From Meat Eater to Vegetarian to Vegan

From Meat Eater to Vegetarian to Vegan

by Marilyn Mackenzie

When my son was about 16, he became a vegetarian.  I should have known something was coming, because he ate tons of meat for a few months before his self-imposed deadline for no longer eating meat.  He's 23 now, almost 24.  And he hasn't eaten any meat - at least that he knows about or has planned - ever since.

It struck me as rather odd when he became a vegetarian.  When my son was little, he loved all fruits and vegetables.  In preschool, he took lightly steamed broccoli in his lunch.  Even though the other kids teased him, he thoroughly enjoyed eating his "trees" as he called them.  He also loved spinach, corn, carrots and many other veggies.  We lived in FL where it was common to have citrus trees in every back yard.  There's nothing better than eating fresh oranges from your own backyard tree.

Later on, he discovered that he liked eating frozen peas.  I thought that was a bit strange, but the doctor said it wouldn't hurt him.  When we lived in Florida, we used to pop the green grapes into the freezer for a great frozen treat.  Yep, he loved his fruits and veggies.

Then he stopped liking them and wanted pastas, cheeses, and meats.  Period.

When he became a vegetarian, it was because of animal rights issues and those horrible corporate animal farms that are featured on the PETA site.  I worried about how he would get a good meal if he didn't really like fruits and veggies anymore, but he's been pretty healthy these last 7 years. 

And although I have never stopped eating meat myself, when it was just the two of us together, it was much easier to make one meal for both of us.  I have slowly reduced my consumption of meat and meat products so much myself that when I do get a craving for something - like my favorite roast beef sandwich - I pay for it the next day.  My system doesn't like meat much anymore.  Or perhaps because of my fibromyalgia (and the chemical sensitivites that go along with that malady), it's the hormones and steroids and antibiotics they pump into animals and poultry that I really cannot tolerate.  Who knows?

But now my son has a new goal - to become totally vegan.  He has set a date in the future for this to happen - just as I now know he did when he first became a vegetarian..  (That IS why he suddenly ate so much meat in the months before switching to a vegetarian lifestyle..)

He has started trying out some vegan products.  This past week, he purchased some vegan "ice cream."  And he says it tolerable.  But in the meantime, he's loading himself up on real ice cream until his self-imposed totally vegan date. 

The vegan "mayonaisse" he bought he says tastes more like Miracle Whip Salad Dressing, which is all he used to use before he discovered real mayo. 

The problem as I see it is that much of the packaged vegetarian products are not vegan products.  And since he has not embraced eating real fruits and veggies for many years, I wonder exactly what he'll be able to eat.

Oh, he doesn't need his mom researching this for him.  I'm sure he's composing a list of foods and places to get recipes.  But, I still like helping him when I can.  And I'm curious as well.

So?  What are some of the best sources for buying vegan foods?  Are there hidden ingredients in foods that we need to look out for that are animal products in disguise?  What's the best source of good vegan recipes?  This inquiring mind wants to know.