Tips for a Vegan Holiday with Non-Vegan Family Members

Though I feel the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, it can be daunting celebrating your first holiday as a vegan. I went vegan the beginning of December 2014, so Christmas was my first holiday as a vegan. Since then, I have had many more years experiencing vegan holiday’s with the family, not only Christmas, but Fourth of July and Thanksgiving as well. Of course there are more holidays to be celebrated, but these are the three our family gets together for the most involving food. In this post, I will be giving you some tips on how to celebrate the holidays with non-vegan family members and sharing some recipes that I really enjoy and think you might too.

But first, everyone knows what basic non-vegan ingredients are like meat, dairy, and eggs, but there are some not-so obvious ingredients to look out for. Here are two helpful links for vegans to check out: 

Sneaky Non-Vegan Ingredients

Food Additives

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here are my tips to celebrating the holidays with non-vegan family members!

TIP #1: LET YOUR FAMILY KNOW YOU’RE VEGAN

My first tip is letting your family, friends, or whoever you’re celebrating the holidays with, know that you’re a vegan. We always celebrate with family, and if your family is like mine, it is always one person (the host) preparing the feast for the whole family. This is so important for everyone to know, especially the host, because the host probably woke up that morning at an ungodly hour to prepare the feast for everyone, and maybe even started prepping things the night before getting everything ready, only to have you show up and not eat anything. Yes, other people will be there to partake in the feast, but it may cause hurt feelings between you and the host because they may feel insulted, attacked, unappreciated, that they’re cooking isn’t good enough for you, and so on. It’s just better to establish that you’re vegan ahead of time to avoid conflict. I went vegan in December 2014, weeks before Christmas, so it was important for the family to know. My older sister, the host, said I need to figure out food for myself because she’s not going to make a big feast for everyone, then an entire separate vegan meal for me, which is totally understandable and I wasn’t expecting her to think or do that at all. So this brings me to my next tip.

TIP #2: PREPARE AND BRING YOUR OWN FOOD

The last thing your host needs is the stress to figure out how to make a vegan feast, so hop in the kitchen and make the vegan version of what everyone else is going to be eating. This is also a great time to show others that veganism isn’t such a weird thing and that you can eat the same dishes that taste the same, just no cruelty to animals involved. I wake up early myself, prepare a vegan feast for me and my boyfriend, then pack it into paper bags and bring to the hosts’ house. My youngest sister is a former vegan, now a vegetarian, so she eats both what I make and what my older sister makes and sometimes my mom will try the vegan versions of what I had made, so I think that’s really cool. As I mentioned before, the three holidays my family celebrates involving a big feast are Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Fourth of July. Below is a general meal plan of what I would make on these occasions:

Thanksgiving and Christmas: 

Tofurky 

Cranberry sauce: Make your own or from a can

Mashed potatoes: Mash potatoes with unsweetend almond milk and earth balance butter, salt, and pepper

Gravy 

Green Bean Cassseroles: One, Two, and Three

Dinner rolls: We use Kroger brand frozen dinner rolls

Sweet Potato Casseroles: One, Two, and Three

Or make how you usually would but instead use earth balance butter and Dandies vegan marshmallows

Desserts: Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Fourth of July:

Burgers: Use Beyond Meat burgers, vegan buns of choice, onions, lettuce, tomato, vegan mayonnaise, and daiya or chao cheese to make cheeseburger. 

Corn with vegan butter

Potato Salad: Make how you usually would but without eggs and use vegan mayonnaise like Vegenaise or Just Mayo 

These are recipes I like, but of course you can look up your own recipes on Google or Pinterest to find what appeals to you and create your own meal plan.

TIP #3: BE PREPARED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS

My last tip in having a vegan holiday with non-vegan family members is be prepared to answer some questions that anyone may have. Because let’s face it, if situations arise that need to be discussed or there’s questions to be answered, a family gathering is usually the place people are going to do it. As mentioned earlier, I had gone vegan weeks before Christmas, so me being vegan and veganism in general was a new concept to everyone and something no one really could understand. Be prepared to be questioned the standard “why are you vegan” and “where do you get your B12, protein, calcium, etc”. These questions may have gotten old by now, but it’s important to be able to answer kindly and respectfully and in a way that doesn’t make the other person feel attacked by your responses. Talking about veganism can be as heated as discussing politics.

With all that in mind, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and that these tips helped any vegan out there on how to celebrate with non-vegan family. I also made a video version discussing this topic on my YouTube channel here.

10 Tips for Planning a Babymoon

Although pregnancy is an amazing and joyous time in you and your partner’s lives, it can also be one of the most stressful and hectic. That’s where a babymoon comes in. A babymoon in a trip taken before the baby is born and gives you and your partner a getaway from all the baby-related business. It’s also so nice and refreshing to focus on yourselves and bond as a couple, something that often gets put on the back-burner once the baby is born. My partner and I went on a babymoon during my 8^th month of pregnancy, and it was one of our favorite trips we’ve ever taken together. Below are some of my tips and things to think about when planning your babymoon.

