New member - hello!

[sojo]

Hi everyone - I am very excited to join this group. My husband and I were vegetarian for much of our married life, and we were vegetarian when I finally conceived (long bouts of infertility and the few conceptions resulted in miscarriages). So surprise, surprise, I finally, with medical help, was able to carry my one and only child to term, and had enormous cravings for meat throughout. I mean, I turned into a total carnivore for about 8 months. It was like something just possessed me!

But... here's the rub. My dear son, 14 years old now with Down syndrome, is a natural vegetarian. At first we attributed it to his texture aversion related to his disability. But now he is old enough to tell us, "I love animals, not eat them." So that is that, no? We totally respect his choice. He has beat his texture aversion, but he still refuses not only meat, but most processed foods - chips, cake, cookies - he just can't stand them. A nice bowl of organic black beans with a dollop of Greek yogurt, some fresh chopped cilantro and diced onions and he is in heaven.

My husband and I still eat meat on occasion - that would be a bit of fish with our veggies or rarely, a bit of chicken. But I'm once again breaking out the vegetarian meals so that we can all eat together. And my son is thriving on his diet - so far totally avoiding the genetic problem that people with Down syndrome have to a metabolic slowdown in their teens.

I look forward to hearing more about everyone's feelings, philosophy, and also ideas for menus.