Is Your Baby Vegan Too?

Raise your hand if you’ve heard this before. I get the ‘is your baby vegan too?’ question all the time. And it seems funny to me because I think it would be obvious. People tend to think that a vegan diet is tortuous and that parents shouldn’t “force” it on their children.

But we need to take a step back and think, don’t we “force” everything on our children? As parents, we decide what types of food to expose them to, which type of religion to raise them as, what clothes they wear, etc. So if you think about it this way, it isn’t really forcing them but rather sharing your values with them.

We eat a vegan diet because it is healthy, compassionate, and environmentally friendly. Wouldn’t you want your child to grow up with the best health, the most loving heart, and a world still full of beauty? I think all parents would answer yes to this question. By raising our baby vegan and monitoring her diet, we are able to do this.

Sometimes people say things like, “Lucy is never going to get to eat cake or pizza” but this is simply not true. In her first year of life, she’s already had both of those things. There is a vegan option for literally every food out there. Of course, I prefer to give her whole, plant-based foods because that is going to be optimal for her health. We tend to eat minimally processed foods, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts (nut butters for Lucy) on the day to day. Though some days I give her chickenless nuggets or vegan mac and cheese. It is all about balance!

Feeding a baby vegan diet can be so nutritious, but of course, you need to make sure you’re providing the right foods. I make sure I give Lucy all types of fruits and veggies. We like to eat all the colors of the rainbow! I serve lots of whole grains and I choose to give her a pea-based milk that is so full of nutrients. It has protein, calcium, vitamin D, and DHA. Plus, it has zero grams of sugar!

As long as you know that you are doing what’s best for your child, that is all that matters!

So to answer the question of ‘is your baby vegan too?’, ‘Yes, of course she is.’

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