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.

Chicken curry, spag Bol, cottage pie, roast dinner, pizza and salad

I love your suggestion that now her diet is unhealthy and lacking in veg! If you've been feeding her the same carb heavy boring food for years why did you think she'd suddenly eat the rainbow now she's vegetarian?

I also love that you thought she was eating too much pasta so you cooked her... Spag bol!

I was veggie from age 4 and vegan since I was 40. My mother fed me chips and baked beans nearly every day until I was old enough to use a can opener and then I lived on tinned soup! Didn't do me much harm. When I went to uni I lived on pizza and veggie curry and that's when I put on weight. All sorted by mid twenties when I learnt to cook.

Margaret - the kids were/are happy and ate it and one portion of spaghetti per week is fine - 7 lots of pasta bake is not.

I guess pissed you have to decide what's worse long term.

A few nights of whining/stubborn refusals and not eating dinner.

Or spending years eating mince and curry.

Nothing wrong with either but not on a 5 meal rotation.

Everyone's nutrition will eventually suffer of you allow this to continue.

Not to mention the impact of eating out with friends/family or going on holiday.

I know what one I'd choose..

Well no Giles nobody's nutrition is suffering, my children don't eat crap unlike lots I've met, they eat out regularly at least twice a fortnight and always find sonethingbtgeyblike so let's not get this out of proportion. And it wouldn't be a few nights believe me it would and has been hundreds of pounds of food in the bin which if we are talking ethics I find more disturbing if a chicken has given its life it ought to at least be eaten.

What do they eat when they eat out then?

Do they pick what you usually cook or something different?

Genuinely trying to workout if they are having you on to any extent...

There's always a time and place for crap BTW

I was thinking more of things like school residentials or cub/brownie camps where choice could be much more limited.

I'm only asking as quite often if the parent isn't around, as with nursery or school dinners or even gran parents,,,they suddenly start eating stuff.

She's gone veggie but doesn't like vegetables?! 🙄

Last school trip to France recently she had chips for three days as it was that or omelette for vegetarians. I'm sure there is an element of taking the piss, no doubt whatsoever but they eat out with their dad, nandos, wagamama etc from what I can gather so it's not too hard.
It's simply a case of I'm over it. They get veg in the cottage pie, the chicken curry, served with the roast and on the pizza. The fruit bowl is always full and beyond that I honestly don't care any more. Kids have had a rough time no intention of making meal times a battle too

Giles it wouldn't surprise me, but I think that's normal kid behaviour

maths that was my thinking too.

OP, I think you need to do some research into nutrition before you start wafting around claims about soy being harmful and bodies going into starvation mode.

There is plenty of food your daughter could eat. Bean burgers, black bean and sweet potato chilli, curries, ratatouille, veggie sausage with mash, veg & gravy, mushroom tarts... These are all things that we've had or are having this week and I promise you none of them are difficult.

Why won't you do Quorn? I'm not a massive fan of it myself taste wise but it's better than lying to your children.

At 16 she needs to take some responsibility for her choice to become vegetarian.
I don't think it's okay to say that she wants to be a vegetarian but doesn't want vegetables, eggs, sweet potatoes, etc which are all great for nutrition.

I would say to her that you are worried about her nutrition, discuss the importance of vegetables, protein, etc and ask her find some recipes that she would eat. She can then help you to prepare them.

I'm a veggie and I can't get too het up about you feeding her meat. I can tell if something's meat a mile off so I'm surprised she didn't spot it.

Anyway, maybe it'd help to bulk cook for her so she has a back up of frozen portions?

I like veggie ragu:

Fry onions then garlic. Add tinned toms and rinsed tins of lentils. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and fresh basil and leave to simmer. You can also fry some mushrooms up with the garlic to add something else to it.

Or bean chili:

Fry onions and garlic, add tinned toms and rinsed tins of beans. Numbers of tins and types of beans is up to you, but the more beans you add the more toms you'll need. Season well with chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper, cocoa powder, Tabasco etc etc and simmer til thickened. If she doesn't like rice she could have it on a jacket?

I grew to love veg more as I went to uni and just experienced the world a bit more. I realised that the awkwardness of not being able to eat out in certain places wasn't worth it, so I just started eating more veg. Now I'll eat anything veggie.

That's great AB - I am making notes - thank you

It was quorn and meat by the way, when I gave her just quorn she said it tasted like old socks - and it did !

Hmm isn't spaghetti boll pasta? I've been veggie for over 30 years and I do probably eat too many carbs. I'm doing ratatouille tonight that's my fave. What about quorn products? Sausage mash and beans? Veg lasagne, beans on toast. Jacket potatoes? Why couldn't you have just made the spaghetti boll with all quorn mince it would have been healthier for everyone. Will she eat jacket pots? I do eat a lot of pizza and pasta because it's quick and easy anything you would usually make with mince lasagne spag boll cottage pie chilli etc you could use quorn mince and all eat that?

