Vegetarian Ideas

While I don't have a ton of vegetarian ideas for menus, but the company I work for has a WONDERFUL web site that will give you a ton of information regarding going green and different food options etc. www.circleofresponsibility.com

Have fun. Good luck,
M.

Another person with no vegetarian ideas, although we often go with the ones you already suggested--but as a small farm owner, I need to speak up--there is a great article at http://www.grist.org/article/2009-08-07-debunking-meat-cl... by Elliot Coleman, one of the premier small farm advocates of our time--have you thought of buying 1/2 a side of beef from a local farmer? If you don't have the freezer space, maybe you could split it with another family. The meat is fantastic, and you can be assured it was raised without antibiotics, not on a feed lot, etc. Good luck with the vegetarian meals--I'll ask my sister to post here, she's been a vegetarian for 20 years (while married to a farmer, funny story...)and has a lot of family recipes.
Good luck!

My 31/2-year-old loves veggie hot dogs and tofu. However, for me to eat tofu, it has to be prepared well. My favorite vegetarian cookbook is Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. It's a fabulous resource as well as having vegetarian recipes that aren't too outside of typical US cuisine. Other things I suggest are looking for recipes with dairy, nuts, whole grains (including high protein grains like quinoa--a natural source of all necessary amino acids), and legumes. Many Asian recipes are naturally vegetarian and many others (especially Mexican and Italian) can be made that way by simply leaving out meat. Furthermore, there are lots of imitation meat products available made with a variety of protein sources that you can substitute into your favorite meat recipes.

Hi J.,
What No Meat? by Debra Poneman. It's a child friendly vegetarian cookbook.
Enjoy,
S.

Bake your own whole wheat pizzas -- we put olives, goat cheese, and onions on ours. Play around with adding other ingredients: spinach, broccoli, artichokes, etc.

Add chopped or sliced nuts to your pancakes (they're a great source of protein and healthy fats!).

We love hummus (a paste made of chickpeas); and, there are other dips you can make with beans. Kids like dipping assorted veggies and pita slices into the dip, themselves. To make a meal, serve with dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices) or spanikopita (spinach and cheese wrapped in phyllo dough), toasted pita points, and olives. Or, go more Mexican with dips made of pinto or black beans, and fixings to make soft (or crispy) tacos.

Try fish with lentils. Dump large can of lentil soup in casserole dish. Lay out fillets of white fish (Red Snapper, Tilapia, your choice). Crumble feta liberally over (and capers and/or kalamata olives, too). Bake in 400 degrees about ten minutes (or until fish is done). Serve with brown rice and salad.

Hope these give you some ideas.

Hi J.! Eating vegetarian isn't necessarily "green". Think of all of the vegetarian products and all the energy it takes to produce "fake" meats, soy products, fake milks, etc.

You can reduce your carbon footprint by purchasing locally raised meats and veggies. We buy organic, free range beef by the quarter, organic free range chickens (both from local farmers) and we raise our own veggies- we also buy our eggs locally and I often make my own pasta. You can even buy your milk locally.

I was a vegetarian for 9 years. I thought I was doing my body and the earth a favor. I was a super vegetarian and ate all the right things and proportions. I had many health problems in those nine years. I am healthier now from eating free range, locally raised meats and a ton of organic veggies! :)
I hope this helps!

Interesting conversations! I am empathetic to both views on meat-eating/Co2 footprint; I was a vegetarian mostly for health and environmental reasons in college in Santa Cruz, CA and even volunteered for "Diet for a New America"- I love the Moosewood cookbook, still. During my health studies I met a dairy manager/animal nutrition student from Costa Rica! I visited his dad's small dairy farm there (on the side of a volcano) and learned the evil image of dairy farmers is only true for a few bad apples. This farmer (and now his son, my husband) treats (their) cows like family, where comfort and health are everything. They don't use artificial chemicals like rBGH (which isn't bioactive in humans I've read) eventhough they aren't organic. They do use antibiotics instead of letting the cow with an infection die or move to a traditional dairy) but they waste their milk for a month before placing them back in with those milking for sale. As a scientist I am especially keen to WHO is writing an articles, as most we hear on tv is spiked with propaganda. I like to read scientific studies critically, verifying if the study was a large double-blind placebo controlled study and whether it was funded by drug companies before I consider it valid or even readable. Yes, the FDA often jumps to approve somethings when they shouldn't and we end up with Fen-phen tragedies, so eventhough I recommend many drugs when the benefit OUTWEIGHS the potential future/unknown adverse effects in some few. In this case the quoted articles were discussing pros and cons of meat in regards to health and environment. Note that the first website (I like the calculator) gives a very 1-sided argument about meat and dairy. While the need for long-term studies is valid, its' sources don't include any dairy studies or the human studies that show those dairies that do choose to use rBGH (which shortens cows' lives by 5 yrs on avg by the metabolic demands and osteoporosis so its often not a popular option for farmers) in shorter-than-ideal term studies has not even been proven bioactive (ie doesn't get recognized by our receptors to be useable) in humans:

