Hayden Kline, 14, of Montclair, became vegetarian earlier this year and he remembers exactly when. "Right after the SuperBowl," says Hayden, "the second of February." He also knows exactly why. "I ate a bunch of ribs that day, and then I felt kinda sick because I remembered a video I saw online about how ribs were made." That overdose, along with the nightmare video clip, were enough to convert him to a diet that excludes all animal meat.
Hayden isn't alone among youth who decide one sunshiny day, often against the rest of their family's inclination, and for similar ethical, environmental or other reasons, to swear off meat altogether, often fish too, which Hayden incidentally never developed a taste for.
For the rest of his family who aren't vegetarian, his choice sometimes poses a challenge.
"It's hard," says his mother Christina Kline, in terms of meal planning. "To have three boys
and a husband from the Midwest, and I used to take roasting chicken for granted."
Jake Isenberg, 19, a Montclair youth who's just finished his first year of, suitably enough, Environmental Studies at a college in upstate New York, turned vegetarian when he went away to school in the fall.
"There was a lot of bad-quality meat that didn't make me feel good," he says. This spurred him to wind down his meat intake, with a tangible outcome.
"I definitely felt I had more energy throughout the day (with a vegetarian diet)," says Jake, whose father also turned vegetarian recently and whose 15-year-old sister is vegan, even as his mother, "a healthy eater," consumes chicken and fish.
While going vegetarian seems a sensible choice, given all the medical advice to
avoid excessive amounts of red meat and saturated fat for heart-health reasons, and to limit the intake of some fish because of the mercury content, there are some concerns about a teen vegetarian diet. Are they getting enough protein or calcium, for example?
Many youths, or their parents, like Christina, do the research. "We spoke to a pediatrian about nutrition," she says. "Hayden needs lots of fuel, he's a big kid; 5 foot 11 with size 12 feet."
Thankfully, he seems to get enough of the growth food. "He loves edamame, tofu, cheese and any kind of peanut butter, eggs and any expensive fake-meat products," says Christina.
Anyone going vegetarian needs to analyze their meal plans to see if they're getting
sufficient protein, calcium, vitamin B12, iron and zinc. Here's the Mayo Clinic's advice on how to ensure enough of these nutrients are in your diet.
Despite the shopping and cooking challenges posed by her son's decision, Christina isn't complaining. "He's a great kid and I admire him," she says. "I'm proud that he knows what he wants to do."
Anyone fretting about red meat consumption and the risk of heart disease may find this study of value. It found there were 24 percent fewer deaths among vegetarians than non-vegetarians from ischemic heart disease, that is, when blood flow is restricted to a part of the body. The mortality rate dropped further the younger the vegetarian.
Fish eaters are also on the right path. Your heart disease mortality risk is 34 percent lower than for non-vegetarians, the same as for lactoovovegetarians who include milk products and eggs in their diet. But it's interesting to note there were no big differences in mortality between the two groups from stomach, colorectal, lung, breast or prostate cancer.
Vegetarians with a taste for the exotic may be grateful for Montclair's Veggie Heaven, part of a chain where anyone experiencing meat-withdrawal symptoms will be rewarded with guilt-free, convincing veggies in disguise. I (dare I say it) am a meat eater myself, but find some of VH's soy-based faux meat more tender and often tastier than the real deal.
There's also Bloomfield Avenue's former Udupi Village, which, along with its delicious masala dosas, recently moved to Parsippany and has been renamed Mysore Woodlands.
Do you know a youngster who, independently of his/her family, has gone vegetarian? Talk to us. Are they blooming and growing, why did they abandon meat, how complex are the family meal plans?
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Comments (17)
And this is news because????
