14yo dd has decided to be a vegetarian-help me feed her

[tootiredtothink]

I'm a meat with everything kind of gal .

So far I've cooked the poor girl beans on toast, pasta with tom sauce and pasta with pesto. Not a veg in site!!

My mind is blank.

Any ideas and recipes will be much appreciated as really don't want to go down the supplements route.

She's a good eater who will try most things, although nothing spicy.

I have quorn mince and chicken pieces in freezer.

[JamNan]

I recommend Hugh F-W's River Cottage Veg Every Day! which has really inspiring recipes.

[Drladybird]

Hi Netto, I'm pleased you enjoyed the cannelini stew. Thanks for letting me know. Those scones sound amazing! my little lady loves olives so I've been meaning to make something olive related. Yes, link up the blogs and so I can check out your blog too...

[NettoSuperstar]

Drladybird, we're omnivores (me and 11yo DD), but we often eat veggie and I made your cannelini bean stew last night.
I served it with green olive and tallegio scones and roast cherry tomatoes.
We loved it.
I'll add it to my blog soon with a link to yours if that's ok?

[TotallyEggFlipped]

Cake tin sized Yorkshire pudding filled with toasted veg and either cheese or tomato sauce or gravy.

Spicy bean casserole.

Vegetable curry, dhal and rice/naan

Cheese and lentil pie.

[QuintessentialOHara]

I am sorry, but if she is mature enough to make the decision to be a vegetarian, she should be mature enough to cook her own food. At 14, this is perfectly feasible and time for her to learn to cook her own meals, rather than expect her mum to do it for her.

[Habbibu]

Just saw the nothing spicy bit - still use prashad, but cut the chillies dowm drastically!

[Habbibu]

If she likes Indian food, I can really recommend the Prashad cookbook. Yy to river cottage book, and look up ottolenghi's new vegetarian column in the guardian. Post punk kitchen blog has some really lovely vegan food.

[ThePskettiIncident]

A really easy one to make is a puff pastry slice/tart. Sheet of puff pastry, add a little olive oil, tomato purée, onions, peppers, Aubergine, mushrooms etc and feta cubes. Season and bung in the oven. Serve with salad. You can put most things on a topping and make your own base sauce too.

Quiche is good to master and again can add lots of veg to it.

I also like to make a vegan bean and root veg casserole: fry off onions and garlic, add pint of stock and chopped root veg (carrots, swede, potatoes, sweet potato) cook for half hour, then add some lentils or beans and a tin if tomatoes, cook for another 15 mins and serve with crusty bread.

It needs stirring to stop it sticking, but such a lovely warming meal.

[DewDr0p]

I'd second the recommendation of the River Cottage Veg Everyday book.

Nigella's veggie chilli (the one with cornbread topping, although I never bother with the actual topping lol) is fabulous.

Ottolenghi recipes are amazing. My dcs love this hearty soup which I make quite a lot. More of a treat is his vegetarian paella Loads of his recipes are on the Guardian website - worth a browse.

You can also make pasta pesto much healthier with the addition of some green veg (broccoli, peas, broad or french beans, sauteed courgette all work well) and prawns or salmon if she is eating fish.

[Fluffycloudland77]

You could use soya mince, it's got more iron than quorn.

You can bulk cook pulses and lentils and then freeze them in ziplock bags. I do them in my slow cooker.

[Drladybird]

Thanks for the recommendation Aunt. I'm glad that you have enjoyed the recipes. Here is the link to my Broccoli and Rice Cakes blog
I would also recommend the HFW Veg cookery book as this has recipes that everyone can enjoy and they are usually quite straightforward to make.

I turned veggie at 12 and remember my mum struggling to adjust her cooking. My brother then also turned veggie and so now our family get togethers are often exclusively veggie food. Hopefully you can find some dishes that everyone enjoys. This lentil bolagnese is normally enjoyed by meat eaters and veggies too.
Good luck!

[Restorer]

In your position I'd give her the River Cottage Veg Everyday book and let her cook for herself (or all of you) . DS1 (12yo) makes at least one meal per week from it and even resolute carnivore DH has had to admit he's enjoying the meals.

[AuntPittypat]

I'd recommend the Broccoli and Ricecakes blog, regularly recommended on here for vegetarian toddler meals. But they're definitely suitable for older people too... I've made a few and they're delicious!

[Vatta]

It's difficult if you're cooking for a pescatarian in a meat-eating family. One tip is pretty much anything you're cooking with meat, make a portion where you substitute the meat with tofu. Cauldron foods do a good range of flavoured tofu. You can fry, bake or steam it, it's really easy.

