Family

When you make the decision to change your diet, especially if that involves changing your children's diet too, you are likely to encounter some resistance, especially from your family. They, of course, are simply concerned that you are not harming yourself or your children. It is important to have a real dialogue with your family about the changes you are making and reassure them that you are not only changing your family's diet but improving it tenfold.

It is hard for a new vegan to answer all the questions that everyone starts to ask. The truth is that as a new convert you don't have all the answers. It may be that you made the choice after just one experience. I certainly did, I dropped dairy as soon as I realized what the animals went through. You just won't know all the answers overnight and you are expected to know everything! 'Where do you get your protein', 'Where do you get your calcium', 'What supplements do you need and in what quantity' etc etc. The best thing you can do is state your case as you know it. Again, notice people don't ask questions about the animals here so you can bring it back to that, for example you could say something like 'I don't know all the answers, I'm having to do a lot of research but I do know that this is the only choice I have after learning what the animals go through so I can eat their bodies. Trust me, my children will be my first priority and you have no need to be concerned'....why not even add 'you can help me research veganism if you have the time, it would really help us out,'...but believe me, most won't want to do that.... ignorance is the easier option in most cases, and I don't mean to sound insulting but it is true whether people admit it or not.


However, this is true, you must do some research. I am finding my answers by looking for them, they won't come to you, especially if you live in a society where veganism is rare and perhaps even your doctor won't know what vitamins etc your family need. So look around, subscribe to a vegetarian or vegan magazine, search the net and find what you are looking for. I will try to list new things I am learning, like I mentioned the importance of vitamin B12 - I did get my supplements in the end, found some at an out of the way health store so now Heidi has a daily chewable multivitamin with B12 in.

Support is really helpful especially from those you love but you may be in a situation where some people never understand, no matter what you say and you have to learn to deal with that and let it go. All you can do is live your life the way you want to, hopefully making decisions that don't harm other living beings, and hope your lifestyle choices will influence others around you.

That's all for today, I did want to talk a bit about pets and food options but I am at my studio today and have no picture on my laptop and to talk about my two dogs without a pic of their adorable little faces would be just thoughtless!

Have a good day x