Dd is now vegetarian - can you help me?

[Mom22ns]

I could really use some meal ideas for the family that dd can eat with us. Can you share some of your favorite vegetarian dinner suggestions?

 

A little background, dd is 15, she has wanted to be a vegetarian since she was about 7. I refused multiple requests because I told her I could not feed her. Most meals here are meat and salad with possibly another vegetable or fruit, bread occasionally. We spent 9 years on a gluten and dairy free diet for ds. We are no longer gfcf, but the low gluten, low carb tendencies remain in my cooking. My family is generally very daring eaters, although ds is not fond of asian cuisine in general, with sushi being the exception :).

 

Currently dd is doing all her own cooking. She is very competent in the kitchen and is doing a lot of research and trying a lot of new things. I buy whatever she puts on my shopping list each week (if I can find it). It isn't a matter of need to cook for her, it is desire. I make some pasta she can eat, I made broccoli cheese soup that was vegetarian, spinach and feta pizza (a family favorite anyway), but really, if it doesn't have meat, it isn't a meal to me.

 

Please help me cook for my whole family again - at least a few nights a week!

[Space station]

How about making side dishes for everyone that can serve as main dishes for her, like:

 

Frittata recipes (kind of like quiche, but without crust and easier to make). They are low gf or low carb and can be her main dish and your side dish.

 

Red beans and rice (cooked in coconut milk, yum!). Complete protein for her main, but you can serve it as a side to everyone else's meat.

 

Quinoa patties or bean patties for her when you have burgers.

 

Make soups without the meat, then take out her portion and stir in cooked meat to serve it to everyone else.

 

Taco bar - put out all the fixings, meat, beans, veggies, etc. and everyone loads up with what they want

 

Baked Potato bar - same deal as taco bar

 

HTH!

[Mom22ns]

Black bean burgers is another one I made. Yesterday she made some Quinoa patties so she could have them on hand for a main dish when we're having meat.

 

I've never made a frittata or Red beans and rice, but I like the idea of having a side for us that offers enough protein to be a main dish for her.

Taco bar is an easy idea - why didn't I think of that?

 

It's a start thanks! Keep them coming please.

[Joyofsixreboot]

DD, now 22, became vegetarian at 12. I never made anything special. If I made a pasta I would save some out before meat. Some soups are naturally no meat-broccoli, potato, veggie chili, minestrone, etc. she often had grilled cheese, eggs, re friends on a tortilla, a baked potato with veggies on top or peanut butter.

[Heather in OK]

My 14yo dd recently made the switch.  :)  

I've always tried to do only 1-2 nights a week with meat so it hasn't been a huge adjustment for her or us.  If we do have meat in a meal I just make sure there is an alternative or a couple sides she can have. 

A couple examples:

- Tonight we are having Cincinatti Chili.  She can make spaghetti.
- When I make Chicken Pot Pie, I mix it all up and make her a small portion without chicken.  Then I add in the chicken and make a big pan for the rest of us.  

 

We also have some quinoa patties in the fridge that she can grab (she's not real fond of them though..lol).  

[Space station]

Another idea, make those more intensive breakfast meals that we rarely have time to actually make for breakfast: waffles, pancakes, omelettes, etc. Breakfast for dinner is great! Well, at least my kids would happily eat breakfast foods for every meal.

[hornblower]

We were vegetarian for ages, before going vegan a couple yrs ago.

 

Can you add to your shopping list things like products from Yves Cuisine, Gardein, and Field Roast? These brands are avail in most major supermarkets and are essentially meat substitutes. She could then have all your "sides" and add in her own protein thing.

 

Yves Ground Round for ex is pre cooked, ready to eat fake ground beef. It can go into tacos, pasta sauce, wraps, shepherds pie etc..Just needs to be heated...

[Lady Marmalade]

Get a copy of Bittman's How To Cook Everything Vegetarian for your household and just start cooking from it.  It's simple enough for a beginner to cook from for the most part and so many of the dishes in it are delicious.   It may help you re-think the idea that a meal HAS to have that meat component.  It also offers many variations to recipes as well- he shows how with a few tweaks you can take a recipe from Italian to Mexican to Asian by swapping out a few things.  One of the things that may help you out is that recipes like the ones I've shared below can be a full meal for a vegetarian.  For those of you who must have the meat, cook up some sausages or chicken to go with, and have your "vegetarian main" as a side dish to the meat component of the meal. 

