One vegetarian in the household - how do you manage meals?

[BeanAround]

One of my DC has decided to be vegetarian. The other DC is a veg-refusing fussy eater, who likes things like plain chicken breasts, sausages etc.

i’ve tried making a list of meals I think both will eat and have ended up with: beans on toast, egg on toast, pizza and sausage and chips (and the last one still requires two different kinds of sausages). So far so uninspiring.

Please hit me with your tips for managing a veggie diet alongside a meat-eating one without having to spend twice as long in the kitchen making different meals!

When DD went veggie I used to try and make our usual meals and then either leave out or make a veggie version for her but it didn't really work so I reversed it and started making veggie meals but adding meat for those who wanted it.
Other than DS we all discovered that we didn't really miss the meat and/or preferred the meal without.
DD is at Uni now but DH doesnt eat meat at all, I am not bothered either way and DS only eats meat

I own various veggie cookbooks already, which I have been scouring to find things I think the whole family will eat and coming up with almost nothing at all.

The challenge isn’t so much cooking veggie but making veggie meals alongside catering for someone who doesn’t eat many vegetarian meal, when meal prep time is limited

Ah! Yes, more difficult!
Can you batch cook tomato sauces/veggie chilli or bolognaise?

We have this situation. The veggie kid gets a fried egg or baked beans instead of the meat item in some meals. Over the last year, the non veggie kid has got a lot better at eating a variety of things including veggie meals.

I’ll have a look at recipes for something like this - definitely some meals where I can just switch a piece of meat for a piece of something veggie will help.

I'm not a vegetarian but veggie meals I like are:

Bean or lentil chilli
Lentil cottage pie
Sweet potato curry
Jackfruit burger
Fried eggs with chips

As the lone veggie in a household with children, our menu looks a bit like this. (We have a veggie only frying pan and a meat one which means it’s easy to keep things separate and organised!)
Roast dinner - tofu for me, dipped in seasoned cornflour and fried till crispy
Stir fry or fajitas - tofu again (I use the “tofoo” blocks, one does two meals.) the rest have left over roast meat. We all have the same veg. Fry the veg first then the tofu in the veg pan. The tofu only takes 5 mins if that. Meat done in the other frying pan. Or grate the tofu, season and bake in the oven for 15 mins.
Pasta - macaroni cheese and roast veg or Quorn meatballs and tomato sauce eaten by everyone. Or bolognese; tomato sauce with veg made in saucepan. Mince fried in meat pan. Some sauce added to meat then quorn mince added to remaining sauce in the saucepan.
Burgers/sausages - just use a veggie one. I prefer bean to fake meat varieties
Chilli and nachos or enchiladas - made with beans - especially black beans for their high protein content - eaten by everyone.
Pizza - one each with chosen toppings.
Curry - made with quorn and veg for everyone. Or paneer. Or chickpeas (kids don’t appreciate that one as much!)

I try to avoid eating quorn or other fake meat more than once a week.

Every time you make a 'mince' meal like spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, chilli con carne, tacos, meatballs etc make a vegetarian one that serves 4 and freeze the extra portions.

I make a mushroom and puy lentil bolognaise, Jamie Oliver's veggie chilli (has mixed beans in for protein), a veggie lasagne with meaty vegetables like aubergine and mushrooms and a taco filling again using mixed beans.

Fajitas and stir fries make good healthy quick dinners and are easy to do a quick veggie version of. I use tofu in the stir fries. Things like nasi goreng, pad Thai, risottos, paella are easy to divide at the last minute and add meat to.

Roast dinners and pies are easy to adapt too.

Dh and I do veggie mon-thurs. I'll make a veg curry, grill a chicken breast separately. Blend the kids portions (so veg disappears and add the chicken. Dh and I eat the curry with veg still in. Also works with stew and pasta bakes.

I think 8 is too young. My DD went veggie aged 16 but now aged 24 eats some meat . I cooked some veggie meals for us all ( lentil bolognaise, bean chilli etc) and other times she had meat substitutes or a diifferent meal. It was a pain but then she went to uni so was mostly on her.

I'm veggie and so is my DD also 8 - I agree it is a reasonable age to make the decision, she came to the decision herself, and had for about 6 months been making the choice of the vegetarian meals at school, before she decided she wanted to try being vegetarian, we've been very clear she doesn't have to stick to it if she doesn't want to but we will support her if she does - on the proviso she will eat a good range of foods - she's pretty good with veg and lentils etc so happy she is generally getting a pretty good diet.

Anyway, my DH isn't veggie and he is very happy to eat veggie for most meals so we tend do that tbh but when he does want some meat/fish in his diet I tend to do simple meals that are basically veggie but meat/fish can be added to - eg stir fry (can add chicken/prawns), veggie pasta sauce (add meatballs), sausage and mash (add sausage) etc.

We do a lot of pasta dishes that are vegetarian by default. Often with cheese or toasted nuts for some protein.

We also have fajitas very often but the filling is made with a tin of chickpeas and a tin of mixed beans. It takes 10 minutes to get on the table and everyone can build their own. Maybe the fussy eater could have some cooked chicken pieces (bought pre cooked from the supermarket for ease) in theirs if they didn't want the chickpeas.

Egg and beans on toast is a perfectly adequate meal. It is our go to on nights when DDs are at clubs.

Homemade burgers but the vegetarian have a Portobello mushroom on their bun instead of meat.

Would your fussy eater eat halloumi? That tends to be a winner in our house.

