If you are vegetarian or vegan - what do you eat ?

[Pisssssedofff]

DD 1 has gone veggie and gone up a dress size, basically because she's having pasta at every meal, cereal for breakfast and nothing for lunch, far too much fruit juice and scoffing 6 apples a day too.
She won't eat eggs - any suggestions it's driving me insane, I don't think she really likes vegetables if we are honest.

As a mixed household of meat eaters and veggies we find curry works well, make the usual chicken one for you, a veg one and a dhal (the food of gods).
If you batch cook bolognaise using soya/quorn mince, red lentils and lentilles vert most meat eaters won't turn their noses up at it.
Definitely get her to start cooking, you could work side by side doing veg and non veg versions.

Im a vegan.
Yesterday I had veggie burger and chips and then veggie spring rolls and rice later.

Today I've had muesli and soy milk and I'll make a big salad for dinner with quorn chiken pieces and some bread on the side.lunch was soup and an avocado and hummus roll.

I make chillies and curries a lot-just cookwhat you would normally and replace the meat with lentils or a meat substitute? It's not difficult.

But you said that she was eating cereal for breakfast, pasta at every meal and lots of fruit. A lot of teens go through that when they start to be more independent in their food choices. I survived on pasta and sauce as a student, dsd survived on toast because she couldn't be arsed cooking (neither of us were vegetarian).

Doesn't mean choosing to be veggie is a fad, just let her find her own way. Don't buy her more clothes, let her come shopping with you / plan meals / do some batch cooking. If she has healthy choices available and chooses not to access them, it's her choice - same as going to school without breakfast or a coat.

True, I just don't want her getting big or her concentration levels dropping because she's not eating properly you know and she bloody loved that bolognese 😁

I make a bean and veg chili and add quinoa to give it more body and slightly drier texture. I serve it in the tortilla boats with lettuce, cheese, salsa & guacamole (shop bought ) to put on top. My usually non veggie children wolf it down happily.

One lazy meal we have is quorn or tofu sausages with yorkshire puddings (non beef fat ones), veg and gravy. Red Bisto is vegetarian (really!)

I became veggie at 17 and it was much harder 16 years ago as fewer options! We have some 'easy' meals like cheese and beans on toast, pizza with salad, Quorn burger/southern fried chicken burger/sausages with wedges/chips/couscous and beans/petit pois, etc. Also stir-fries with either just veg or veg and quorn chicken & noodles, veg/Quorn curries either from scratch or using jar, jacket potatoes with veggie chilli/cheese and beans/cottage cheese and salad, fajitas (veg or veg and Quorn), we do a roast dinner, all the veg as usual except husband has chicken and I'll have Quorn chicken fillets or a nut roast type thing and onion gravy. You can also get loads of ready meals by Quorn like shepherds pie. Why has she stopped eating lunch? Could she not get a cheese sandwich, jacket potato or anything? Could it be because she's trying to keep her weight down?

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/vegetarian_shepherds_pie_73637

I love this recipe (as does my toddler and meat loving DH). I leave out the Parmesan and Worcestershire sauce to make it vegetarian. I went pescetarian at 12 (admittedly easier than your DDs situation). My mum made it clear that if she wasn't cooking something I would eat I could fend for myself. It was good for my independence and got me into cooking meals for the whole family. She helped with getting me recipes. I always had some vege burger type things in the freezer as well.

Indian cookery is great for veges/ vegans. I went out with a vegan for a while and an Indian restaurant was always our best bet. There are loads of good vegetarian Indian cook books out there. Lentils are always a good substitute for meat and are cheaper/ healthier. Overall vege cookery can be very healthy but not if you live off pasta and cheese.

I think the issue here, OP, is that by your own admission your family eats quite a limited diet. You just have a few limited meals on rotation - pizza, roast dinner, spat Bol etc.

So naturally your daughter is not going to suddenly be able to plan or cook a wide variety of meals.

I would start by doing the easiest vegetarian equivalents of what you are already eating. Pizza is vegetarian. A roast dinner with a couple of vege sausages is vegetarian. Then there's not extra work involved.

She only needs to work out about five nutritious meals - same as you do, and rotate them.

Baked beans on toast is a perfectly reasonable breakfast instead of cereal.

