nonmeat and nonbean protein ideas

[AngieW in Texas]

My picky eater (she comes by it honestly - I was just as picky) can't stand the thought of meat now because all she can think about is where it came from. She can't come anywhere close to the smell of beans, so those are out too.

 

She used to eat mozzarella cheese, but since she generally only likes a few foods at a time, she'll eat those few foods until she gets thoroughly sick of them and then we have to hunt for other things she can stand to make herself try until we find a few things for her to eat.

 

What she eats now:

havarti cheese (but only the brand that we can get at Randall's)

homemade vanilla milkshakes using the recipe on Hillbilly Housewife website

smoothies (one cup frozen cherries, 1 tbs sugar, apple juice to cover)

crepes (I use half of the recipe in the Test Kitchen cookbook, but I use two eggs instead of one egg and 6 tbs water. She usually eats 4-5 of the 6 crepes I make with that recipe.)

challah (I make this with the recipe from Artisan Breads in 5 minutes a day)

Texas toast (using the HEB brand Texas toast loaf)

Eggo blueberry waffles

Eggo minipancakes

waffles made with HEB buttermilk pancake mix

 

What I need to substitute for:

chicken strips (but now she keeps thinking about the chickens, so I would like to find a tasty vegetarian substitute)

taco (is there a good substitute for the meat that will taste similar if I use the same McCormick's taco seasoning packet?)

Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (any good substitutes?)

[Liz CA]

I am trying to cut back on meat temporarily at least, but I make sure I get fish and eggs for protein.

[secular_mom]

My picky eater (she comes by it honestly - I was just as picky) can't stand the thought of meat now because all she can think about is where it came from. She can't come anywhere close to the smell of beans, so those are out too.

 

She used to eat mozzarella cheese, but since she generally only likes a few foods at a time, she'll eat those few foods until she gets thoroughly sick of them and then we have to hunt for other things she can stand to make herself try until we find a few things for her to eat.

 

What she eats now:

havarti cheese (but only the brand that we can get at Randall's)

homemade vanilla milkshakes using the recipe on Hillbilly Housewife website

smoothies (one cup frozen cherries, 1 tbs sugar, apple juice to cover)

crepes (I use half of the recipe in the Test Kitchen cookbook, but I use two eggs instead of one egg and 6 tbs water. She usually eats 4-5 of the 6 crepes I make with that recipe.)

challah (I make this with the recipe from Artisan Breads in 5 minutes a day)

Texas toast (using the HEB brand Texas toast loaf)

Eggo blueberry waffles

Eggo minipancakes

waffles made with HEB buttermilk pancake mix

 

What I need to substitute for:

chicken strips (but now she keeps thinking about the chickens, so I would like to find a tasty vegetarian substitute)

taco (is there a good substitute for the meat that will taste similar if I use the same McCormick's taco seasoning packet?)

Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (any good substitutes?)

 

Smart Ground is a good substitute for the ground meat- here it's in the produce section close to salads and such but could be in a different spot in your store. When using it with something very saucy or flavored (chili, lasagna, tacos, etc.) it's pretty much the same as ground beef.

For chicken Morning Star has some frozen veggie chicken strips (not real chicken) that are okay- especially if cooked in a recipe and not as a stand alone- they are in the freezer section- in some stores next to the frozen breakfast foods.

There are also frozen veggie sausage patties but I've never tried those. The Gardenburger frozen 'riblets' are pretty good if she likes BBQ.

[Tap]

It seems like she prefers white flour, sweet flavors, but basically bland (unless she is dumping syrup on the waffles/crepes/pancakes.

 

Have you tried tofu? Small bits sauteed with a sweet sauce like teriyaki?

 

How about nuts? There are many, many nut butters out there. If she would spread them on the waffles etc, it could be a way to ease her into them. Nutella is hazelnuts (mild flavor) with chocolate.

 

Adding protein powder to her milk shake? (small quantities and slowing increasing).

 

There are several non-meat, meat substitutes. They are all different textures and flavors so you may have to start with some trial and error. There are non-meat premade chicken strips and sausage (we buy the Morning Star brand).

Edited December 10, 2010 by Tap, tap, tap

[suzf242]

Because my dh found out he has diabetes, we have been trying to eat more low-glycemic foods. Something I have been experimenting with is substituting beans for flour in baking. (I use stevia instead of sugar, but I am sure sugar would work fine.) I was skeptical the first time, but truly you would never guess the beans as an ingredient, by taste or texture.

 

Yesterday I made pecan waffles -- 4 eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter, 3 cups milk, 3 cups flour, 2 Tb baking soda, salt and 4 cups pureed white beans. (also added some stevia, cinnamon and lots of pecans). They tasted great and had a nice dense texture. We topped them with apple butter and ate with a spiced squash soup. :)

 

Take care,

Suzanne

[anabelneri]

Hello! What an interesting challenge! I was veg for almost 10 years, and the first 5 I couldn't stand beans either. I got over that, probably because my body wanted them so badly.

 

-Ricotta cheese can go into other recipes nicely. I actually just eat it straight or with honey occasionally, and I'll put it in smoothies, pasta, etc.