 

A few favorites from the book:

 

Quinoa & Sweet Potato Salad

 

2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa or other small-kernel grain or 1 cup raw

1 large or 2 medium (about 1 pound) sweet potatoes

Salt

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

1/4 cup minced red onion or shallot

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I cut this in half)

2 tablespoons balsamic, sherry or red wine vinegar

1/4 cup minced fresh chives or parsley leaves

 

Directions:

If you haven’t already, cook the quinoa or other grain according to package directions.  Drain in a strainer and rinse.  Meanwhile, peel the sweet potato and dice it into 1/2-inch or smaller pieces.  Cook it in boiling water to cover until tender, about 15 minutes; drain well.

Toss together the quinoa, potato, bell pepper, and onion; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Whisk the oil and vinegar together and toss the salad with about half of this mixture; add all or some of the rest to taste.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with the chives (or parsley) and serve.

 

Boulangerie Beans and Potatoes

2 tablespoons fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried), divided

3 cups cooked white beans, drained, but still moist (use beans cooked from dried- not canned)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 medium russet or other high-starch baking potatoes, peeled

1 cup vegetable stock

3 tablespoons butter

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325ºF.  Stir 1 tablespoon of thyme into the beans, taste, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread the beans in a baking dish and set aside.

Halve the potatoes lengthwise and thinly slice into half-circles.  Lay the potatoes in overlapping rows to cover the beans.  Pour the stock over the top, dot with pieces of butter, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the remaining thyme.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is browned and glazed, another 45 minutes or so.  Serve immediately, or let rest for up to an hour and serve at room temperature.

Creamy Boulangerie Beans and Potatoes: A little luxury, and no work: Add 1/2 cup cream to the beans.

Tomatoey Boulangerie Beans and Potatoes: Prettier, with a little acidity and more flavor: Add 1 cup chopped ripe tomato (canned is fine, drain first) or about 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried or Oven Dried tomatoes to the beans.

Boulangerie Beans and Potatoes with Leeks: Approaching elegance: Cook 2 cups chopped leeks in butter until very soft-almost melting-about 20 minutes.  Top the beans with the leeks and the potato slices.

Boulangerie Beans and Potatoes with Spanish Paprika: The smokiness of the paprika is so good with thyme: Add about a tablespoon of smoked Spanish paprika to the beans and sprinkle some over the potatoes before baking if you’d like.

Boulangerie Beans and Sweet Potatoes: Use pinto beans and sweet potatoes.  Stir into the beans a tablespoon or so of Worcestershire sauce, and add a pinch of ground allspice or cinnamon if you’d like.  Proceed with the recipe; sprinkle the top with brown sugar before baking.

[Tanaqui]

Would you like some suggestions for easy egg and/or bean recipes? I might be able to dig some up if you would.

[hornblower]

Oh, forgot to say, check out the recipes at Meatless Monday & ChooseVeg.

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/favorite-recipes/

http://www.chooseveg.com/?locale=en-US

Choose Veg has a free vegetarian guide you can get by email too.

[Mom22ns]

Another idea, make those more intensive breakfast meals that we rarely have time to actually make for breakfast: waffles, pancakes, omelettes, etc. Breakfast for dinner is great! Well, at least my kids would happily eat breakfast foods for every meal.

 

We actually eat those things for breakfast - my kids are spoiled :)

 

Would you like some suggestions for easy egg and/or bean recipes? I might be able to dig some up if you would.

YES!

[Pam in CT]

We have one vegetarian in the family (going onto her 5th year).  I have a strong preference that we eat more or less the same thing (ymmv).

