Looking for Kid Friendly Vegetarian Recipes...that My Husband Will like Too!

I have been a vegan for over 30 years. there are tons of cook books out there. For info and tasty recipes try this site: www.meatout.org Perhaps you can look up cookbooks at Amazon.com My favorite food is stir fry veges with tofu and served with rice or corn chips. AF

I do not have any recipes to share, but I use veggie products from a company called Morningstar. They have a large selection of Veggie products and can be purchased from your local grocery store. My boys who are very picky eaters love the veggie bacon and veggie chicken nuggets. They also love the veggie sausage. Good Luck and Congrats on living healthier.

my friend gave me a copy of Vive le Vegan!: Simple, Delectable Recipes for the Everyday Vegan Family by Dreena Burton

http://tinyurl.com/pvavrs

There are some great books out there for recipes. My family is mostly vegan. There are a ton of books, but the two that I have found most useful are Vegan Vittles by Joanne Stepaniak and Healthy Cooking for Kids by Shelly Null. Both are great books. Shelly Null's book has some useful information at the beginning of her book that I use regulary.

BTW: Vegetarian Resource Group is located here in Baltimore! They are on Cold Spring Lane in back of Alfonso's. there is not much there but the staff is usually happy to help and enthusiastic about their "mission".

Have Fun and Good Luck!

M.

Hey J.,

This will be long, I think, but I hope it helps you out for right now until you can get a chance to check out some books from the library.

I think it is great that you have decided to choose a more vegetarian lifestyle. It is great for your health and also great for the environment.
As far as meals. You don't need anything fancy. For breakfast around here we eat:
~ Oatmeal Made with rice milk with a bit of dark brown organic sugar, or oatmeal with fresh fruit, such as apples with cinnamon.
~ Hash brown potatoes with red and green peppers, onions, corn and some seasoning.
~ Cold cereal with rice milk and fresh fruit
~ Peanut butter toast
~ Pancakes (we use a gluten free mix and egg replacer) with fruit or syrup

The possiblilites are endless

For lunch you can eat just about anything:
~ Salad with a veggie burger on whole wheat
~ Rice and beans with a salad or veggies
~ PB & J with a side of veggies
~ vegetarian Chili with crackers or bread
~ Soups with salad ( I just made a really great kale and spinach soup last night I will be eating for lunch over rice).
~ Stir fries over rice or noodles are excellent and you can use tofu or tempe as the meat in those.
~ Chickpea salad sandwich (mash up a can of chickpeas and add the normal condiments you would for chicken or tuna salad)
Always choose brown rice or wild rice in your rice dishes.

For dinner tonight I am making stuffed red peppers with wild rice and potato medley with lots of veggies like mushrooms and carrots added to the mix. I may add my cashew cheese sauce on the top for added creaminess.

Anything, you would normally make, can be made vegetarian.
~ Sheppard's pie
~ Tacos
~ Casseroles made with veggies, rice or potatoes and a meat substitute.
~ I like to make lentil loafs or lentil burgers (made with lentils, rice nad other veggies) and have that with veggies.
~ Lasagna made with noodles and veggies or eggplant as noodles.My filler for this is tofu in the food processor until creamy adding nutritional yeast and spinach)
~ Chickpea burgers

Check out the website Vegweb.com and see if there are any recipes that look good to you. I am sure you will find something to start with.

When I first started out I went to vegweb.com all the time and they have great recipes. There are stars next to the recipes to let you know the ratings so it is easy to find a recipe that tastes great. Some recipes also have pictures to see if it looks appetizing as well.

Pizza is a great dinner idea, you need to load it with veggies and find a casein free cheese like "follow your heart" vegan cheese if you are cutting out dairy. I make my own cheese sauce using a recipe from that site using cashews, nutritional yeast and rice milk.

You will get the hang of it. Don't stress yourself over being perfect. Buy as many premade items (just to start out) such as the veggie burgers, already made cheeses, fake meat crumbles such as morning star or Quorn (you can use these in your sheppards pie, tacos or veggie lasagna).
I don't know if you want to go vegan or are just looking to be vegetarian or just to make your choices lighter and less meat filled. Quorn makes a lot of great alternatives to your favorite meats. I like there crumbles better than the other brands because of the texture and that it is not made from soy. The only thing is that they contain small amounts of egg whites and buttermilk.They make chicken cutlets, nuggets, crumbles and all sorts of things.

