OP I understand how you feel. I am vegetarian and love cheese, dairy and eggs. My daughter was born with a dairy intolerance and it really threw me for a loop because so many things have dairy as an ingredient. But once I started cooking I found alot of substitutes and recipes that we still use even though she outgrew her intolerance. There are so many more plant-based options than there were even 5 years ago.

First of all I recommend you involving your DD as much as possible. Figure out what she exactly means by vegan (aka is honey ok? if theres a minor amount of dairy as an ingredient? etc). Make sure she's reading the ingredients for things.

There are huge sections of vegan items in grocery stores now. The challenge is that there's so many options and it can get expensive as vegan products tend to be at a premium. Allow her to pick 2-3 new items a week. Eventually she'll figure out a cheese, a yogurt, a milk, etc that she really likes and they can be a part of your regular grocery list.

Fake meat products are great in a pinch but just like you wouldn't want your kids to eat chicken nuggets and hot dogs everyday you don't want her to have processed fake meats all the time. They can be high in sodium and have things like added sugars. Make a large batch of veggie burgers and freeze them. Same things with veggie meatballs that she can add to pasta for a quick meal. Maybe try a vegan meal delivery service. There are so many new customer deals being offered right now you could probably get 2-3 months of meals for an affordable price. You can keep them in the freezer for when you need an option and it can inspire new meals that you can make at home. This way you can also keep some of the meals you really enjoy in rotation while ensuring she is eating as well.

Falafel, Thai curries, stir-frys, noodles, grain bowls are easy to adapt vegan meals. Learn how to use tahini and nut butters in sauces and dressings. Tofu, tempeh, jack fruit make great meat substitutes.

Maybe you'll do this for 2 months and she'll give up or maybe not. Either way treat it like an adventure for the family and you'll end up with a few meals that you'll laugh about and few meals that you'll end up loving. She'll also remember that you supported her choices and hopefully feel more comfortable sharing other choices in the future.

Anonymous wrote:I support being vegan, but I really do think kids need to wait until they’re an adult if they live in a non-vegan household. What I see in these situations is a huge reliance on processed fake meats, which is not great. It takes a lot of effort to get all the needed nutrients. I’m sure I will get backlash but adults should take that on when they can be responsible for themselves, not kids just putting it on a parent to figure out or they’re happy eating chips or something vegan but not healthy.

Ideally, kids wouldn’t ‘decide’ to be vegan because it is 1) hard to get all the necessary nutrients their growing bodies need 2) huge PIA for parents.

But you can’t force your child to consume meat and dairy if they dont want to. So that leaves you with the options of carrying on per usual and just letting them be malnourished, or adjusting how you cook to ensure they are getting everything they need.

You can make a vegan meal and serve meat on the side. I have many vegetarians and some vegans in my extended family and have learned how to do this over the years. Make lentil soup and have sausage on the side. Make a vegan salad and serve meat on the side, etc.

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t read the whole thread, but my friends who chose to be vegans all did it to mask eating disorders. FYI

Isn’t this all the more reason for Mom and Dad to be on board with the planning, preparing, and serving of meals? Rather than just telling the teen to figure it out for herself? They way they will KNOW if she is eating enough of a healthy, balanced diet.

I didn’t read the whole thread, but my friends who chose to be vegans all did it to mask eating disorders. FYI

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.

They also eat a ton of dairy.

I support being vegan, but I really do think kids need to wait until they’re an adult if they live in a non-vegan household. What I see in these situations is a huge reliance on processed fake meats, which is not great. It takes a lot of effort to get all the needed nutrients. I’m sure I will get backlash but adults should take that on when they can be responsible for themselves, not kids just putting it on a parent to figure out or they’re happy eating chips or something vegan but not healthy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is her reason for this, OP? I’d definitely be concerned that this is a proxy for an eating disorder.

She's concerned about the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of non vegan eating.

