Discovering A Non-Vegan World…

Exactly 1 week before Astral & Defy turn 3! (2/24/13)

It sure has been a while, but we're back for another post! We refuse to give up this amazing platform that allows us the ability to share our experiences with veganism, raising vegan children and vegan pregnancy. Our analytics show that even though post frequency has declined, more people than ever are searching for vegan information and finding Our Vegan Pregnancy. We want to continue to be an example of how veganism is healthy and manageable during all stages of life. Astral and Defy are almost 3 years (plus gestation) of living proof!

Since my last post at the end of October the boys have been progressing rapidly per usual. I find it just too annoying to rehash every single milestone of their lives at this point. Every day something new and amazing happens (in our minds). So instead of the same old stuff, I’m just going to post a ridiculous amount of cute photos (of which there is no shortage) and hand it over to my absolute favorite vegan daddy to see what he has to say about Astral and Defy’s recent developments as vegan toddlers:

Astral and Defy are increasingly becoming aware of how non-vegan the world currently is outside of our "vegan bubble". They get that most of the items in grocery stores are derived from animals, but don't seem to have a problem with wanting any of them, even with all the bright, colorful packaging emblazoned with likable (by-design) cartoon characters. We just tell them that the items contain animal products and that's that, end of story. Like most kids their age (and probably most adults) they understand that it's wrong to intentionally harm animals when it's unnecessary to do so. They just have a different understanding of what necessity is because they know they don't need to eat animal bodies or animal secretions (or otherwise consume animal products) to be healthy and happy. 

This understanding of what's wrong with exploiting animals for "food", with the ubiquity of animal-derived "food", and with the non-necessity of consuming animal products has led to some interesting situations for us as vegan parents. Sometimes I take the boys into a coffee shop during the day. This coffee shop has a big picture of some milky liquid being poured into a coffee-like liquid, and every time the boys see it they loudly go on and on about how it's not vegan, it's cows' milk and it's for the baby cows, "they hurt the cows for that", it's "just not right", etc. Honestly, I love having the opportunity of openly agreeing with them (probably to the surprise of anyone listening). "Yea, I agree, fellas. It's not right. Cows' milk is for baby cows, not for us". I can assure you that if you're ever in this situation, you will draw plenty of attention from bystanders.

Then there are situations with relatives. Earlier this month while visiting grandparents and other relatives in the Midwest, Astral and Defy became suspicious of certain things they saw at grandma and grandpa's home and kept asking us which relatives eat animal products. For the first time we had to explain to them that nobody there is vegan, and DnA seemed a little confused and saddened by this idea. Unlike DnA, Kenya and I weren't always vegans, and we remember that at one time we too had no clue about the realities of animal use. We don't in any way want to condone any animal exploitation, but we also don't want the boys to think less of their otherwise incredibly thoughtful, kind, supportive, and loving family members. We told the boys that not everyone understands that animals are exploited and inevitably "hurt" to obtain animal products. This lack of understanding might be true in some cases, but it felt somewhat dishonest, and none of us seemed satisfied with that response. We just didn't know what else to say when put on the spot.

Although grandma ate vegan and made many delicious vegan meals throughout our entire stay (including a veganized version of a 100 year-old family pretzel recipe), not everyone else did. One morning grandpa was sitting at the dining room table, eating his very non-vegan breakfast and washing it down with a tall glass of cows' milk. Astral and Defy noticed, and one of them asked him if he was, in fact, drinking cows' milk. Grandpa said "yes", thinking nothing of it. The boys then began complaining and ultimately refused to sit at the table with him. Again, we didn't quite know how to deal with that kind of situation, so we just used the dining room table when he was finished. Grandpa sort of laughed it off and tried to tell the boys that he was simply drinking milk, just like them. Astral made a face, crossed his arms, said "no!" and he and D walked away. Fortunately, Astral and Defy still enjoyed spending time with grandpa after that, just not so much during meal time...

Please feel free to contact us at ourveganpregnancy@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @VeganTwins.  

Moving Forward...

Astral and Defy love this INVSOC card!

These little dudes love stuffing their mouths with mangos!

 

Astral and Defy are right on the cusp of the big 3-0! 30 months, that is. In 3 days they will be 2 ½. How did time fly by so quickly? The past 30 months have been so precious; we’ve experienced and learned so much while raising our sweet little rascals. We are happy to have shared our journey so far with readers from all around the world. It has been very important for us to represent veganism as a healthy and ethical way of living, and to show that raising children as vegans is entirely possible. We have been told by many readers that this blog has helped them out on their own journey, so we feel it is necessary to keep on posting, at least until the boys are a little older. 

DnA are natural born gymnasts. These little daredevils have perfected their forward roll, and since that wasn’t nearly amazing enough, they have now mastered the forward roll with no hands. They are basically catching air while tumbling. We need to quickly find a gymnastics class to nurture their flexibility and acrobatics in a much more padded environment. They still enjoy stretching, doing push-ups, hanging on bars, and doing pull ups. Never doubt the strength of a vegan toddler, especially one powered by kale juice!!!

