Meatless Meals - Killeen,TX

I personally wouldn't cater to a 3 year old. She doesn't have to eat it if she doesn't like it. I spent almost a year offering my youngest meat before she started eating any. She is almost 2 1/2 now. Put it on her plate and let her decide.

Since I myself cook meat very rarely, most of our family's meals are meatless. I make a lot of soups and stews with beans. They are high protein, filling, last several days, and can be eaten in various ways. One way that our kids (12 and 8) particularly like is mixed pinto-black-kidney bean stew either with rice, on bread, or in burritos with a bunch of different toppings--they love to get to put in whatever they want. Toppings can be sliced olives, chopped peppers of various colors (red, yellow, green), chopped tomatoes, shredded cheddar, plain yogurt/sour cream, chopped avocado, salsa, sunflower seeds,...

Basically, there are dozens of kinds of beans, and each can be prepared with herbs and seasonings to make them different and interesting. I am becoming a fan of slow-cooking the beans in a Crockpot, because they do come out pretty well and with fewer steps (I usually pre-soaked them overnight and then cooked them on the stove). Casseroles also can be great, and eggs can be used to bind together all sorts of chopped veggies. Explore some of the different grains you could use for the main dish too. For inspiration, you might want to look at a good less-gourmet vegetarian cookbook, such as the older Moosewood cookbooks or Laurel's Kitchen. Once you get some recipes and meals which work well for you, then you can start varying them to suit your and her palate. Have fun!

Anything bean, egg and/or cheese based makes a great substitute for meat entrees: soups, burritos, quiches/scrambles, rice/pasta dishes with veges, etc. If you want to put chicken in your soup or meatballs in your spaghetti she can just pick the meat out easily. That's what I did as a kid with mushrooms, still do as an adult! Don't like it? Push it to the side and don't eat it.

There's no magic to meat. Right now, it's hard to know if she has an issue with texture, or with taste, or whether she's being defiant. I don't agree with making separate meals for a child, but I do think there's a certain amount of getting used to a certain food (or texture) particularly in kids - I've seen everything from "they have to try it at least 10 times" to "20 times". Certainly meat is chewier and some little ones just don't like to work that hard.

But as I said, there's no reason meat has to be part of anyone's diet. You can use tofu in any recipe that calls for ricotta cheese or cottage cheese - I made meatless lasagna and stuffed shells for the kids, using half tofu and half cheese, plus any herbs & spices, plus an egg or two (depending on quantities). Falafel (from scratch or from a mix) is good - if you use a mix, add in your own chickpeas (grind them in the food processor) and/or wheat germ and more liquid to reduce the spiciness and especially the sodium. I scoop mine with a mini ice cream scoop to get uniform sizes, put them in a skillet of olive oil (you can use light olive or canola if the extra virgin is too strong a taste for her), press down slightly with a fork to make patties, quick fry on both sides to make it crisp, and then finish in the oven (you can put a baking rack on a baking sheet so excess oil drips down into the pan and they cook evenly on both sides).

Raw or blanched veggies with hummus dip: carrots (cut in different shapes like sticks or coins, or use a zigzag slicer), green beans, cauliflower, broccoli or broccolini, snow peas, green/yellow squash, cucumbers, and so on. Kids love to "dip" and there's nothing wrong with offering an assortment of vegetables without putting them in a mixed salad.

Baked "mac & cheese" using butternut squash (same color as cheese!) and whole wheat pasta.

Bean dip - cannellini (white) beans, a little garlic if you like, and Parmesan cheese.

Simple enchiladas: smear some refried beans down the center of a tortilla, then add any of the following: shredded chicken or cooked hamburger (yeah, I know - it's meat!), diced green or red peppers, a few frozen peas or corn, black beans or red beans, some cheddar or Monterrey Jack or taco-style cheese, diced onion. Fold the 2 sides up and secure with a toothpick, put in a baking dish, top with a little tomato sauce (plain, or mix in some cumin and coriander), add a little more cheese, and bake for about 15 minutes at 350. I used to put 2 toothpicks in my son's enchilada to keep straight what he didn't like (e.g. onions). Over time, I just added in a new ingredient to his and kept the 2 toothpicks. After a minimum of 6 months, I told him what was in there that he'd been eating happily all along! You can also have a self-serve taco bar with similar fixings but I find tacos just break in kids' hands.

Wrap sandwiches with a smear of hummus (regular or avocado or red pepper, then some carrot strips (thin sliced or done with a peeler), thin cucumber spears (okay to use English cukes to minimize seeds while she gets used to it), a little lettuce or spinach leaves, roll up and slice into a manageable size.

Vegetable soup or chili with beans and any other veggies cut up small so she doesn't recognize them.

Fried tofu - use firm tofu and cut into cubes, soak in a light soy sauce and then drain, then fry in any healthy oil, turning with tongs so all sides are brown and a little crispy looking. You can stir fry other vegetables if you want - a lot of kids like baby corn cobs and snow peas. You can use a little sweet Asian sauce if you want.

Eggs are good - try omelets with other things in there. My son likes an omelet put onto a tortilla. The half moon omelet makes a great sandwich when the tortilla if folded into a half moon shape around it.

Try meat loaf and make a seasonal design on it with the typical catsup - snowman in winter, heart at Valentine's day, "egg" at Easter (make an oval with a couple of squiggly stripes across it), big sun for first day of summer, etc. You can make a lentil loaf too, or half & half. Just don't call it meat loaf for now if she has an aversion to meat.

