Meals with less meat for my family-advice wanted

[Xahm]

I'd love to cook healthy meals for my family that involve less meat, but between not being raised that way and some strong dietary preferences in our family, it is hard! Most members of my household are very thin and don't care about food or eating, so generally I'm trying to cram calories and nutrients into every bite. One kid is very picky (no sauce on things, only certain kinds of pizza) though is starting to try new things more often, while the others are typically kid-picky. They claim to like spicy food, but most people would call it "mild" at best. They all hate green beans and peas though will eat most other vegetables, at least a bit. "Keep giving it to then and don't offer a substitute" doesn't work because a couple go from being hungry to not feeling hungry and just being extremely irritable.

One meatless dish they will eat multiple times a week is oatmeal full of stuff: peanut butter, apple sauce, regular butter, cinnamon, etc. I can make meatless spaghetti, but Mr no-sauce then just eats plain noodles. Fried rice works if it's not too often. Does anytime have any ideas of dishes or cookbooks that may help? 

[EmilyGF]

Do you eat beans? My kids love all sorts of refried beans (any type of beans, cook in Instant Pot, then saute with various flavors). They also make bean salads with beans + veggies + vinegars.

Peanut butter noodles is a big hit here. Basically, lots of noodles, lots of peanut butter, some brown sugar and soy sauce. Add in veggies like broccoli. I used to make these a lot.

We eat everything here, though. 

Emily

[Spy Car]

Forgive my laziness here, but I posted this food idea in another thread about 2 hours ago and it might be useful in your situation.

To increase the calories you could substitute sour cream for yoghurt for the sauce mentioned at the end, which would be even more delicious. If you can find smetana style sour cream, of the type eaten in Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Russia, etc, even better. This is often called "Canadian-style" sour cream in markets (even ones that cater to Eastern Europeans), which is odd. Regular sour cream would be fine.

Stuffed (Bell) Peppers with Lentils and Cauliflower Rice (or regular rice if you prefer).

I forgot to mention that I prefer Red, Yellow, or Orange Bell Peppers to Green ones in the other thread (oops)

Cut and paste below:

******

Semi-random food idea (no meat).

I like making stuffed (bell) peppers. As my wife enjoys eating a fair share of vegetarian meals, I commonly replace ground beef with brown lentils that are cooked till just on point. I typically mix the lentils (or meat) with rice, caramelized onions, herbs, garlic,some Armenian tomato paste, and (sometimes) feta cheese, which I stuff into pre-roasted (by me) peppers that had the tops removed and are cleaned and de-seeded. I'll pre-roast for 20-30 minutes at 425 in a convection toaster oven, then stuff, and roast for another 20-30 minutes at the same temp. Typically 50min overall.

The other day I decided to make another batch. When I notice I had a lot of Cauliflower. So I broke up 3/4 of a head into pieces and zapped in the food processor until I had the makings of Cauliflower rice. I cooked that in a large skillet stove-top with olive oil until just tender. Added the other ingredients, cooked a bit more, and then stuffed the peppers. Which then were then roasted.

No "rice" in these.

At dinner I queeried my son, "What's different about these?" He wasn't sure. He knew they were different, but not why. He thought they were quite tasty.

I pressed him. Finally he said, "these were made with meat."

I did use feta in this batch, The only non-vegan ingredient and one that could be skipped. Quite good and an easy meal to make. I always make extras as they keep well and are good hot or cold.

A yoghurt dill sauce makes a nice topping.

Bill

 

[KungFuPanda]

Do they like curries? Pasta primavera? Would your no-sauce kid like a sauce that’s mostly a chicken broth reduction? 
 

My family would go into shock if I went meatless, but they really don’t care if I reduce the meat. It’s easy to make chili with less meat and more beans. Nobody noticed when I slip red lentils into taco filling. A Costco chicken is at least six meals for three people. Usually  we do two sandwich meals, two meals that are something like a pot pie, and another 2 meals of a soup made with broth from the bones and whatever meat is left. I can put 1/4 lb of meat in egg fried rice and get two meals from it. A couple links of hot sausage are enough to flavor Zuppa Toscana for a couple meals. 1/2 a pound of ground beef in a jar of red sauce is two meals. When it’s warm I serve a salad with most meals and when it’s cold I default to soup. I really prefer soup.  I can make a lot at once and freeze it. 
 

Dh cooked tonight and grilled all the meats. It was ridiculous. He did a tenderloin, some chicken asada, and a few burgers. He figured he’d cook up all the meat we’d need for a few days. He’s not motivated to reduce the meat, but he doesn’t really seem to notice when I do it. 

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Xahm said:

. "Keep giving it to then and don't offer a substitute" doesn't work because a couple go from being hungry to not feeling hungry and just being extremely irritable.

I can make meatless spaghetti, but Mr no-sauce then just eats plain noodles. 

DS17 was and still is that way. He would survive on cheese and milk. For spaghetti, if there is no meatballs, he would eat it with parmesan cheese or any shredded cheese we have in our fridge. He is underweight mainly because he is a picky eater. He does cook whatever he wants to eat though.

