Vegetarian Meal/Snack Ideas Pls - kids?

[Blossom4538]

Hi all,
My autistic 10 year old has decided to become vegetarian.
I’d really appreciate some meal and snack ideas or tips and on what is nice in each supermarket?

What is healthiest meat alternative? I thought soya was possibly found to be linked to hormonal changes and increase in risk of breast cancer?

Last night she did manage a noodle stir fry which a very tiny amount of veg in, no chicken. She has a very limited diet typical of how some children on the autism spectrum find foods challenging…doesn’t eat many foods! No potatoes at present and not much veg, but some salad and fruit.
No beans. I am going to try her with more beans and grains though. She likes some nuts.

Used to like houmous, so can try again.

Any ideas or supermarket ranges tips greatly appreciated!

Thanks x

Hello,

I think if your child likes meat alternative sausages/burgers like Quorn or Linda McCartney, then in moderation I'd include them in your meal plans, for convenience and flexibility, but not be reliant on them as they're processed like you say. I'd use tofu in a stir fry for protein (you can get different kinds, smoked etc), lentils for bolognese/shepherds pie. Halloumi or feta are good too, I often use them as the protein in a veg bake- with a handful of walnuts too. If your child likes eggs you can have them as part of the protein for their balanced diet too

Ps there are so many ranges in the supermarket now! Some vegetarians I know are put off by some of the new ranges as they're too "realistic", eg burgers that look like they bleed?! But I'd say try lots out and see what child likes.
I tend to still get quorn escalopes and Linda McCartney sausages as I know I like them. Sometimes I get the fancy meat free burgers but I know my also vegetarian family would be grossed out by them! Cauldron do nice sausages too and falafel.

My autistic dd decided at 13 to become vegetarian. I was pretty surprised as she didn't like veg! I drove a very hard line though, she could only nominate 5 vegetables she didn't like in return for me cooking her vegetarian food, it worked, lots of moving stuff around the plate but in a few months she learned to eat a much broader diet than ever before

My vegetarian child is a fussy eater and sadly doesn’t like veggie sausages or burgers. On rotation we have

Stir fried noodles with veg and soya mince
Omelette with chips and veg/salad
Pasta with cheese sauce/tomato sauce/pesto and veg
Paneer and chickpea korma
Quorn nuggets with chips/wedges and veg/salad
Butterbean stew with cous cous and pita
Mild bean chilli with rice and cheese
Jacket potatoes

I must admit, I was surprised about the veg noodles last night and tonight she really enjoyed her dinner. It was a very quick meal this evening, so she had an eggy muffin (toasted whole meal muffin, egg, and cheese) with first try of Linda McCartney’s Sausages (managed 1 and half) and the spinach I usually put in the muffin, on the side, raw.

Not a bad start for a fussy eater!

I wish she’s eat potatoes - standard or sweet!

Which tofu is best for stir fries? I used to work in a shop and remember there being silken and another type?

H and I are meat eaters

Soya is fine, the hormone nonsense is, well, nonsese.

I assume you want to make meals that are as familiar as possible, at least to start. Vegetarian mince is probably the best imitation, so you can try some different brands to make spaghetti bolognese/chilli/lasagne/etc if she'll eat those. And in general stick with more sauce-y dishes, because it's easier to build those around vegetables than 'dry' meals. Curries, risotto, soup. Chilli con carne can be made with red lentils, quinoa, kidney beans, or fake mince.

My typical snacks are fruit, guacamole and tortilla chips, cream crackers with cheese, popcorn, and nuts. Quorn's cocktail sausages and picnic eggs are good.

The meat alternatives I eat regularly are Richmond's sausages, the Quorn ham roast, and Quorn chicken and ham slices (for sandwiches). Oh, and a Gregg's sausage roll if I'm passing one!

You need firm tofu for stir fries. Silken tofu is more like thick yogurt texture.

I'm pescatarian and it's very easy to slip into unhealthy habits if you don't eat meat. And I say this as someone who loves vegetables. I think your dd needs to be persuaded that she'll need to up her veg intake if she wants to maintain this. Does she eat marmite? Good for vitamin b.

Carrot and red lentil soup (blended til very smooth) is always a hit here.

You might also want to look into some iron and vitamin d supplements.

Which tofu is best for stir fries?

Firm or extra-firm. I've only seen silken tofu used in desserts, because it has a sort of panacotta texture. For best results, squeeze as much moisture out of firm tofu as you can (I press it between heavy books for a few hours) and marinate before cooking. It doesn't taste of anything, so you need to marinate it in whatever flavours you like.

I try to stay clear of heavily processed meat substitutes like quorn, but if you have a good organic or health food shop near you, try looking for a high quality tofu steak or tofu sausage. Some of them are lovely but often more expensive then meat

Macaroni cheese
Egg fried rice
Falafel wraps
Cheese pancakes
Risotto
Pesto pasta
Hidden veggie pasta bake
Cheese flapjacks
Savoury muffins
Sausage rolls

How is she with spices?

I have a really simple basic Asian/Vietnamese type broth. You need boiling water, ginger and garlic. I actually use frozen ginger and garlic so a cube of each, put it in a pan and bring tot he boil.