I'm concerned too, but can't give up eggs and butter and cheese. Has she looked at sourcing those types of products from a humane farm? I love South Mountain Creamery, which is local and which takes really good care of its animals.

I eat cheese and eggs so am not a vegan, but don’t kid yourself avoid south mountain creamery, they may not be a factory farm, but taking newborn calves away from their mother so humans can have the mothers milk is not humane. The babies get formula so humans can have milk products. It’s distressing for both of them.

You and I may have different concepts of humane treatment of animals, but I am not kidding myself. I grew up on a farm and I'm totally fine with this. There is FAR WORSE that occurs on farms. They don't even have to be commercial farms.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is her reason for this, OP? I’d definitely be concerned that this is a proxy for an eating disorder.

She's concerned about the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of non vegan eating.

I'm concerned too, but can't give up eggs and butter and cheese. Has she looked at sourcing those types of products from a humane farm? I love South Mountain Creamery, which is local and which takes really good care of its animals.

Agree there are humane sources for dairy and eggs. Please convince her to go this route. Not getting enough food sourced calcium (fortified foods don’t count and are just poorly absorbed supplements) in teen years is detrimental to bone health later in life.

A healthy vegan diet for growing children is very much possible. Supplementing with B12 is all my kid’s Dr recommends, but OP -/ perhaps talk to your kid’s doctor to make sure this diet choice and her intake is designed well enough for her needs. When I first stopped animal products I became protein deficient and was extremely susceptible to illness; it took me a couple years or so figure it out. But that was the 90s with very few and rare decent informative resources

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is her reason for this, OP? I’d definitely be concerned that this is a proxy for an eating disorder.

She's concerned about the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of non vegan eating.

I'm concerned too, but can't give up eggs and butter and cheese. Has she looked at sourcing those types of products from a humane farm? I love South Mountain Creamery, which is local and which takes really good care of its animals.

Agree there are humane sources for dairy and eggs. Please convince her to go this route. Not getting enough food sourced calcium (fortified foods don’t count and are just poorly absorbed supplements) in teen years is detrimental to bone health later in life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have other kids? I would have no problem with one of my teens choosing to be vegan, but at this point I don’t think the other 2 would eat most vegan food TBH (teen boys who are still growing and play a ton of sports, and need to eat a ton). My meat and potatoes DH would also not be willing to make many changes. It would really be a big challenge for us at this stage of the parenting game.

NP. I don’t have teen boys, just wanted to say that meat and potatoes is a pretty crappy diet.

You say that as if those are the only 2 options: Vegan or McDonalds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is her reason for this, OP? I’d definitely be concerned that this is a proxy for an eating disorder.

She's concerned about the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of non vegan eating.

I'm concerned too, but can't give up eggs and butter and cheese. Has she looked at sourcing those types of products from a humane farm? I love South Mountain Creamery, which is local and which takes really good care of its animals.

Lol what? You aren't mentally strong enough to commit to a vegan diet therefore some stranger shouldn't do it either?

About not avoid. ( above)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is her reason for this, OP? I’d definitely be concerned that this is a proxy for an eating disorder.

She's concerned about the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of non vegan eating.

I'm concerned too, but can't give up eggs and butter and cheese. Has she looked at sourcing those types of products from a humane farm? I love South Mountain Creamery, which is local and which takes really good care of its animals.

I eat cheese and eggs so am not a vegan, but don’t kid yourself avoid south mountain creamery, they may not be a factory farm, but taking newborn calves away from their mother so humans can have the mothers milk is not humane. The babies get formula so humans can have milk products. It’s distressing for both of them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is her reason for this, OP? I’d definitely be concerned that this is a proxy for an eating disorder.

She's concerned about the treatment of animals and the environmental impact of non vegan eating.

I'm concerned too, but can't give up eggs and butter and cheese. Has she looked at sourcing those types of products from a humane farm? I love South Mountain Creamery, which is local and which takes really good care of its animals.