If you are eating eggs and dairy products I would suggest cutting down the amount of dairy and opting for alternatives like rice milk,soy delicious ice cream, veggie cheeses and anything else you can find that replaces the bulk of dairy you consume. Also get the cage free/grain fed eggs with no antibiotics or hormones if you continue to eat eggs. The more you phase out the dairy slowly the more likely you are to not miss it if you decide to remove it completely.

I think you will do great. It helps if your hubby is on board with the changes. My husband has been great. Once in a whie he will make his own chicken soup and eat that but I freeze the remainder of it and he can have it when he feels like it. The rest of the time he eats what I make and loves it. My four year old is a different story and eats a lot of PB & J sandwiches, cereal, potatoes, fruit, oatmeal and some veggies. The kale/spinach soup I made he only had about 4-5 spoonfuls before wanting something else. As long as he tries it and sees that we are eating it and eating healthy he will get on board sooner or later.

Keep up the great work. I hope this helps.

P.S. Nutritional yeast is a flaky yellow product that you can get either in bulk or prepackaged from your health food store that has a nutty or cheesy flavor and smell . It is used to make a lot of cheese alternatives in cooking vegan and is nutritionally great for you because it has protein, vitamins and minerals in it. I am so glad I found it. I use it all the time now.

Here's one that is really easy. You can even make it without meat, and add some in separately for your hubbie. I got it from my friend, who calls it dump-dump chilli.

2 cans of diced tomatos (not drained)
2 cans of your favorite beans, kidney,black,white, whatever.(I rinse my beans, but you don't have to).
1 can of hominy (not drained)
1 package of your favorite taco seasoning
3 cups chopped kale (optional)
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper chopped (optional)
1 tbs olive oil

The cooking instructions couldn't be easier. Get a large pot, cook the onions and peppers until softened in the olive oil, then dump all the cans in. Add one can of water. Add seasoning packet and kale and cook until heated (aprox 20 minutes) . I never thought I liked kale, but it disappears in this recipe, your hubbie won't really even know it is there. I like to vary the beans, one red and one black, but you can do whatever suits you.

When I am making this for my family, I add ground turkey, but my friend doesn't.

Hi J.. I have a similar problem with my husband...He hates vegetables. I bought the book "Deceptively Delicious" and there are quite a few healthy recipes using vegetables that you wouldn't think of. It's geared towards kids, but It really works on husbands too! Check it out.

I made some awesome burritos last night and the kids loved them - I used fat free refried beans, sharp low fat cheddar cheese, and whole wheat tortilla shells...just rolls them up, wrap in paper towels and microwave for about 30-45 seconds...or you can cover with foil, put in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes at around 325 degrees...also, whole wheat pastas with marinara, chunky mushrooms, bell peppers, garlic, etc. You can always do things with brown rice - that adds some bulk to meals and is healthier and heartier than white rice. Are you still eating seafood? There are some great seafood recipes as well (just let me know). I also make a veggie lasagna - I use mushrooms and spinach (kids don't even realize it's healthy), and layer it with whole wheat lasagna noodles, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan. The red sauce is usually a little chunky any way, so you don't miss the meat and it tastes great. Also, my dad had a great grilled tempeh burger - wonderful flavors - I'm sure you can find a ton of recipes online for that. I also love avocado melts - grill some veggies with different spices, such as bell peppers, broccoli, onions, etc with adobo, garlic, salt and pepper, or whatever you like, and add some avocado slices on whole wheat bread and melt some cheese on top and serve it open-faced. I had that at a restaurant yesterday and it was great.
Good luck!! I know you will feel a big difference after eating this way....and kids are very malleable at a young age. :)

Hi J.,

What type of cleanse diet were you on. I'm looking for the same type of thing and once I get "cleansed"...I want to start eating healthier...let me know what you used and what type of results you had...

Thanks
P.
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