It can be hard to explain your vegetarian or vegan diet to your friends and family. However, it helps if you have resources that are geared to your audience. Let’s face it, showing slaughterhouse videos to everyone you know is not the best way to make them understand your dietary preferences. Maybe you aren’t looking to convert people, you just want to explain your diet so that the people around you know that you aren’t trying to be difficult, you really have good reasons for eating the way you do.
Goal: Get your Dad or Granddad to understand your crazy newfangled diet.
“But what about protein?!?” concerned dads all over the world ask their vegetarian kids. You should be happy when your dad bugs you about your dietary preferences, it’s because he cares about you and wants you to be healthy. I recommend Mad Cowboy by Howard Lyman for this situation because Lyman has the kind of credibility that will win your dad over. He wasn’t a rich kid from Berkeley who’s never actually seen a farm. He was a cattle rancher. He comes from a long line of farmers. He used to eat big plates of bacon for breakfast and never gave a second thought to the health or ethical aspects of eating meat. It was just what people ate. And then, all that changed for him. Trust me, your dad probably thinks the activists out on the street showing people slaughterhouse videos and throwing red paint on fur coats are complete nutjobs. Howard Lyman is a guy your dad could sit down and have a (vegan) beer with.
Goal: Explain your diet to your girlfriends.
We all know that I’m not a fan of the Skinny Bitch series. I am not, however, the intended audience. Have friends who’s eyes roll back in their head when you try to explain the science behind your vegan diet? Friends who are always trying to lose weight and look hot, but keep eating meat and cheese? How about friends who want to know how Natalie Portman stays so skinny (hint: she’s vegan)? Give them Skinny Bitch and your friends who would never be caught dead in a health food store might just ask to try your raw vegan brownies.
Goal: Explain why a vegan diet is healthy to your health-nut mom.
She’s done Atkins. She’s done weight watchers. She eats Acai every day. She informs you of how many antioxidants and isoflavones are in blueberries. She would never eat french fries. And she is concerned about where you’re getting your protein, iron, B12 and calcium. She is your health nut mom and she wants some hard, cold scientific facts to back up your crazy diet! What I like about Christina Pirello’s book (which I reviewed here) is that she makes very clear the difference between a vegan diet and a healthy vegan diet. When you first gave up meat, did you live on mac and cheese for 6 months? C’mon, you know you did. This Crazy Vegan Life explains the basics of a healthy diet, and why meat and dairy aren’t a part of it.
Goal: Explain to your foodie friends that you aren’t being deprived.
You know the ones. The friends that have dinner parties that look like Martha Stewart put them together. They eat cheeses you can’t even pronounce. They can actually taste the “fruity notes” in wine. And they think that cutting out entire food groups is too limiting. What is life without prosciutto! Give them these two cookbooks, and they’ll learn two things: 1- ANYTHING can be made out of vegetable products, 2- The limits of the vegan diet inspire creativity! Plus, these are the best cupcakes you’ve ever had, period.
Got anyone else in your life that you want to explain your diet to but you don’t know how to do it? Describe the situation in the comments and I’ll try to come up with more resources!