I became veggie at age 11 my mum said fine but I had to cook all my own meals which I largely did. If your DD wants different food to the rest of the house let her cook it esp at 16.

thekitchenpaper.com/sweet-potato-quinoa-cakes/
deliciouslyella.com/mushroom-chickpea-stew/
allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/5671/cauliflower-and-lentil-curry.aspx
blackdogliving.com/2015/11/02/roast-curried-squash-and-cauliflower-dahl-aka-waste-not-want-not/
www.mallikabasu.com/2008/07/25/perfect-saag-paneer/

So many websites with recipes, veggie and vegan. So many blogs she can look at and take ideas from. BUT she will have to eat lentils, wide variety of veg is she is to have a healthy lifestyle. Would she go shopping with you so she can choose the veg/lentils etc?

I don't think you are giving her a lot of respect. I went veggie at 16 for ethical reasons and had some 'ugh, it's just a fad' comments from my parents. Well, I'm 31 in a few days and still veggie. It's really unfair to give her meat in secret and tell her it's quorn (you could have just made it with quorn for real and skipped all the deception)!

But in answer to your question, I usually have cereal for breakfast, although sometimes have toast / a bagel with peanut butter instead (mornings are a rush for me so it has to be quick).

Lunch is usually a sandwich or wrap, with fruit / snacky bits; or sometimes cold pizza / quiche with salad; beans or eggs on toast, or soup.

Dinners for me can be anything. I use quorn / soya products quite a bit so just often substitute this for whatever the meat equivalent would be. Most commonly I cook pasta dishes like spag bol or similar, curries, toad-in-the-holes, roast dinners (with nut cutlets) fajitas etc.

If she's not willing to put a lot of effort in could you try buying her some frozen bean burgers / quorn grills to keep in the freezer, with some wraps etc to make wraps with; and maybe buy some tins of soup etc for her to start having for lunch?

she bloody loved that bolognese

And my dh loved the quorn bolognaise I made (that he ate by mistake, when he mixed ours up by mistake) but that doesn't mean he wants to give up eating meat.

Does she know that you fed her meat without her knowledge? I'm not someone who holds grudges at all, but would take a hell of a lot of time for me to get over someone doing that to me. Really out of order and the fact that you seem to be enjoying it makes it worse.

I became a vegetarian when I was 15. My mother told me that if I didn't want what was on offer I needed to make something else myself. I was crap at it to begin with but got better over time. She needs to realise that if she won't eat well the result is that she will feel unwell, gain weight etc. She will soon get the hang of it or go back to meat.

I have converted my husband to eating more veggie meals (confirmed meat eater) and it has helped both of us lose weight. I generally just convert meat based meals and subsitute with veggie alternatives e.g. quorn mince, beans, lentils. I find I make enormous pots which means I can freeze the left overs. (I don't like eggs either.) If the whole family are prepared to have the odd veggie meals, then you can stock the freezer and she always has something there. But she needs to learn to cook as well.
Veggie sausage cassolet - quorn sausages, lots of beans, veg etc.
Morrocan tagine - quorn style chicken pieces, chickpeas instead of lamb/chicken
Veggie chilli (great on jacket potatos, in tortillas) again quorn mince, mixed beans and lentils.
Roasted vegetable pasta sauce - again great on jackets as well as pasta
Macaroni cheese made with low fat creme fraiche, including cauliflower and leeks.
Faitas made with beans instead of chicken
Chickpea burgers
Lasagne made with a mix of veggie mince and roasted vegetables.
Curries - if she doesn't like rice, she could have naan instead.
Good stock of veggie sausages, burgers etc. to have with veggies etc. or as a substitute for meat e.g. a roast.

I do find I tend to add extra herbs/spices though to give the veggie meals more flavour.

I can't believe you fed her meat and lied. I went veggie at 11 and if my mum had ever done that the fall out would've been huge.
Breakfast is usually peanut butter and banana/Apple on toast/bagel or something egg based. Occasionally cereal but I try to have protein. Sometimes smoothies.
Lunch is usually salad/sandwich/hummus with crudites
Dinners with protein:
Bean chilli
Falafel
Bean burgers
Chickpea curries
Lentil dahl
Lentil and mushroom spaghetti Bolognese
Allotment pie
Tofu/quorn stir fry
Quorn fajitas
Veggie sausage and mash (tescos Lincolnshire are my favourite)
Spicy sausage pasta dish
Assorted selection of the vegetarian freezer section for when you just want to shove something in the oven.

