Vegetarian Daughter

[Brondie319]

Hi all,

My 7 year old daughter has decided she wants to be vegetarian, which is great and i (as a family of meat eaters) fully support her choice. I'm well aware this phase may not (or may!) last long.
Could anybody recommend some recipes i could try for her please?
Going to try the obvious, substituting meat for the non-meat options, i.e quorn chilli/ spag bol etc.

Thanks in advance!

[TheMethodicalMeerkat]

Quorn and similar meat substitutes do have their place (although a lot of MNers will insist organs fall out of their backsides if they go within 10 feet of them ) but I would avoid being too dependent on these as they’re not necessarily the most nutrient rich foods.

There are some good child friendly recipes on www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/vegetarian-kids-recipes that might be a good start.

[PurpleDaisies]

What sorts of things do you normally eat?

BBC good food is really good for east vegetarian recipes. Also Jamie Oliver’s site.

[Brondie319]

Thank you!
We eat lots of salads, roast dinners, lasagne, spag bol, chillies, curries etc 😊

[macaronip1e]

These are delicious (they are dinner for this meat eating household tonight!)

Though, I use bbq sauce rather than hot sauce for the kids and I ignore the ranch dressing and use sour cream instead.

www.bosh.tv/recipes/cauliflower-buffalo-wings

[macaronip1e]

Vegetarian enchiladas and fajitas also go down well here - not using meat substitutes but using pepper, onion, courgettes etc in the sauce

[macaronip1e]

This is a good veggie chilli: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/burnt-aubergine-veggie-chilli/amp

[TheSmallAssassin]

It's just as easy to make a lentil bolognese or a black bean chilli as it is to do a veggie mince one, I generally make a family sized lot of the meat and veggie versions at the same time and then portion up and freeze. I keep veggie sausages and the Tofoo chunky fingers in the freezer, and the Sainsbury's nut cutlets are good for a roast dinner. I am happy to eat tofu with my daughter if we're having stir fry or something, otherwise we never manage to eat the whole pack in time.

[PurpleDaisies]

Spinach and ricotta lasagne is a lovely vegetarian alternative to meaty lasagna. I made (vegan) kale and ricotta cannelloni for lunch. More faffy than lasagne but really nice.

Curries are easy to make vegetarian by substituting things like roasted squash/sweet potato, or a mix of roast veg, or paneer, chick peas, cashew, tofu or a mix of those things instead of the meat.

I agree that quorn/other meat style products can absolutely have a role to play. Richmond veggie sausages are fab. We use them a lot in pasta bakes, toad in the hole or with mash for Sunday lunch. Fry’s chicken nuggets taste the same as proper ones and I really like quorn fish fingers in a sandwich.

Chilli is good with tinned lentils, or dried if you’ve got more time.

Daal is a great staple. I always recommend this one but it’s so easy to do a big batch and freezes well.

www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2013/10/spinach-and-coconut-dal.html?m=1

There are lots of threads about cooking in a mixed veggie/non veggie household. Definitely worth looking up.

[PurpleDaisies]

[quote macaronip1e]This is a good veggie chilli: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/burnt-aubergine-veggie-chilli/amp[/quote]
I love that chilli. I generally make a double batch and freeze some.

[Brondie319]

Some super super ideas here!
Thanks so much, i really appreciate your input and suggestions 😊

[AdaColeman]

Quiche, risotto and vegetable & bean casserole are other ideas for you, as well as the many non meat pasta dishes such as Pasta Primavera, pasta with tomato & aubergine or ratatouille sauce etc. stuffed vegetables (peppers, tomatoes and marrows) and dishes such as mushroom stroganoff are all meals that can be eaten by the whole family, not only the vegetarian.