[scottishmummy]

it's an exciting change,so much delicious veg food out there

[tootiredtothink]

Brilliant. Thank you all for your help. Have ordered a couple of veggie books but in meantime dd is looking through my
Recipe books for veggie ideas.

Apart from 2 mins from me pointing out all the things she used to enjoy but won't have again (mmmm, bacon buttie),I'm really very proud of her for making this decision on her own.

My baby is growing up!

[Spidermama]

In order to make a great vegetarian sauce for pasta ... make a nice tomato sauce then add some puy lentils (which have been boiled until soft) and maybe some olives and/or capers.

I also use this as a sauce for veggie lasagna.

In recipes like spaghetti carbonara, sundried or sunblushed tomatoes can take the place of bacon.

Veggie stews and curries are really good. Cashew nuts in curries.

She also might need to get her iron elsewhere. Spinach is great for iron.

[Spidermama]

I have been vegetarian for over 20 years and I would say avoid quorn (and most other things which pretend to be meat) as they are nasty and not very nutritious.

Nuts are great for protein. Lentils, beans, eggs and cheese should figure.
Quinoa is very proteinous but its flavour needs to be hidden enhanced.

I agree she should be encouraged to cook for herself or perhaps you could both learn a couple of the recipes on here together.

Well done, by the way, for taking her seriously. My family were quite scornful of me when I went veggie and it was hurtful and alienating.

[MERLYPUSS]

Anything with beef mince (except burgers) you can do as easily with Quorn. Easy.
Quorn stir fry is nice.
Veg and lentil curry.
Some of the breaded 'chicken' style burgers are yummy. Nicer than chicken ones. They also do hot dogs.
Risoto, pasta (tuna in tom sauce or prawns and peas in creamy sauce), paella, special fried rice with egg. You can even get quorn bacon which makes and acceptable (not) chicken and bacon pie.

[DeepRedBetty]

Am adding this thread to my Watch List - lots of handy ideas - thanks everyone!

[DeepRedBetty]

My fourteen year old dd went veggie on New Year's day this year, this is the thread I started complete with useful replies. (You can see I've had a nc since ).

She's doing very well. We've added a few new recipes to our regular dinner's list. Aubergine pilaff has been very popular with everyone. Meals which work for everyone include Curry Feast, where she eats everything except the meat curry, so she has bhajis, raita, tarka dhal, vegetable korma, rice, naan. Baked potatoes, she has sour cream and chive dressing and lots of grated cheese.

Quorn is excellent, and I no longer bother to make meaty versions of anything like chilli, curry, or bolognese, as the chicken style chunks and beef style mince taste exactly the same once coated in sauce.

She does her own cooking at weekends and sometimes feeds everyone. She's turning into an omelette goddess!

The Aubergine Pilaff is in the Good Housekeeping Family Meals for a Fiver cook book.

[BrienneOfTarth]

I went veggie at 14 - my mum said she would not be cooking two meals at any point but would cook a vegetarian meal for the whole family once a week (usually something like macaroni cheese) and the rest of the time it would be my responsibility.

I would make simple things in big batches at the weekend and freeze them in single portions. I had a repetoire of about 4 things, but I got on fine.

These were: a tomato & onion sauce with cut up bits of veggie sausage, a cheesy mushroom sauce, a lentil and/or nut burger (I followed a recipe for a lentil/nut loaf but cooked it in individual-sized-pie-trays), and a chickpea dahl. These I would have with whatever carb and side vegetables the rest of the family was eating, substituting my thing for their meat. Occasionally I would cook something for the whole family (a speciality was walnut and mushroom quiche).

[mrspink27]

This is our current favourite. The good old "Cranks" cookbook is good if you can get one second hand from Amazon. Also Good Food and Rose Elliott is a classic or this one

[TempusFuckit]

I turned veggie at 14 and my mum made me cook all my meals. Taught me loads. I used a cookbook called The Single Vegan by Leah Leneman quite a lot as it gave recipes for one (plus a weekly shopping list) so was a great way to get going. River Cottage recipes are a lot nicer though.

[GoblinGold]

BBC food website is pretty good.

IMHO the best thing is not to try to replace the meat per se (though a quorn sausage sandwich isn't so bad!) but to pick food that isn't meant to be meaty. There are lots of Italian, Indian, Thai dishes that don't have any meat in that are great.

Sunday roasts can just be all the trimmings and Yorkshires (make with veg oil or trex not dripping) with a nice onion gravy. Btw normal red bisto is veggie- just don't add the meat juices. Or do a mini toad in the hole with veggie sausages.

For quick suppers how about omelettes, jacket potatoes, stir fry (can do a meaty one for the rest of the family)?