Is she being unreasonable?

[PiggyPaws]

Well, I've been a vegetarian since I was 6 (long story: neither of my parents are veggie but my dad used to say horrible things such as "You know that lamb we saw at the farm yesterday? That's what you're eating now" so it became the norm for me and it has only been for a year or so that I have been really interested in animal welfare etc)

Well two nights ago I told my mum that I wanted to be a vegan and she replied "Not under this roof, wait until you move out." and that was it. I am really upset.

I asked her why and she said it was hard enough her being wheat and gluten intolerant and me vegetarian, so she didn't want to have to cook 3 separate meals everyday.

My question is do you think she is being unreasonable? I am compiling some recipes and vegan food pyrimids and charts etc and will show her soon, hoping it will change her mind. I am also prepared to cook for myself. If neccessary how did you convince your parents

Thanks,
Gemma

[Jennicat]

I think if she is cooking the meals and buying all the food, and there are already several problems with grains, etc, in the house, she may not being unreasonable. (My boyfriend has intolerances to just about every grain but corn, and we sometimes pay exorbitant prices for things he can eat without getting sick).

[Josephine]

I have a friend who is gluten intolerant. When we have family meals with that friend, we plan accordingly--I am the only vegetarian and she is the only one with a food allergy. Often the vegetarian things are also gluten-free and safe for her. Healthier for me, too, usually! Win, win situation there.

Perhaps if you discussed this with your parents after doing the research on dietary requirements and such. They also might be a lot more amenable to the idea if you sat down and planned meals for the family for the week with whomever does the regular cooking (I'm assuming your mom?). There are many books out there that are even geared towards recipes for meat eating and vegetarian blended families--one dish, two easy versions for the meat eaters and the vegetarians.

Eating vegetarian is not necessarily more expensive (depending on how and what you eat), but I agree that for an overloaded cook and mom, there might be some issues there as far as time and figuring menus. I may be wrong, but there are some ideas there for you to try if you're serious about this choice.