Don't be afraid to cut up meat really really thin - chicken in a wrap sandwich is easier to chew if it's thin. You can try sliced turkey too, put a slice of cheese on it, and roll it up.

Nut butters are good - try peanut, cashew, almond. Look in the natural food section for lots of choices.

Yogurt-based smoothies.

Give her some choices such as what shape you'll cut the veggies in, but not whether you're serving them. Anything that makes the meal FUN is good.

I also use a really good soy based supplement in shakes and smoothies - it's fully comprehensive, nutrient-laden, with DHA for brain function/development, and top quality lunasin (plant-based peptide for incredible immune system support - I use a particular kind that I know is pure and not chemically treated). That way I know the nutrients are getting into the body - even if we eat perfectly "well", there's not enough nutrition in our food and there is damage to our cells. By using a complete and whole food, I don't have to stress about all the other food stuff!

Just put teeny tiny cut up pieces of meat on her plate each time. But then serve her some other protein as well. Then praise her when she does take a little bite of her meat. Nothing wrong with being a vegetarian though! Vegetarian meal ideas: veggie lasagne, bean tacos or burritos, soup, make your own veggie burgers (look up a recipe...you mash up black beans with other ingredients), grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, stir fry, curry, pasta with veggies and a cream sauce, egg salad sandwiches, garbanzo beans, chile w beans, cheese fondue, quesadillas, stuffed avocados, brown rice salad, quiche. I would just make what I normally make though...and on the nights you serve meat and she doesn't eat it it's not a big deal. We don't eat meat every night. So, some nights it is a vegetarian dish anyway.

I can tell you what not to do. Do not make separate meals for a 3 year old. Make dinner and give appropriate sizes on her plate. so if you are making meat loaf she should have about the size of a table spoon. (figure a serving size of meat about the size of 1 ravioli) not a big slice. if your making chicken the same thing. you can make accommodations like not putting sauce etc on. but make her plate and only put her serving sizes. that's a table spoon of each thing. not a big plateful. and don't make a big deal about it. we always had a 1 bite rule. they had to have one bite of each thing. so make her plate and make sure you have something she likes served. so even though she might not like meat you could have beans she likes or mac and cheese or a slice of cheese etc.

I don't necessarily cater to my kids either, but I get that you want options and you want them to be healthy too. Remember that it's perfectly fine to repeat meals, especially breakfast and lunch. We have a very short list of meals that my kids go between for these meals…not because I won't give them anything else but because that's all they really want. So, don't feel like you have to reinvent the wheel every day. Give her what she likes, just mix it up a little bit.

For dinner, my philosophy has always been to prepare a meal that my husband and I will want/like. Then I always make sure I add in something that my kids will eat and I serve it. It has worked out just fine for us. They choose which of the meal to eat or not eat. I will let usually let them eat a yogurt or applesauce if they really don't want what I've made and are still hungry. It is ok to have a dinner of vegetables, fruit, and a bit of grain.

At 3 kids start to get opinions over food…it's kind of annoying! ;) Before 3 my kids ate all kinds of stuff and then it changed. Boo! Here are some of our favorite non meat items

Edamame (soy beans--we make them in the pod and dip in coarse salt)
peanut butter
cheese and crackers (also cream cheese on crackers)
cream cheese on mini bagels
toast and jam
freeze dried fruits
greek yogurt (also mix in choc chips sometimes)
carrots, celery and ranch dressing
cous cous
rice
quesadillas
soup
tortellini/ravioli/any pasta!

Take a look at some of the responses I got to my acorn squash question below. all are fairly straightforward, and the sweeter ones lend themselves to a 3 year old palate.

Best,
F. B.

High protein non-meat foods:
Eggs - fried, scrambled, omelets, quiches
Cheese - on sandwiches, with eggs or pastas
Beans
Quinoa
Hunmmus
Nuts

Hmmm-Depends how you look at this question. I am mostly a vegetarian
ever since I watched meatrix.com, King Corn and Food, Inc.

If I eat meat, it is organic. Most of the time, I eat lots of beans, quinoa, organic cheese, veggie burgers, organic nut butters...peanut butter, too.

Make one meal and let her choose to eat or not. Kids will not starve. 3 yr olds are testing the waters. I thought age 3 was more more difficult than age 2.

We love a cantaloupe cut in half with organic, cottage cheese!! Sometimes I top it w/ cinnamon or a dash of organic honey.

Black bean quesadillas are going to be my new favorite !

In my family, most of the kids didn't like meat until they got older. I would just fix whatever I was fixing and didn't put the meat on their plate. If it's something that you can't separate the meat, then they could pick something else for dinner like soup and sandwich or some of the canned Chef Boyardee stuff that says it contains a serving of vegetables.

I would really suggest putting a bit of meat on her plate at each meal.... dice up cooked chicken breast real fine, for example.

Anyway, here's a family favorite for us... Black Bean quesadillas...

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/black_bean_quesadillas....

I have a full menu of meatless meals. I will send it to you if you want. I will PM you my email address.

My family if vegetarian so we know a bit about meatless ;)

B.

Spaghetti w/o the meat
Egg burritos for dinner
Hummus on crackers & with carrot sticks
Bean soup (soak overnight, cook for few hours)
Veggie soup
Noodles
Veggie roll ups (thinly sliced carrots/celery/cucumber in thin wraps w/light
smear of cream cheese)
Fettucini alfredo
Veggie stir fry (yummy), serve w/white rice
Sauted veggies of any kind
veggie burgers