As usual, the boys have been eating so well. They usually finish every single bite on their plates or in their bowls and quickly slam down all of their coconut milk and green juices/smoothies. This isn’t a food blog by any means (yes we know our photos aren’t vegan cookbook worthy), but since this is going to be a short and sweet post we’ve decided to post some photos of our simple, go-to toddler-friendly vegan meals.

 seed and raisin mix

 back to the basics: red beans and brown rice

 pasta salad

 tofu scramble, tortillas, oven potatoes

 brown rice and stir-fried veggies, tofu, kale salad

 no queso blackbean quesadilla, salsa, carrots, salad with walnuts, blue corn chips

 toddler smorgasbord: salad, salsa, lentils, blue corn chips, plantain

 veggie noodle soup with bok choy, corn, edamame

Lucas found 30 pounds of this Sulfur Shelf aka 'chicken mushroom' in a park last year.  We dehydrated it and are still enjoying this delicious find.

 Soy 'chicken' analogs have nothing on this mushroom! Look at the texture!!

This is some of the 'chicken mushroom' right before Luke harvested it! Best find EVER!

Warning: Please make sure you do serious research before foraging for mushrooms!!!!

chugging coconut milk

Art is definitely in Astral and Defy’s genes. These budding artists can draw pictures of faces, cars, etc. There's really nothing sweeter than having them draw a picture of a face while saying with a smile, "that's mommy" or "that's daddy".

We are getting settled into our new place. We had no clue how much extra (unnecessary) stuff we had accumulated after preparing for and having the boys. The movers were with us from 10am until almost 6pm on the day of the big move. I never imagined it would take more than a couple hours for them to move our stuff. Boy was I wrong. Astral and Defy behaved really well and thankfully we had helpers to keep them out of the way at the new house. They have their own playground in the backyard and a great playroom that has kept them entertained over the past few weeks as we try to figure out our new routine. At first they asked about their old house, but now they tell us that they love the new place. They still ask about old friends and we tell them we will visit soon, since we only moved 35 minutes away. We are relieved that they are adjusting so well to their new environment.

 

 plotting and scheming 

Having a sizable yard is something new for all of us, and we have already put it to good use. Star and Sunny love sunbathing for unlimited amounts of time and, aside from the playground, the boys enjoy playing in the dirt and observing all their insect friends (there are some amazing and huge butterflies here). Daddy is already composting away and planning his garden that will go along well with the (now berry-less) blackberry bushes that are already here. Hopefully by this time next year we'll have copious amounts of home-grown kale and other organic goodies! Until then, at least we can pick pears from our neighbors' tree to our hearts' content...

 

 

they requested "little vases" to make arrangements

 

 all photos are of Astral Defiance and Defy Aster at 29 months old

 

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The Writing Is On The Wall...

21 Months

We are moving toward a new year and our future as parents of two, two year olds. Our little guys are quite expressive artistically and love drawing and coloring…especially on walls and other surfaces not quite meant to showcase the work of a toddler! We always redirect their creativity to paper (to their joint disappointment), but they always try a sneak a scribble or two on a wall, cabinet, or piece of furniture. Maybe they are just budding graffiti artists!

Their language skills are developing rapidly. They try to repeat what people say much more and have eased up a little on the baby talk. Recently, we pulled out the camera to take a picture of them and asked them to smile, and they both kept saying “my-allll”. They say it all the time now, usually coupled with an over-the-top, tooth-filled smile. They are now calling out for one another by name, especially if they are in separate rooms and often when one wakes up from sleep and the other is still snoozing. So sweet!

Every once in a while, when the weather is not suitable for outside play and when daddy can stomach it, he takes the boys to an indoor play area in a huge nearby shopping mall. Daddy is usually a little grumpy when he has to venture into a church of hyper-consumerism, but this play area gives the boys a chance to meet other children and expend some energy, so he tries his best. Recently, there have been live musical events for the holidays so daddy has taken them a little more frequently. On previous occasions Astral and Defy have refused to dance in public, but those days are long gone and they’ve been thoroughly enjoying showing off all their amazing dance moves. Clearly vegan babies are the best dancers!

Astral and Defy are eating really well and growing strong. They still love their green juices and smoothies, especially ones with avocado. Last week I made my first batch of homemade granola with oats, buckwheat flour, walnuts, raisins, coconut flakes, and maple syrup, and it was a big hit! They (daddy included) ravenously devoured the first batch and whined for more.

granola made with vegan love

We wanted to get one more post in for 2011! Short and sweet! I can’t believe it is going to be 2012 in a few hours. Having children seems to make the time fly by faster than ever. Hopefully the new year has great things in store and more people will be inspired to end animal exploitation and become vegan!!! Happy New Year...