[TheMethodicalMeerkat]

I agree with pp that it’s as easy to make lentil or bean based dishes as using meat substitutes. If you’re not very familiar or confident with cooking beans/lentils (I’m not assuming you’re not, just I know a lot of meat eaters who wouldn’t know where to start) I think this site has some good, pretty easy recipes which are quite appealing to dc and the dishes hopefully wouldn’t seem too alien to children. DD11 likes to cook and has used lots of recipes from here. The creamy three bean stew is lovely!

[NeverSurrender]

Jamie Oliver has some good recipes - BBQ beans, and veggie enchiladas are faves here

[TheMethodicalMeerkat]

This roast veg lasagna always goes down well with anyone I’ve made it for, meat eaters and veggies alike. A little on the sweet side for my own tastes but even my veg dodging dns love it.

[LittleRa]

I’m a vegetarian and here’s what I’ve had for evening meals this last week:

Veggie fried rice with veggie spring rolls
Quesadilla with cheese, avocado, mushrooms and spinach, with sour cream
Cauliflower and broccoli quiche with skinny fries
Veggie stir fry with noodles, veg and garlic soy sauce
Macaroni cheese
Veggie finger sandwich in a large nap with slice of cheese and mayo
Scrambled eggs and avocado on toast with cherry tomatoes
Halloumi and bean tacos (Hello Fresh recipe)
Cauliflower cheese soup and crusty roll

[Janaih]

My veggie dd tells me Richmond vegetarian sausages are delicious and similar tasting to the real ones.
I'm a committed carnivore but I'm partial to a butternut squash curry. Its very meaty for a vegetable!

[minniemoocher]

Highly recommend the "chicken" quorn in enchiladas, the family may not even notice.

Try them all with mixed bean and vegetable chilli too

I found doing veggie food for all 3 days a week then either a ready meal (eg the spinach and ricotta cannelloni when you are having meat lasagna) or a veggie option like mushroom and cheese bakes on other days is a good compromise

[Labobo]

Some that go down well in our family are:

veggie chilli - no quorn, just extra beans
sweet potato and chickpea curry
veggie curry in peanut and coconut sauce
pea risotto with grated cheese and salad (add more veg if she likes a wide range of veg - we now add mint, spinach, edamame and asparagus)

[Fivemoreminutes1]

Spicy bean burger www.asdagoodliving.co.uk/food/recipes/spicy-baked-bean-burgers
Halloumi burgers realfood.tesco.com/recipes/halloumi-burgers-with-red-pepper-houmous-and-sweet-potato-chips.html
Egg fried rice secretsauce.co.uk/pasta-rice/chinese-recipes/egg-fried-rice/

[StanfordPines]

Like many other posters I don’t eat Quorn anymore. Back 10 years ago or so I did eat it but that’s because there weren’t many other options. Now there is so much more choice.
If I’m making lasagne or chilli I will use lentils and veg for the lasagne and beans for the chilli.

[notrub]

Just to note that it's crucial for a child to get all the required nutrients which is why a straightforward swap of meat for quorn etc is not ideal.

This article provides a good summary

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21139125/#:~:text=The%20nutrients%20of%20concern%20in,a%20useful%20shield%20against%20deficiency.

[notrub]

Sorry - wrong link
www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/vegetarian-and-vegan-diets-q-and-a/

[Glittergoblin]

I'm so happy to have found this thread. My DD is also 7 and also decided she wanted to be a vegetarian 2 weeks ago, I'm finding loads of inspiration on the Hello Fresh website (a favourite so far has been refried bean and halloumi tacos), I'm trying not to give her meat substitutes more than a couple of times a week so trying recipes with beans, lentils and tofu. I'm a little concerned about whether she will be getting the iron she needs but she has been eating weetabix with orange juice every morning which i think gives her half of her daily requirement so hopefully she will be fine!

[indignatio]

Nigel slater's mushroom lasagne is a huge hit, for meat eaters too. Personally I use shop bought pesto but ....

[indignatio]

Having been vegi for 14 years, my trick is to find the best vegi recipes as the meat eaters will also love them several days of the week