Assorted Vegetable

The Marietta Times, September 2, 2006

Brenda Stetson

When she married Douglas Stetson nearly a quarter century ago, Brenda Stetson began to learn and love the vegetarian lifestyle.

But sometimes, when she least expects it, she still misses scrambled eggs.

"I was from a meat-eating family," Stetson, 49, of Lowell, said. "I was 21 years old and my husband had been a vegetarian several years. I thought about it and it seemed like a good idea."

Embracing a vegetarian diet came naturally for the couple, she said.

When their three children -- 23, 18, 11 -- came along, there was no change in the family's vegetarian lifestyle. The key is that both parents follow the same diet, she said.

"None of our children ever questioned it," she said. "They've always been brought up on a strict diet, no meat ever. I taught them from the get-go there are certain things in food products that are unhealthy."

The only snag in the program was a social one, she said. On his special diet at school, the couple's first son was among a miniscule minority. Only in recent years have vegetarian diets become more common in the schools.

"Now, with my daughter, who is in middle school, it's no big deal," Stetson said. "My children have all been raised vegetarian and I have three perfectly healthy, active children."

Life in the kitchen at the Stetson house is missing only meat.

There is no golden brown roasted turkey at Thanksgiving and no honey ham at Christmastime.

"I wanted our kids to have a sense of tradition at the holidays, so we always have the same menu," she said. "We look forward to it."

At Thanksgiving it's harvest mushroom casserole, nutted rice pilaf, cranberry relish, assorted fruit pies (pumpkin is a favorite) and homemade bread. A spinach tofu quiche, cranberry relish, roasted potatoes, pie and homemade bread is the Christmas holiday favorite.

"For me, this is a moral issue -- of not killing animals," Stetson said.

What the experts are saying

The American Dietetic Association also says vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol and animal protein.

Higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate and antioxidants (such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals) are gained from a vegetarian diet.

Studies also show that a vegetarian mother's breast milk has significantly lower levels of pesticide residue than a non-vegetarian's breast milk.