CHOOSING YOUR DESTINATION

Firstly think of what kind of a trip you would like to go on. Some people may like to stay closer to home like maybe a few hour drive, but I would say most people would like to venture out and go someplace they have never been to before, like a different country or state. When choosing our babymoon, my boyfriend and I chose New Orleans. We chose it for a few reasons: 1) We had never been before, 2) We’ve always wanted to go, and 3) We wanted to go someplace it would be hard to travel to once our baby girl was born. New Orleans is a 9 hour drive from where we live so we knew we wouldn’t be taking that long of a drive anytime soon after our daughter was born. And plus, New Orleans is not a very kid friendly place so we also wouldn’t be going anytime soon because it wouldn’t be very exciting for our daughter. So a babymoon just seemed like the best time to go to New Orleans while it was still just the two of us. We also were thinking of a different country for our babymoon since traveling by plane with a baby can get tricky, but considering our pregnancy was high risk from the beginning, plus travelling to a different country would be more expensive, and all the travel arrangements like vaccines, passports, visas, and all that take some time to sort out, we thought it would be best to stay within the United States. But if you would like to travel outside of your country, keep in mind that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnant women should avoid traveling to any destination where there has been a Zika outbreak. The Zika virus can cause severe birth defects in babies whose mothers are infected, so be sure to check that your destination is Zika-free on the CDC’s website.

TIME YOUR TRAVEL WISELY

Choose a time when it’s not so early in the pregnancy when you’re suffering from morning sickness and fatigue but not so late when you feel heavy, sluggish, and in pain. That’s why the time suggested for a babymoon is during the second trimester (weeks 14 through 27), when you’re past the sickness but not too big to get around easily. But of course you can have your babymoon in whatever stage of pregnancy you feel comfortable with. We took ours in the third trimester since that was the only time we could take off work together.

FOR FLYING: Some airlines have restrictions about flying in the third trimester. So if you’re planning on traveling by plane, check your carrier’s policy before you book your tickets. Another tip for air travel is to request an aisle seat to make those frequent bathroom trips easier.

FOR A ROAD TRIP: Choose a babymoon spot within a reasonable driving radius. What’s considered “reasonable” is different from person to person, but this probably won’t be the best time to be road tripping across the country. Make sure to also factor in time you’ll be taking for frequent bathroom stops, food breaks, and a chance to stretch your legs.

FOR A CRUISE: A cruise may seem like such a luxury, but it may not be the best time for a babymoon, especially if you suffer from morning sickness. The rocking of the boat may make you seasick and you’ll be stuck with no escape. Also a cruise in the late stages of pregnancy may not be a good option in case anything we’re to happen and you need a hospital right away (like say your baby decided to come early!). You’ll be stuck out on the sea with no help readily available.

MAKING YOUR STAY MORE COMFORTABLE

Sleeping during pregnancy can be hard enough at home in your own bed, so sleeping in someone else’s bed may be even harder. There’s no way you can know what they hotel’s beds will be like beforehand, so for extra comfort bring extra pillows and maybe your own blanket. On our babymoon, I brought my body pillow with me to sleep with. Also when making your reservations, make sure to get a king-sized bed for lots of space to toss and turn (sleep during pregnancy is hard!). Also note that the closer you are to the action, the busier the hotel and hotel’s perimeters will be. So keep in mind that if you want to get a good night’s rest, pick a hotel out just outside the happenings, but if you want to stay within the action for easier getting to and from activities, you might have to sacrifice a good night’s sleep.

SKIP THE LANGUAGE BARRIER

A medical emergency is a lot easier to deal with when there’s no language barrier. So unless you’re fluent in that countries language, be sure to book your babymoon in a country where everyone, or almost everyone, speaks English. Also, a babymoon taken at a place where you can understand the language makes for a stress-less vacation.

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES

Find out what medical services are available at the nearest hospital or birthing center to your hotel. Once you’ve found a center that suits your needs, run your plans past your midwife or ob-gyn and give them the clinic’s name and office numbers (this is more so to let your OB know you’ve got everything under control, especially if they are skeptical about you traveling in the first place). Make sure to have your insurance information with you at all times.

FINANCIALLY

If you feel like you won’t have enough money to be going on a trip with all the money you’ll be shelling out for baby gear, start saving and setting money aside starting the beginning of the pregnancy to ensure you and your partner can take one in the later stages of pregnancy. If you decided you want to go on a babymoon late and money is an issue, you can even stay at your own home, but take time to pamper yourselves and do things together as a couple. Play games, watch movies, take relaxing baths, sleep in late, do whatever you usually couldn’t do otherwise. Only you know your financial situation and what you can afford so make the most of whatever decision you and your partner make.

PREPARE FOR THE WEATHER

When planning your babymoon, especially if going out of state or country, check to see what the weather will be like where you will be staying because it may be the opposite to the weather you’re having where you live. In New Orleans where we took our babymoon, it was raining the entire trip, so we had to be sure to bring warm clothes and an umbrella. If it will be sunny where you’ll be travelling, make sure to bring sunscreen, cooler clothes, and the like.

A babymoon is something I think every couple should take. Your life as you know it is soon about to change dramatically and you won’t be able to travel or do something for yourself whenever you like. Take advantage of this freedom! Once the baby arrives, he or she will become the center of attention and take up most, if not all your time, which can sometimes put a strain on couples. By taking a babymoon and investing time to be together with your partner, you’ll be entering parenthood more connected than ever. Don’t forget your camera to capture the moments!

See our babymoon in action here!

Middle Names for Amelia | Baby Girl Names

One of the most important things to discuss with your partner before your baby arrives is what the baby's name will be. When my boyfriend and I found out we were having a baby girl, we knew we wanted to name her Amelia, but wasn't sure what the middle name would be. I wanted it to be 'Colette', which is what it ended up being, but initially my boyfriend was skeptical on the middle name and we decided to create a list together. Below is a list of the middle names we came up with. I hope anyone who reads can benefit from this list and will give you some ideas! You can also watch the video version on my YouTube channel!

♥ Elise

♥ Elizabeth

♥ Jade

♥ Blake

♥ Aria

♥ Nevaeh

♥ Celeste

♥ Madison

♥ Harlyn

♥ Everly

♥ Quinn

♥ Zemira