I haven't joined the ranks yet, but I am VERY supportive of my daughter who just completed her 2nd year as one. Since she stopped eating meat, her brother and I have cut WAY back. My problem is she is afraid to try new things and I have a hard time thinking of things that all of us can eat. Funny but she's not a big vegetable or pasta eater, so that makes things MUCH worse. Any words of advice out there??

Hi, welcome to VB!

What does your daughter eat now? If she has been veggie for two years in good health her diet can't be terrible but maybe if you give us some idea of what foods she eats now, we can help to improve things.

Yup, knowing what she eats now would provide an excellent starting point for suggestions.

She loves beans and she does eat eggs, and loves the morningstar prime grillers and some vegetables..like potatoes (her favorite) I tried to get her to eat chick peas because I love them but she turned her nose up. Little does she know that her new obsession, the Falafal, is made with them! She will eat pasta, but she gets sick of it sometimes.

My brother is a vegetarian who doesn't eat vegtables, and he does fine, so you dont have to panic. Find one thing she likes, I would recomend trying potatoes, corn, beans, cheese, sandwiches ect. Then find 10 different ways to cook it which each provide different nutrition, this might lead to her mind being opened to the other ingrediants in the food, and keeps her healthy untill her palat matures with age

examples-

corn- corn fritters, potato/corn pancakes, roasted corn, corn soup

beans- bean dip for chips, bean mixture for tacos, black bean soup, beans and rice



I dont know if this will work for your daughter, but it worked for my brother, he started out only eating white foods (literally) and is now quite the chef and eats more different kinds of food then I do.

It's good that you are supportive of your daughter even though not veggie yourself. As a male who went vegan in his teens, I never had anything but criticism and ignorance from my parents. I'm sure Im not alone in that.

Beans are a great starting point! Have you tried making stews that include beans as well as vegetables? My dad makes great stews that are different every time but usually include a couple of different types of beans, vegetable stock, chopped tomatoes, and whatever veggies are handy. Sometimes pasta too. You can "sneak" all kinds of vegetables in there as long as there is also enough yummy stuff.

What about curries? Curries are a personal favourite of mine and were when I was her age too plus, the sauces are often strong enough that the vegetables you put in are disguised in taste. If she'll eat brown rice that's really good for you too, but if she'll only have white rice (I was picky like that a couple of years back, and my 47 year old father still is!) that's fine too.

Have you tried other faux meat products as well as the one you mentioned? They can get expensive, but if that's not an issue you can make a good meal with them. Serve them with potatoes, as she'll eat them, and try a new second veggie, or a different way of preparing an "old" one. I'm sure you'll quickly stumble accross a few she likes, but if not you wont need to worry about her not eating for that meal because she'll still have her "meat" and potatoes

Good luck and I hope people come along with better advice soon!

Welcome! I'm not sure how to help you exactly, but I just wanted to say it's wonderful that you are so supportive of your daughter! The best thing you can do for her is support her vegetarianism. And good for you and your son for cutting back, too!

agreed!

"You can "sneak" all kinds of vegetables in there as long as there is also enough yummy stuff."



I agree with alot of what was just said, but I disagree strongly with the sneaking idea, I know that my grandparents would try to sneak meat to me when I was younger, and have never forgiven them for that. No matter how good your intensions are, dont trick her into eating something she doesn't want to eat

sorry, that wasn't what I meant at all.

I thought about explaining what I meant but I thought the quotation marks were enough. It obviously wasn't, I'm sorry.

I wouldn't lie to someone about what was in their food. I was more suggesting you trick the tastebuds, not the person. Tell the truth about what is in the food but make sure they can't taste it

Some great ideas, THANKS!! I want to thank all of you and THANK YOU for the welcome.



I do what I can to support her and so do her grandparents (My side) Her dads side is Mexican and not supportive at all. When we go to their house, she won't eat the beans or rice that they make because most Mexicans use chicken broth or pork fat to flavor foods. I have become a HUGE veggie stock buyer..I use it to make the Arroz rojo (Some call it Spanish rice) instead of using the chicken broth and also use it to thin out refried beans. My son and I love it this way and my 4 year old niece lists the rice as one of her favorite foods. I also use the veggie stock as a base when I make her soup.



Anyone have a favorite not-so-spicy hummus recipe?

