Yesterday I looked at some vegetarian mistakes I’ve made so today I’m looking for solutions to these mistakes.
Junk Food Vegetarian
Relying on junk food instead of real meals and healthy food because it is too hard to eat vegetarian.
Overcoming this problem is a two part solution. First you need the willpower to not eat so much junk food. You need to learn to say no and slow down your eating. Yes it is hard at first, but it becomes easier as you eat less and less. Second, it helps to have better alternatives. The best way to accomplish this is to learn to cook more and keep healthy foods on hand. Another backup is to find healthy restaurant options and eat out or get take-out more often.
Frozen Foods
Relying too much on frozen foods like meatless offerings from Morningstar Farms and Boca Burger.
This solution falls into a similar category with junk food regarding having better options. I still keep Morningstar Farms foods in my freezer and they certainly have a place in our meals when we are just too busy and exhausted, but they play a smaller role. I have made a big effort to use them sparingly instead of relying on them. I’m actively trying to cook more and also just seeking out healthier options both fresh and frozen in the grocery store. I have found really good tasting veggie burgers that don’t have wheat, dairy, or eggs in them. I’m planning on including them in my veggie burger roundup coming up. While not as bad as pure junk food, the key here is moderation and not relying on frozen food with huge ingredient lists for every meal of every day.
Child Care
Having children in child care accidentally being served meat.
The solution to this one comes down to being very vocal about what your kids can and can’t eat and making sure you talk to everyone involved in your child’s care. For us, this was a matter of going into the kitchen and talking to the chef to make sure he/she knew our kids and their restrictions. We also made a point to go in at different times so we talked personally to all the staff on both morning and afternoon shifts. One school had nameplates on the tables that indicated the vegetarian restriction and even this wasn’t enough. Talking to everyone and stressing the importance was our solution. Another way to solve this is to bring your own food for your child. Some child care places don’t provide meals or don’t provide vegetarian meals, so this may be your only option.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, mistakes happen and that is part of life. Our lives are always too busy, but we need to make eating healthy and eating vegetarian a priority and make sure that we do for our selves and our children. When everything else is stripped away, is anything more important than health? Does anything really matter if we are sick and unhealthy? Ask yourself that and make the time to avoid these vegetarian mistakes.