I have a vegetarian kid that has a super sensitive palate. He would eat noodles for every meal if we let him. Sadly at 12 he is now testing with a high triglyceride levels. It was 3 weeks after Halloween, so I've wondered if it could be the temporary candy infusion. I'm working with him to add whole grains to his diet. He does eat vegetables and fruits, just not mixed into anything. Soup? Burrito? no way. Today we made a list of his meals he likes to eat with white flour noodles limited to once a day!

This is late, and it’s not no-sugar added, but Prego Light Smart is oil free. Happy Herbivore lists Delallo Marinara sauce and Muir Glen Engine2 makes an oil/sugar free spaghetti sauce that you can get at Whole Foods.

Very interesting! Dd is in fact doing better. So far it looks like most of that is behind us now, although I did manage to convince her to try moderating and/or giving up on eating some things that I thought were likely contributing to her issues. It could just be a coincidence, but she’s had a couple of trips/sleepovers with other people and we’ve had no repeats. Ds has discovered that his lactose tolerance is down after eating quite a bit of ice cream in a 12 hour period so @kand that seems to be similar to your experience. Thanks everyone!

I have a similar experience in that we don't ever eat dairy or eggs, and DH doesn't eat farmed animal products of any sort (so no grass-fed beef, even), but I do eat grass-fed beef or bison or lamb maybe once every 2 weeks. I have recently noticed that almost every time I do this, I have intestinal distress for a few days afterward. I'm not sure if I'm just not eating meat often enough to keep up the necessary whatevers to digest it, or what the deal is. Do you have an idea of what non-vegan thing it might be? I wonder if she's developed a lactose intolerance, or if it's just eggs, or just meat, or something else.

Does anyone know of a spaghetti sauce that has no added oil and no added sugar? Or should I just give up and make my own?

My friend said that it did have a very meaty, smoky flavor, but for her it was the texture that gave it away. She's an omnivore who loves meat, so I guess she knows her stuff better than I do now. I found it completely convincing!

I looked it up and it’s amazing how it looks like a meat hamburger. Wish I could buy a frozen one for my vegetarian dd. There’s not a location close to me. It’s funny how you thought it might be a meat burger, but your friend was sure it wasn’t! I’m curious to know how it tasted, but I will stick with the real thing! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Everyone! I haven't been around much lately because I had surgery a couple of weeks ago, and had to reprioritize a bit during recovery! I hope that everyone is doing well. Before my surgery I had a little weekend vacation with my BFF, which was fun. At one restaurant where we ate, I ordered a veggie burger. When I tasted it, I almost gagged. It tasted absolutely like meat to me, and I found it repulsive. I had my friend try it, and she said "no, that's veggie." So I tried again, and again it tasted so meaty to me that I didn't want to eat it. I flagged down the waiter to make sure he'd gotten my order right! He said he'd had other vegans and vegetarians send it back, because he couldn't convince them that it was 100% plant-based. He also said that it was another company's version of The Impossible Burger. I made myself eat it, but I hated it! I think it would probably be great for Flexitarians and people just transitioning to vegan, but wow, I did not realize how completely I had lost my taste for meat until I took a bite of that. It was awful to me! And another funny thing about this: in 12 years of eating low-carb, I NEVER lost my taste for potatoes, bread, or pasta! ?

No experience with this, but I just wanted to say that I hope your daughter has been doing better.

This sounds absolutely delicious! Thanks for posting it!

My kids have been reluctant tag-alongs on my switch to a more plant based diet. They have been mostly polite but a little hungry. This week, I found a recipe for taco soup that was super easy, cheap, healthy, and they all loved. My pickiest eater didn't even want to go to a restaurant last night of her choice (where she could buy meat or anything she wanted!) because she wanted to go home and eat leftovers! I thought I'd share. I can't find the exact recipe I used anymore, but this is it more or less. I used an instant pot, but I bet you could use a regular pot or slow cooker and adjust the times. Taco Soup Onion Pepper Beans Lentils Broth Taco Seasoning Crushed Tomatoes Corn Directions: Dice an onion and bell pepper, I used red pepper, but you could use whatever you want. Saute them together in oil of choice or broth or whatever until soft. Dump into pot 2 cans of beans. I used black and chickpeas but you could use pinto, kidney, whatever. Dump in rinsed lentils- anything but the soft red split type. I used black. Add 1 can of crushed or diced tomatoes. I bet you could use fresh if you chopped them too but you may want to add some more salt. Add 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning. I used Penzeys, but you could make your own. Add 4 cups of veggie broth. Turn pot on for 15min. When it's done, check the lentils. Mine weren't soft enough for me so I put it back in for 10min. I added a half package of frozen corn at this point. If your lentils are done, put the pot on saute and stir occasionally until the corn is cooked. If your lentils weren't done, the corn will be ready in 10min with the lentils. Season for taste when it's done. I added a bit more taco seasoning. I cooked rice separately, and served it over the rice and the kids added shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips. You could add some jalapeno with the onion and pepper if you like it spicier, or adjust it in different ways depending on what you have on hand and it served my 6 people with enough leftovers for everyone to have some the next day.

Has anyone noticed any issues with digestive upset for kids who are vegan at home, but may not be outside the home? My kids have otherwise seemed to flex and have no issues. I leave it up to them to make the choice, but it seems like the longer they’re mostly vegan, there does some to be some gi distress. Some of them seem to have fewer issues than others. One has to limit some of the high fat non-vegan options, but only with some things. One of them seems unaffected in general. The third is another story. She had a GI bug in February that took a long time to clear. Since then (once in March and most recently last weekend), she has had a sleepover for the weekend, come home and been sick on Monday morning. It starts with stomach pain, and then she’s ill. 24 hours later, she’s fine. I suppose coincidentally, she could come down with a 24-hour virus both times she went to a sleepover and been the only person with it. Hoofbeats and zebras and all that. On the other hand? Food allergies? Does your digestive system change the longer you go near vegan so that it’s a shock to her system? That seems like bs/woo nonsense and yet, I thought I’d ask because if it’s something like that, I’d like to help her avoid it because it’s no fun.