Try the Linda McCartney vege mince.

Much better

Why couldn't you have just made the spaghetti boll with quorn ..... Because it tasted like shit
Will give old Linda a go

As others have said she is lacking protein, possibly iron (and if borderline vegan probably calcium and B12 too).

She really needs to take an interest in her diet and how to be vegetarian, but in the mean time mumsnet can help you with some tips. It is possible to be a healthy vegan, but you need to plug the nutrition gaps.

If she is eating pasta a simple way to make a complete protein is to substitute some of the pasta for butter beans. Or cook some cannellini beans with a little olive oil and garlic until they mush an have that on the side. These beans are often sold canned in tesco/asda 3 cans for a pound. White beans also contain iron.

Tofu is a source of protein and calcium. Some of the flavoured varieties sold in waitrose can just be sliced up and added to the side of a meal. Not so cheap!

I'm guessing you don't make your own pizza, if you do just don't add meat or cheese but give some veggie sausages or the like on the side to make sure she gets some protein. Linda McCartney do vegan sausages.

Drinking a glass a day of soya milk (sweetened tends to be more drinkable) will add calcium, B12 (if fortified) and protein. It is worth considering a B12 supplement (non animal sources are considered unreliable.

Regarding other matter, be careful, you may have lied to her with the best of intentions, but it's an age where lasting damage can be done to the mum daughter relationship. I am not saying that would happen if she finds out, I don't know her, but she may consider it a huge betrayal of trust. As the adult, telling her she broke your trust first (with regards to the fiver) may not wash. Also, be very careful about refusing to buy clothes because she has put on weight, she is not too old for an eating disorder. Again, I don't know your daughter, but 16 year olds I have known, weight can be a very sensitive subject.

Thanks sorenipples

Merchant Gourmet do sachets of pre-cooked puy lentils.

Dead easy. Just give them to her in place of whatever meat-based protein the rest of the family is having, as well as the normal family veg.

Quorn absorbs flavour, it really doesn't have a favour. I used to eat a lot of the 'diced chicken' - it's nice well cooked in the fry pan, but I've stopped eating it because it made my tummy really gassy. I tend to stick to Cauldron stuff now if I buy that type of thing. I never eat Linda McCartney stuff because it's too 'meaty' for me (and some meat was found in some products years ago). I love the tofutti 'basil infused tofu' in Waitrose (by the fridge Quorn/cauldron stuff. It's much nicer than it sounds, you just slice it & eat it cold.

I eat a lot of veg in a cheese sauce (fresh double cream warmed & add grated cheese, mustard, black pepper - 2 mins). I make enough for a few meals, heat some up & add something like fresh red pepper or grated cheese if I fancy.

Veg in a wok - pine nuts & soy sauce.

Soya bread toasted with avocado, a pan of mushrooms cooked in butter, & spinache, mixed seeds on top.

Nachos with lots of pan fried veg & melted cheese.

Salad with blue cheese. Sometimes in wraps.

Baked potatoes with brams & cheese or veg chili.

Burritos

way too many crackers with cheese & cucumber/tomato

Quorn mince isn't that nice. Sainsburys own veg frozen mince and a brand called meat the alternative from Waitrose however, are both lovely. The Waitrose one being my favourite.
There are some great meat substitutes available in Holland and Barrett.

I went veggie around your daughters age and I didn't like veg, I chopped it small, added it to sauces etc, did all my own cooking, and now at 37, I have been vegan 10 years and love all vegetables.
If you have family history of bowel cancer, you could all do with switching to some vegan meals. The WHO have now proven that meat consumption is directly linked to cancer. So why not get on board with your daughter.
My daughter is also vegan, we eat a massively varied and healthy diet.
Please don't feed her meat again, that at best, sneaky and at worse disrespectful and deceitful.

So meal ideas:
Breakfasts- smoothie, porridge, scrambled tofu with tomatoes and mushrooms, bagel with peanut butter.
Lunches - wrap with hummus and roast veggies with salad, pasta salad, veg soup, veg sushi, quinoa and avocado salad.
Dinners - vegan quiche, jacket potatoes with chilli or beans, kidney bean burgers with herby roast potatoes and salad, veggie toad in the hole.

Google vegan recipes- there is a wealth of knowledge out there. Good luck!

I have never heard of any teenager suffering from malnutrition because they became veggie/vegan. It would take years, if ever. The real danger is processed meat.

Op can you list what she will eat earlier you said no eggs or dairy but then mention eating cereal, does she have it dry or with a dairy free milk?
Is this a choice based on ethics? So eggs and dairy are out in all forms (I.e as ingredients) or just in their original state?
Have you tried her with any pulses or beans?
What veg will she eat in a roast? You could start with that.
You mention nandos and Wagamama, what does she order there? It must be possible to replicate a veggie version at home.
If you are looking for vegan recipes Jack Monroe has loads on her website and they're all low cost so won't cost so much if she tries them and doesn't like them.