Guest guest Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 I keep a can of tomatoes, any type of beans (usually red), a box of rice and beans or Annie's mac-n-cheese, and a box of frozen spinach or broc in the freezer. That is for back up meals or low prep time days. Other than that, I an sure people here can give you a few % on exactly what to eat. I have been veggie for 1 year and my personal guide is: eat green veggies at lunch and dinner; beans and raw nuts at least 1-2 servings a day, limit " white " foods to minimum. At his age, he may need an increase of protein and healthy fats (avocado, flax seeds and oil, omega 3s and 6s) Just you posing this question is helping him. Pat your son on the back for making the intelligent decision. Pat yourself on the back for being a supportive parent to a teenager Cassie " life's a garden, dig it! " Sent from my iPhone On Oct 3, 2008, at 4:47 PM, Josh M <milianjosh wrote: My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 It's a good idea to start by going through the archives....there are literally thousands of posts on this very subject since the start of the year. Search using a keyword such as " recipe " or " ingredient " or " meal plan " . Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 As always, you can sneak a lot of things in a smoothie made fresh at home. Banana, peach, raspberry, blueberry, yogurt (soy if you are vegan), dry fruits (dates, cashew)... You can include a ton of healthy things in there. Also, goodfor all ages. Josh M <milianjosh Friday, October 3, 2008 3:47:05 PM My child vegetarian My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Hi Josh, Congrats to your son and to you for doing this research to help him out! One thing you might want to do is search the archives for the recent list that was circulating of non-vegetarian food ingredients – gelatin, rennet, lard, etc. That list will help you with the things that aren’t as obvious as “he can eat everything he ate before, just not the meat.” :-) It’ll likely be a lot easier if he’s a lacto-ovo vegetarian (meaning he eats dairy and eggs) – then you can just omit the meat from his meals, replace with a vegetarian alternative and maybe add a couple tablespoons of nuts, seeds or nut butter, or a cup of soy milk or about ¼ cup tofu, and he has his protein serving covered. If he’s a vegan (meaning he eats no meat and no dairy, eggs or other animal products like honey, etc.), then you may have to be a little more creative in replacing those things, but once you learn how, it’s really not that hard at all. It might be easier to think of this time in your family as parallel to the time that your son started eating solid foods – you might have made a dinner, given him part of it (maybe the pasta, but not the meatball), and then supplemented his meal in another way with foods that fit his little 2-toothed-diet. :-) It’s the same way now, you’ll just give him a soy meatball instead of your meatball, and a rice or tofu cheese instead of your cow/dairy cheese, and he’ll drink a glass of delicious vanilla soy milk with dinner rather than cow/goat milk. :-) We’ve been lacto-ovo vegetarians for 20 years at our house, and our nearly 4-year-old son has been for his whole life – and we have as many, if not more, food choices at meals than meat eaters. Common dinners are enchiladas, lasagna, tacos, burritos, pasta casseroles, chili, sloppy joes, pizza, salads, tofu mac and cheese, veggie burgers, veggie hot dogs, falafel, soups, sandwiches, waffles and eggs and fake bacon, etc. But, truthfully, our most common meals are made like this – “okay, what did everyone eat today? – okay, no one had rice and we all need some veggies and protein” – so rice pilaf out of a box, steam or roast some veggies, and open a can of beans or put out a bowl of nuts, then a bowl of fruit or raw veggies to snack on while dinner cooks. You might also take a look at the VRG website since they have a great section for vegetarian kids and their families. And there’s tons of wonderful cookbooks out there! Good luck and congrats again! Lorraine On Behalf Of Josh M Friday, October 03, 2008 1:47 PM My child vegetarian My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Hi Josh, Oh, I forgot to add my shopping tips for vegetarians - I shop based on food groups - make sure I buy basic protein and dairy stuff that we eat (milk, tofu, nuts, eggs, yogurt, cheese, soy milk, etc.), we get fruits and veggies from an organic community supported agriculture (CSA) program, and then I get basic grain stuff (bread, waffles, polenta, crackers, cereal, oatmeal, tortillas, etc.) - and then frozen and canned stuff and quick rice mixes, etc. for quick meals. Then, we just cobble all these basic pieces together at meal time. It works for us. And our greatest cobbled-meal lately is a bag of pasta cooked (penne is good, or whatever you have), a large can of crushed tomatoes, some dried spices, a can of kidney beans, and veggies in the fridge chopped up (greens, zucchini, etc.) - put it all in a casserole dish with mozzarella cheese on top, bake til browned, yum. :-) Good luck! Lorraine On Behalf Of Josh M