Fussy teen wants to go veggie - needs ideas!

[Lotsachocolateplease]

As the title says I have a fussy teen - ds14 who wants to go vegetarian. He was vegetarian age 7 for a year and I managed them but he’s fussier now.
I need healthy ideas other than
Pizza
Pasta

Won’t eat mushrooms, rice, lots of veggies like broccoli cauliflower, prefers carrots and peppers raw.

His suggestions are halloumi burgers, halloumi fajitas, and salads.
Any other suggestions would be very welcome.

Definitely get him involved in the cooking and choosing recipes.
I used to be an extremely fussy eater, however once I had to start cooking for myself I started to try new food and I eat anything now.

I like veggie curry alot. Especially with sweet potato in and lots of herbs/spices

I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 6 and I eat things like

Refried bean burritos with homemade guac

Linda McCartney sausages and mash

Cheesy pasta bake with added veggies in the sauce

Snacks like mozeralla sticks, meat free scotch eggs

Bean burgers In buns with lettuce and a slice of beef tomato (with a slice of grilled halloumi if I’m feeling extra hungry!)

Falafels and sweet potato fries

Nachos with cheese, salsa, guac, sour cream etc

Fresh mozeralla , avocado and tomato salad with a drizzle of lemon, salt and pepper

A cheap frozen pizza but jazz it up with onions, sweet corn, peppers and extra cheese

A roast if I’m cooking for the family and I’ll have a nut roast or Linda sausages or something instead of chicken

Scrambled eggs on toast, mashed avo on toast, Fried egg sarnies, all quick meals

I also like veggie curries which you can get from most supermarkets now, they’re really tasty

I'm veggie over 30 years. Unnecessary fussiness (we all have certain items we really can't bear and never will like but I suspect there's an element of his being allowed to get away with eating something fine one week and not the next?) is not going to work. To do vegetarianism properly and healthily you have to eat a wide variety of foods and ensure you're eating foods rich in nutrients that you previously would have got from meat.

I would sit and have a serious conversation with him about:

The health and nutrition aspects
That he needs to stop the fussiness
That he needs to cook at least one meal a week for the family himself (compromise goes BOTH ways)
That he needs to appreciate your efforts, it's not easy juggling veggie and omni diets in a household PLUS the mental load aspects

When I went veggie my mum said "fine, but no way am I cooking for you every night. If I'm doing something you can eat then you eat with us but otherwise you need to sort yourself out" which is absolutely fair enough.

She gave me a budget for my veggie things (and this was WAY before Linda McCartney let alone quorn! This was in the days of unflavoured, unseasoned dried soya from a health food shop!) and I was free to use whatever other veggie items were in the house - vegetables, eggs & dairy, stuffing etc

I was batch cooking and learning how to use the soya and things like beanfeast and sosmix

Another condition was she had me go to the drs and get my iron and vitamin levels checked and dr chatted with me about the things I needed to be careful of (making sure I got enough iron and b vitamins mainly) and I was to go back and have my bloods checked again after that first 6 months - this proved interesting as I'd had issues with anaemia previously and what happened was my iron levels IMPROVED. But I have a theory on that which is a personal quirk.

She even had me get books from the library on going vegetarian and how to do so healthily

All of that has stood me in good stead.

In terms of meal ideas well a good mix of:

Pasta - with tomato, roux or pesto sauces but with plenty of veg too, spinach works wonderfully with many pasta dishes

Stir fries - home made sauces are easy enough but there's loads of good ready made ones too, a good variety of veg, throw in some less commonly used ones that he likes, I've treated myself to some bamboo shoots and water chestnuts recently, tons of veg works in stir fries

Soups/Stews/casseroles/curries - great for more wintry/root veggies, pretty much anything goes and soups especially are great for "disguising" less popular but healthy ingredients. My non veggie but kinda fussy dd has been eating spinach, kale, peas, celery, spring onions, beetroot, mushrooms for YEARS without realising via my "magic" soup which she always eats 2nds and sometimes 3rds of but if you asked her if she ate any of those veggies she'd say no

Cous cous dishes - super quick and easy and will work with pretty much any flavouring/sauce and many different veggies

Egg dishes - tons you can do with eggs and they're also rich in iron and b vits. There are the standard scrambled/fried/poached varieties but there's also things like huevos rancheros, and my own favourite - baked eggs! Super easy and delicious

Pies/tarts/pastries - homity pie, quiche, veggie tart, cheese tart,
Samosas, spring rolls, spanakopita, I've even some veggie gyoza in the freezer at the moment!

