OP, DP here but to answer a different question of yours, when I was in my late teens, I was vegetarian for a number of years. Then I was a vegan for a while. For me, it was a phase and now I eat everything. There was nothing wrong with that phase but it simply became too inconvenient for me. I was focused on eating healthy and the general food that was swirling about your average teen that was also vegan was not healthy. Basically, it was too much work and planning for me.

On a side note, my DH who had always been a strict meat and potatoes man, said he could easily become vegetarian if he could eat like we did in Sri Lanka, which has a lot of vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu.

I agree with one of OP's points that being lacto-ovo vegetarian is way easier.

I got so sick when I was a vegetarian. Everyone is different. I have no doubt that some vegetarians/vegans are incredibly healthy, but no it's not for everyone.

Op, your dd now needs to help you meal plan, shop, and cook. And have the rest of your family do the same so it's not all on you all the time. My 13 year old cooked dinner the other night and was chatting on FaceTime with a friend while they cooked and the friend was shocked that they knew how. Start them young. It's a great skill!

I would encourage her to be vegetarian instead of vegan, if she isn’t dead set on eliminating all animal products for ethical reasons.

12-20ish is when girls are building their bone density for life. If they end up malnourished, they will have consequences in their 40+

I would question a teen’s ability and palate to be able to get enough calcium, vit D, and protein. While you can supplement vit D, calcium supplements are shown to have poor absorption and may be helpful at all. It is far better to get calcium from food sources. Is your daughter likely to eat several cups of kale, edamame, and broccoli per day?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not vegan, but 2/3rds of my meals are salads, good bread and fresh fruit, so I would have no problem with a DD like that.

I’m not sure salad, fruit and bread is a great diet for a teen girl.

It’s a crap diet for anyone.

I mean, that’s what the French and Greek eat and let me tell you, they look way better than overweight Americans. Live healthier longer lives too.

HA! Because French food has no cheese or butter? And Greeks don't eat meat and cheese? GTFOH.
So many people who reference the mediterranean diets have never actually lived on the Med. They eat balanced meals. There's a difference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why were vegan dinners off the menu in the first place?
Life is long. Expand your palate and your repertoire. Learning is good for you.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I never meant to imply that vegan dinners weren't on our menu. We do, in fact, have several recipes that either are vegan or can be made vegan. But there is also another realm of food that I make that is vegetarian but not vegan, and I'm sad that those recipes won't be in my regular rotation.

If you have recipe suggestions that will help me expand my palate and repertoire, please share them.

I totally get this, and in our household as well, I was keto for a while, so it added to the overall chaos. I basically always have a vegetable dish that everyone can eat, and I often make it pretty hearty. Sometimes we have bowls - so if I made poke bowls, for example, I would just use a vegan mayo as an ingredient in the sauce, salmon for most of us, tofu for her, and the rice and vegetables are vegan anyway. I use Earth Balance, Olive oil and vegan mayo in place of anything else I might use to roast, saute, or sauce. If I am making something like sausage, I would get impossible sausage and prep that too. It's not too bad, but maybe that's because I was always dairy free anyway!

Anonymous wrote:Another poster advising you to make sure this is not a way to hide disordered eating. This is a common and socially acceptable way to restrict eating.

There is research suggesting that vegan diets may be associated with higher rates of depression. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36045075/

Make sure to supplement with B12.

What a liar you are, presenting the findings as you did.

In fact, they found NO evidence establishing a link. Contradictory, they called it. More study needed, they said.

Mental health being epidemic in our society, it quite clearly isn’t the fault of plant based diets since only about 5% of us are following said diet.

Eleven (44%) of the outcomes indicated that vegetarian and vegan diets were associated with higher rates of depression, while seven (28%) outcomes revealed beneficial effects of the diets on depression. Seven (28%) outcomes found no association between vegetarian and vegan diets and depression, although two of these studies found a higher risk of depression in some groups. The quality of evidence was rated as good for four of the studies with the remaining 19 studies rated as fair. The evidence on the effect of vegetarian and vegan diets on depression is contradictory, possibly due to the heterogeneity of the studies analysed. Further research, including longitudinal and intervention studies, is required to resolve this observation.

Another poster advising you to make sure this is not a way to hide disordered eating. This is a common and socially acceptable way to restrict eating.

There is research suggesting that vegan diets may be associated with higher rates of depression. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36045075/

Make sure to supplement with B12.

What is your daughter’s favorite vegan meal? Does she know anything about nutrition? Is she a fairly adventurous eater ? Tofu, tempeh, farro. Does she like beans? Watch if she carefully manages to avoid pasta, bread and rice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I know this is maybe not fair, but I also worry that for some teens, the restrictive nature of veganism can be a component of (or lead to) disordered eating. To be clear, I'm not saying that is true for all or most vegans. Just that the restrictive nature of the diet has some parallels.

This is exactly what happened to my friend’s child. Vegetarian -> vegan -> eating disorder.

Oh please, the vegetarian/vegan did not cause an eating disorder. Two separate issues.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I know this is maybe not fair, but I also worry that for some teens, the restrictive nature of veganism can be a component of (or lead to) disordered eating. To be clear, I'm not saying that is true for all or most vegans. Just that the restrictive nature of the diet has some parallels.

This is exactly what happened to my friend’s child. Vegetarian -> vegan -> eating disorder.

Christiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady are almost vegetarians too, save for fish here and there I think. Best looking and performing athletes out there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not vegan, but 2/3rds of my meals are salads, good bread and fresh fruit, so I would have no problem with a DD like that.

I’m not sure salad, fruit and bread is a great diet for a teen girl.

It’s a crap diet for anyone.

I mean, that’s what the French and Greek eat and let me tell you, they look way better than overweight Americans. Live healthier longer lives too.

More elite athlete vegans getting by on a crap diet of fruit and salads and bread:

https://www.insider.com/nfl-star-cam-newton-stars-in-peta-ad-promoting-veganism-2020-7

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not vegan, but 2/3rds of my meals are salads, good bread and fresh fruit, so I would have no problem with a DD like that.

I’m not sure salad, fruit and bread is a great diet for a teen girl.

It’s a crap diet for anyone.

You folks are likely thinking of salad the way meat eaters do. Salad is a whole world of delicious and more than adequately nutritious foods.

The best foods for gut health and overall health are vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts/seeds. Meat is unnecessary for optimal human health.

You folks making the anti vegan statements should really know that the Google machine easily debunks all your bogus claims.

Also, vegan body builders - there are many just a Google away. Here’s one:



https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.insider.com/vegan-bodybuilder-how-to-build-muscle-on-plant-based-diet-2020-10%3famp

He eats salads and fruit and bread - oh my!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From a different perspective, my parents found it so inconvenient that they simply never made meals that included me once I decided to eat vegan. I definitely learned how to cook for myself quickly (or to eat packaged crap), but really the effect was it gave me an overall feeling that I wasn’t an important part of the family. I see now as a parent I was probably being very annoying but I wasn’t mature enough to realize that at age 13.

OP here. Just curious: Are you still vegan? I'm wondering if this is a phase or a genuine commitment.

DP but your seemingly crappy attitude about it almost guarantees she won’t (be able to) commit to it (even though if done correctly it is the healthier choice for both her and the planet)