Vegetarian child

[katelyle]

My 11 year old dd has decided to be a vegetarian. I'm very happy for her to do this but I'd welcome a bit of help. We don't eat a huge amount of meat anyway and I would be tempted to just go vegetarian as a family, but ds (6) is a bit of a "meat and two veg man" so I don't think it'd be fair to him. But I want to avoid cooking too many different things. What I need is ideas for easy things to do for her when he's having sausages or some grilled chicken so that they can both have the same vegetables and stuff. I've bought some vegetarian sausages and some other convenience-y things and they were OK, but I want for things I can make from scratch. Thanks all!

will she eat fish, if so you can make and freeze your own fish-cakes, or you could give her jacket potatoes with cheese/baked beans, or omelette perhaps.

My ds went through a vegetarian phase for about year. I made up some veggie recipes of spag bol, chilli, shepherd's pie and froze them in individual portions. He would then have them while we had the meat versions. It felt like we were all eating the same.

I didn't manage to find many vegetarian sausages, burgers etc he liked.
He quite liked vegetarian hot dogs.

We are veggie but often eat the potatoes and veg type meal. Some suggestions:

• nutroast (make a full loaf-tin and freeze portions)
• falafel
• lentil croquettes
• lentil loaf (slices)

I have a Rose Elliot cookbook called Simply Delicious which has really simple but wholesome recipes. Not sure if still availble.

I'm veggie and dd1 is "mostly veggie" (ie: totally, unless we go out for curry, in which case she eats chicken tikka!) - she's also fussy in that she doesn't really like eggs or cheese.

She likes: lentil dishes, beanburgers, samosas, falafel, veggie sausages (especially the Tesco ones but I'm now boycotting Tesco!), Nutolene from Holland and Barrat, cut into slices and grilled, quorn, tofu.

Bumbleweed - I'd love a recipe for lentil loaf if you have one?

I'd love the lentil loaf recipe too, if you've got a moment to post it. It sounds just the thing to have frozen in portions for her to have when we're having Sunday lunch.

okay sorry for delay, not been on mn for a few days

Lentil Roast

12 oz red lentils
15floz water
1oz butter
1 large onion peeled and chopped
1tsp herbs
40z cheese
1tbsp lemon juice
1 egg beaten
few breadcrumbs
flour and oil to coat

Put lentils in saucepan with water, bring to boil then simmer on low heat covered for 20-25mins until lentils soft and water absorbed (stir occasionally or will stick).
Melt butter and fry onion for 10 mins over gentle heat.
Set Oven to Gas 5 (190c).
Mix onions with lentils, herbs, cheese, lemon and beaten egg. Add a few breadcrumbs if needed to stiffen the mix.
Flour a board and turn lentil mix out and shape into a roll.
Heat a baking tray with oil in the bottom in oven for 4 mins. Place roll in and spoon hot oil over.
Roast for 45 mins, basting with oil every 15 mins.
Can be frozen either before or after cooking.

Ooh thanks, Bumbleweed - sounds like just the sort of thing they'd like.

We are a veggie family (I've hated meat and fish all my life and went veggie aged 8!). I find Rose Elliot fab for recipes to impress my 'suspicious about being veggie' in-laws - Rose's Spaghetti with Lentil and Tomato Sauce (in 'Pasta' or her still-in-print but from the 80's 'The Bean Book') is a winner - especially with added celery and carrot - it's not meaty (else I wouldn't eat it) but very tasty said the in-laws! One of our family faves is what we call the Wrap Meal, tortilla wraps, kidney bean salad or re-fried beans, cheese, hard boiled eggs, salad, cous cous (the flavoured sort), coleslaw, sometimes marinaded tofu or falafel, you could serve this with a meat thing to placate the meat-eaters?

Sorry, reading the initial message you're after meat'n'two veg replacements, Rose certainly has loaves, rissoles, cutlets made from lentils, beans and other pulses. I have a breadcrumbs/nuts/onion mixture which makes great sausages/burger shapes and also base for 'Shepherd's Pie'.

I also know of books specifically written for veggie children - I have one which has Shepherdess pie, veg loaf, some veg pies and casseroles and things made with 'TVP'. It's Good Housekeeping 'Cooking for Vegetarian Children'.

Check out www.parsleysoup.co.uk for some veggie main courses (this site is vegan also but you can add cheese/use butter etc where you wish!)

Hope this helps!

Nut roast is one of our staples - I use a Cranks recipe. My kids are fond of a cottage pie type dish with mixed beans - I got the recipe card in Waitrose. They're not all that keen on the shop-bought sausages/burgers etc, because they're either very tasteless or very spicy. The ones they do like are Tivall Cocktail Sausages from the frozen section in Holland & Barrett.

I agree with Mimizan - you can make lots of meat-type dishes eg spag bol with quorn substitutes, and meateaters are normally happy to eat them too.

my kids have been veggie - now dabble in meat but we are both veggie so try to have 5 veggie nights for kids as well each week. Their favourites: home-made pizza, pastry parcels (puff pastry block, cut into squares, add grated cheese/fried onions/mushrooms/whatever you fancy, fold edges to makes a triangle and bake), various quiches, souffles, veggie lasagne/shepherd's pie made with quorn mince, veggie burgers (tofu ones from Holland and Barret in various flavours are good), quorn southern-style burgers, Linda Mcartney veggie sausages, frittata, quorn pieces stir fried with noodles veg and soy sauce, potato cream and cheese bake, veggie risotto (peas or mushroom with loads of cheese), macaroni cheese, pasta baked with broccoli and onion and smothered in nice tomato sauce and bit of grated cheese. Hope some of those ideas are suitable.