Snacks and lunches - sandwiches don't have to be boring cheese or egg, there are veggie spreads and pâtés, sandwich spread, marmite then there's crackers or wraps done in a million different ways, grilled/roasted veggies work in sandwiches and wraps, or "on toast" beans, eggs, Tinned pasta, Tinned tomatoes, or jacket potatoes with numerous toppings...

Hope that gives you some ideas

I managed for many years cooking for omni dd and I, sometimes I'd do a meat option for her and veggie alternative for me (eg meat sausages for her, veggie sausages for me, mash and beans) or she'd have a veggie dish with me (chilli or pasta and sauce) or I'd use up leftovers from batch cooking so a veggie casserole for me and a meat one for dd so it can be done with collaboration and planning

Family of vegans here, DC from aged 12 to 1 yo.

Plenty of goodness in all foods ro keep him going and IMO (and alot of professionals) the healthiest diet to be on! Meat causes nothing but problems. Anyway, I digress...

Meal ideas

Chickpea curry
Vegetable quesidillas (courgetts and aubergine work well)
Any Mexican dish using kidney beans or quorn as a substitute for meat
Fritatta for non vegan egg lovers
Chickpea notuna wraps (mash chickpeas with sweetcorn, salad and mayo)
Soup
Veggie lasagne
Veggie spaghetti bolognese
Stuffed peppers with couscous and halloumi
Veggie currie
Veg spring rolls (made from pasta tubes)
Veg stir fry with tofu
Fake chicken and cheese wraps (toasted is even nicer!)
Nachos
Veggie chilli
Falafel and pitta bread with salad
Tomato and mozzarella pasta

Tips would be to add nutritional yeast to alot of foods while cooking. Nice nutty/cheesy taste and lots of B12 (the only thing eating animals is good for and they only get it by eating grass!)

Also mushrooms, as much as he doesnt enjoy them, chopped up finely and cooked gives a very 'meaty' flavour and texture.

Does he like cheese? These are soooo nice

www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/quorn-emmental-escalopes/712336-665075-665076

Not Waitrose exclusive btw, they’re in all supermarkets

Get him to make his own food.

I went veggie at 13, my parents although respected my wishes and would make certain accommodations (buy foods I wanted) basically told me they were happy for me to be veggie but wouldn’t be running around after me. I made a lot of things myself. Lots of stir fry’s, rice dishes, egg butties, pasta and veg.

It’s hard thinking of the food you eat every day when put on the spot!

• Soups (M&S has lots of tasty premade options as a starting point to explore)

• Stir fry with noodles (you can get different kinds, pad Thai noodles are my fave) or rice

• pastries, again M&S has lots of options like halloumi & courgette parcels (variants with feta or mozzarella too), cheese & onion muffins

• Pesto goes with everything. Truffle pesto pasta is decent

I hate the idea of making a child sort out his own food every day. It's wasteful and time consuming, and he'd be getting under my feet too, with two separate meals being made.

The thing to do here is compromise, surely. Many family meals can easily be adapted. You can make something veggie and let others have meat on the side. Keep a stash of veggie grills/fingers/burgers/sausages in the freezer.

Stir fry - you can have meat and he can have tofu/nuts/fake chicken

Pasta with sauce and veggie meatballs

Pasta with a creamy sauce to which others can add chicken/chorizo

Veggie curry - carnivores can have meat samosas or skewers on the side

Quiche - easy to make a veggie one and a meat one

Puff pastry tarts - easy to section off with different fillings

Fajitas

Baked potatoes with a protein source and salad

New potatoes with a protein sauce and steamed vege

Cashew nuts are good in stir fry or have a handful of pistachio nuts as a snack.

Oh and satay noodles made with peanut butter and sweet chilli sauce.

Veg chilli with beans and peppers, naan
Dahl with naan
Tofu curry (naan again)
Tortillas/ nachos/ enchiladas
Frittata/ omelette with salad
Pasta with carbonara/ tomato sauce
Stir fry carrot/ onion/ pepper/ edamame beans/ spinach/ pak choi with noodles
Jacket potato with beans
Quiche and salad
Linda McCartney burgers with sliced cheese, avocado and tomato on.
Egg, chips and beans.

Oh God. I think I'd be issuing an ultimatum. "You can be fussy or vegetarian but not both."

I have quite a big vegetarian repertoire but there's a lot of mushrooms involved. And rice.

Sorry not helpful at all.

Seriously though, have a conversation with him about nutrition and what nutrients he needs. I'd also be asking him to come up with sensible meal ideas which will suit the rest of the family (thinking of what to cook is my biggest bugbear at the best of times and I think this would tip me over the edge right now).

When I'm cooking for vegetarian family members I tend to turn it round and cook a vegetarian meal but add meat (if the carnivores want it) if that makes sense.

