Word: vegetarians
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...Vegetarianism has not always been so fashionable. Just two years ago, the late Dr. Benjamin Spock provoked outrage among some parents and pediatricians when he recommended that all kids over the age of two should eat a strictly vegan diet. Some are still opposed to vegan diets for kids. But increasingly, nutritionists, educators and parents--all too aware of a nationwide obesity epidemic--are taking more relaxed vegetarian diets in stride. In an effort to reduce fat in federally subsidized school lunches, the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this year expanded the use of soy as a nutritious alternative...
Since beef, chicken and fish are good sources of protein and vitamins, nutritionists stress that a vegetarian diet requires vigilance, especially during the growth spurts that occur in adolescence. Strict vegans, especially menstruating girls, have to be particularly careful to get enough iron, zinc, calcium and B12. (B12 is not found in vegetables.) Yet most experts agree that the diet is eminently manageable. "It's easier to absorb and maintain the necessary nutrients if you eat a little bit of meat or fish," says Bier. But beans, tofu, peanut butter, broccoli, milk, eggs and whole grains can provide protein, iron...
Most schools still offer the standard burger and chicken fare, along with pasta and pizza. But more are recognizing vegetarians, in part because of student demand. "We've had middle school and high school kids wanting vegetarian food, but we're starting to see more elementary school kids asking for it," says Donna Wittrock, executive director of food and nutrition services for Denver public schools, which are offering vegetarian entrees for younger kids for the first time this year. "No meat is what they seem to be interested in. Not necessarily more vegetables, mind you, but no meat...
...meat--even with ubiquitous seductive ads for Whoppers and McNuggets? Especially for teens, say parents, vegetarianism can be a step toward establishing independence. It's also cool. A recent study by Teenage Research Unlimited found that 25% of teens say being a vegetarian is In. For girls--who constitute the vast majority of vegetarian kids--the diet can also appeal to concerns about weight...
Both kids and parents say the lifestyle has its challenges. Eating out--at restaurants, friends' houses and school--can be tricky and sometimes encourages junk-food consumption or even abstaining from eating. Jeff Siegfried, a 13-year-old vegetarian from Bellingham, Wash., says his school-cafeteria offerings are so "pathetic," he often skips lunch. For kids of ranchers, such as Carina Fisher, 17, of Bakersville, Calif., the diet can be alienating. No longer a vegetarian, Fisher recalls unwittingly insulting family friends by attending barbecues and brandings with egg sandwiches in hand...