-If you can make your own simple cheese you can cut it into strips and serve it, not unlike chicken strips. Here is one version. It suggests using buttermilk as the acid, but you can also use yogurt, lemon juice, vinegar... it can change the flavor slightly, but it all works and tastes good. You can also add seasonings before you turn it into cheese. It freezes well, and can be served fried (as mentioned in the recipe) or without frying.

-Have you tried her with lentils? Even when I hated beans, I enjoyed lentil soup.

-Tofu. I can't stand the squishy textured tofu, but here's what worked for us: buy the "firm" type, then freeze it. You can just leave it in the package and freeze it, or you can drain it first if you want. Then when you thaw it out, it has a totally different texture, much closer to a fat-free ground beef. We would slice it into strips and fry it, or put it into a sauce (like spaghetti sauce), or crumble it up and mix in taco seasoning. You'll definitely need to add fat, and it's only as interesting as what you serve it with. :001_smile:

-If you make your waffle batter in a blender, you can toss in cottage cheese too. I used to make one version that was mostly cottage cheese, eggs, and a little flour that were really good.

-Almond flour goes a long way in a lot of different types of foods. Elana's Pantry is a gluten-free blog, but she uses almond flour in a lot of different ways.

-Peanut butter and other nut butters can do a lot too. Add them to smoothies, make cookies out of them. This recipe is high in protein; I cut the sugar by half and they're still great. I'll also add another egg if I want them to be less crumbly.

 

I'm sure you'll find lots of other ideas. I'm out of the loop for regular meat-substitute products at this point, so hopefully someone will help you out there.

:)

Anabel

[Peela]

I have just started buying protein powder for my growing teenage son who asked for some. He reckons it is incredible and really helps sustain his energy for hours (he makes shakes with it).

I buy this brand: sunwarrior.com but there are many others. I think this is probably one of the better ones though. It is made with rice protein that is fermented to make it easily digestible.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I have a picky eater who has been veg for 7 years. She doesn't like dairy, beans, or nuts. She's what we call a breadatarian. She will eat high protein pasta and eggs incorporated into pancakes, waffles or French toast. Cheese pizza is a staple for her. She will sometimes eat hummus if that's an option.

[Carrie12345]

My kids aren't very big meat eaters. They'll have a little bit a few times a week, but not enough to meet their protein needs. And most of them scoff at beans in almost every form.

Hard boiled eggs have become a standard snack in our house, especially since I became pregnant. We've also been considering protein powder for the 12yo, but I've been procrastinating on doing the research on the different types. :glare:

[bettyandbob]

try adding quinoa in place of rice or pasta. Compared to grains it is high in protien.

[at the beach]

Wow. I have a child like this and I feel better knowing there are others out there dealing with this. I'll be looking into everyone's suggestions on foods to try!

 

My daughter recently turned 14 yo. She won't eat meat because she feels so sensitive toward animals. When we went to a food market this past summer and she saw chicken feet on ice in a food case, that was the last straw for her. She'd already given up beef and pork quite some time ago.

 

She's also not crazy about dairy or beans but she will eat both because I've told her she needs to. I can't imagine doing a vegan diet right now with her. As it is, I have to be quite creative. It is so hard to get protein. She has recently figured out what gelatin is and now won't eat anything with that in it. At least she's eliminating lots of processed foods that way. I've also heard too much soy isn't good. Is that true? I guess I should research it.

 

As for what she will eat, well, I found a sloppy joe recipe on Food Network by Rachael Ray that uses black beans that she loves. It is FANTASTIC. We all love it. I think it would also be good in tacos. She also likes bean chili. Split pea soup works here. My child will eat eggs, so that's a pretty frequent meal. She also likes nuts, thank goodness. She likes the vegan soy products like the sausage patties, for example. She eats a lot of high protein pasta that is made with beans/legumes. She likes peanut butter. She is not crazy about cheese but she will eat plain cheese pizza. I have recently convinced her to try string cheese and she's managed to eat a few sticks with great difficulty. She will drink chocolate milk sometimes. I try to use milk in things like oatmeal, pancakes, etc. If she could, she would eat only bread products, too. But I keep telling her she has to try to eat a wide variety of foods, and she does try. She has a big sweet tooth, too. Oh, and she recently mentioned quinoa to me, so we'll try that. Her dance magazine had an article that said it was a complete protein.

[Sherry in OH]

My picky eater (she comes by it honestly - I was just as picky) can't stand the thought of meat now because all she can think about is where it came from. She can't come anywhere close to the smell of beans, so those are out too.

 

She used to eat mozzarella cheese, but since she generally only likes a few foods at a time, she'll eat those few foods until she gets thoroughly sick of them and then we have to hunt for other things she can stand to make herself try until we find a few things for her to eat.