Friday, October 03, 2008 1:47 PM My child vegetarian My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Honestly, it's so easy to be vegetarian and you shouldn't really sweat about it. I'm assuming he's still eating cheese and eggs so that makes it even easier. If you just do a search online you'll come up with some wonderful recipes. There are sooooooo many out there that you won't ever wonder " what can he eat " again! If he still wants to eat " meat " there are plenty of faux meats out there. Morningstar and Boca make the best options. There are veggie burgers, " chicken " patties, and with Thanksgiving fast approaching there's even a tofurky that he can eat instead of an actual turkey and it's really good!!! I'm not sure what kind of grocery stores you have around you, but I'm quite sure all of this is easy to find. If not, just ask someone that works in the store and they can show you where things are. If you have a local health food store that's also a good place to go. I hope all this helps and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! Tonia , Josh M <milianjosh wrote: > > My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 An amazing website. It will help with recipes. http://vegweb.com Also, if you are looking to go out to eat, this website is a list of all vegetarian restaurants world wide. www.happycow.net --- On Fri, 10/3/08, Josh M <milianjosh wrote: Josh M <milianjosh My child vegetarian Friday, October 3, 2008, 1:47 PM My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Hi Josh, Congratulations on supporting your son! You will probably find that you are all healthier and more energetic without (or with less) meat in your diet. We all have tons of recipes. What types of foods does your family typically eat? Robin --- On Fri, 10/3/08, Josh M <milianjosh wrote: Josh M <milianjosh My child vegetarian Friday, October 3, 2008, 3:47 PM My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Just normal american food --- On Sat, 10/4/08, robin koloms <rkoloms wrote: robin koloms <rkoloms Re: My child vegetarian Saturday, October 4, 2008, 3:18 AM Hi Josh, Congratulations on supporting your son! You will probably find that you are all healthier and more energetic without (or with less) meat in your diet. We all have tons of recipes. What types of foods does your family typically eat? Robin --- On Fri, 10/3/08, Josh M <milianjosh > wrote: Josh M <milianjosh > My child vegetarian @gro ups.com Friday, October 3, 2008, 3:47 PM My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Galaxy foods has a free recipe book that you can download online: http://www.galaxyfoods.com/pdfs/smart%20guide.pdf it has a few recipes for some ideas. My daughter is eating born free, cage free eggs with omega 3 now. I don't eat eggs myself and would rather her not eat eggs but if she is going to - I think these are about the healthiest that I can find. I try to buy foods that are fortified with omega 3 as much as possible. And she takes the little critters omega 3 supplement as well as another vegetarian multivitamin. We also use silk soymilk fortified with omega 3. She also eats waffles, pancakes, cereals, oatmeal, grits, etc for breakfast. For lunches she typically has a sandwich, yogurt, and fruit. We also do crackers with smartdeli turkey flavor slices. I put them in a container so that the crackers don't get crushed. We tried soups and vegetarian chili in thermos but she's not really a soup eater. For dinner we eat lots of mexican foods (tacos, burritos, etc) with veggie burger crumbles, black beans or refried beans in place of meat in recipes. We also eat quite a bit of pasta which you can just toss in vegetables (frozen broccoli or peas whatever) in with it and sauce. Renee --- On Sat, 10/4/08, Josh M <milianjosh wrote: Josh M <milianjosh Re: My child vegetarian Saturday, October 4, 2008, 10:42 AM Just normal american food --- On Sat, 10/4/08, robin koloms <rkoloms > wrote: robin koloms <rkoloms > Re: My child vegetarian @gro ups.com Saturday, October 4, 2008, 3:18 AM Hi Josh, Congratulations on supporting your son! You will probably find that you are all healthier and more energetic without (or with less) meat in your diet. We all have tons of recipes. What types of foods does your family typically eat? Robin --- On Fri, 10/3/08, Josh M <milianjosh> wrote: Josh M <milianjosh> My child vegetarian @gro ups.com Friday, October 3, 2008, 3:47 PM My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Josh, I am not sure what you mean by " normal American food " , but I will take a stab at what my " normal American friends " eat. If any of these sound interesting to you, let me know and I will post the recipes. We may be able to help you turn family favorites into meatless dishes. The way to eat healthy, with out without meat, is to eat lots of whole grains and a rainbow of fruits and veggies every day (drink lots of water, too). Today I made chili in the crockpot (beans, tomatoes, garlic, onion, mushroom, pulverized cauliflower), it is thick an spicy and really good. I served it will whole wheat noodles and cheese, and put two quarts in the freezer. Burger and fries: veggie burger (I like Boca, my spouse likes Gardenburger, my daughter likes Amy's) on a whole grain bun; baked sweet potato fries. On the weekends I cook brown rice in the rice cooker and freeze portions in wax bags in a big zipper bag. Weeknight dinners are often stirfied veggies (I buy frozen, cut) and tofu, with a jarred or homemade sauce, over rice that has been thawed in the microwave. Another quick weeknight dinner is whole pasta (small shells) mixed with ricotta, sauce (I use jarred), frozen chopped spinich, canned canelli (white kidney) beans. Robin Can anything be more ridiculous than that a man should have the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of the water, and because his ruler has a quarrel with mine. - Blaise Pascal --- On Sat, 10/4/08, Josh M <milianjosh wrote: Josh M <milianjosh Re: My child vegetarian Saturday, October 4, 2008, 9:42 AM Just normal american food --- On Sat, 10/4/08, robin koloms <rkoloms > wrote: robin koloms <rkoloms > Re: My child vegetarian @gro ups.com Saturday, October 4, 2008, 3:18 AM Hi Josh, Congratulations on supporting your son! You will probably find that you are all healthier and more energetic without (or with less) meat in your diet. We all have tons of recipes. What types of foods does your family typically eat? Robin --- On Fri, 10/3/08, Josh M <milianjosh> wrote: Josh M <milianjosh> My child vegetarian @gro ups.com Friday, October 3, 2008, 3:47 PM My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 , robin koloms <rkoloms wrote: You have gotten some great ideas already. Have your son check out places online (and you too). Post Punk Kitchen..www.theppk.com (it is a vegan site but they do have some great recipes that are meatless). Vegan Chicks Rock is another great site..http://veganchicksrock.blogspot.com/ (vegan also but you can add dairy to any of the recipes.) I am a mother of a 19 yr old daughter that went vegetarian 3 years ago and vegan 1 1/2 ago. I was a real fish out of water. You can learn and you can teach him how to cook for himself. That is what we do here. I am the *tester chef* with a new recipe and then she learns from me. Vegetarian burgers for him when you have regular burgers Tofu Dogs...when you have hot dogs. Soy based meat can be used to substitute when you are cooking seperate for him. There is *chicken*, *sausage*, *hamburger*, and you can even get him a Tofurkey for Thanksgiving! My daughter likes when I cross promote our meals..so to speak. Dinner tonite was chicken, mashed potatoes, garlic string beans, and salad. Now she had bbq *chicken* fingers and everything else. Of course I have to veganize most of the dinner for her but you wont have to do that since he will still be eating dairy and eggs. (the rest of my family thinks the mashed potatoes are regular..hehe I make the whole pot vegan and they cannot tell the difference). It will seem like more work at first but once you get some core dishes started it will be fine. If you made chili for dinner one night, you could just make a small pot of chili for him with soy hamburger in it (or TVP which I actually like)..You can make it all the same in both pots but one is for the family and one is for him. Okay..now that I have written a book I am going to go read the rest of the posts. Ask away if you have any more questions. The people are great here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2008 Report Share Posted October 11, 2008 I'm ALL for healty whole food, but my preschool vegetarin sometimes goes through phases where he wants his food to look like everyone elses at his school, so if you're looking to make meals as " normal american " as possible, it's super easy. Just replace any thing ground beefy with boca ground (chili, spaghetti sauce, tacos, lasania, sloppy joes..anywhere you'd use crumbled ground beef). " Fake " hot dogs and hamburger patties can go anywhere (on the grill, in wraps, to friends houses). When I was 15, I was a hummus addict and it's cheap and easy if you've got a food processer. We add tons of nuts everywhere (to pasta, to brownies, to salad, as a snack). We eat a lot of beans, mostly in soups, but we also puree them to make sauce for pasta, or dip for chips. Good whole grain bread can be a lifesaver. Compare the protien content of the bread your eating, with the wholesomeist, seediest one you can find. Vegetarians usually have awesome cholesterol, so if your son eats eggs, don't worry about him getting too many. Our pediatrician said our 3 year old could easially handle 4-6 a week since he isn't getting animal fat from other sources. I eat 5-10 eggs a week and my cholesterol is still off the charts low. And your son is lucky! My brother and I ate peanut butter sandwiches on whole grain bread daily for 5 years until we were old enough to cook for ourselves....we both grew into healthy adult vegetarians, but sheesh! , Josh M <milianjosh wrote: > > Just normal american food > > --- On Sat, 10/4/08, robin koloms <rkoloms wrote: > > robin koloms <rkoloms > Re: My child vegetarian > > Saturday, October 4, 2008, 3:18 AM Hi Josh, > > Congratulations on supporting your son! You will probably find that you are all healthier and more energetic without (or with less) meat in your diet. > > We all have tons of recipes. What types of foods does your family typically eat? > > Robin > > --- On Fri, 10/3/08, Josh M <milianjosh > wrote: > > Josh M <milianjosh > > My child vegetarian > @gro ups.com > Friday, October 3, 2008, 3:47 PM > > My son, who is 15, became a vegetarian about two months ago, and i have no clue what he can eat. Does anyone have easy recipes or shopping ideas? