Being out the in world

[Tiffany]

This is a little bit of a vent. My son is 11 months old. He mostly still eats breastmilk, some blended salads, fruit, smoothies, that sort of thing.

I go out to tons of moms groups and playgroups because I like being around people, he loves to play with other babies and there are actually some good support in my area for attachment parenting and natural mothering. The problem is I feel like the one with food "issues". Most everyone knows I'm vegan but I just don't get into raw diet philosophy b/c I am over the proselytizing thing -- was big into it when I first got into raw and alienated myself. Now, I just do what I feel like doing and discuss it with people who are raw. Live and let live I guess.

How are you all dealing with being out in the world but not "of it" as they say? I read a post on rawmom about sending a child to a birthday party with all his fruits and veggies and it made me feel so uncomfortable for the child. But, I guess many people go through it for religious reasons, so I think I just need to fill my heart again with the righteousness of what I am doing for my health and family and not feel like I don't want to bring up the subject, or chime in with knowledge if we are talking about health. Any thoughts or feelings mamas?

[GypsiAnsara]

Our family is lacto-vegetarian for spiritual reasons, and my husband and I are raw for health reasons. We enjoy the added eco-benefit as well :)

My daughter is 5, and as we don't eat eggs and she agrees with this, her diet is already limited in the mainstream sense. I think it is really important that the kids understand WHY you are all choosing to eat a certain way, otherwise their heart won't be into it and they will feel mad about it, etc. I believe even small children can understand, and we found this to be true with our daughter.

My daughter eats high raw, but not 100%. I'm still not very good with desserts and things like that - hoping to get better - so for parties and things I have always brought some vegan cupcakes or a slice of cake, and snacks in case there isn't much for her to eat. I also try to feed her very well before we go to limit the desire to just eat anything she sees.
That's helpful for adults, too! Nothing like a big green smoothie before going out!

As I try to make what I bring really special, she has never felt upset about not having what others are having. Often there are chocolate cakes which she won't eat anyways because she gets a rash from chocolate. I think that the parent's mindset reflects in the child. If you are feeling deprived, the child probably will too.