 

What she eats now:

havarti cheese (but only the brand that we can get at Randall's)

homemade vanilla milkshakes using the recipe on Hillbilly Housewife website

smoothies (one cup frozen cherries, 1 tbs sugar, apple juice to cover)

crepes (I use half of the recipe in the Test Kitchen cookbook, but I use two eggs instead of one egg and 6 tbs water. She usually eats 4-5 of the 6 crepes I make with that recipe.)

challah (I make this with the recipe from Artisan Breads in 5 minutes a day)

Texas toast (using the HEB brand Texas toast loaf)

Eggo blueberry waffles

Eggo minipancakes

waffles made with HEB buttermilk pancake mix

 

What I need to substitute for:

chicken strips (but now she keeps thinking about the chickens, so I would like to find a tasty vegetarian substitute)

taco (is there a good substitute for the meat that will taste similar if I use the same McCormick's taco seasoning packet?)

Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (any good substitutes?)

 

Substitute whole grain flours for the white flour in your homemade recipes. Start with a half cup and work your way up to at least 50% whole grain, more is better. Regarding Ego and waffle mixes, make pancakes and waffles from scratch and freeze them. Try homemade French toast.

 

Try adding nut butters to her diet. Peanut, almond, cashew, soy nut, or sunflower seed.

 

Try hiding mashed beans in her food. Many children like hummus, either with pita or vegetable sticks (baby carrots). You can make falafel look like mini-meatballs.

 

Add protein powder to her milkshakes and smoothies.

 

For chicken strips - Morningstar (soy based), Boca (soy based), and Quorn (microprotein) all make chick strips, nuggets, and patties.

Taco - cooked and mashed black beans, pinto beans, lentils, or chickpeas, or scrambled tofu. Morningstar, Boca, Ives, and Quorn all make crumbles. So do several other companies.

Sausage - my children love Morningstar breakfast sausage links. Morningstar also makes a patty version.

 

Most fake meats are soy-based (Quorn is the exception). They are also highly processed. You do not want her to eat them on a daily basis.

 

Honestly, looking at her diet, it looks like she needs fruits and vegetables much more than protein. It is actually very difficult not to get enough protein.

[KatieH]

Most fake meats are soy-based (Quorn is the exception). They are also highly processed. You do not want her to eat them on a daily basis.

 

Honestly, looking at her diet, it looks like she needs fruits and vegetables much more than protein. It is actually very difficult not to get enough protein.

 

:iagree:

[KarenNC]

I found that, for our tastes, the Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime (in both patties and crumbles) was the closest substitute for hamburger that I found. They also have a ground sausage that worked pretty well when I did red beans and rice with it (I would saute it in peanut oil and add a bit of veggie bouillon to give more depth of flavor).

 

Morningstar Farms hotdogs were reasonable and Boca's Italian sausage wasn't bad.

 

Do you happen to have a Seventh Day Adventist bookstore anywhere in your area? The one near us has a large section (canned and frozen) of vegetarian foods, primarily focusing on meat substitutes, and they often have tastings on Sundays.

Edited December 10, 2010 by KarenNC

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

You can make sloppy joes or taco "meat" from TVP (textured vegetable protein).

[AngieW in Texas]

I also need to find a way to get more fruits and vegetables into her diet. I can get some in her smoothies, but not a lot.

 

She loves dried papaya spears and eats a lot of those.

 

She won't eat anything saucy or wet.

 

She's very sensitive to textures. She mainly likes things that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

 

I asked about the protein sources first because having protein on a regular basis throughout the day is essential to keeping her from a mood tailspin.

 

I'm going to try getting a V-8 fusion drink that I saw mentioned in another thread and see how she likes that.

 

What fruits/veggies can I stick in a cherry-apple smoothie without affecting the taste too much?

[RahRah]

Whey or egg protein powder can be added to shakes

 

Yogurt with berries or other fruit

 

Nuts and seeds are protein rich foods (but need a complementary grain to round out the amino acids)

 

Eggs in any form including custards, quiche, etc.

 

Tofu

 

Fish

[DarcyB]

Not reading all the entries, but quinoa is a great complete protein in grain form..serve it like rice or cous cous

[LittleIzumi]

I also need to find a way to get more fruits and vegetables into her diet. I can get some in her smoothies, but not a lot.

 

She loves dried papaya spears and eats a lot of those.

 

She won't eat anything saucy or wet.

 

She's very sensitive to textures. She mainly likes things that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

 

I asked about the protein sources first because having protein on a regular basis throughout the day is essential to keeping her from a mood tailspin.

 

I'm going to try getting a V-8 fusion drink that I saw mentioned in another thread and see how she likes that.

 

What fruits/veggies can I stick in a cherry-apple smoothie without affecting the taste too much?

 

Any leafy greens (esp if you use some juice in the smoothie--the tiny veggie taste disappears). I've used spinach or kale with great results. Berries don't change the taste much either.

[Teachin'Mine]

Morningstar Farms sausage links are awesome! (brown them in a non-stick pan with some butter) MF also has recipe grounds which work well for tacos and anything else normally made with chopped meat. Does she like Mexican at all? Maybe you could add some refried beans, non-fat variety, to your taco mix for extra protein.

 

Eggs are also great for protein. Omelets, custard, boiled, etc...

 

Maybe getting her a vegetarian cookbook and helping her make some of the recipes herself would help to expand her allowable foods a bit.

 

Just read your post about crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Boca chickpatties are great! They also have the chic nuggets by Boca and MF.

Edited December 10, 2010 by Teachin'Mine