I’m wondering if any vegan families can share their experience with sending their child to pre-school and dealing with group snacks, cooking projects, etc. Since my son’s dietary restrictions are not allergy-related I am a little reluctant to have him singled out as different or make him feel as though he is being deprived of something other kids are enjoying. (Can a two-year-old understand the ethical reasons for veganism?) On the other hand I don’t really want him to develop an affinity for animal products. One reason I am wondering this now is that some pre-school applications ask about dietary restrictions, and I’m not sure whether to mention this at this point. > > Thanks in advance!

Here’s my answer to her question:

Hello E.,

My son and I are vegan, and we’ve had a great experience at our preschool these last 2 years. We are “ethical vegans,” meaning we don’t have allergies either. I just made it clear to the director and his teachers that we don’t eat animal products. There were a couple of instances where some milk did make it into his cup, but on the whole they have been really great, easy to work with, and aware.

I bring in a box of rice or hemp milk every week so he can have that at snack time. I pack all of his meals and snacks every day. I’ve asked the teachers to let me know when they’re going to do cooking projects, and they let me know 2-3 days in advance so I can help them adjust a “vegan version” for him to help with.

Examples:

- I brought in canned, unsweetened coconut milk and real maple syrup for them to use for a rice pudding recipe.

- They used my vegan broth instead of chicken when making vegetable soup.

There is a big list of every food allergy in the class, and more than half of the class has some food they can’t eat. So it’s really no big deal that Laken is vegan. I think that will be true at most schools. In addition, the other parents have been great in terms of “party days” and birthday celebrations. The other parents or a teacher will let me know if someone is bringing in cupcakes to share, pizza, etc. I have frozen vegan cupcakes in the freezer that I can thaw overnight and send him to school with on the day. I’ll make a really simple frosting out of melted vegan chocolate chips to top it fresh that day.

For pizza parties, which happen 2-3 times a year, there is a local pizza place that will deliver a whole wheat, vegan cheese pizza with Daiya, soy-free cheese. The teachers even loved it! If you don’t have a pizza place in your area that has this option, stop by and speak with the manager and offer them a bag of Daiya. Tell them your family will happily order from them in the future if they’ll start carrying this cheese – it’s a great marketing strategy for pizza places to offer “dairy-free cheese pizza’s” for all the lactose intolerant out there!

In regards to your question about wether a 2 year old can understand your ethical reasons for not consuming animal products, I believe that kids have a natural love for animals. From the beginning, I have talked with my son about how we love animals, how they are our friends, and how we don’t eat our friends. He gets it, and it wasn’t hard. I don’t tell him that other people are bad for eating animals, I just tell him we don’t. A couple of resources that made this really easy:

Charlotte’s Web

The Black Stallion

That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals

Bear Feels Scared

So, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. There are more ideas and recipes in my 2 books Living Vegan For Dummies and Vegan Cooking For Dummies, which are both available online and at bookstores.

Be well, Alex

So what’s a former cheese addict to do?

Until recently, dairy-free folks have been forced to go without, indulge in secret and then pay the price for the after-effects, or try enjoying the fake cheeses on the market. Sadly, those other cheeses didn’t melt or taste good, so what was the point?

Now, the game has changed. Now, there’s Daiya!

I’ve been testing recipes for my next book with this amazing, soy- and dairy-free stuff, and I’m pleased to say the results are killer: good taste, good melt.

Recently my local food co-op started selling the small bags of shredded Daiya, for which I am grateful. Before it was only available in huge 5 lb. blocks.

I recommended that my “detox divas” give it a try during my most recent detox group, and one member, a Canadian journalist, was so excited she wrote an article on this Canadian-made miracle food:

The take-away? It’s made in Canada, but hard to find there!
Read the article in MaClean’s here:

Can’t find Daiya in your local health food store yet? Order it here from www.veganessentials.com

Happy Nachos!
Alexandra