 

It took me a while to work out a groove, but now we have a sort of rhythm based on always making excess quantities -- one day the main course vegetarian (with maybe some animal product leftovers for the carnivores), the next day the main course is animal based (with leftovers for the vegetarian).  So for example-

 

Meatless Monday - veggie main course like pizza, veggie lasagna, felafel, spanakopita, quiche etc

 

Tuesday - animal based main course like roasted chicken, steak, lamb tangine, etc (vegetarian eats leftovers)

 

Wednesday - something that works "dual" like burritos / quesadillas (with leftover chicken, or beans), loaded baked potatoes, chili or curry (cook the veggies first, then divide into two pots, one for meat and the other for tofu / beans /  chick peas / haloumi etc), pasta with sausage chunks of chicken v. soy sausage, that sort of thing

 

Thursday - veggie main course (maybe put out leftover sliced cold steak / chicken etc for the carnivores)

 

Friday - (our biggest dinner of the week) usually animal based with something substantial

 

Saturday - usually catch-as-catch-can leftover cleanup

 

Sunday - I generally force us to go out, lol

 

 

I don't really like using a lot of fake meat, but I do use soy-based Smart Sausages -- they cook well, can be thrown on a grill, used in all sorts of dishes.  I've also gotten good at throwing protein into our carb -- lentils and/or nuts into the rice or couscous or quinoa, balls of mozzarella into the pasta, and so on.

 

It started out being a bit of a pain having such a range of eating habits, but I got used to it and now it's fine.  If anything it's stretched me out of cooking the same things over and over.

 

[Butter]

My 14 year old is vegetarian (she eats seafood, dairy, and eggs).  I prefer meatless meals myself so about 50% of our meals were already vegetarian.  If we have meat it's something that she doesn't have to use (like tacos) or I'll do part meat, part not (like burritos).  If we have a mainly meat meal (like tonight - meatloaf) we make sure to have several sides.  If all else fails, she loves Boca burgers/chicken and I keep a supply of them in the freezer so she'll cook one of those to eat.  I've gotten a lot of my recipes just searching for vegetarian recipes on various recipe sites.  A couple have been gross, but most have been really good.

[bibiche]

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is a very good cookbook and you will find many recipes for the whole family, not just your vegetarian.  Here we eat lots of soups at this time of year, lots of legumes, lots of vegetables, lots of salads.  I avoid soy-based meat substitutes because I don't think they are particularly healthy but for a meatcentric household I can see how they would come in handy. :)  She might like making seitan, which is easy and fun to make at home and is a good meat substitute.

 

Warn her about the meatmares: I stopped eating meat at her age and I think I had meatmares (you're in a restaurant and are served a steak, you put your fork in and blood spurts up to the ceiling...) for several years.  Most vegetarians that I know who were raised eating meat have had them.

[mamaraby]

Isa Chandra Moskowitz has a new cookbook out called "Isa Does It." It's by far my favorite cookbook and full of pretty accessible dishes that don't take a whole lot of time to make.

[Mom22ns]

Warn her about the meatmares: I stopped eating meat at her age and I think I had meatmares (you're in a restaurant and are served a steak, you put your fork in and blood spurts up to the ceiling...) for several years.  Most vegetarians that I know who were raised eating meat have had them.

:eek:

[Stacia]

Warn her about the meatmares: I stopped eating meat at her age and I think I had meatmares (you're in a restaurant and are served a steak, you put your fork in and blood spurts up to the ceiling...) for several years.  Most vegetarians that I know who were raised eating meat have had them.

 

:confused1:  That's different & something I have never heard of....

 

I was raised in a meat-eating household (& ate meat myself). I chose to become vegetarian when I was in my early 20s & have been ever since. I never had any kinds of dreams related to choosing to be a vegetarian! (And, I often have vivid dreams that I remember fairly often.)

 

I hope reading about it doesn't give me one. :blink:

 

[simplemom]

We're not vegetarians but here are some suggestions:

 

I make pine nut hummus and spread it on toasted pita bread. I make a hearty salad as a large side that has black olives, goat cheese, and sunflower seeds. Meat eaters could add chicken.

 

I also make quinoa and mix roasted or sautéed veggies and a can of black beans. Fruit as a side.

 

Veggie stir fry with eggs and a peanut butter/soy sauce.

 

Taco salad that is heavy on black beans and guacamole.