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 I completely understand the desire for " normal american food " . So many vegetarians and vegans go nuts over thai, ethiopian, japanese and other ethnic foods. Just not so in my house. I think as 'ethnic' as our menu gets is the occasional stir-fry. Tons of American foods are veggie or can be made so: Spaghetti w/o meatballs [or substitute with vegetarian 'meatballs' like Nate's] Mac N Cheese Tossed Salads Rice and Beans Potato Salad Tacos made with seasoned pinto beans instead of meat Burritos made with lard-free beans Meat-less lasagna [or we replace spinach for the meat] Oh, lots of stuff, I'll have to post more later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 fruit salads must be one of the easiest recipies and can be most delicious - especially with organic fruit from a cheap home delivery service, or supermarkert or similar- there can be so many versions too of the fruit salad - strawberries, mangoes, melon, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, you name it- salads too- but i don't mean lettuce and tomatoes and thats it - me and my son rarely have salads with those in- usually lots of fruit is included, so the salad may consist of grapes, peppers and cucumbers, strawberries, other berries- anything like that really- either separate on a plate- like with veg or mixed together, maybe with some nuts etc- other meals can be like non-vegetarian meals, with just little changes- thats what i did when i turned vegetarian as a teen- my mum made me cook my own food though! so it was mainly veggieburgers plus the vegetarian parts of the food everyone else was having- e.g. steamed veg- again especially organic can go with many things, as can potato wedges for potato wedges chop em up stick em in the oven with some oil for 35 mins and that it - unless you want to add some paprika, salt and pepper before putting in the oven which is also very nice - also you can add parsnips and/or sweet potatoes, butternut squash, even peeled swede and thinly sliced fresh beetroot exactly the same way to make sweet potato etc chips- delicious- easy and quick to prepare- mashed steamed potatoes are easy, with baked beans and veggies sausages are nice- and the mashed potatoes can include other veg in it, like sweet potatoes etc. also the mashed potatoes (and optional other veg) can be shaped into potato wedges (you can add a bit of ordinary flour/brown rice flour etc, and baked in the oven or grilled for nice potato cakes. grated peeled potatoes shaped and baked in the oven makes nice rostis curries are easy- plenty of veg in a curry sauce (chopped tomatoes and spices make a good one or theres a shop brought kind), same with pasta sauces etc - just as you would in a non-vegetarian meal, but with more veg and/or chickpeas or beans and/or with a tofu or other based substitute- its good to experiment- there are lots of good recipies out there too- either on sites as mentioned here, in books at the library etc. eating a variety of foods is best, especially fruit and veg- and don't worry about protein, all foods have it from one degree to another, and people in the 'developed' world usually have too much- good sources include chickpeas, beans etc, nuts, seeds, and their products like soya milk, veggie burgers etc (eggs milk and cheese are sources but as they are high in 'bad' fats (i.e. saturated fats ), i wouldn't necessarily call them good omega 3 is in nuts and seeds- b12 is in fortified foods i think its brilliant that you are helping your son this way, i had a bit of a battle with my mum about it, though she understands and appreciates my beliefs now- and she is an excellent cook at it too- and my parents even have vegetarian meals themselves anyway , they love swedish glace non-dairy vegan ice cream too-and get it from themselves- and they like going to vegetarian resturants too i was about 11 when i first turned vegetarian i think, i'm 30 now- and my 5 year old loves all of this food- he is even happy with a plate of just organic steamed veg without any additions - carrots, potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, parsnips etc etc, but i expect your son would like something else with them! there is so much food out there, when i began being vegetarian, i wasn't too inventive, but now, i have many cookbooks, and much more variety of meals than before i was vegetarian. all the best to you and your son- katie+ ===================== Posted through Grouply, the better way to access your like this one. http://www.grouply.com/?code=post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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