I love the fantastic foods Vegetarian Chili mix. you can get it in bulk from the co-op too. I make it with a can of black beans, a can of kidney and a can of pinquitos. I also add frozen sweet corn. Topped with sour cream and cilantro, yum!
Nutburgers are pretty easy to make, and fast, if you have a carrot juicer. and if you get a flat iron griddle style grill, you can still "bbq". I also like mandolin sliced veggies, like zucchini, red onions, etc. when they are grilled (there are all sorts of containment systems for over the fire cookery, so you really don't have to give up bbq AND you can keep veggie or ultra low meat.) If you brush them with salt and olive oil, they come out simply amazing. Even eggplant, and I normally hate eggplant.
Does he really hate chickpeas? Because hummus, falafel, tahini, rice, yogurt and toasted pitas with a side of cucumbers always sounds yummy to me too. Most kids will dip, so this stuff works well for them, as long as the falafel is not too spicy. You can also make a type of hummus with white cannelini beans. There are really high protein pastas with chickpea flour in them, very good, high fiber but better mouth feel than whole wheat noodles. Barilla makes the best in my opinion.
I prefer veggie lasagna to meat versions, so making and freezing those might be something to think about.
Nutburger recipe:
toasting nuts: heat oven to 300, spread nuts on a cookie sheet, bake for 7-10 minutes until they are warm and smell amazing.
1/2 cup lightly toasted pecans
1/2 cup lightly toasted walnuts
1/2 cup lightly toasted almonds
1 cup carrot pulp from juicer. take out any chunklettes bigger than your thumbnail.
2 tsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
You can sub jerk seasonings for the cumin and cayenne if you want jerk burgers (ground thyme, scotch bonnet pepper and allspice.)
Blend nuts in a processor with the dried ingredients and garlic, somewhere between even sized small chunks and powder; add the carrot pulp by hand and add a tsp at a time of lemon and carrot juice to get it to stick better until it forms a not-too sticky (but orange) mass of "dough" that leaves a light orange film on your fingers, but smells amazing. Form into patties, separate with wax paper or parchment. Turn them only once whent cooking, they should be browned well on each side. Doesn't matter if the middle is cooked, just warmed. Best if cooked on hot griddle heated for something like pancakes, but they can be broken up into taco style crumbles too. You won't need any extra oil because of all the nuts.
I think you can freeze it, but it doesn't normally last long enough.