Converting kid to vegan?
I am not sure this is even possible.
I decided to go back to a 80% vegan, 100% vegetarian diet....in other words, no meat ever, but occasionally can have cheese, only on special occasions, with effort to even wean that out eventually. I love vegan food.
However, I have an almost 4 year old son who is omni. He eats vegetarian at home, but vegan options for him are hard because he hates beans. Now the last two weeks I have been trying to get him to like beans by cooking just about every dinner every night with beans. Pasta with sauce and beans, burritos with beans, rice and beans, you get the point, and so far I am having no luck.
He sees the beans and says "I don't like it", and eats around them, every single time!
I am thinking of starting to puree beans and put them in the sauce so he doesn't realize that he is eating them....
Anyway, he goes to see his father for about a week a month, and his father is the opposite of a vegan, he definition of a good dinner is fried chicken with mac n cheese, and a cookie on the side. Also, I am a single mother and work full time, my son goes to daycare full time. As for packing a lunch for him, I am all for that if they allowed it!
So how do I go about converting my son to veganism, do you think that is too lofty of a goal?
Why doen't the daycare allow you to pack? Does someone have a sever allergy they are trying to avoid triggering? Can you pull a religous/concious objection to their diet? Can you find another daycare that would be more understanding? Any run by 7th Day Adventists in your area? at least they are vegetarian.
Why doesn't he like beans? Is it taste or texture? My DD20 is very picky. I have only found a few beans she likes and they are not black, pinto or kidney. She will eat almost any white colored bean and some lentils. We have been trying to find beans she will eat since junior high when she went vegetarian. Could it be a power play or guilt trip? Does he simply "want to be like daddy"? (no wrong motive there, developemntally apropriate)
Perhaps if you don't make quite as big a deal of it, he will accept it better? Take him to the store and let him pick out which bean to buy this week and let him help cook it. Get a kid invested in the food and they are more likely to give it a fair try.