Plant only eaters — how do you do it?

[Anonymous]

I don't get these posts. I've been a vegetarian for 25+year and my kids have always been vegetarians (now their choice). Its not a big deal. You use tofu and other protiens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I would love to become a vegetarian for ethical reasons, but with one nut anaphylactic child in the house, two with anemia (red meat is the most important source of iron) and most of us not tolerating beans...

... it's simpler to incorporate as many vegetables as we can, forget the beans and nuts, and add meat as needed for iron.
The most we can aspire to be is meat-light omnivores

Me again. I wanted to add that one important consideration for me is to avoid refined carbs like white flour pasta, bread and rice. I eat quinoa, buckwheat, oats, and am trying to get the rest of my family to consider grains other than refined wheat and rice. We already go light on the processed foods and desserts.

You can get plenty of iron in a plant based diet. Non-heme iron is less readily absorbed but if you pair it with other micronutrients you can enhance natural absorption and coupled with a daily chewable your kiddos should be all set. There’s a whole subset of the body building world that is proudly vegan, so if they can do it, so can you. Just takes a wee bit of forethought.

The only micronutrient that vegans have to supplement is B12, because it’s very difficult to get enough in a vegan diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are your pro tips? What are your typical meals? Meal planning? Pantry/freezer staples?
Anyone with teen boys satisfied with plant-based diet.
(I don’t eat beef or pork and interested in going further). Thanks!

My pro tip is to keep a list. I have one in my phone, of ideas for meals and snacks. I eat a salad 4 or 5 times a week but they always have different things in them. Another pro tip is to be open to the unconventional. There are times I eat what would normally be considered a dinner meal, for breakfast. I've had chia pudding for dinner. Pantry staples are lentils and quinoa and trail mix and almond butter and a lot of cut up veg and fruit. One of my boys eats a lot of pasta - ravioli especially. One eats a lot of almond butter on bread with bananas.

[Anonymous]

I am plant based and have been for many years. My two boys have been since birth. We eat a variety of foods - stir fries with tofu, fried rice with eggs, Burritos/tacos/burrito bowls, pasta dishes with veggies, soups/stews with salad and bread, hummus, pita and accompaniments, etc. My older son (almost 13) eats snacks all the time, but he’s active and growing and I think he would do that whether he was vegetarian or not. They both eat Greek yogurt, which gives some extra protein, and take a multivitamin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am plant based and have been for many years. My two boys have been since birth. We eat a variety of foods - stir fries with tofu, fried rice with eggs, Burritos/tacos/burrito bowls, pasta dishes with veggies, soups/stews with salad and bread, hummus, pita and accompaniments, etc. My older son (almost 13) eats snacks all the time, but he’s active and growing and I think he would do that whether he was vegetarian or not. They both eat Greek yogurt, which gives some extra protein, and take a multivitamin.

But Greek yogurt and eggs are not considered plant-based, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to do plant based (I don’t eat red meat now) but also need to keep weight down. So if I cut out a lot of beans and rice, I’m imagining lots of shopping for fresh veggies and lots of chopping and crunching. Please tell me how I’m wrong.

Some vegetables keep better than others, so you can buy a bunch of produce and use the things that don't keep as well (lettuce, berries, ripe tomatoes) first and then the things that keep longer. Cabbage, carrots, apples, citrus, winter squash, and lots of other items keep for well over a week. As for chopping and crunching, some food needs more prep than others. Bananas or clementines are super easy. Slicing a cucumber or zucchini is pretty easy too. Other stuff is harder: if you buy a bunch of collard greens, yes it takes a while to take off the stems, chop and saute them, and then add the chopped leaves. But you can buy them prechopped either raw or cooked. We do a fair amount of frozen vegetables (corn, bell peppers, spinach, okra, lima beans, butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower rice, shredded brussels sprouts are all things we've bought in the last few months) and a lot of frozen fruit. We also do some canned fruit and vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, beets, sauerkraut, pickles). Some recipes work wonderfully with frozen or canned foods. Some don't really work well at all. We try to have a mix of meals during the week so we're not only using frozen or canned (that could get boring/mushy) or fresh (that would take up a lot of time and fridge space and might spoil). Really what it comes down to is that we plan a week or two of meals at once. We usually go to the farmer's market, buy what we want, and then go home and plan the menu and supermarket list around whatever we have in the house plus what's on sale at the store.

This is helpful. But looks sort of like eating randomly, what’s fresh or available? It’s just a different mindset from how we’re used to meal planning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am plant based and have been for many years. My two boys have been since birth. We eat a variety of foods - stir fries with tofu, fried rice with eggs, Burritos/tacos/burrito bowls, pasta dishes with veggies, soups/stews with salad and bread, hummus, pita and accompaniments, etc. My older son (almost 13) eats snacks all the time, but he’s active and growing and I think he would do that whether he was vegetarian or not. They both eat Greek yogurt, which gives some extra protein, and take a multivitamin.

But Greek yogurt and eggs are not considered plant-based, right?

