Involving the Whole Family
Incorporating your vegetarian diet into your entire family’s diet can be a bit of a challenge, especially if they do not want to change their eating habits. Trying to force your vegetarian eating style onto them will never work. Your spouse and your children will end up resenting the pressure and will refuse to try anything new. Instead of pushing your family, try some reverse psychology. Make irresistible and tasty vegetarian dishes that they can have the option to try. If the dish tastes good to them, they will want more of it. For example, put a bowl of pasta topped with vegetarian marinara sauce on the dinner table next to a bowl of pasta with meat sauce. See which bowl empties the fastest. After a few more dinners like this, you will eventually be making nothing but vegetarian meals. And the rest of your family may not even notice the difference.
Another way of incorporating vegetarian dishes into your family meal plan is by starting with simple vegetarian choices that most people enjoy. For example, everyone loves stir-fry. Make it with assorted vegetables and serve it over steamed rice. Cook the chicken or beef separately, and leave it up to the rest of your family to decide whether or not they would like to add meat to their dish.
Other vegetarian dishes that can be served to meat eaters include:
Bean burritos
Vegetarian chili
Pasta primavera
Italian stuffed shells
Vegetable jambalaya
Vegetable soup
Pesto pasta
The important thing to remember is that every family is different. Talk to the members of your family, and learn what kinds of food they enjoy. Be willing to compromise in order to keep everyone complacent. After all, you wouldn’t want someone telling you what you should or shouldn’t be eating. Keep this in mind when seeking your family’s support. Once you find out what vegetarian meals they are willing to eat, make those on a regular basis before introducing new ones into the mix. You can also get the entire family involved by including them in on the meal planning. Have them choose vegetarian recipes that they will enjoy, and let them have some input on how to keep both the vegetarians and nonvegetarians in the family happy. Grow some vegetables together, shop together, and cook together. Making vegetarian meals can be a fun learning experience for everyone.
It all basically comes down to this: don’t push! Instead, teach by example. If your family isn’t ready to make the switch from carnivore to herbivore, then do it yourself without making a fuss. Chances are, with time, the rest of the members of your family will notice what you are doing and may eventually follow in your footsteps. We all have our own family have the opportunity and ability to make food choices to make. So let your choices be their choices as well. The right approach and attitude can make all the difference in the world.
If you’re the main cook in the family, preparing multiple entrees for family dinners can be a lot of extra work, but it’s also the easiest solution to making sure you get something to eat while keeping everyone happy. And, you’ll be surprised to learn, it’s also the best way to sway others to your side.
Look at it this way: your omnivorous tablemates can enjoy the meat-based portion of the meal while you eat your vegetarian option, and all of you can share the vegetarian side dishes. Of course, your vegetarian food is going to look so good and smell so delicious, they’ll want to try your food too. So the next time, you just make the vegetarian dish, and chances are they’ll never miss the meat-based dish! Pretty soon, you’ll be making vegetarian meals almost every day of the week … mission accomplished.
You can also make your meal out of all of the nonmeat dishes on the table, which (if you plan well) should be enough to fill up your plate and your belly. Steamed vegetables, roasted red potatoes, a salad, and a whole- wheat roll is a fine meal; let the others have the pork chops, because you’ve got plenty to eat. This is a good approach when you find yourself at a Thanksgiving dinner, office party, or dinner at a friend’s house and you can’t dictate the menu; just eat what you can, without making a big deal out of your vegetarian lifestyle.
You and Me against the World
Right now, as you start your new vegetarian life, you can decide what sort of a vegetarian you’re going to be. And the best way to decide that is to think about all of the people you’ve known in your life who have tried to convert you to their personal way of living.
We all know the type. The two-pack-a-day smoker who gives up cigarettes and then lectures everyone within earshot on the dangers of second-hand smoke. The born-again Christian who drops the Lord’s name into every conversation and acts as a self-proclaimed expert on morality. The former boozehound that takes the 12 Steps so seriously that you can’t even swallow an antihistamine in their presence without getting an earful about addiction.
And you know what? We really, really don’t like those people. So don’t become one!
You’ve made an important life choice that’s going to improve most areas of your life, most notably your health. And it will be tempting to loudly proclaim to everyone around you about how great vegetarianism is—after all, you’ve made positive changes that would benefit everyone, right? The problem is, most people are turned off by in-your-face proselytizing, and you’ll do more to drive them away from the idea of meatless eating than you will to convert them. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be honest about your choices, but badgering your friends and family takes it a step too far.
Some of the most influential people in the world have been those who quietly lived their lives by their own principles and inspired others to choose similar paths by example. Others will ask questions about your vegetarianism, and you should definitely be prepared to answer those questions. But if you find yourself continually battling with other people, arguing with them about your choices, and creating bad feelings, then you need to take a good, hard look at how you’re getting across your message.