[Laura Corin]

For thin people, nuts are a good nutritious option. Toasting unsalted nuts - the kind you might find in the baking aisle - in a dry frying pan is easy and the nuts taste amazing. My favourite is cashews. How about a veggie stir fry - just with oil, fresh garlic and fresh ginger, no sauce - then with lots of toasted cashews mixed in? You could serve it with Asian egg noodles.

[HomeAgain]

There's a pasta my family likes.  It's literally just dressed with lemon zest, olive oil, parm.  Even my niece who hates sauces will eat this.

I'm not going to press anyone to eat green beans because I hate broccoli with a passion.  BUT, it's worth trying veggies prepared different ways beyond that.  I'll finely chop mushrooms to add to things like lasagna or grill various veggies. 

Your family also might like haloumi.  It took us 2-3 times to get the consistency we wanted, but I have a 12 yo who would live on cheese, so finding out this was a main dish option he was all over it.

One of our other favorite summer foods is a meal with just a little meat.  I make small chicken skewers but pair them with rice made with coconut milk and a pinch of salt (1c rice, 1 can coconut milk + however much water still needed), mango salsa made with chopped mango and shallot or red onion, fried plantain slices, black beans.  The chicken is there for those who want it, but the rice, beans, and plantains are so filling that they're not necessary.

[Pam in CT]

We have omnivores and vegetarians in our own and on various branches of the family, and as a regular strategy I make all kinds of stuff with bowls. 

• Veggie bean-based chili, a small bowl of seasoned ground or cubed chicken/turkey/beef that some folks stir in, and bowls of cheese/ salsa/ sour cream/ scallions/ guac toppings.
• Burritos with same.
• Taco salad with same.
• Enchiladas prepared with same basic stuff, slathered with sause and cheese, and baked in separate V and Omnivore pans.
• Tangines with tomatoes/onions/ peppers/ olives cooked down together, then split into a V pot with just-chickpeas and a OV pot with pre-browned lambed, then slow-baked in separate pots.
• Thai-ish curries with V and chicken versions, with rice and the same (prepared from Asian market) sauces
• Peanut noodles (more or less as described by pp) with a side bowl of cubed spiced chicken that those who want a bit of meat can put on top
• Pesto pasta with a side bowl of similarly-spiced cubed chicken that those who want a bit of meat can put on top

 

My go-to all veg meals are felafel, eggplant parm, spanakopita or an faster slacker spinach pie made from similar ingredients, quiche, pizza (more when kids were little, less now) and various rice-and-sausage dishes using spiced-up Beyond sausage, which is soft enough that you can roll in whatever flavoring you want.  As per the other thread we also usually eat Impossible burgers these days, just so I don't have to keep the V and beef burgers separate on the grills. Oiled first with some smoked paprika and with adequate cheese and toasted buns, they taste as good as (not *quite* the same as) as beef.

[Pippen]

10 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Do they like curries? Pasta primavera? Would your no-sauce kid like a sauce that’s mostly a chicken broth reduction? 
 

My family would go into shock if I went meatless, but they really don’t care if I reduce the meat. It’s easy to make chili with less meat and more beans. Nobody noticed when I slip red lentils into taco filling. A Costco chicken is at least six meals for three people. Usually  we do two sandwich meals, two meals that are something like a pot pie, and another 2 meals of a soup made with broth from the bones and whatever meat is left. I can put 1/4 lb of meat in egg fried rice and get two meals from it. A couple links of hot sausage are enough to flavor Zuppa Toscana for a couple meals. 1/2 a pound of ground beef in a jar of red sauce is two meals. When it’s warm I serve a salad with most meals and when it’s cold I default to soup. I really prefer soup.  I can make a lot at once and freeze it. 
 

Dh cooked tonight and grilled all the meats. It was ridiculous. He did a tenderloin, some chicken asada, and a few burgers. He figured he’d cook up all the meat we’d need for a few days. He’s not motivated to reduce the meat, but he doesn’t really seem to notice when I do it. 

This makes me think of Stuck Pot Rice, which my kids really liked. I tweaked the spices in the Smitten Kitchen recipe to suit us. I left out the lentils and served with turkey meatballs, and it did really stretch the meat. 

https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/02/stuck-pot-rice-with-lentils-and-yogurt/

[Selkie]

The PlantYou cookbook by Carleigh Bodrug is great for newcomers to plant based eating. Her recipes are simple, easy to make, and delicious.

https://smile.amazon.com/PlantYou-Ridiculously-Amazingly-Delicious-Plant-Based/dp/0306923041/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HRBLBWYTT6YJ&keywords=plantyou&qid=1655043016&sprefix=plantyou%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1

[Xahm]

Thanks to you all! I'm going to be taking notes and trying things. Last night I made lentil and sausage stew in our insta pot. It wasn't really light on the meat, but neither was meat central. Surprisingly, my pickiest eater enjoyed it most. I think I'll be able to serve other lentil meals by saying, "it's made with that same stuff you liked before."

I foresee a lot of nuts in our future. They are usually very well liked.

[Jhwk21]

Tortellini is a great option for people who don't like sauce, as it works very well with or without it. There are many cheese and vegetable varieties that don't have meat. And it's super quick and easy to prepare, especially if you get the refrigerated soft kind.