This blog is my place to vent and share resources with other parents of children of trauma. I try to be open and honest about my feelings in order to help others know they are not alone. Therapeutic parenting of adopted teenagers with RAD and other severe mental illnesses and issues (plus "neurotypical" teens) , is not easy, and there are time when I say what I feel... at the moment. We're all human!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Vegetarianism

Kitty recently decided she's going vegetarian. She was upset by the number of leather shoes while we were shoe shopping for Bob (women's size 12 wide!). Kitty decided that she didn't want to eat animals anymore. She only going to eat fish and crustaceans. I haven't totally decided quite how to handle it yet. Truthfully Kitty and I are the only ones who like tuna, so I made us a separate dinner the other day. I've been debating whether or not to ignore it or help her with it.

Tonight I bought some meat substitutes, including tofu, and decided to go ahead and make separate meals for her. Since going back on her regular "school-dose" of Concerta, she's already started the eating slowdown and has lost a pound. She's got a wee bit of a tummy so I figure we have a little wiggle room here, but I want to make sure she continues to eat. I expected her not to like it, but sloppy joes made with veggie burger was a hit.

Should be interesting to see if she decides to stick with it.

Mary

You are what you eat, and I like meat!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Personal experience here... finally a topic I feel I can help you with!

Last year when ODS decided to become a vegetarian it was life-changing for me. We are a family of carnivores, and he was one of the biggest canines! (Not his weight... just his love of meat.) So I decided to respect and support his decision. I made my regular dinners, but would leave out a portion w/out meat for him. I bought vegie burgers at Costco and had them available in the freezer along w/ beans, cheese, tuna, etc. He got plenty of protein. I did not fix him a special meal most of the time. Usually I would just plan a meal that had the meat on the side and he'd fry up a vegie burger or salmon pattie in place of the meat. A year later he decided to go back to eating meat, but he still appreciates it when we have fish on nights he's home. He still eats a vegie burger most afternoons for lunch. Some kids outgrow it, others don't.

The hardest part for me was that I lost one of my ways to show my love for him... through cooking. I had to let go of the feeling of rejection when he didn't want my meatloaf. That was the life-changing part for me, to realize how much of my self-worth and identity are tied into my parenting and nurturing of others.