Then add whatever you like, I usually start with a veg stock cube and then add spices / veg / meat depending on what I feel like. There is a pic of it on the 'what are you cooking for dinner' thread.

Will she eat rice? Rice can be made into rice balls with a filling or just balls.

I cook smoked haddock in a 50/50 mix of water and OJ but you could add veg instead of the fish.

As she eats eggs you could make an omelet and cut it into strips and use that in a stir fry for protein.

Also egg fried rice.

Have you / her had seitan? You basically wash flour in water and keep washing / changing the water until you have just gluten that apparently (not tried it yet) has a meat like texture but no taste so you add taste to it.

seitansociety.com/wash-the-flour-method/

Holland and Barrett sell dry soya chunks that you rehydrate.

They make a great chicken pie, or added to stir fry.

My kids love the green cuisine range. And kinda McCartney stuff, especially the 'chicken' chunks.

I do a pasta sauce full of veggies that I blend. Can be used in pasta bake, lasagne, spag bol.

I use lentils instead of minced meat.

My 12yo has autism and a very limited range of foods that are accepted. DH and I are vegetarian and brought DC up to be so too.

For our DC the main source of protein is quorn - which some MNers are very anti because apparently it can disagree with the digestion of some individuals but we've never had a problem with it. But quorn mince, chicken pieces and nuggests, and ham slices have made it onto the acceptable list (there are dozens of quorn products that are deemed unpalatable though). Identical-looking soya-based fake meats are also rejected and make DC retch - I can't taste the difference myself but I understand that hypersensitivity to tiny differences in taste can be a thing in these kinds of circumstances. However, cauldron foods marinated tofu pieces are accepted in small quantities in a noodle stir fry, and occasionally a soft boiled egg with toast soldiers. Won't eat cheese except on a specific brand of margarita pizza, but will drink milk. I have given up trying to get dc to try any of the healthier sources of vegetarian protein like lentils or nut roasts.

You don't need to get too worried about protien though - it's important obviously, but the amount needed for health is that protein should be about 10% of what we eat. Normal non-veggie western diets contain far, far more than this and its not that healthy, so you really don't need to be expending a lot of effort getting your DD's protein intake up to the levels that are similar to a standard non-veggie diet. She'll get a bit of protein from non-obvious sources like bread and peas (assuming those are accepted) and will just need a bit of a boost from a few high-protein foods. At 10yo your dd is old enough to understand that its important that what she eats gives her body the fuel she needs for growth and health so make her a partner in the quest to find the foods that will help achieve this.

Hi there,

Favourites here (with one really pretty fussy eater so these have been built up to over time) are:

Cheesy Pasta with peas
Spaghetti carbonara with seeds/veggie ham/mushrooms on top instead of ham
Lasagne with bolognaise made with red lentils rather than mince
Cauldron/quorn sausages
Loads of soups (broth, carrot and lentil, butternut squash etc)
Lentil and coconut Dahl
Baked potato and beans
Bean chilli
Korma made with quorn pieces
Bolognaise made with either quorn mince or red lentils
Risotto (a cheese and tomato one or butternut squash one are most popular)
Cheese toasties
Pasta pesto
Pizza!

I add extra protein/iron by adding seeds to sprinkle on things/pop some frozen spinach into sauces/add cheese

Snacks
Chopped up apple and greek yogurt
Cheese (cheese strings if they choose!)
Spready cheese on crackers
Bread sticks/carrot sticks and humous

• nuts -worth trying different ones, Brazil nuts a surprise favourite

Usual range of biscuits/cake etc

Our fussy eater is very concrete and made a very clear ethical choice not to eat meat many years ago. I took a fairly rigid stance that we would support his decision but his diet had to include green veg/different protein and increase veg intake, which has worked on the whole, so might be worth setting some expectations from the beginning

My autistic vegetarian is fairly limited but will eat a good range of stuff at home now. Restaurants are a nightmare and he will often only eat garlic bread 😞. I tend to cook for the whole family but adapt his meal so that it doesn't include strong spices etc. For example if we were having an omelette or quiche he would have poached egg and separate veg. He adds grated mozzarella to everything.

His fave is Nigellas vegetarian chilli, the one with the cornbread topping, although we don't make the topping often as it's hard work. Everyone I have made it for likes it. We serve with sour cream, tortilla chips and guacamole for the rest of the family.

We use Naked brand firm tofu for stirfry, which he will eat reluctantly.

He will only eat the quorn brand veggie sausages.

All manor of soups are deemed safe and a great way to stick in beans or lentils.

Burnt corn quasedillas Hello Fresh recipie, although I'm not allowed to burn the corn and he won't eat the accompanying salad!

Roast dinner just veggies and Yorkshires.

Roast veg pasta.

Corn on the cob and asparagus with lots of melted butter, or dippy egg for asparagus.

Risotto with peas, sometimes leeks.

Macaroni cheese, broccoli etc on the side.

Instant noodles with a boiled egg and some broccoli and peas.

Dahl and naan bread

Potatoes - won't eat roast but will eat small quantities of boiled with butter, mashed, jacket and large quantities of potato cake.

Loves veggie sushi, randomly.