Well that's my diet at its best, recently fallen into bad habits and having pesto pasta/pizza far to often . It's an easy trap to fall into so I sympathise.I take a multivitamin aimed at vegans just to make sure I'm getting enough iron so would recommend that, her iron is probably low and it does make you feel shit.

It's not about respect its about the ridiculousness of announcing you are veggie but won't eat vegetables, can one be a macaroni- cheese - atarian

She laughed actually, no fall out, we get over stuff pretty quick in our house or no doubt she calls me all the names under the sun behind my back like most teens do ... It's no big deal in the grand scheme of things

I did wonder about iron, thank you Drop

But again, doesn't like peanut butter and won't eat egg. It's hard work this

If she wouldn't eat any vegetables, how was she eating a roast dinner before? Or pizza and salad?

There are lots of vegetarians who don't eat vegetables. Similarly, lots of meat eaters who don't. Vegetarianism isn't inherently any more or less healthy than meat eating.

If you want her to eat a more varied diet, cook a more varied range of vegetarian foods for her. If you don't want to cook for her, accept that she might have a crap diet for a while while she learns to feed herself. But you can't make her eat meat if she doesn't want to. Don't lie to her about whether the meal you're serving is vegetarian, that is disrespectful whichever way you swing it.

I went veggie at 11 and remained so for 17 years (mainly because my aunt said it was a fad & I'm bloody stubborn!! Plus it was the early 80's & farming standards were atrocious - mainly that really!). I get it, I think you should respect her decision, sneaking meat in is a bit off - one of the biggest teenage rows I had was with my Dad for putting meat gravy on my veggie roast and not understanding I wouldn't eat it (I'm 44, I remember it like it was yesterday!).

You are right - being veggie doesn't equal being healthy so you asking this is brilliant. Being picky not great (eggs are a lifesaver) not great but does she like Asian food? A very good friend of mine lives in Thailand and is very slim and glam (I'm not, never was)- she has always been veggie and credits her amazing figure to the Thai diet. With this in mind, try Thai curries (sneak spinach in there, mushrooms, sugar snaps, green beans..coconut milk based curries - green, red, masaman, all good and not as evil as people make out), again any curry but also stir fries with all sorts of lovely (easily done but also pre-made supermarket) sauces to make them more interesting - can put with noodles then there are your more minimal carbs.

Also jacket potatoes with cheese and 'salsa' (I make mine with half a cucumber, 4x big vine toms, a red onion, half a lemon and optional coriander - all chopped up really small and goes with everything!). Hth, good luck, might be a phase or might be really important to her - either way it deserves respect.

My thoughts on your situation have been summed up well by Almondpudding
I'll add that I think your daughter needs to have a think and do some research on recipes, meat replacements and where to get any vitamins/minerals she would lose out on when becoming a veggie. Iron being one of the most prominent. If you're worried about her help her have a look through some websites or books, even the NHS website has some easily understandable advice and recipes for veggies!
I'm vegetarian, here are a few dinner time meals I eat and can remember just now;
Macaroni and cheese with tomatoes mixed through and broccoli on the side.
Vegetable stirfry.
Chilli con carne, made with lentils, kidney beans and chickpeas as well as peppers and onions.
Penne picante.
Jacket potatoe with baked beans and salad.
Fajitas or enchiladas with quorn chicken and salad.
Tikka Masala with chickpeas and potatoes instead of meat as well as other vegetables.

Almond, she'd eat them if they were drowned in gravy ... However she will eat asparagus, broccoli, cherries she likes you know all the cheap stuff ... I despair !

So buy vegetarian gravy and drown the veg in it, same as you did before.

Rather than saying she doesn't eat veg, it would be easier to make an honest list of the veg she does eat, in what form, and make a list from there.

My DD has just become vegetarian. I am vegetarian and we still have the same issue as you, because DD likes different things to me and I generally cook on rotation of a few meals. Her plan is to just eat Thai, and I'm trying to work out other stuff she can eat. But you have to want to make it work, from the starting point of what she does eat.