They would fit in a vegetarian diet but not a vegan diet. If OP wants to be vegan, the eggs can be substituted with tofu. Greek yogurt is just an example of a snack. OP’s children could eat whatever snacks they like. Nuts and nut butters also have some extra protein if OP wants to offer snacks with extra protein.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We raised 3 teenage boys on a plant based diet. They are all D1 athletes now. We went plant based when the oldest was 12yo (his choice). I got tired of making two different dinners so we went all in. I still eat meat/cheese if we go out. I make a lot of vegetable curries - red Thai curry, masaman peanut curry, Indian korma, etc. , black beans and rice, tofu scrambles, pesto pasta, pizza, shepherds pie, lentil loaf with mashed potatoes, samosas, spring rolls, burritos, sweet potato black bean fajitas, hummus, falafel, avocado toasts, and so much more. There are so many recipe sites that have 1000s of plant based recipes. I always have several types of beans, a rainbow of vegetables (I try to serve 5-6 different colors a day), hashbrowns, nutritional yeast (tastes yummy and is high in b12), fruits (fresh and frozen), avocados, and rice on hand.

You don't eat an only plant based diet. You still eat meat.

The question was about cooking, meal planning and raising teenagers as plant based which I have. I have cooked thousands of plant based meals for our 3 teenage boys so I thought I was qualified to give my input. I only cook plant based in my home, but no as I stated I am not plant based myself.

[Anonymous]

I grew up Indian vegetarian, South Indian food. We ate a ton of lentil based dishes, whole wheat flatbread, and yogurt. My advice is to pick a cuisine to go deep on and get the spices and techniques down. I could eat the way my mom cooked all day long, but my husband and kids are non veg. I’m also not a terrific cook so haven’t mastered the techniques for making homemade yogurt (I know, should be simple!), rotis (flatbread), or more advanced stews requiring homemade spice mixtures (masalas).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am plant based and have been for many years. My two boys have been since birth. We eat a variety of foods - stir fries with tofu, fried rice with eggs, Burritos/tacos/burrito bowls, pasta dishes with veggies, soups/stews with salad and bread, hummus, pita and accompaniments, etc. My older son (almost 13) eats snacks all the time, but he’s active and growing and I think he would do that whether he was vegetarian or not. They both eat Greek yogurt, which gives some extra protein, and take a multivitamin.

But Greek yogurt and eggs are not considered plant-based, right?

Plant-based is generally understood as vegetarian. The "base" or foundation of your meals are plants, but can be supplemented with eggs and dairy and even the occasional meat. Vegan is not just plant-based, it is exclusively plants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am plant based and have been for many years. My two boys have been since birth. We eat a variety of foods - stir fries with tofu, fried rice with eggs, Burritos/tacos/burrito bowls, pasta dishes with veggies, soups/stews with salad and bread, hummus, pita and accompaniments, etc. My older son (almost 13) eats snacks all the time, but he’s active and growing and I think he would do that whether he was vegetarian or not. They both eat Greek yogurt, which gives some extra protein, and take a multivitamin.

But Greek yogurt and eggs are not considered plant-based, right?

Plant-based is generally understood as vegetarian. The "base" or foundation of your meals are plants, but can be supplemented with eggs and dairy and even the occasional meat. Vegan is not just plant-based, it is exclusively plants.

I disagree. Plant based is used to mean a vegan diet, but not adhering to the other vegan principles like not wearing leather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am plant based and have been for many years. My two boys have been since birth. We eat a variety of foods - stir fries with tofu, fried rice with eggs, Burritos/tacos/burrito bowls, pasta dishes with veggies, soups/stews with salad and bread, hummus, pita and accompaniments, etc. My older son (almost 13) eats snacks all the time, but he’s active and growing and I think he would do that whether he was vegetarian or not. They both eat Greek yogurt, which gives some extra protein, and take a multivitamin.

But Greek yogurt and eggs are not considered plant-based, right?

What are you calling plant based? Vegetarian is dairy and eggs. Vegan is no dairy or eggs. Yogurt and eggs are vegetarian. Much of the vegan food is heavily processed - cheeses and other substitutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am plant based and have been for many years. My two boys have been since birth. We eat a variety of foods - stir fries with tofu, fried rice with eggs, Burritos/tacos/burrito bowls, pasta dishes with veggies, soups/stews with salad and bread, hummus, pita and accompaniments, etc. My older son (almost 13) eats snacks all the time, but he’s active and growing and I think he would do that whether he was vegetarian or not. They both eat Greek yogurt, which gives some extra protein, and take a multivitamin.

But Greek yogurt and eggs are not considered plant-based, right?

What are you calling plant based? Vegetarian is dairy and eggs. Vegan is no dairy or eggs. Yogurt and eggs are vegetarian. Much of the vegan food is heavily processed - cheeses and other substitutes.

I didn’t realize this was ambiguous. I thought plant-based meant you eat plants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get these posts. I've been a vegetarian for 25+year and my kids have always been vegetarians (now their choice). Its not a big deal. You use tofu and other protiens.

I thought vegetarians were nicer.

[Anonymous]

I am plant-eating now, due to Lent (Orthodox). It is actually easy if you come from a culture that eats a predominantly plant-based diet. Notice plans based, not only plant. Because you know how to cook and you enjoy eating veggies and fruit.
I do not count people eating french fries and pasta as true plan-based diets.