Vegan families - how to stay healthy
Vegan
author Liz Cook talks to babyworld books editor Sascha
Taylor about bringing up a vegan family and why she has created So,
What Do You Eat?, a guide to animal-free nutrition and easy
family meals...
So, what do you eat?
At a time when the Department of Health and Food Standards Agency
has published a study on the less-than-perfect eating habits of most
children, Liz Cook, a vegan mother, has just self-financed the
printing of her own cookbook, So, What Do You Eat?
The recommendations in Liz's book echo recent government guidance
on the importance of eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and
wholegrain carbohydrates (like wholemeal bread and brown rice). The government survey found that children consumed far too many
processed snacky foods, like crisps and flavoured drinks, and that one
in five children had not eaten any kind of fruit during the week.
Liz cautions against parents merely adding fruit and vegetables
into a diet already full of chips, sausages, burgers and crisps which
are usually high in salt and fat. She says: "Most children just won’t have room for the extra
food – they won’t feel hungry so parents should try and replace the
"bad food" bit by bit, offering more healthy alternatives to
fill the gaps."
It started with a chart
 Liz, who has a degree in catering management with nutrition, has
been a vegetarian for 20 years and a vegan since the birth of her son,
eight years ago. Also eight years ago, she self-published a vegan
nutrition chart that has just gone to its eighth reprint and sold
100,000 copies.
Liz decided to try to answer the concerns of busy parents who didn’t
have the time or patience to rifle through heavy nutritional
textbooks. She wanted to offer practical advice on how to prepare what
she calls ‘animal-free and healthy’ meals, and her large format
book has a lively presentation with full-colour illustrations on every
page. As opposed to many slick cookbooks on the market, this one is
hand-written and hand-illustrated, making it very user-friendly. The book offers useful guidance on nutrition as well as ideas for
tasty vegan dishes. And it's not all nut rissoles – there are even
recipes for vegan jelly and home-made chips.
For the first few months of weaning, Liz advises steaming rather
than frying vegetables and gradually introducing the more
"exotic" ingredients to your child's diet, finding out what
your child enjoys. "Why not discuss individual recipes with your
health visitor," she suggests. In general, follow the usual
guidance on puréeing everything very finely at first and leaving out
salt.
Some of Liz’s vegan recipes for the whole family (all of which
serve six and often leave plenty for freezing!) have been reproduced
on babyworld.
You can sample:
 You can order copies of the 72-page, spiral-bound, wipe-clean book
for £12.95 including P&P, and the wipe-clean chart (approximately
one metre long) for £3.95 including P&P (usual price £4.95) by
calling: 01273 625988.
Where to next?
- For further advice on vegan recipes and other nutrition-related
issues, Liz can be contacted on 01273 388864
- The Vegan Society can be contacted on 01424 427393. They have excellent and detailed information about Vegan Infant Feeding,
focusing on mealtimes in gradual stages from birth to 18 months.
- The Vegetarian Society will provide copies of their brief weaning
guides phone them on 0161 928 0793
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