9 year old wants to be vegetarian - need help meal planning

[Anonymous]

Our 9 year old DD wants to be a vegetarian and while I’m fine with her exploring this, I’m having difficulty planning family dinners. Can anyone recommend sites or accounts or meals that can help when you have a mix of meat and non-meat eaters in the family? I want to make sure she’s getting enough protein.

I figure we have some options- plan more meatless nights as a family, plan meals as a family where we can remove the meat for her so long as the rest of the meal is sufficient and balanced, or make her something separate to last a few nights if what the rest of the family can’t be modified. We’re a pretty busy family, though, and our other two kids are pretty picky already so I’m looking for recommendations and existing resources in the hope that I can get some recipes and ideas. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We eat a lot of tacos - ground turkey and bean options. Half of us are GF, so we also have a variety of shells on hand always.

Chickpeas as well - curry, and in spaghetti sauce to go with pasta.

Meatballs (and meatless meatballs), with pasta sauce/pasta.

Quiche.

We aren't into tofu or tempeh so much, so tend to stick with beans. There are some pea protein crumbles that are ok. Or fake meats, but we don't usually get these.

[Anonymous]

My daughter has been mostly vegetarian most of her life. It’s not hard to fill in the missing protein, fat, and vitamins if she’s still eating eggs and dairy. We do a lot of rice alternatives like quinoa, farro, etc. Lots of beans and legumes. Cheese and yogurt for calcium (she drinks milk at school but not really at home). Plus pan fried or baked tofu is actually very easy and kid friendly.

If we’re having a basic meat + veggie + carb dinner, I’ll fry tofu or give her quinoa and beans in place of the meat. She doesn’t like eggs on their own, or scrambled eggs would be in rotation too.

It’s a very healthy and sustainable way to eat as long as she’s mindful of getting a variety of complex proteins. I wish more of us took it upon ourselves to switch to a plant based diet! And I think 9 is a great age to talk to a nutritionist to learn about the importance of making good choices.

[Anonymous]

Encourage her to be involved in prep and research of recipes that might work for the family. I think she should have to do some of the lifting involved in her choice.

[Anonymous]

Mine is the same. We do lots of lentils -- mostly in soups. The new meatless alternatives help: last night we had spaghetti and Impossible Meatballs. And yes burritos are great: beans and rice, or refried beans and rice, plus veggies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Encourage her to be involved in prep and research of recipes that might work for the family. I think she should have to do some of the lifting involved in her choice.

This is what I did when my DD wanted to become vegetarian. We sat down together and googled "Vegetarian dinners" or something and found ones that seemed to fit our family. I had her help cook them. She became vegan around 14.

[Anonymous]

We have a pot of rice and beans in the refrigerator 95% of the time, and it's always a meal option for my semi-vegetarian kid if she doesn't want to eat the family dinner. She is not strict about vegetarianism, though, and there are lots of meals in which she has decided that, although she is a "vegetarian", she'll happily eat the meat. As parents we have affirmatively decided NOT to make a big deal about what she eats. She can choose meat or beans for just about any meal, and I think it's helped her to have a really flexible approach.

The other thing we did is emphasize that if she wants to be vegetarian, she needs to eat VEGETABLES. I was worried that otherwise she might head down a semi-restrictive eating path with fewer and fewer available options. She can decide whether or not she cares for certain vegetables, of course, but it was clear that openness to trying and eating a variety of vegetables was important.

My kid has been "vegetarian" for about 2 years, and she probably eats meat dinner 2-3 days a week, we have a vegetarian dinner as a family 2-3 days a week, and she chooses rice/beans 1-2 days.

[Anonymous]

My 9 yo DD is also mostly vegetarian - she has never really liked meat and our entire family has started eating less meat as she has become more committed.

With young, picky kids and a new family eating plan, we do a lot of make-your-own-plate type of meals. So I make a plant-based protein, a whole grain, lots of veg, a sauce... and everyone makes their own plate with what they want.

[Anonymous]

Make her cook her own food if she doesn’t like what you’re making

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter has been mostly vegetarian most of her life. It’s not hard to fill in the missing protein, fat, and vitamins if she’s still eating eggs and dairy. We do a lot of rice alternatives like quinoa, farro, etc. Lots of beans and legumes. Cheese and yogurt for calcium (she drinks milk at school but not really at home). Plus pan fried or baked tofu is actually very easy and kid friendly.

If we’re having a basic meat + veggie + carb dinner, I’ll fry tofu or give her quinoa and beans in place of the meat. She doesn’t like eggs on their own, or scrambled eggs would be in rotation too.

It’s a very healthy and sustainable way to eat as long as she’s mindful of getting a variety of complex proteins. I wish more of us took it upon ourselves to switch to a plant based diet! And I think 9 is a great age to talk to a nutritionist to learn about the importance of making good choices.

Yes, like the PP said, thinking of dinner in terms of protein+veg+carb makes it easy. If the meat eaters really want meat, you can do one plant protein and one animal protein, and the veg and starch works for everyone. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I think one of the best things you can do, OP, is make sure you are educated about her nutritional needs. There are so many resources out there... but my basic understanding is that most humans get way more protein than we need, so you *really* do not need to worry about that with your daughter. Focus on making sure she is eating a wide variety of foods, getting some fat and protein, and that her fruits/vegetables come from all over the rainbow. I do have everyone in my house take a multivitamin because I want to make sure iron and B12 are sufficient, but otherwise... I am sure she is fine.

Example of a meal in our house: if we are having tuna poke bowls, I will make poke + rice + edamame (protein) + a bunch of different vegetable garnishes + a soy dressing and appropriate condiments (sesame seeds, furiake, etc.). Everyone makes their own bowl using rice as the base and then adds their own protein, vegetables, condiments.

[Anonymous]

I’m vegetarian but DH and kids are not. I make vegetarian meals a couple nights a week with a meat option on the side (grilled chicken breast, chicken sausage, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. This is helpful. I’m realizing that a big part of this will just be transitioning from some of our tried and true recipes that we have in rotation to veggie + starch/plant protein + meat protein so we can take out meat protein for her. Not difficult, obviously, just a change in what we’re used to planning. And for those who suggested it, yes, she’s been involved in picking out meals but her dad and I also have to consider the family schedule and the other kids so it’s not just about finding meals she likes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone. This is helpful. I’m realizing that a big part of this will just be transitioning from some of our tried and true recipes that we have in rotation to veggie + starch/plant protein + meat protein so we can take out meat protein for her. Not difficult, obviously, just a change in what we’re used to planning. And for those who suggested it, yes, she’s been involved in picking out meals but her dad and I also have to consider the family schedule and the other kids so it’s not just about finding meals she likes.

OH! One more thing - I wrote about having rice/beans on hand. We've also started keeping a stack of impossible/beyond burgers in our freezer - they take <5 minutes to cook and are a great option if you're in a crunch for something with protein. (They're expensive, so we don't use them as the everyday alternative, but are really great once every couple weeks.)

[Anonymous]

Beyond Beef products are good for bolognaise and other type of meat dishes.

Tofu - well I still have not worked that stuff out.