Veggie Foster child this week- best meal ideas

[NellietheNumpty]

I will be able to meal plan with them once they are here and settled but I need a few meals ready to go and a few prepared and frozen. It is a complex one and I am working this week too.
Your best go to meals please.

Get Quorn mince as an alternative for mince dishes -lasagne, bolognaise, shepherd's pie. Get the Quorn "chicken" pieces for stews/casseroles/enchildas etc. Cook for a long time to soak up ingredients.

Have plenty of cheese, beans and pasta in.

One of our favourites is Spinach and Ricotta Tortellini - 5 mins to cook and then add pesto!

Spaghetti with green pesto, peas and pine nuts is another quickie.

@Ducksurprise

I'd play it safe and do fake chicken nuggets, fake burgers fake sausages to begin with, most veggie kids I know love the processed crap, and then you can plan more when you have met them

Yep so would I. I have vegetarian children. Anything branded quorn or Linda McCartney is usually ok. Or make a nice tomato sauce with spaghetti and garlic bread. Pizza. Mine love Greggs vegan sausage rolls as a treat.

Someone else recommended pasta pesto. Bear in mind that most pesto isn’t vegetarian as it contains Parmesan which contains animal rennet. Need to buy the veggie version.

It’s very unusual for a child coming into care to be adventurous, for lots of reasons. Most of the ones who tell me they are veggie only eat chips, pot noodles and toast!

I would have a Margarita pizza, garlic bread, baked beans and cucumber slices for the first night. Pasta and tomato sauce, ramen noodles, eggs, are good backups. Then ask them. I often do a ‘make your own pizza’ on a first night as an icebreaker if I know we will have time.

My v fussy veggie DS likes

Quorn nuggets with potato waffle

Spaghetti with tomato puree and peas

Stir fry cauldron foods marinated tofu pieces with rice, veg and lemon juice and soy sauce and ginger seasoning

Margherita pizza

Plain omelette with baked beans

The Mexican meal kits are great for quick veggie meals. We have enchiladas with peppers and tinned beans (whatever is in the cupboard: kidney beans, butter beans etc - they all work!), fajitas with peppers and fried strips of tofu, nachos topped with black beans, avo and sweetcorn (plus sour cream, cheese, and salsa), and tacos using a mix of tinned lentils and fake mince in place of beef mince.
We also have homemade soups with crusty bread a lot as mid week dinners. Very easy to make these in advance and just reheat. I always keep a few packets of part baked bread in the cupboard for this.

Nothing to add on the food front but just wanted to say thank you for your fostering and your consideration of what some (my family ) would think of just being a pain in the proverbial. The world needs more people like you.

Tomato pasta with garlic bread
Pizza
Veggie chilli
Burritos
Baked potatoes or stuffed baked potatoes
Mac and cheese with peas/broccoli
Veg lasagne

Good luck!

Be wary of quorn! A lot of people are (violently!) intolerant to it! You can get 'meat free' stuff made of pea protein though - one of those with chips is a pretty safe bet

I've never known a little on say no to pesto pasta with peas stirred in

Hummus and veg sticks for snack or part of light lunch

Omelette/scrambled eggs

Burritos (have them help make their own if they're big enough - more likely to eat them that way!)

Spinach and ricotta fresh pasta - ready in 3 mins

Baked potato with beans/cheese

Garlic flatbread to dip in soup

'Shepherdess pie' made with lentils is one for the freezer

Be aware that a lot of things you'd think would be ok (cheese, yoghurt, icecream, sweets) aren't necessarily vegetarian so you'll need to check the label if they're strict.

Be wary of quorn! A lot of people are (violently!) intolerant to it!
Yes, I would not give quorn without checking first, I'd stick to more natural plant based foods. Not all vegetarian children will accept meat substitutes either.

Thanks everyone.
We are in and caring for a child with PTSD who fainted at handover. They tucked into Linda Mc Carthney sausages and potato wedges with mixed vegetables. They are now in their room and sleepy.

@NellietheNumpty

Thanks everyone. We are in and caring for a child with PTSD who fainted at handover. They tucked into Linda Mc Carthney sausages and potato wedges with mixed vegetables. They are now in their room and sleepy.

Poor love, so glad they were welcomed with such thoughtfulness and compassion by you.

Well done, first hurdle over but I imagine it will be a tough road.