How do I convince my parents about wanting to go raw?

[Hiccups&Hibiscus]

Hi, I've been very interested in becoming a raw vegan but I'm having trouble asking my parents to buy more fruits and veggies. They are hardcore meat eaters and so was I. They might think I'm not being serious, but I am. I really want to change my eating habits for the better. Is there anyway I could convince them?

[Revvell]

How old are you? Reason I ask is because I began working at 13 and bought anything I wanted that my mother didn't want to or couldn't afford to.

[michigan roman]

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[michigan roman]

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[michigan roman]

above are two of my faves in raw vegan society , ide find your fave info from them and present to parents

[PansyLo]

It's very hard to get hired at 13. I don't know any businesses that would hire a 13 year old. I couldn't get a job until I was 15 and I was paid tupence. It was £2 odds an hour and I only worked Saturday because I had to visit my dad on Sundays and I was in school the rest of the week. I made about £15 - £17 a week including tips. That would buy very little here in the UK.

It's not an entirely realistic option, I don't know what minimum wages are like in America but here they're lousy, especially for teenagers.

@Hiccups&Hibiscus: If you are old enough to get a job maybe you could contribute something towards the shopping as raw food can be more expensive which may make your parents reluctant. To stay raw it takes more than a diet of fruit and veg. You need more for nutrition and variety and a lot of those things can be expensive.

What made you want to be raw? Maybe if you show them what inspired you and tell them why you want to do this they will be more supportive.
Another option would be to go vegetarian or vegan and possibly gluten free? It wouldn't be as drastic and you could have a raw meal a day and learn how to prepare raw food and what you like! After a while if you keep that up you'll be a lot more prepared to go raw and your parents (seeing that you're doing well as a GF vegan or whatever) will be a bit more relaxed about it.

Good luck! Just bite the bullet and hopefully they will be supportive.

[delmar]

Hi, I've been very interested in becoming a raw vegan but I'm having trouble asking my parents to buy more fruits and veggies. They are hardcore meat eaters and so was I. They might think I'm not being serious, but I am. I really want to change my eating habits for the better. Is there anyway I could convince them?You might not convince them. You might need to do it the hard way by learning to grow your own. Study up on sprouting and foraging.
Watch some you tube videos on wild edibles. If it is important to you, you will find a way.

[Charybdisjim]

They might think I'm not being serious, but I am.

Go to the grocery store with them. Bring a list of ingredients for a recipe you want to try and offer to put it together for with dinner. I suggest something like a kale and/or spinach salad with avacado, fresh oranges, a touch of sea salt and maybe some fresh grapefruit juice drizzled over it. You can use cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil if you'd like - can be hard to find truly raw though. For your family's serving you could let them use whatever dressing/topping items they want and avoid the cooked/non-vegan ones for yourself. One word of advice - though an acidic dressing/fruit will soften the kale and make it more palletable for a newbie, you may wish to go with spinach and romaine instead if you plan on having your family try it with you.

Planning and making dishes like that is a small way to demonstrate that you're serious and that you've thought about it. All the better if they end up liking what you put together, but even if they don't it should hopefully help convince them that its not a complete whim for you. It might also help to thoroughly research literature on the subject and get an idea about what constitutes a nutritionally complete raw diet as well as look into the information Alissa provides here on vitamin b12. That way you'll be able to answer any concerns they have and demonstrate that you know what you're doing and have thought through how to do it properly.

[vipinpr]

You cannot convince your parents !!! Only that you can give them solid facts which in them selves will convince them.
Tell them that Raw Food Diet does not contain any shrouded mysteries. In fact, it is that food which will eventually become your Medicine. So in short Raw Food diet plan is not only for those who can cut their flab and loose weight overnight. But this is also for those people who will eventually learn to live a lifestyle which will be highly health oriented and will save you from the modern day monsters of Processed food, and a chemical ridden diet.
These are the sure shot benefits of Raw Food Diet !

It will immensely benefit to
People who feel Lower Energy Levels.
People who want a Clearer Skin
People who want to Loose Weight
People who want to Reduce the Risk of Disease.

http://organicfoodshealth.com/blog/organic-raw-food-diet-plan

[drraw]

It's not an entirely realistic option, I don't know what minimum wages are like in America but here they're lousy, especially for teenagers.


When you consider that overhead expenses don't need to be paid -- i.e. rent/mortgage, car payment, insurance, utilities, etc. minimum wage isn't that bad of a deal...

I became a vegetarian at around age 13. I simply announced that I would no longer be eating meat. And I didn't thereafter. I made it very clear it was non-negotiable and eventually people started getting the idea...

--drraw

[Revvell]

Work at 13 is called babysitting, walking dogs for people who work; cleaning someone's yard; shoveling snow... If you want money, you'll find a way to get it.

[MysticTree]

It's very different over here Revv. Saturday jobs and paper rounds tend to be given to people who have retired. There was an ad for someone to do a paper round in a local shop recently. The ad stated "must have own car". That precludes anyone under the age of 17. I'm not saying it's impossible to get paid work but it's not easy like it used to be.

[Charybdisjim]

^ Paper delivery here (NC USA) isn't something I've seen done by kids in a long time. It might be in some areas, but all my previous paper delivery people have been middle-aged or elderly people doing it by car. So it might not be so different here either, at least with newspaper delivery in many markets.

[Revvell]

Same here with newspapers but, I didn't mention that, did I? I didn't have a car when I was babysitting at 13. They'd pick me up and bring me home. If you want it bad enough, you'll figure something out. Teens all over the world have figured ways to create income.