 

Lots of good bean chili recipes...can bulk up with corn, spinach, or carrots.

 

Haven't tried it, but I hear lentils make a good sub for ground meat in Shepherd's pie.

 

I like falafel over rice.

 

Loaded potato soup with corn, celery, onions, and carrots. Top with cheese (and ham or bacon pieces for meat eaters).

 

Black beans cooked in the crockpot (I put a small jar of salsa in with the water), rice, guacamole, and chips

 

We got burnt out on this, but used to use a soy based chorizo "meat" in tacos.

 

Large salad with goat cheese, apples, raisins, and walnuts with a homemade thicker nut based creamy dressing (cashews would be a good base for this).

[ebrindam]

My 14 year old is vegetarian (she eats seafood, dairy, and eggs).  I prefer meatless meals myself so about 50% of our meals were already vegetarian.  If we have meat it's something that she doesn't have to use (like tacos) or I'll do part meat, part not (like burritos).  If we have a mainly meat meal (like tonight - meatloaf) we make sure to have several sides.  If all else fails, she loves Boca burgers/chicken and I keep a supply of them in the freezer so she'll cook one of those to eat.  I've gotten a lot of my recipes just searching for vegetarian recipes on various recipe sites.  A couple have been gross, but most have been really good.

 

 

If your daughter eats seafood she is a pescetarian!

[Cammie]

So interesting.  I am reading Reviving Ophelia and she talks about the high frequency of girls in the 13-14 year group becoming vegetarian!  She said something about girls that age being sensitive to the treatment of animals because they identify with the feelings of the animals...or something like that.

 

My dd 13 is also a vegetarian, has been for two years.  She is lucky that we live within a culture where veg is pretty much a norm for most families.  We all eat veg at home except once a week when we have chicken for DS who loves his chicken curry!

 

We do eat mostly Indian veg but some Western favorites are - veg lasagna, veg chili, all sorts of pasta with different types of sauces (cheese, pesto, tomato, veggie), lots of rice based foods - with a sautéed or stir fried veggies to go along with it.  If she like Indian food take a look at some Indian cookbooks or websites (my friend has a website called Archana's Kitchen which has some really easy, veg, Indian recipes for you to try!)

[Butter]

If your daughter eats seafood she is a pescetarian!

 

Yes.  But most people have no clue what that means.  It's much easier to say vegetarian because in general practice eating with other people seafood is not involved.  Especially in TX where meat is almost always on the grill.

 

My daughter is not a vegetarian due to the treatment of animals.  She is a vegetarian simply because she doesn't like the taste of chicken, beef, and pork or how she feels when she eats it.

[Mom22ns]

So interesting.  I am reading Reviving Ophelia and she talks about the high frequency of girls in the 13-14 year group becoming vegetarian!  She said something about girls that age being sensitive to the treatment of animals because they identify with the feelings of the animals...or something like that.

 

My dd 13 is also a vegetarian, has been for two years.  She is lucky that we live within a culture where veg is pretty much a norm for most families.  We all eat veg at home except once a week when we have chicken for DS who loves his chicken curry!

 

That is interesting. When dd saw Bambi for the first time, she cheered for the hunter because she liked deer sausage so much. I was shocked. Now she is concerned about the treatment of animals. 

 

Your dd is lucky. My in-laws raise cattle. They are breeders, not beef producers, but bulls that aren't good enough to become herd sires become beef. They typically have 100-200 head of cattle that are treated nearly as pets. My kids have fed them and played with the calves, occasionally getting to bottle feed one that isn't thriving etc. They know the beef we eat was extremely well treated. At the same time, not eating it... well it is like an insult to the grandparents. Being vegetarian isn't common at all around us and is particularly rough in a farming family.

 

While I'm not overly sympathetic, I still like my family to share meals. I think I'm going to work on a schedule like Pam's. There are 2 nights a week that dd isn't home when we eat dinner. I'll make those our big meat meals and let her do her own thing. Probably another night or two that have optional meat, and then a couple of veg meals. That feels like a reasonable compromise to me. I just need more ideas for the meat optional meals and veg meals, preferably with recipes or links to recipes! 

 

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in so far!