One of my big problems is that (with exception of tinned baked beans) the fussy one won’t eat any “wet” foods which rules out spag bol, chilli, stews etc etc which are all easy to make as veggie alternatives

Neither of them like halloumi which is infuriating!

An unpromising start: I made a massive batch of vegetable and lentil sauce for pasta which veggie DS has tasted and rejected. Aargh!

I’ve only ever succeeded in feeding them lentils when they’re a hidden bulking ingredient. E.g. carrot (and red lentil) soup. Use them sparingly at first and a hand blender is your friend!

We used to serve everything separately when the kids were younger and fussier. Eg pasta and meatballs - big plate - pasta, meatballs, cheese and sauce all separated on the plate (sauce is the veg therefore non-negotiable if they wanted dessert). Then it’s easy to do meat/quorn balls for different people. Those that want it mixed can do so on their plates. Works for most meals that involve sauce.

We're in a similar situation OP - I second portobello mushrooms as a burger replacement, and also "what the cluck" works OK as a veggie chicken replacement. I started out trying to do one meal for everyone, but have now become resigned to doing something easily modifiable into two forms that DS and DD will each eat. This isn't generally too painful, though our veggie DD does currently eat quite a lot of Quorn...

jacket potato, cheese on toast, pasta (plain or with a sauce or mac and cheese)

We now all eat a lot more veggie meals!

Pasta, fajitas, curry, Dahl, naan bread pizza, baked potato, etc etc. or if I'm doing a meat main for us, I do dc a veggie alternative for ds so grilled halloumi instead of grilled chicken, etc.

I'm vegan, dh is a meat eater and the kids vegetarian and we all get along just fine. It doesn't need to be a big thing at all.

Tonight was pizza night which was easy. I would usually join in but there was some leftover lentil spaghetti bolognese so I had that instead. A lot of garlic bread is vegan. Sainsburys vegan bacon by 'la vie' is amazing and my kids love it.

Meals ideas for you:
Macaroni cheese (can add bacon, tomatoes, egg, anything really)
Chilli con carne, easy to have 2 pots on the go at once. Vegan mince is cheap.
Stir fry - additions can be chickpeas, chicken, beans / lentils
Curry see above
Risotto again see above
Pasta bake again really adaptable

Same scenario. I just do a veggie version of the same, so if spaghetti bolognaise I’ll have two pans one with beef mice one with veggie mince. Same for cottage pie or casseroles. Then the veggie pan normally I can split into a few meals and freeze portions for easy meals when the meat substitute is harder to achieve or I can’t be arsed.

Example meals that are easy to do with a meat substitute version in tandem:

Cottage Pie
Thai Green Chicken Curry
Casserole
Butter Chicken Masala
Chicken stir fry
Macaroni cheese (meat version has bacon)

All the chopping and prep is the same, we normally put a lot of veg into most dishes, just one pan has Quorn chicken pieces / Quorn mince.

Could you list what the fussy DC tolerates and we can then work veggie alternatives around that?

you mentioned tonight’s meal. I have a lentil bolognese (slow cooker but could be stove top) recipe which lots of meaty people prefer because you literally cannot tell it’s lentil, if you want the recipe I am happy to share.

I have:
fussy meaty (but won’t eat salmon and white fish)
non-fussy meaty
pescetarian (eats salmon and white fish)
vegetarian

as a (poor) example we might have lentil Bol one day, maybe from a previous batch cook, which all will eat other than the fussy meat eater. She will have the spaghetti and I’ll slice up a sausage from the air fryer and she’ll have sausage spaghetti with cold tomatoes and carrots and cucumber on the side (revolting to me but it covers her bases).

they’ll all eat jackets but the pescatarian won’t, and he won’t eat tuna, and doesn’t much like jackets, so I make a big mixed salad with leaves and hard boiled eggs, feta, olives, croutons. Two have a jacket with cheese, one with tuna (the rest of the tin goes in the lunch sandwich next day, and the fussiest one has his potato into wedges in the air fryer and eats that with salad.

it’s a pain in the arse but its compromise all round.
we don’t eat any processed fake meats as we just don’t like them.

the most simple pleaser for us when I really, really can’t be arsed is thick ham for the two meat eaters (i cook a gammon and freeze it into slices, much cheaper), egg or pineapple, beans and home made air fryer wedges. Nowt wrong with egg, chips and beans for the veggie! I’m the veggie and I love it! and it’s not too processed if you are careful and we don’t eat it more than once a fortnight if that.

My family consisted of veggie mum and meat eating husband and child. I would say don't try to feed the veggie child much "meat substitute" because they often are ultra processes and not that nice. Go for nice proper veggie things like your bean burger, or similar.

Would love ideas for how you cook/serve those things (tofu, mushrooms etc)

youtube is your friend.....

My DS has been veggie since age 12, and I generally eat veggie too, but I cook meat when my parents are visiting.

If I do a roast chicken with potatoes and veg for them, I usually do a few falafels with the roast potatoes and DS has those. If I make something like a fish pie or shepards pie, I do a seperate veggie version for DS, so we're all eating the same type of food, rather than him having pasta with grated cheese, which he would happily live on.

Your fussy eater sounds like the main problem - can you prioritise dealing with him? I know how frustrating it can be - my neice was like this till she was about 18, 22 now and still unadventurous but not as restricted as she was, going away to uni and eating with friends triggered the difference, but thats a long time to wait.