Im a 14 year old vegetarian daughter who doesnt like pasta or vegetables that much. Im a very picky eater! I usually eat pourage and pizza or taco =/

Did someone say "hummus"?

Oh I wouldn't do the sneaking of the meat, but "sneaking" the veggies in is a good idea. I know what you meant



Her dads girlfriend used to try and lie to her about there not being meat in certain things. She actually told her that fake crab meat was not meat..she didn't eat it anyway (She won't eat fish) My parents are SO supportive with her. We have a "family Dinner" night with my parents every Tuesday and if they make a casserole that has meat in it, which they often do, they will make her a seperate one without meat in it for her.

Welcome to VB

and for your daughter... I know when i first when veggie, I was really uncertain about trying new foods, etc. But then, I found some great recipes in old cookbooks of my mom's (I was organizing it because I couldn't find the christmas cookie recipes), and so many of the pictures looked really easy, and the ingrediants didn't seem too hard... so I made it for myself and really loved a lot of the recipes. Another thing I did, was one day, I'd set up a mini-meal for myself. I'd have a taste of the new food, but right next to it, I'd have the rest of the snack made up of old favorites. That way, if I tried the new food and hated it, something was right there for me.

(Though of course, many new foods, like hummus were immediate favorites and the other part of the snack was ignored )

JMHO, good luck

Curries and stir fries are a good way of getting vegetables and make them taste better. If she's not keen on really spicy food, how about milder coconut kormas? Does she like salads? Maybe ask her to try viniagritte dressings on salad veg to make it tastier? Soup is also a good way of getting lots of veg in your diet. You didn't say if she liked fruit or not, but if she's not keen on that either, how about smoothies?

I would highly recommend getting a good vegetarian cookbook. My favorite is Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. What I like is that most of the recipes use whole, natural foods like grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables - rather than processed meat alternatives.



It's great that you are so supportive of your daughter! I'm sure a lot of vegetarian teens wish they had parents like you! If you want to read up some more on vegetarian diets - all the reasons "why," nutrition information, recipes, etc., an easy read is Being Vegetarian for Dummies. It covers vegetarianism in a thorough, simple, and non-judgmental way.

Your daughter sounds a lot like me. I get tired of pasta easily and I love potatoes more than anything. Here are some things I like that she might like:



-Morningstar Farms corn dogs (they're great)

-MF crumbles in tacos

-MF chicken patty heated and cut up on salad

-MF sausage patties

-Boca sausages (good for hot dogs)

-Baked Potato (quick in the microwave), french "fries" baked, red potatoes cooked in the microwave with butter and Parm Plus (herb blend)

-Stir Fry (buy it frozen) with minute rice and teriyaki sauce

-Nuts lightly salted

-Very easy and quick - Angel hair pasta and sautéed mushrooms

-Introduce her to new veggies in soups (make sure there is no meat stock)

-Asparagus soup ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fresh-A...up/Detail.aspx ) Follow modications I posted under reviews (Heather Bahler)



There are some good recipes at kraftfoods.com

I'll just throw a few good recipes at you:



http://kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=re...ecipe_id=66208



http://kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=re...ecipe_id=95127 (Simple, just leave out the ham)



http://kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=re...ecipe_id=54267 (One of my favs, but I don't add the red peppers... I HATE peppers)



http://kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=re...ecipe_id=92011 (Just use veggie broth instead)

One recipe book that I love is Homecooking by Linda McCartney. Christmas is coming up, it could be a gift for her. I think she'd like it. There's even a vegetarian cookbook that has over 1,001 recipes in it. There's GOT to be something in there she likes. I have it, but the only thing I don't like about it is there aren't any pictures. BUT, recipes have an icon next to them telling the reader which recipes are safe for which kind of vegetarian (lacto-ovo, vegan, etc).

first off, i am so envious of your daughter to have such a supportive family. I'm a male teen vegan no almost no support at all, so i've had to learn everything the hard way too.

one thing that works well with trying to tolerate new foods is the cut it up very small and disguise the taste and shape of it. For example, you could make mashed potatoes, and add mushed carrots or other vegetables. In that form, it will be more tolerable. Another easy way is through stir-fries with sauces and rice. Another thing you can try is different types of pasta. Maybe instead you could try japanese style udon or soba noodles. Or you could try rice noodles in the place of traditional noodles. i'll try to add more later, or find recipes, but i need to get off the computer now.

