Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Olivia "Livvie" Caldwell as my first "Vegan Mommy". Now, not to get anyone to thinking about my age, but Livvie happens to be the daughter of an ex-coworker and nurse friend of mine. She is also the same age as my older son; in fact, they went to middle school together. Stop it! I see you doing the math.
Without further ado, here's a peek into some of the fun we had...
Vegan Fashionista: First off, I want to thank you for participating in this! I see from your Facebook page that you are an avid vegan like myself. I don't personally know a lot of vegans, but I'm part of a big vegan community...you know how that goes...
Olivia Caldwell: (laughs) Yeah...
VF: How old are your children? You have two, right? A boy and a girl?
OC: Yep! Gabe will be 4 in November, so he's 3 and Cameron just turned 2.
VF: Wow! They are so cute! Especially little Cameron with her poses and expressions.
OC: (laughter)
VF: So, I wanted to do this series to drive away the idea for some that veganism is just a fad. I have had people ask me "are you still doing the vegan thing?". Not to say you can't change your ideals and way of living, but I want people to understand that there are entire families living this way, and it's sustainable.
OC: That makes sense.
Why mom Tia Mowry went vegan
VF: How long have you been a vegan, and how did you decide this was for you?
OC: When I was a freshman in high school, I cut out red meat and mom would just NOT let me cut out any other meat. She worried because I was a runner...she didn't think it was (safe). Once I graduated and went to college, I decided to do it. I haven't had meat for 7 years, and we've been vegan for about a year and a half. I kept reading about Forks Over Knives, have you seen it?
VF: Of course, yeah!
OC: And all these celebrities were going vegan...I mean, even Ozzy Osbourne watched it. I really liked cheese, and I didn't want to watch it, but I did, and halfway through I was like, I'm done eating all this junk! So I made Kevin (her husband) watch it and told him we were going vegan. He asked me if I was crazy. After he watched it, he decided to finish out whatever food we had in the house and said let's do it.
VF: Wow! That was easy...especially for a guy!
OC: Oh, well he was vegetarian since he was a kid...
VF: Oh! I was gonna say!
VF: Okay, so what were your other family and friends' initial reaction? Did you get the 'where are you gonna get your protein?' etc. type questions?
OC: Yeah. I mean, you're always gonna get that. My mom said she just didn't know what to make for me anymore (laughs), and my mother-in-law at first was freaking out about the kids being vegan.
VF: Have they been vegan since birth?
OC: So they're not completely vegan..they've been vegetarian since they were born, but Gabe is such a picky eater. I've gotten him to drink green smoothies! Cameron is much easier...she'll eat what we eat. I kinda wish we hadn't listened (to other family members) and tried to (have them eat) completely vegan when they were younger. It would have been a lot easier. But I also think that later down the road, they can make that decision. I think they will. (The in-laws) are much more supportive now and tries to cook for us now all the time, but yeah..we still get those comments.
VF: So your children are mostly vegetarian, semi-vegan, is that right? Or do they eat meat?
OC: No, they don't eat meat. I try to incorporate new vegan ideas that they'll like, and it's hit or miss sometimes. They like a butternut squash mac and cheese, made with cashews, fruits, and some veggies. I got Cameron to eat broccoli, but I can't get Gabe to do that at all! It's a process.
VF: What about concerns from the medical community, and other parents that vegan/vegetarian children may not get all the nutrients that are important to their development like vitamin D, B 12, protein, etc. How did you research to make the decision that this lifestyle would be ok for them?
OC: Well, of course we looked into it and tried to see what would be the best way to do it. Their pediatrician checks their blood once a year for iron levels and everything, and they're always good there. They also take a pretty clean multivitamin every day. But I also think that through the week they get what they need because we mix things up. People will try to say things but I try to take it with a grain of salt. Obviously they're fine...they're really active..they're not starving or anything!
Article: Is Veganism Safe for Kids?
VF: Not at all! They look so healthy and happy. You posted pics of some yummy desserts for Cameron's birthday. Did you make those?
OC: Yes! I made vegan cupcakes for her birthday. If I hadn't told anybody, they wouldn't have known, but of course when you mention (they're vegan), some were like 'oh, then I don't want them'. (laughter)
VF: Of course! Automatically, they become gross and no one wants anything to do with them! So funny.
OC: I'm always bringing over food to mom's house that I 'veganize'. (My brother) Hayden likes a burrito bake that I make with adobe chipotle pepper. My mom was like 'is this vegan?' and I said yeah and you just ate the whole thing!
VF: You mentioned earlier that you felt like your children may gravitate to a higher percentage vegan diet as they get older. What if they ask you can they try a different diet and eat meat, cheese, etc? Would you let them? How would you feel about that?
OC: It wouldn't hurt my feelings. My cousin's family changed their diet to vegetarian, and he would sneak hamburgers, so (laughs) if that's what they want to do, then fine. Honestly, I don't think Gabe will want to do that. Cameron doesn't really know about meat. We'll be driving down the road and pass a BBQ place and Gabe will ask 'why do people eat pigs?'
VF: Wow! To live in the south and ask that question...
OC: I know! So we try to explain it like it's normal for a lot of people we know eat cows and pigs without telling him that it's 'bad' or anything. We'd never do that. He's such a gentle soul.
VF: Aw! That's really sweet. I think that's great to say some people eat that way, and some eat like us, without being judgmental.
OC: Right...
VF: What's some of their favorite vegan snacks or meals?
OC: They love the butternut squash mac &cheese, green smoothies, carrots and hummus...I can pretty much veganize anything.
photo copyright www.cupcakesandcoffeebreaks.com
VF: Is it hard when you travel, or do you just bring your food everywhere like I do?
OC: We actually went to a wedding this past Saturday, and we knew they wouldn't have food there for us, so we went to a local produce store and got lunch there, and we also packed food in the cooler. Gabe is allergic to agave and we had some raw vegan bars. I was reading the ingredients and when he heard agave, he spit it out like 'no! agave!' It's more like a sensitivity, but he knows that he broke out before and it lasted a week...
VF: Poor thing!
OC: Yeah, it's hard sometimes because a lot of people sweeten things with agave. But it's alright. We know how to make vegan sweets!
VF: Thankfully, there are other natural sweeteners out there that you can use!
VF: Well, this has been great, and I'm not going to take up anymore of your time. Is there a message or something specific you would like people to know about your lifestyle?
OC: I've thought about doing a blog because so many people ask Kevin and I what we eat. I think people are really interested in it. When we first started...Kevin refers to that time period as 'the time we ate like rabbits'...it wasn't that serious! He was being dramatic (laughs). Some people just don't know where to start, so I thought about a blog, but I just don't know time-wise how to fit that in. But there are so many resources out there. You can pretty much take any recipe and veganize it!
VF: I agree! We went from Gardenburgers back in the day to now there are whole sections in grocery stores dedicated to health food, or entire health food stores period. There's no reason to think this lifestyle is boring or bland. I appreciate parents like you guys who are aware of not only their health, but the health of their children. I know you're a busy mom, so thank you so much for your time! Is there anything you wanted to add?
OC: I don't think so...they're fighting over a helmet right now, so...(laughs)
VF: Oh no! Ok, thanks Livvie! This was really exciting and fun.
OC: You're welcome! It was great talking to you.
Well! How about that? She's such a amazing young woman, and a great mommy! I must say I've learned the word "veganize" from this interview! Love it. Maybe she'll share that butternut squash mac & cheese recipe with me and I'll feature it sometime. For now, here's a vegan mac & cheese dish that looks yummy from Erica Wodzak's Cupcakes + Coffee Breaks blog (pic above). Thanks for hanging with me again, lovelies!
Until next time,
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