Childrearing
I Eat Raw, My Children Are Vegan, And No Animals Were Harmed In The Making Of This Message
Nine months ago, I initiated the somewhat “radical†switch for my family to experience an all vegan diet. And I’m pleased to report that we haven’t looked back once. Having said that, this post isn’t about being boastful or self congratulatory or smug, but it is about accomplishment and for that reason alone I am proud of us.
Thus far, there have been no stumbles, no false starts, no slips, and no “cheating†– which in my view is a total mind-fuck way of describing nourishment, but whatever. Most importantly, there have been NO RAGRETS (to use a popular idiom). I, and my children, who were five and eight when I heard the siren call to Veganism, haven’t temper tantrum-d or experienced any sort of emotional or psychotic breaks as a result of not eating meat, and no one has reported feeling faint or ill or deprived. In fact, stopping Cold Turkey—to use a meat metaphor— has been one of the “best†ways (for me) to approach this whole food paradigm shift. (As for my husband? Well let’s just say he’s come a long way, baby).
In addition to eliminating all animal products and their derivatives from our diet including cheese, milk and all forms of dairy, I have endeavored to ensure that we eat mostly organic, local, seasonal and where possible fresh. When the weather is warmer, I dabble in raw food veganism, and I mindfully switch gears to a staple of cooked foods during the harsh Canadian winters since I find that emotionally and physically my body and spirit respond better this way. Eating like this has created a wonderful life flow that is in keeping with the yin yang balance of life. As such, we also do not knowingly or willing consume GMOs, additives and chemicals, and short of purchasing a home water filtration system, we’re aware of the effects of fluoride in our drinking water so we drink alkaline water and use non fluoridated toothpaste. Recently we purchased a Santevia shower head which effectively eliminates chlorine from our bathing water. Yay! Dry skin be gone!