This sounds like a good start! Will she eat anything green like brocolli or lettuce? A lot of kids are really picky.



You can also sneak here "healthy treats" like pumpkin pie (especially if you use silken tofu for the filling and whole wheat pastry flour for the crust. It becomes a good source of protein and vitamin A.)

something i just though of it smoothies. you could make a fruit smoothie and add spinach or maybe silken tofu, or soy yogurt or something similar for some extra nutrients. If you use spinach, there is almost no flavor from the spinach at all, although it will change color a little bit. if you really want, you could try a green smoothie and add fruit to that also.

I am sooo happy to hear how supportive you are of your daughter...my family and friends have always supported me and that made a big difference to me and i appreciated it sooo much...I would say check out some veggie cookbooks they may have some great meal ideas.

If she likes falafel, that's great! You can add chopped veggies to the falafel mix before you fry and they blend in nicely.



How about a (homemade) "veggie" burger made with actual vegetables instead of the textured soy? My kids finally discovered a veggie-and-bean burger recipe that they LOVE, but if I mess up and add too many vegetables, even now, they won't eat them...Do a Google search for vegetable burgers or bean burgers or whatever...



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Here's the one I make for my kids (They're lacto/ovo):



Bean-and-Veggie Burgers



1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained and mashed VERY well.

OR: whatever beans you have or prefer, chick-peas work GREAT here!

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/4 lb. finely chopped white fresh button mushrooms

OR: instead of onions and mushrooms use 1/2 cup grated veggies of your choice - we use cooked, drained spinach and shredded carrots sometimes with good results.

1 cup "healthy" breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon Season Salt of your choice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup shredded cheese, (if you're vegan, use shredded soy cheese)



In skillet cook mushrooms and onions or whatever veggies in one tablespoon canola oil for 6 minutes or until soft.

In bowl, combine all ingredients - "squish" it in your hands to blend well (you could stir it, but the squishing is more fun and actually creates a better texture). Add more breadcrumbs if needed to make texture so you can form into 4 patties.

Place in med. hot, well oiled skillet and fry until browned, turning once.

Serve on toasted multi grain bun.



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Oh, and the smoothie suggestion is great as well. If a person really hates all vegetables, you can still get pretty much all your vitamins, antioxidants and fiber and such from fresh fruit.

I don't have any suggestions for you, I just wanted to say that it's great that you support your daughter wholeheartedly.

www.veganlunchbox.com Click on "blog" on the left and scroll through the archives. This woman has saved my life from pickiness and boredom MORE than a few times.

If you're making falafel from scratch, maybe try a few with dried green (my favourite) or yellow peas for some variation. Other than the choice of legume, the recipe is the same and even my picky brother will eat them. I've also made something similar using red lentils but I can't quite remember what else went in those.



But yes...cookbook. I like Indian ones, personally. I wasn't big on vegetables (unless they were raw) until I learned how to dress them up with various seasonings.

Cookbook is a great idea. Try to choose one that is geared towards the "type" of vegetarian that she is. I LOVE cheese, so vegan cookbooks seem unduly restrictive for me. I also love most of the more unhealthy vegetarian foods (pasta, cream, cheese, chocolate etc.) so the very wholesome ones where every other recipe contains lentils or wholewheat something or other arent great for me. Equally if she likes trying foods from different cultures I think there are some very good international vegetarian books out there.

Also maybe try to get her involved in the cooking. I hate tomatoes so wont eat stuff other people make with them in, but have found that if I cook things myself I can mush them up so small and cover them with enough herbs that I quite enjoy it. Similarly I wouldnt eat onions for years cos I thought they were just big slimy lumps. I discovered that infact I quite like them if theyre undercooked or chopped up small. (Not that there is anything wrong with other people's cooking, just that often, given the opportunity, people can find their own way of making a food work for them).

As a picky eater, one of my other favourite "games" is taking a recipe from a cookbook (either veggie or omni) and seeing how little I can alter it to come up with something I will still eat (e.g. replacing meat with fake meat, potato with sweet potato, courgette with brocolli, mushrooms with sweetcorn or onion).

HI there!

I just wanted to give you thanks for being such a supportive mom. My parents have been supportive of me too. We've even introduced a vegetarian night where everyone eats veg.