I decided to stop eating red meat in 1997 when I was 12 years old. I was still interested in hot dogs and chicken fingers and held off on giving those up until I was 16. I've been vegetarian ever since and wouldn't want it any other way. Montclair vegetarians are very lucky because we have so many restaurants in town who serve delicious vegetarian options. My favorites: Bonjour Montclair, Raymond's, Joe Bartoni's, Veggie Heaven, Mesob, Udupi (RIP Montclair location), Market, etc. etc. Any other suggestions?
Also, this past week we spent $25 at the Montclair farmer's market for a nice selection of vegetables. I've been cooking up whole meals with simple recipes using vegetables like beets, kohlrabi, swiss chard, asparagus, etc. The finished product is delicious and rarely takes more than a half hour of prep/cook time.
I've long maintained if more people were forced to watch how their food came to be in that nifty styrofome package there would be a lot more vegitarians in the world.
I think this opinion started when I saw no less than a dozen people swear off pork while attending a pig roast (I, however, thought it was some of the most delicious meat I've ever had).
I'm not a vegetarian but I do love the food at Veggie Heaven. I didn't at first; I initially thought it was pretty gross. It was an acquired taste for me.
I went vegetarian at 13 on Thanksgiving day (funny how so many have a specific instance that helped them make the change!). That was 15 years ago now. No one else in my family is or was veg, but I think my choice has gotten them to reexamine the healthfulness of their diets. My mom (wisely) refused to cook me separate meals so that I would learn to cook for myself and learn about nutrition. My parents also had me use vegetarianism as the topic for a school project so I would learn more about what I was getting into. I certainly "bloomed and grew"!
Most of the high mercury content in Fish comes from fish like Shark or Mackerel. You dont have to be too concerned with Salmon, Tuna, Lobster, scallops, or clams/oysters.
if I could eat sushi every day I would. But I'll never swear off a Tierney's Burger!
But I'll never swear off a Tierney's Burger!
--------------------------------------------
I'm with you there, Jimmytown
GnM,
The logic behind the "if folks knew where their food came from..." is flawed.
If true, then I imagine, there would be generations of Americans in the West- ranchers, native American who were vegetarians....
Understand, as a meat eater (who has bought a whole cow and pig) I could just as easily watch a cow or pig get slaughtered as I can watch a fish die when I catch it and filet it.
I do love Veggie Heaven though!!
Oh! I totally forgot about Spice II. The only Thai restaurant I've found who have a special vegetarian section where they keep the fish sauce out of my favorite meal, Pad Thai! Mmmmm so good. Should I rethink my dreams of Taco Bell tonight and go to Spice II instead? We'll see....
But can you, prof, endure the screaming of the lambs?
Not to mention the lobsters.
The high- pitched squeal of the Lob does give me pause, but the yelp of the melted butter pulls me across the finish line.
As for lamb, other than the sad memory of my Sheriff father, yes, I have no problem.
Lamb, yum.
You will find, prof, that pulling the lobster bib over the ears removes that squeal. And later, there's cake!
The idea of your dad as a lawman, a la John McGahern, is a tad frightening.
Anyway, there's nothing like pink lamb chops!
Lobsters have ears?
Here I was, evoking Clarice Starling...
Yummmmm, lamb chops.
And mutton.
I also became a veg in the the late 80s when I was a teen.
When I became veg, it was torture for my mom, who liked to control people through food, which prob. made it more attractive to me though I didn't see that at the time. She's come around in the last 20 years and now herself is basically meatless.
I laugh at how hard it was back then to be a veg. When I'd ask for dishes to be made without meat, servers would have to "check with the chef"! We have it so easy now. Even Burger King offers a veggie burger.
Strangely to me, It still remains a source of fascination for younger people when they find out I don't eat meat. I don't quite understand why...
Creating a generation of whimps. Where is John Wayne when we need him?
A girl came home when she was 19 years old.
She told het mother that she wanted to be a vegetarian.
Her mother said, that she didn't want to cook two meals.
So het mother decided that the whole family (mother, father, daughter, two older sons) should be vegetarian.
30 years later they still are.
That girl from 19 became my wife a few years later.