Fajhitas with peppers avacado and feta?

Curry but with potato instead of meat?

I was 14 when I decided to become a vegetarian. My mum said that was fine but I'd have to cook my own meals because she had the rest of the family to sort out. And fair enough, that's what I did! I think she was hoping that would change my mind but a few months in she bought me a vegetarian cook book. 35 years later and I'm still veggie! You might want to consider a similar approach OP?

Agree with others, fussy and vegetarian is not a reasonable or fair combination. If he wants to be a veggie, and he wants you to accommodate him, then he needs to eat a wide variety of vegetables. Or he needs to accept that his food might be quite repetitive. If he likes raw veggies, fine, he can have huge salads every night and he can add cheese/beans/chickpeas/lentils to shake them up.

Vegetable pies/tarts?
Pasta dishes with tomatoe/cream/cream cheese sauce and whatever veggies he will eat mixed in.
Agree that couscous is good and can be eaten with most things
Veg curries are great and should become your (and his) friend. Butternut or cauliflower are particularly good and substantial.
Stuffed vegetables are fab but personally, I find them a huge faff so we only have them occasionally.

BBC Good food have a great recipe for a lentil ragu. It makes loads and I use it with pasta or as a base for lasagne, cottage pie etc.

If he’s happy with raw veggies, that’s fine. Less work to prep

I can’t understand why he doesn’t like rice, perhaps it’s a texture thing or something? Rice is a staple. Though I suppose if he’s happy to replace rice with other carbs it’s okay. Bread, noodles, potato etc

I can understand why he doesn’t like mushrooms. I think many teens do and eventually grow out of it? This was a thing back when I was in school. There’s many different ways to prepare mushroom, maybe he might like something different eg large mushrooms stuffed with cheese and breadcrumbs. You can do the same with pepper too.

Important to make sure he is getting b12, iron, protein and omega vits.

• stir fry with tofu, egg noodles, cashews and whatever veg they like with a small amount of miso and soy sauce

• DD wont eat homemade soup so a compromise is half a tin of cream of tomato soup bulked up with a few tablespoons of cooked red lentils with a cheese toastie on seeded bread. A decent meal with fruit after until she develops a taste for my homemade soup!

-spinach and cheese omelette with homemade potato wedges, tomatoes, cucumber and carrots and houmous

• wholemeal wrap with grilled halloumi, humus, whatever veg they eat

• but readymade puff pastry and fillings. DD lilesfinely chopped mushrooms (wont eat u less chopped and hdden) withchopped walnuts, sage. I make these without but you could add feta for protein

-pancakes withspinach and feta

-baked potato with beans and cheese

• homemade pizza

-wholewheat pasta and pesto or homemade sauce (with quorn mince and finely chopped veg added)

• courgette, carrot and cheese muffins (lots of recipes online)

To offset the amount of unhealthy readymade food like quorn nuggets, veggie sausages etc we ensure we always have wholewheat noodles, pasta bread etc, seeded bagels and luckily DD likes marmite and peanut butter for easy snacks.

Ramen with noodles, egg, vegetables, tofu.
Stir fried vegetables in different sauces (peanut, black bean, sweet and sour etc) with rice or noodles.
Aubergine parmigiana with ciabatta.
Couscous with roasted vegetables, harrisa, hummous, yogurt.
Bean and vegetable quesadillas or enchiladas.
Mixed bean chilli with rice and peppers.
Lentil daals, lentil koftas, lentil burgers...
I love cooking vegetarian meals. There are so many delicious things you can do. ☺️

We make a big hidden veg tomato sauce )blended red pepper, carrots, onions etc) and use for pizza and pasta base

if you use veggie mince & want dc to eat more veggie varieties
fry onions garlic & capsicum & a dash of cumin & coriander after onions go soft age finely chopped mushrooms & than add mince (the mush will disappear) add a couple of fresh/tinned toms & worcester or soya
boil pots (can include some sweet pots) than mash
put mince mix in oven dish mash on top & a bit of cheese on top
Mince has always been good for hiding veg - you could always finely chop a little broccoli in mince
chilli beans! & use quinoa or brown rice for added vitamins
Stir fries are great for hiding & using mix veg
make your own coleslaws use grated apples in them as well & serve with main dish

& nuts! fruit & nuts trail mixes, peanut butter or better still almond butter on toast

@mumwon I always add finely chopped mushroom to veggie mince. DD doesn't like mushrooms but knows I do this and is happy to eat them this way. I can get 2 or 3 chestnut mushrooms into a serving of her veggie bolognese!! Plus I add chopped spinach and it's a hidden veg tomato sauce so a decent meal!