Meatless May - kid friendly ideas?

[Anonymous]

Grilled cheese with tomato soup
Pumpkin seeds (roasted and salted)
Baby carrots with whipped cream cheese dip
Apple slices with peanut butter dip
Mozzarella cheese sticks with tomato sauce dip

[Anonymous]

Halloumi tacos (assuming cheese is fine since you said you’ll be feeding her eggs)

Lots of lovely vegetarian pastas esp. with summer produce coming into season.

Eggplant parmesan.

[Anonymous]

My kids will eat these three dishes year round

Vegetarian chili
Lentil "bolognese"-https://rainbowplantlife.com/10-ingredient-vegan-red-lentil-bolognese/
Black bean, corn and avocado salad https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13933/black-bean-and-corn-salad-ii/

[Anonymous]

My veggie hater loved MorningStar meatless chicken patties.
Spaghetti or penne with marinara sauce
Sweet potato fries
Hummus sandwich on pita

Things with eggs but you could find egg and milk substitutes..

French toast
Zucchini pancakes, pumpkin pancakes
Cheese quesadillas
Peirogis
Ravioli

[Anonymous]

The smitten kitchen butternut squash pancakes with crispy sage are super delicious.

Also, I think they are super gross but my meat eating son really likes the Trader Joe’s meatless breakfast sausage. Sometimes I make him bagel with sausage egg and cheese for dinner with those, and I just skip the gross fake sausage or put an avocado on instead. I serve that with a fruit or soinach smoothie to get a more balanced diet.

[Anonymous]

these are the vegetarian meals my kids like:

spaghetti tossed in TJ’s vegan cashew pesto, topped with mozzerella balls. i usually make a bagged caesar salad kit on the side and garlic bread for the kids.

“cheeseboard for dinner” which is no cook and will include cheeses, crackers, baguette slices or pitas, fruits, veggies, hummus, sometimes I’ll heat and add TJ’s frozen falafel to the board or you could add a bowl of chickpeas

breakfast for dinner, which for us is kodiak pancakes or waffles and scrambled eggs with cheese and fruit and yogurt

black bean enchiladas or quesadillas- I used to mash the black beans before adding to quesadillas bc they preferred that to finding whole beans in the quesadilla (now they don’t care)

grilled cheese with minestrone soup

stuffed shells or ziti or lasagna (I throw spinach in)

[Anonymous]

My 12 year old has been vegetarian for 5 years (the rest of us - DH, me, and 8 year old are not). Here are some meals that are in regular rotation for us:

- burger night (black bean or impossible patties for vegetarian)
- tacos - black beans, cheese, peppers and onions (8 year old won’t touch); sometimes meat on the side for meat eaters
- tofu crumble over rice or rice noodles. Both girls love this. Press firm tofu, heat up oil in pan and break the tofu into small enough pieces it gets really crispy add soy sauce and carrots and after a bit broccoli or green beans, a little chili sauce, and some rice wine. Can really use just about any veggies.
- chickpea tagine: so easy! Chickpeas in a pan with oil and a lot of tumerick; add carrots, cinnamon, a little honey, some veggie stock and simmer so it’s thick, serve over couscous.
- make your own quinoa bowls: I pickle onion, put out tomato and cucumber, radishes, store bought tzatziki and hummus, and mint. I roast chickpeas so they’re crunchy with a bunch of seasonings. All the chopping can take a bit as does the quick pickle so this one helps to do a bit of the prepping in advance

Tonight I didn’t have a plan and we ended on doing fruit smoothie bowls for dinner - I blended a banana, frozen berries, yogurt, pineapple juice and a lot of spinach. In the bowls we added rolled oats and peanut butter and had the option of coconut for those who wanted it. Obviously it’s not typical but one child is sick and everyone liked it.

We also regularly do a dinner of French bread, fruit, cheese, sliced veggies and deli meat for those who eat meat.

Finally, we really salads. One is a Brussels sprout salad - roast Brussels sprouts and finely chop (raw) so it as many as you roast. Mix together with a lot of Parmesan and a vegan Caesar dressing (blanking on the brand). We have it with croutons which I sometimes make while roasting the Brussels sprouts.

Our go-to for special meals at home is “Charlie Bird’s Salad” https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/charlie-birds-farro-salad-6589464.amp

So amazingly yummy (but you can use a lot less olive oil than they call for)

Our go-to for going out is either a taco place (good mushroom tacos for DD), Indian food, ir Thai which all have good vegetarian options.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. Spaghetti and TJ’s meatless meatballs are popular too. I’ll sometimes heat up beef meatballs but my 8 year old is willing to eat the meatless ones and my 12 year old says they are amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Restricting a child's diet in an unhealthy way. What could go wrong?

One day without meat is not restricting a child's diet and it's not unhealthy depending on how they do it.

Rice pudding all day?
Unhealthy.

Black bean salad, egg frittata, oatmeal?
Healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Restricting a child's diet in an unhealthy way. What could go wrong?

One day without meat is not restricting a child's diet

May is a month not a day. Cmon A.I.!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Restricting a child's diet in an unhealthy way. What could go wrong?

How so? What makes you think this? In the poster whose DD has been vegetarian for 5 years (actually longer - age 7 to 12.5). She’s a great height and weight, excellent student, kind person, great athlete etc. Her doctor has her take B12 and supplement iron but otherwise she doesn’t need to make changes. I’m quite sure she has the healthiest diet of anyone in our family because she’s very thoughtful about her meals and snacks being balanced rather than randomly eating / snacking. She also is careful that she gets good fats, proteins etc because she’s serious about her sport. A recent study intended to prove meat protein is superior to plant protein ended up finding no difference.
https://www.veganeasy.org/discover/news/oops-beef-industry-study-accidentally-proves-plant-protein-is-just-as-good-as-meat/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great idea OP! My kids love baked, breaded tofu (cut into cubes), various chickpea/lentil curries and stews, and it’s also super easy to shred tofu using a grater and fry it up in a pan with some flavorful sauces/spices.

Grilled cheese, cheese quesadillas, homemade mac and cheese, frittatas, etc.”

We do fake meat on occasion but try to limit it to a couple times a month.

I eat tofu a lot and have crumbled but never shredded. What's that like and how does it not just crumble apart?

[Anonymous]

for processed food (you can make at home, but I can't) - Korean Kimbap made with tofu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great idea OP! My kids love baked, breaded tofu (cut into cubes), various chickpea/lentil curries and stews, and it’s also super easy to shred tofu using a grater and fry it up in a pan with some flavorful sauces/spices.

Grilled cheese, cheese quesadillas, homemade mac and cheese, frittatas, etc.”

We do fake meat on occasion but try to limit it to a couple times a month.

I eat tofu a lot and have crumbled but never shredded. What's that like and how does it not just crumble apart?

OP here - I tried the shredding technique and crisping it in oven as recommended in some online recipes, and prefer it crumbled. It does hold together nicely though.

There’s still a few weeks left for meatless May so will try it again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What will they make up next.

Meats are generally more expensive than non-meat foods. Why judge?