Week 2: Bumps in the road, but we're on our way!

This week went pretty well....however, one resister is in the house.  Q misses his cow's milk and exclaims that he's sick of vegan food.  He did have some meals that he actually loved: the Japanese day (edamame salad, miso soup, brown rice and teriyaki tofu) and he enjoyed the tacos with fresh guacamole.  We'll let him "cheat" and keep offering him yummy options.  I don't want to force him, and I want him to feel happy with what he is eating.  No pressure.

Besides Q, the other three are still gung-ho, even more so than when we start and are proudly calling themselves "vegan" now.  Although S asked for eggs once (which I made happily) and G enjoyed his grilled cheese sandwich at hot lunch day at school.  There was one episode where the siblings were arguing then shouting at each other: "you're not a real vegan, you ate "X".  I quickly corrected this, saying "we don't need labels!  We can all eat what we choose, and still eat many healthful plant-based foods."  Kids always seem to find something to argue about!

The food that the kids seem to miss the most is regular milk.  (Except O who wants nothing to do with regular milk).  Q was asking for it the most (funny because we've suspected dairy was giving him stomach aches for quite a while.)  "Cereal doesn't taste the same with plant milk." I recognize that you do need to acquire a taste for some things; especially with kids! And transitions take time.  G and S were requesting their favourite Saturday breakfast: real French toast.  So I headed to the corner store and bought a jug of milk and a carton of eggs. So far Q is the only one who's touched the milk, and G and S were the only ones to eat the French toast.  O happily ate Cheerios with bananas and almond milk for his Saturday breakfast in front of the T.V.

Grandpa brought over a bucket of chicken wings, which Q as well as the two little kids ate.  Having a few non-vegan meals was a bump in the road, but I do not look at it as failing at all!  This is a journey, and a big change for them.  I appreciate that they are trying, and open to new things and making an effort.  We will keep on this journey! And hopefully they will miss those non-vegan foods less and less.

We had another full week of (mostly) plant-based eating!  See below for results!

Week 2: Family Feedback

	G	Q	S	O
Tacos with ground soy, fresh guacamole, salsa, mushrooms and lettuce	👍 “I tried guacamole and I liked it!”	👍 “I love guacamole the most!”	👍 “This is my jam”	👎 “I like avocados, but don’t like guacamole and I don’t like this taco.”
Lentil soup	👎	👎	👎 “Not my jam, no offense Mommy.”	👎
Miso soup	👍	👍	👎 “Too salty”	👎
Edamame salad (edamame, cucumber, avocado, rice vinegar & soy sauce)	👎 “The avocado is mushy and plain.”	👍 “This is my favourite!” (Q had his with ‘fake’ crab (made of fish) I need to find a vegan version...	👍	👍
Tofu teriyaki and brown rice	👍 “I ate 5 pieces of tofu and I actually liked it!” (This is a first for G)	👍	👍 “This is so my jam!”	👍
Quinoa, Flax Banana- chocolate chip pancakes	👍 “Even my friend liked these.”	👍	👍 “Needs more syrup.”	👎 “If this had no chocolate chips, it would be better.”
Chia-coconut pudding	👎 “Looks like wet animal feed.”	👎 Would not try it	👍	👍
Vegan store- bought pizza	👎 “Too dry”	👎	👎	👎 “Looks like it has jam on it.”
Fruit salad	👍	👎 Needs his fruit to be separated	👍	👍
Spaghetti Squash	👎	👍	👎	👎
Plant-based chicken fingers	👍	👍	👎	👍
Veggie Chilli	👎	👎	👍	👍
Vegan Corn bread with apple sauce	👍	👎	👍 “I like it with my chilli on top”	👍
Take-out Chinese food: (veggie fried rice, tofu, broccoli & mushrooms, bean sprouts and noodles) (I forgot to take a photo of this)	👍	👍	👍	👎