VEGETARIAN TEENS
What do they really eat?
By Sally Clinton
"I'd like a Veggie Whopper," Marc Freligh says enthusiastically to the individual waiting on customers at the Oxford, Pennsylvania, Burger King. "But hold the sauce, please." This provokes a wary glance from the server, but the order goes through anyway. A few minutes later Marc is presented with a whopper sized box filled with ... well ... Burger King's custom made Veggie Whopper: lettuce and tomato on a very large white bun. He opens the bun and peers inside with a look of bewilderment. "But where's the veggie burger? There's nothing but lettuce here," he says to his mom.
Marc is a 14-year-old vegan living in rural Pennsylvania. As a young activist he called the Burger King headquarters to inquire about their options for vegetarians. The representative with whom he spoke eagerly informed him about their Veggie Whopper and Marc in turn, was pleasantly surprised and decided to patronize the closest Burger King he could find. He expected a vegetarian substitute for the meat patty. "Perhaps it was asking a bit much. This is Burger King after all. But when are people going to start offering real vegetarian options," he wonders, as he takes a bite of his dry lettuce and tomato sandwich.
Marc often has to settle for what is available and like many teenage vegetarians sometimes subsists on concoctions such as the "Veggie Whopper." Young vegetarians make the most of the foods available to them. Kelly Bodtke, a 15-year-old vegan who really does try to eat well, mentions that if she's at a friend's house and they are serving a dinner she won't eat, she'll just take bread and spread it with mustard then add any veggies she can find from the refrigerator. Creativity is definitely a plus for any vegetarian. Sixteen-year-old Maggie Garfield still goes to McDonald's with her friends but instead of buying the Chicken McNuggets she used to love, she'll settle for five orders of fries and the McNugget Sweet 'N Sour sauce.
Whether it's hanging out with friends at pizza or fast food joints, or eating at home with the family, many vegetarian teens seem to eat only a fraction of the wide range of vegetarian foods that exist. Take, for example, the eleven teenagers from around the country with whom I recently spoke. From the East coast, to the Southwest, California to Alaska and Minnesota, they all described the same basic diet: cereal and muffins, toast or bagels for breakfast; salad, pizza or peanut butter and jelly for lunch; and spaghetti or pasta for dinner. This isn't all they eat, of course, but almost all of them mentioned these foods as providing a major portion of their diets.
Todd Reath a 14-year-old vegetarian from Parksburg, Pennsylvania, confesses to eating a P.B. and J. or cheese sandwich practically every day. Kelly Bodtke's family shops almost entirely at a natural foods co-op, but she still lists P.B. and J. or a peanut butter and banana sandwich as her two most common lunch meals. Even 16-year-old Jill Ringer who attends boarding school in New York and hopes to make a career out of cooking, admits that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is one of her most common lunch selections.
When questioned about their eating habits, nine out of the eleven teenagers mentioned spaghetti or other pasta such as macaroni and cheese or lasagna as their most common dinnertime meals. Some like other specialties as well. Isaiah Keepin, a 16-year-old vegan in Santa Fe, New Mexico, stays true to the ethnic flavors of his region and singles out burritos as one of his all-time favorites, while 17-year-old Brett Bryngelson, a high school athlete from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, loves eggplant parmesan. Some do try their hand at cooking. Aimee Gallo, a 13-year-old living in Anchorage, Alaska, was busy creating a veggie stew when I spoke with her. She uses a vegetable broth, adds potatoes, zucchini, carrots, onions, and celery, and lets it simmer. She frequently eats pasta dishes like spaghetti and fettucine and loves to bake. Not only does she enjoy the results, but baking keeps the house warm!
As coordinator for HOW ON EARTH!, a national vegetarian newsletter for and by teens, I am in contact with young vegetarians on a regular basis. In doing so, I've come across teens with various preferences, habits and vices, including those who survive primarily on junk food, others who have a relentless sweet tooth, some who are addicted to Diet Coke, and some who do make a conscious effort to eat very healthfully.
For example, Laura Naumann, a 17-year-old vegan from Newark, Delaware, recently tried following a macrobiotic/vegan diet for several months. She now tries to avoid all processed foods, and has really felt the positive effects of following a whole foods diet. Sticking with a macrobiotic diet became too difficult, but she continues to avoid refined foods and artificial ingredients. One of her favorite dishes is couscous and veggies "water fried" with tamari as seasoning. Then there is eighteen-year-old Alejandra Carrera who attends El Camino College in Torrance, California, and admits to coffee for breakfast; nuts and juice at school; and cereal or fast food for dinner, with a lot of candy in between, making up her usual fare for a day. She feels her poor dietary habits are due to her busy schedule, sweet tooth, and lack of knowledge about what else to eat.
TIME AND CONVENIENCE
So, why don't more teenagers eat a wider variety of food and include things like
grains, beans and soy-foods? There are a lot of elements influencing such trends
and some of them apply to all vegetarians, regardless of age. Time and convenience,
for example are big factors in the life of any busy teenager or adult of the '90's.
What could be more convenient than to grab a slice of microwaveable pizza, slap
together a P.B. and J., or get by on pretzels or an order of fries when you're short
on time?
Today, many parents don't have time to cook, and so kids often prepare their own meals. Young vegetarians, like other teenagers, commonly have no desire to cook and no interest in what is healthy. So if it's up to them, they eat what is easy. Many young people are motivated to be vegetarian out of concern for animals and the environment. They often don't follow a vegetarian diet for health reasons and this is clearly reflected in their diets. If parents do the cooking they are often unfamiliar with preparing meatless meals; so they rely on the old standbys like spaghetti, grilled cheese, soup, lasagna, and other pasta dishes. Teenagers growing up in health-conscious families do have a much more varied diet, but this situation seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Limited access to natural foods can be another significant obstacle preventing teens from taking advantage of the wide range of vegetarian foods that are available. Vegetarianism knows no boundaries, and youth living in rural or some suburban areas, often live far away from any natural food stores.
For almost ten months of the year, young people depend upon their school cafeteria for one-third of their diet. School lunchrooms still don't provide much of a selection for vegetarians, and most of the teens I've talked to rarely eat there. Consequently they have to make and bring their own lunch or do without. Many cafeterias do have salad bars, but they are often very limited and can be boring.
BREAKING THE PEANUT BUTTER BARRIER
All these factors contribute to the diet of pizza, P.B. and J., and pasta that many
teen vegetarians seem to follow. It is limited, but young vegetarians are really
not different from the adult vegetarian population or the general population at
large. Some have lousy diets and some do pretty well. However, since they are more
dependent on others and have even further restricted access to the foods they need,
they could use some extra help and support. There are ways you can help young
vegetarians in your area:
Invite them over and show them a few things to cook.
Offer them a ride to the health food store next time you go or introduce them to items they can purchase at the local supermarket.
Lend them some of your books so that they can educate themselves.
Hilary Davis, a 13-year-old from St.Paul, Minnesota, says, "It's hard to go 'cold turkey' (no pun intended) all at once. Do it gradually and educate yourself."
Jill Ringer says, "Don't be afraid of beans! And be sure to try foods from a variety of cultures."
Isaiah Keepin encourages others to "stick it out. New options keep popping up and it (being vegetarian) becomes a part of you."
Laura Naumann emphasizes eating a variety of foods to keep a balanced diet. She encourages others to remember that, "For everything you do and all of the struggles you might face in being vegetarian, keep in mind the reason you are doing it, and it will strengthen you and help you persevere."
