More than Salad: See You at the Veg Fest! |

Are you raising vegetarian children, or just interested in learning more about being vegetarian? Perhaps you’re cutting down on how much meat that you eat. Whether for health, environmental or compassionate reasons, more and more families are starting to follow an increasingly plant-based diet. And why not, plant-based foods are delicious! If you are looking for some ideas on how you can cut down on meat, a great place to start is the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival.

One of my favourite weekends of the year, the Vegetarian Food Festival is held yearly at the Harbourfront Centre, and it’s a great opportunity to learn all about plant-based eating. It’s also a chance to sample all kinds of new food, and desserts — sooo many desserts! Many vegan treats are often gluten free, in addition to being dairy and egg free -– so those with allergies or sensitivities to dairy, gluten, or eggs rejoice! You will be stunned by the delicious variety available. This free, family-friendly activity, held by The Toronto Vegetarian Association, runs all weekend from Friday September 9^th– Sunday September 11^th. Sample tons of food, listen to live music, attend cooking demonstrations, workshops, talks, music, yoga, and check out lots of vegetarian products. Be sure to visit the Kids Area on the South Lawn for activities and crafts for children of all ages.

Some highlights for families include:

A Children's Area on the South Lawn with activities and crafts
Hilary Chapin from Compassionate Kids Toronto will be doing a cooking demo for children on Saturday Sept 10th at 1 PM in the Boulevard Tent. She will be making Vegan energy balls.
Author of The Dietitian's Guide to Vegetarian Diets, and Everything Vegan Pregnancy Book, Reed Mangels, will speak about nutritional needs of vegetarian babies, toddlers, children and teens. Sunday September 11, Studio Theatre 3-4 PM

Can't make the festival this year, but looking for some great resources? Toronto Public Library has a large collection of vegetarian cookbooks available in print or eBook format. You can also attend the Live-Longer, Live Stronger with Plant-Based Nutrition Workshop being held at Runnymede branch on Thursday September 22, 7-8 PM.

Check out these TPL collection highlights:

Vegetarian Cookbooks for Kids

The Forest Feast for Kids by Erin Gleeson

With beautiful pictures, simple instructions and minimal ingredients, this is a lovely introductory cookbook for kids. While younger ones will still need some help with the cooking, it's still a great way to get them involved in making meals.

Eat your greens, reds, yellows and purples by James Mitchem and Carrie Love, photographs by Dave King: A very simple introductory cookbook with beautiful bright photographs.

The Help Yourself Cookbook For Kids by Ruby Roth: Currently only available as an eBook at TPL, this features simple recipes with lots of pictures.

Salad People and More Real Recipes by Molly Katzen: Recipes that are fun to make and eat, I love how she includes step by step picture directions.

Vegetarian Cookbooks for the Family:

Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Cosarelli:
This is my go-to cookbook for many family meals, especially when I am feeding non-vegetarians. Chloe's recipes are simple to follow and use ingredients that are easy to find at the grocery store. Her falafel sliders are highly recommended by my die-hard meat-eating friends! Also check out Chloe's Vegan Desserts for the BEST chocolate fudge cake recipe ever (seriously).

Forks Over Knives Family: every paren't's guide to raising healthy happy kids on a whole-foods plant based diet by Ilona Pulde: The powerful documentary that turned many people on to plant-based eating has a brand new family cookbook. I'm looking forward to trying this one out!

Plant-Powered Families: over 100 kid-tested, whole-foods vegan recipes by Dreena Burton: This is another fantastic cookbook by Dreena Burton. She has some great ideas for picky eaters and getting children involved in cooking.

Vegan Lunch Box: 130 amazing, animal-free lunches kids and grown-ups will love by Jennifer McCann: Need some more ideas for kids lunches? This series has some great ideas for easy kids (and grown-ups) meals.

Raising Vegetarian Children (from Pregnancy to Beyond)

The Kind Mama by Alicia Silverstone