a much easier diet to work with than "she's vegetarian". The former still allows for things like chicken broth in soups, gelatin in desserts, pork in beans, etc, etc. The latter brings up a whole slew of choices about how strictly vegetarian she'll be, and those choices should really be up to her if/when she goes that route.

 

[Avocado]

I was born and raised vegetarian but started eating fish very occasionally in the past 5 years... I love sushi! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[SoulJourney]

Yes, I DEFINITELY preferred to NOT eat meat as a child. It wasn't really handled very well in my meat eating family. There was a while when my parents tried the "you can't leave the table until you clean your plate" trick. That only worked until I threw up cube steak at the table. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> I was a strict vegetarian for years and still eat mainly a vegetarian diet with the exception of fish on rare occassions. I am now constantly having to defend the dietary choices that I make for DS, who is 16mo. If your family is full of meat eaters there will always be meat around for your DD to eat if she chooses. I would just make sure there are other healthy options at the table for her to eat and not pressure her to eat meat. I'm sure if it's not her eating habits that you are defending sometime down the road it will be <i>something</i>, YKWIM? Just make sure she has your support if she does choose a vegetarian route!<br><br><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/Rainbow.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="rainbow peace"><br><br>
eta: BTW, I am in Indiana, so I know all about the Midwestern pressures to eat meat!

 

[Nosebite]

YES! When my grandma or mama would serve meat, I would try and sneak to the bathroom and flush it down the toilet. I always hated meat. I even went so far as to put it behind the sofa. After a couple of weeks, it started to smell. Boy was I in trouble.

 

[Sailor]

Becoming vegetarian, for me, happened after I turned 19 (I'm 24 now). Growing up we ate meat ... truth is, I LOVED it. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"> I made the choice to go vegetarian for health reasons, and because I think animals should be treated in a humane fashion.<br><br>
The truth is, though, even after 5 years, for me it's tough. The only thing keeping me going is how much better and more healthy I feel after cutting out meat. Otherwise, when someone orders filet mignon at the dinner table, I'm lusting after it. All thoughts of animal cruelty disappear when I see that delicious steak. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/duck.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Duck">: And my only resistance is the health/energy factor. I feel better/stronger/healthier without meat in my diet.<br><br>
I have thought about eating meat only from organic, small farms where animals have lots of places to run and are killed humanely - away from all the other live animals. However, realistically, how many such places exist? I'd have to make friends with a small farmer and prepare the meat myself ... and I can't cook at all. Because I'm certain that where I live supermarkets and restaurants get meat from large farms. And even the large organic farms don't always treat animals humanely.<br><br>
Now, I'm just rambling. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[mothragirl]

i stopped eating meat at 10. i never really liked it though.

 

[Gumby]

Yes. My sister informed me a few years ago that it was very hard to get me to eat meat as a child. Became vegetarian at the age of 15 (25 now). Currently pg, so I do eat meat. This babe is it's father's child, as it's telling me to eat meat <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin">

 

[sapphire_chan]

I can't imagine how hard vegetarianism would be if you craved meat. The only thing I've ever really missed is salami and that's just because of the garlic, so hummus and pita makes a find substitute.

 

[Jennifer Z]

Ok, well I think I will go with my gut then and assume she isn't going to eat it (or eat very little) and just make sure she has good protein from veggie sources. I guess I need to start looking at my veggie cookbooks for more info than just meatless meals and dig into the nutritional info a bit deeper. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br><br>
I am just really surprised that she doesn't like meat. It just didn't really occur to me that somebody wouldn't love meat. I understood making the ethical choice, but have a hard time wrapping my mind around not LIKING it. Guess I need to shift my thinking.<br><br>
I am not in any way opposed to her being a vegetarian, there have been a lot of stretches where we consumed very little or no meat due to finances. I know that I caught some comments from that from my Grandpa who raised cattle for beef, and other family who raised sheep and pigs for meat and dairy cattle for milk. It is just part of the culture here to eat meat. That grandpa passed away and he would have, by far, been the most vocal about it, but I really don't care. It is her body and she can put what ever she wants to in it. (within reasonably healthy boundries of course).

 

[UnschoolnMa]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>USAmma</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7924436"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">My parents are big meat eaters. I never have liked meat. I mean, I would eat ground beef and chicken strips and fish sticks, but if it looked like meat on the bone I got really grossed out by it.</div>
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<span>Yes to that! I ate meat as a kid. It was mostly chicken, turkey, deer or hamburgers but I never could stand meat on the bone/with bones in it. <i>Shudder.</i><br>
I always preferred veggies, fruit, and breads over meat.<br><br>
I gave up meat a year ago and I do not eat dairy or eggs.</span>

 

[TypingMJ]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Nosebite</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7924648"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">YES! When my grandma or mama would serve meat, I would try and sneak to the bathroom and flush it down the toilet. I always hated meat. I even went so far as to put it behind the sofa. After a couple of weeks, it started to smell. Boy was I in trouble.</div>
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<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> OMG I did just about the same thing. When I was a kid I hid some meat under an easy chair and forgot about it.<br><br>
I always, always hated meat. I'm a vegetarian because I hate the taste and texture of meat. The ethical/health issues are secondary to my simple distaste for meat.

