I wish I would have started my kids vegan from birth. I have a hard time getting them to eat veggies now. And I never, even before making the switch to vegan cooking, fed them junk food so it's not like they were used to McDonald's and then I put a plate of broccoli in front of them. I always served veggies with every meal since they started eating. When they were babies they both were more willing to eat veggies but have gotten more and more picky as they get older. They love fruit but other then raw carrots & cucumbers they wont touch vegetables. My 4 year old is super picky so it's really hard sometimes to get her to eat the family meal. Sometimes she just ends up with a PB & J for dinner. My 2 1/2 yr old is a little more adventurous but to get him to eat veggies I have to puree them in a sauce. I wish they'd eat broccoli and nori wraps! I'm hoping they'll grow out of this picky phase!

http://vegetarianwhohatestofu.blogspot.com/

Wow, Fatim is awesome!  How amazing that she's raising her son that way from the jump start.  Although my three are vegan, they're certainly not superheros!  (Well, okay...they ARE superheros but not in the food sense.)  My 5 year old is the pickiest of all but it's sort of a strange problem to have because he eats almost only fruits and vegetables.  It's hard to get any kind of carbs in him.  Ahhh, kids!!

Sarah

veggie-kids.blogspot.com

The problem I've run into is other people. While we eat healhy vegan foods at home, my kids have been introduced to animal products in their every day lives: the milk and cheese crackers at snack time at day care; the relatives that for the life of them can't figure out the difference between vegan and vegetarian (or worse, try to force animal products on them out of fear of malnourishment). I've never had the heart or have been the type of parent that would restrict or forbid them from eating what they want. Food is such a personal choice and I do not want to take that away from them (not that I could stop them if I tried). We just try to set a good example. So far, they have no interest in meat- the whole dead animal thing seems too barbaric for a little kid that's never had it. But I've never met a kid that had qualms about dairy (they've even went cow milking on a school field trip). I'm sure some people are surrounded by a very supportive circle of people where this is not an issue. But for most of us, we just do the best we can with the circumstances we've been given. At the end of the day, your kids make their own decisions.

Cloth diapers ALL the way! i thought it would be hard, but i found them so easy. Such an easy routine, no prewash or hand washing at all, just throw them dirty and they come out perfectly clean AND they are so incredibly cute. I recomment fuzzi bunz... my daughter has been wearing them since she was 2 months old and she is now 17 months old... 

My little guy is all vegan at 21 months- I wouldn't say he is Macrobiotic, but he eats lots and lots of grains, beans, and veggies.  He also loves avocadoes, nut/seed butters, and lots of raw foods like smoothies and cashew "cheese".  He drinks almond, soy, coconut, rice, and hemp milk.  He is in the 95% for height and weight- people cannot believe he is veg.  Every once in awhile he has Earth Balance spread on toast, or Daiya cheese in a taco but I try to give him mostly whole foods.  We are learning more and more about Macro eating and will probably start leaning that way.  I mainly try to focus on healthy fats for him right now, because he is under 2. 

I think I have a lot in common with Fatim! Our kids eat what we eat -there's no issue. They love healthy food and always have. Now that Noah is 4 he will sometimes come home from school and tell me about something they gave him (like candy) and I don't fuss over it. It's going to happen, but I know that 99% of the time he's eating really well. He usually feels sick after anyhow so I think the issue will resolve itself. I just don't think he's going to be that into garbage food.  A few weeks ago at Easter Noah would go up to people and ask "are you eating an animal?" then he would run back to me, "Mommy, can you believe they are eating a real pig! That makes me sad".

http://www.elizabethskindcafe.com/

I think this interview is awesome because these people are realists, I totally agree with the "our kids eat what we eat" philosophy. I have friends at work who cook three different meals to cater for their kids, which I think is a joke. Our daughter Ruby simply doesn't like meat, my partner eats it occasionally and I am vegetarian. We cook a lot of vegan meals and Ruby loves them. Ruby loves tofu, tempeh and nori. 

I'm the only vegan in my family of 4.  My husband eats meat, but also eats all the vegan meals I prepare.  My kids eat vegan most of the time.  My 3-year-old is pretty picky, but my 12-year-old used to be picky too.  I think they eventually grow out of it.  So, I just keep offering the same healthy foods and having them try them.  I know my kids are eating much healthier foods than a lot of other kids their age.

