posted June 24, 2006 06:16 PM         

I have a son who is nearly 3 years old, and he is such a fussy eater. In the beginning, I would try out these endless recipes for toddlers. But you can't force a child to eat something they really don't want to, so I gave up in the end. He wont eat any vegetables or anything mashed/with bits in. I was determined to bring him up as a vegetarian, ideally a vegan, against the wishes of others. But if he wont eat vegetables or things he doesn't like the look of/texture- what can I do? How restricted can his diet be?

Is anyone hear concerned about the enzyme-inhibitors in soya, by the way? (There is loads of information on the net, if you look). Basically, all seeds contain enzyme inhibitors- but cooking removes most of these in most products....except soya, which contains the highest. This can cause digestive problems and block nutrient absorption. Perhaps it isn't a problem in most people unless large amounts are eaten.
Tempeh, which is made from soya, is ok because the long fermentation process gets rid of them.
If only all soy products were manufactured differently...it would make life so much easier for me and my conscience!

When I get some more Time, I can experiment with tonnes of vegan recipes which aren't based on soya.

posted June 26, 2006 08:08 AM         

I wanted to go vegan/semi-vegan for ethical reasons. to be honest, I'm not too bothered about eating organic free-range eggs, but I do think that the dairy industry is cruel.

One of the main factors in me deciding not to make my son a strict veggie/vegan is that his father eats meat, and his father's mother has quite a firey personality- I know that I would end up falling out with her for good over this if I got strict about it. Then, either I would stop my son seeing her, or I know she would be feeding him meat secretly. She loves him so much, that this would be devastating. My son wouldn't have a relationship with her, I would fall out/break up with his father over it. I never had much of a family and I know how important family is.

My son used to love vegetables at first, and was fussy over other things. Now it is the other way around, for some reason. Maybe part of his fussyness is down to the fact I worried so much and he could sense it.
I breast-fed him for just over two years, then gave up a few months into my pregnancy when I stopped producing milk and it was making me sore. Now I give him 'Growing up Milk' to ensure he gets the right nutrients. I would give him soya milk, but I worry about the high levels of phytates/enzyme inhibitors as well as all that estrogen. When he was younger, I let him eat a bit of tofu and he had an upset stomach.

I would never force anything on my children, only do what I think is best for them until they are old enough to choose.

I have thought about it, and I don't feel able to tell my son he can't have what other children have. I will explain things to him when he is old enough to make his own decisions.

There quite a few things my son will eat, don't get me wrong. He just has a problem with cooked meals and vegetables. As a lot of vegan dishes are vegetable based or legumous (he doesn't like that sort of thing) it rules out an awful lot. So I give him fruit smoothies and things like that- I am going to try mixing vegetable juice into a mixture he will like. That will be very good for him.
Also, he tends to be fond of certain foods for a while, then go off them. He used to be fond of avocados, now he will only occasionally eat a bit.

Anyway, I'm sure that things will gradually get easier in Time.

Love & Moonlight

posted July 02, 2006 06:20 AM         

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IQhunk -

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Well, for every one point that all of you like about me, I can list three.

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posted July 03, 2006 04:50 AM         

Love

posted July 03, 2006 11:41 AM         

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Forum Administrator.

4th December 1974 18:00GMT Southampton UK

posted July 04, 2006 11:18 AM         

Hi! Thanks for your valuable opinions! I've been thinking about whether I should start another thread called "Pigs eating pigs?" or something like that. It's astonishing that until recently, which was, like, a couple of months ago, one day I suddenly realized that where I live, people feed factory-farmed pigs the leftover from us- be it restaurants, buffets, or any places for eating out...and THAT included (and still does, sadly) the pig meat people didn't finish eating (sorry, I know this may sound too graphic for some)! OMG, we turned pigs into cannibals! According to Mother (I've written about the horrid diet she put me on when I was little, but well...the later development of our relationship is...a long story), back in her girlhood, she witnessed that pigs were not even carnivores, or omnivores. WE have made pigs cannibals. We may wonder "what's wrong with that? Apparently nothing's wrong with us as pigs have been fed such things for so many years..."

Maybe something IS wrong. Maybe something has gone terribly wrong- because we have made pigs eating pigs (and cows literally eating cows- I was told later that their infamous bone meal was made of...cows, among other things)...and this really doesn't make sense to me *yuck*

posted July 04, 2006 12:06 PM         

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Forum Administrator.

4th December 1974 18:00GMT Southampton UK

posted July 05, 2006 11:50 AM         

I LOVE pigs!

One day I would like to astral travel and use healing energy to take away the pain of those I can't save physically...wouldn't that be wonderful to do?

posted July 06, 2006 08:12 PM         

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One day I would like to astral travel and use healing energy to take away the pain of those I can't save physically...wouldn't that be wonderful to do?

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That sounds awesome. Such a lovely sentiment. I too would love to able to perform such a thing. Do you know much about astral travel. Can one alleviate the suffering of an animal remotely? If so i want in. If you can help me learn something about this i would be most grateful. My email address is marsconjunctmercury@yahoo.co.uk

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Forum Administrator.

4th December 1974 18:00GMT Southampton UK

posted July 07, 2006 04:18 PM         

Marsconjunctmercury.....I have books on astral travel, but I have not read them yet-I can't wait to though- just need the Tine. I read, in one of Linda's books- probably Star Signs or Gooberz...something about the Rosicrucians possessing the ability to astral travel and alleviate suffering whilst doing so- thats what first gave me the idea. There is something similar in Mary Summer Rain's book- Pheonix Rising, I think- whilst astral travelling she met other souls who needed healing, and managed to do so by projecting her love into their souls.

Good luck

D for Defiant, I believe that the main step in enlightenment is to real-eyes that we are all one- to hurt another is to hurt oneself- empathy....to feel saddened/sickened by the suffering around us and wonder what more there can be to existence than this 'savage garden'...what are these stirrings within- where can they come from? By taking the Time to think and feel, we can end the cycle of pain and karma...
Of course, by simply existing you can't avoid killing some kinds of life forms such as bacteria and viruses but one has to keep it in perspective; a balanced view. You can know what is right just by what you feel in your heart- I have thought about this sort of stuff a lot, worried whether plants feel pain....in the end, I came to that conclusion-don't worry/analyse too muh- just follow your heart.