 

[ErinBird]

My parents served really gross vegetables. I think I mainly have sensitive tastebuds- meat tastes like blood to me, or at very least metallic. The canned veggies I was fed as a kid tasted like a tin can (go figure!). I ended up eating a lot of bread, rice, and potatoes because those were actually either bland or fresh.

 

[Mama2Bug]

My father's family owns a meat-packing plant. It goes back several generations. I wasn't "allowed" to not eat meat- but I didn't like it. I never tried to hide it or anything, but I took very small portions and would forgo it altogether if possible. I do have to say, nobody ever forced me to eat it. The disapproval was just palpable.<br><br>
I finally got the guts to go veg two years ago. It really makes me happy- ethically AND taste-wise. I haven't come out and told my dad and his side of the family yet though. I think they will figure it out eventually, but since we see them only once or twice a year, they can remain in denial. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[leximom]

I never hated my veggies, but I always prefered meat over them. My dad is a big meat eater, but my mom not so much. In fact, I had always been a big meat eater up until the day that I took a 60 day challege to not eat any meat and still haven't 6 years later <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[oceanbaby]

I stopped eating meat when I was 12. I started eating chicken not long thereafter because our acupuncturist at the time (pretty much our family doctor) was concerned about me getting enough protein. I still to this day eat chicken purely for convenience, and wouldn't care if I never ate it again. Sometimes it really grosses me out. I haven't eaten red meat since the day I gave it up at 12. Like some pp, it was primarily a taste/texture issue for me.<br><br>
I don't remember LOVING meat before I gave it up, but I don't remember hating it either. My parents weren't huge meat eaters. My mom was on the crunchy granola side, especially when it came to food, so we ate a lot of vegetarian stuff anyhow.<br><br>
My suggestion would be to continue cooking and eating however it works for you as a family, while accomodating her choices and making some non meat protein sources available. Let her pick and choose. My older son used to LOVE steak when he was 3-4 years old (my dh makes it occasionally). But he hasn't wanted any in over a year. He has just started making the connection that meat is an animal that has been killed, and he hasn't been all that happy about it, so I wouldn't be surprised if at some point he stopped eating it. Black beans and garbanzo beans are two of his favorite foods - he will eat them straight out of the can. But he's not a huge veggie eater.<br><br>
As far as other people go, this is a good time to practice "Uh huh, I'll think about that, thanks" when they tell you how she'll shrivel up and die without eating meat.

 

[trinity6232000]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Jennifer Z</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7924961"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
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It is her body and she can put what ever she wants to in it. (within reasonably healthy boundries of course).</div>
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This is how I have allowed dd to eat. She has been grossed out by red meat her whole life.<br>
She's six now. Her paternal grandparents gave her a little problem about it, (they are real<br>
big believers of kids eat what they're parents tell them and clean their plate). Then after<br>
several dinner's at their house they learned that I allow dd to choose her own food choices,<br>
and they stayed out of it.<br><br>
That said a couple months ago dd heard her friends at school talking about how much they<br>
love hamburgers and asked me to make them for dinner. I did, and she liked them. I don't<br>
think she'll request them often, but she thought they were good.<br>
The next time it was hamburger day at school dd bought one and she told me that "school<br>
hamburgers are nothing like Mommies".<br><br>
My dd's kindergarten teacher said that dd is the only child she has seen in her class ever that<br>
chooses salad for lunch the majority of the week. She said until dd it was rare that a child ever<br>
choose salad over the hot lunch offered, even if it's something the child didn't like to eat.<br><br>
I thought that was sad, but in our family salad is treated like a huge part of the meal, it's been like<br>
that my whole life. "If there's no bread or salad, it's not a meal, it's called a snack" around here. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[cebmom97]

I was born and raised a vegetarian so I never wanted meat. I let my kids make their own choices about what they want ot eat and my boys prefer to eat meat.

 

[NYCVeg]

Not at all. I ate lots of meat as a kid--chicken, burgers, bologna and cheese sandwiches on white bread, you name it. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/sick.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="sick"> Lots of white flour products. Lots of sugar (Froot Loops, pop-tarts, cookies). Fast food. Pepperoni pizza. TONS of cheese (I would actually come home from school and sit down in front of the TV with a block of cheese and a box of Ritz crackers--at least I have a fast metabolism!). I did like fruit--berries, especially--but hated veggies.<br><br>
I became a vegetarian at 14 for ethical reasons. I pretty much ate crap (pizza, Taco bell, grilled cheese, pasta, lots of junk food) until my second year of college.<br><br>
Now I am a veggie-lovin', whole-grain-eatin', tofu-munchin' freak. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink">