The moms from my Bible study class had a holiday lunch gathering. I knew there would be a Chick-Fil-A nugget tray, but after recently reading Eating Animals (and other books), I have moved from eating mostly vegetarian to being a vegetarian. No nuggets for me. At the same time, I also didn’t want to make a big deal about it with my friends and make anyone uncomfortable, so I made this salad for my meal.
In the spirit of keeping it real, my kids did eat the nuggets. I’m trying to navigate the waters when it comes to how I feed them in social situations when all of their peers are eating food that I don’t feel good about. My kids don’t currently share my convictions. They are 5 & 2 – clearly they don’t get the implications of factory farming and other moral dilemmas associated with eating meat. I don’t serve them meat at home and very rarely order it for them when we are out as a family. However, once or twice a month we are in a situation like this where I have trouble asking them to forgo what all of their friends are eating. I load up their plates with fruit and veggies and crackers and all the non-meat sides, but I do let them have the meat.
Okay, on to the recipe:
Curried Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas
- 1 cup quinoa – I used sprouted, but regular would work fine
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
Bring all ingredients to a boil and cover, reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
When cool, toss with:
- 1 green apple, diced
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 c diced cilantro
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1/4 c diced green onions
Mix up and stir in dressing:
- 3 Tbsp EVOO
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp lime zest
- salt and pepper to taste
A couple of days later the kids and I went on an outing and I enjoyed the salad again as a picnic lunch, while they ate pb&j.
Any other mamas out there facing this same dilemma with allowing/not allowing your kids to eat something based on your personal convictions?
Do you agree that it is quite hard to explain to a child that young why they aren’t allowed to eat something with all their friends, or am I taking the easy way out?
Housewife in the Raw 
Posted by Salah on December 29, 2010 at 12:58 am
mmmm quinoa and curry? can’t go wrong there 🙂
Posted by bitt on December 29, 2010 at 5:07 am
the salad looks good!
i have some friends who have been vegan for ages and we asked them about what they said to their kids. they would just explain that they don’t eat chickens, pigs, cows, etc and that other people do. from what i’ve experienced, kids usually ethically don’t want to eat animals and often the parents have to lie to them to get them to eat them. they don’t understand that meat = animals often.
Posted by Jen on December 29, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I’m facing the same thing you are with my kids and actually with the husband as well. He doesn’t care if I don’t eat meat, but he believes the kids need it and that they should be able to make their own decisions when they get older (they are 8, 6 and 2).
Jen
Posted by Kate on December 29, 2010 at 12:51 pm
when i was working as a youth director i had a boy who was on a special diet in an attempt to stop taking medication for his ADHD. He would pitch a fit whenever I would swap out his snack for something he could eat. I felt awful but knew it was neccessary.
the salad recipe sounds awesome! thanks for sharing!
Posted by (what runs) Lori on January 5, 2011 at 12:30 am
Um… this is a great recipe! I LOVE quinoa and LOVE chickpeas.
To meat or not to meat. That’s such a hard one to decide upon- especially for young kids. You want to do what’s right and most healthy but what is it? Good luck on your journey… I don’t have kids yet so I can’t help out at all- I just know I will be in that dilemma soon enough.
Posted by Repeater Meals « Housewife in the Raw on February 5, 2011 at 2:32 pm
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