--Emily Sweet  http://www.onesweetvegan.com/

I'm so glad to have all these blogs on natural pregnancy! I am nowhere near preparing for pregnancy, but lately I've been obsessively curious about natural childbirth and everything that goes with it. Alicia has such good timing!

Thanks for sharing. I was not a vegetarian yet when I had my first daughter, but plan to have more children, so I love learning about vegan pregnancy. I rarely ate meat even when I wasn't a veg-head, but did eat a lot of dairy. Since elimiating that from my diet, I no longer have seasonal allergies. My daughter is a vegetarian but eats like a vegan at home and she is extremely healthy. Yay!

wow I bet these kids are sooo happy; i really wish that i grew up vegan i wouldn't of had such terrible health problems like really! it hurts when kids poop... i know i remember and my nieces and nephews i hear them and they are in pain... cause pushing a dead body out of yours is really hard! seriously! and when they switch from formula to cow milk... my one nephew was given it and he got so sick and was like a child from hell my sister told me; but they will probably just end up making him drink it eventually or take "lactose" pills. I know some people can handle cows milk... idk how but they do. but i think soooo many people have lactose intolerance and they are in pain but they just don't say anything because they are embaressed/don't want to complain that they don't feel good or because they are addicted. totally jealous and proud of you and fatim and your children! good job

I am raising a superhero baby and he is stong and full of energy! His first birthday cake was millet apple cake, I just couldn't imagine giving him sugar etc. I remember seeing pictures of my friends birthday parties for their kids and thinking Oh MY! Their little bodies on all that sugar, wheat and dairy, it felt instinctively wrong. The same way giving my baby ground up chicken from a jar that had been sitting around for gosh know's how long felt seriously wrong...I'm not sure how some don't get it when they just think about it logically...how can something like that be good or nourishing for you. Anyway sorry for the rant. He is now 2 1/2 , I make him good quality sweets and he loves them. It is hard sometimes with a little one because I want to feed him the best foods  but I don't want too much drama around the foods that I prefer him not to eat. You know the saying what you resist persists...I just pray he will have a good foundation in wholesome foods that when he comes across crappy foods he will know the difference and crave the good stuff. 

So wonderful! My son never ate baby food. He breastfed for just over two years and when he started eating "solids" at somewhere under a year we, like Fatim, simply fed him what we ate (mashed up, if need be). He has been in love with whole foods from day one. People used to think I was so mean for not giving him ice cream, candy, etc. when he was a toddler, but he didn't yet know what it was or why anyone would want to eat it and I figured he didn't need to until he chose to. Even though it's more challenging now, since he sees what his peers are eating and it tastes good, he still loves vegan versions of all those standard goodies--ice cream, pizza, etc.  I have a hard time not freaking out when he comes home having eaten "junk" at someone's house or at school, but I have to remind myself that he had an amazing foundation and that he eats nourishing foods most of the time--that has to keep him strong and healthy! :-) 

I agree with the philosophy of kids eating what their parents eat...I am not a fan of making more than one meal.  That being said, my husband and son eat meat.  I make meals that work for all of us...they can add the meat in if they so choose.  My daughter is not a fan of meat and only eats it on occasion.  Since I became vegan meat is really only even offered at the dinner table 2-3 times a week max.  My plan is to have it eventually gone from the table completely!

Gretchen

www.veggiegrettie.com

Thank you ladies and gents! Sometimes I fel like a lone weirdo (my hubby and 3 kids still eat SAD n I'm full vegan since 12/10/10 and proud! Such strange feelings as I shopped @ Cosco today n bought lots of yummy convienience foods (jarred mushrooms, peppers, artichoke hearts, olives) then got the frozen popcorn chicken and artificially colore ice pops to save face w/ hubby : ( They are slowly coming around and eats lots of veggies and fruits but i do cringe while makin them pork chops and Elios pizza. I just keep telling myself "We're workn on it and compared to the average child diet of soda, chips, and fast food...it could be worse and will get better"  Good luck to the rest of you and thank you Alicia for inspiring me w/ the 1st vegan book I have ever read ❤. I hope to meet you one day and hug you w/ gratitude!