"1. Webb, D.W., “Artificial Insemination in Dairy Cattle.” University of Florida IFAS Extension, June 2003. Accessed March 10, 2007.
2. The Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health. “Assessment of Potential Risks to Human Health from Hormone Residues in Bovine Meat and Meat Products.” European Commission, April 30, 1999. Accessed March 20, 2007. "
Hope this helps in critically evaluating all the confusing news and opinions out there!
As far as the original question, my recently-turned vegan parents are finding it challenging to get enough essential nutrients and protein to keep their muscles up but they've lost weight and cholesterol. They've taught me if you didn't grow up in India or similarly vegitarian family/society, you've got a lot of nutrition study to do and little choice in most restaurants! For us I agree with what was said that sharing mostly grass-fed local lamb and beef are the best way to go. Good luck!

Good for you! I'm a long-time vegetarian, currently raising a vegetarian toddler who's allergic to milk (gets welts and hives) and doesn't like to eat eggs. So I've done a fair amount of research on nutrition for vegetarian and vegan kids, and thought I'd pass along a couple of things I've learned along the way in case it's helpful.

A couple of nutrients that are harder to get in non-meat foods are B-12 and zinc. For the B-12, there are enriched foods, but it might be worth looking for a vitamin supplement that includes it. Our toddler takes a liquid kids multi-vitamin from a local co-op. From what I've read, vegetarians in the past used to get B-12 through food contamination. Now that we're all so careful about hygiene and food safety, it's harder to get enough B-12 in a vegetarian diet. Interesting, huh?

Your kids will probably be able to get enough zinc through dairy products, but we learned that, among other things, skin can have a harder time repairing itself if there's a zinc deficiency. So if you notice any changes, it's something to think about.

Best of luck! My daughter loves pizza, tofu, tacos (made with Quorn brand fake beef), and quinoa. She's a great eater and very healthy. You'll do great!

try Boca burgers. They are a veggie burger, but are surprisingly good. Frozen food isle

I would suggest picking up a vegetarian cookbook at the library. You'll find good stuff there. We like Entertaining for a Veggie Planet and Moosewood Cooks at Home. Also, try just de-meating regular recipes. We make lasagna with tofu, ground up veggies, and vegetarian crumbles and our kiddo loves it. Our son actually LOVES anything with tofu. There's a way you can saute it with a little breading that is really delicious in a stirfry...Yum!

Good luck!

Wow this amazes me. Do you really think God would put cows on earth to hurt us!
Eat the cheese and drink the milk. take care of your family.
I earth will survive it has for so long you need not worry about how the cows effect it.
Good luck with your new menus!

When trying to go more veg/green, make sure you don't cut down on protein. I suggest starting every day with the healthiest breakfast on the planet - Shaklee Cinch shakes. They taste soooo good - and are so good for you and give you lasting energy throughout the day. Vanilla (you can add frozen or fresh fruit), chocolate, strawberry, and caffe latte. They are marketed as weight management shakes but my friend who is a certified nutritionist gives them to her 3 kids, too. It's such a good combo of protein, fiber, carbs, and fat.

By the way, right now if you order 2 cans, you get free membership, which means 15% off all Shaklee products forever (no annual fee, no monthly ordering requirements). Contact me if you'd like help with anything.

K.
http://K..myshaklee.com

We have a 5 yr old little boy. Both my hubby and son are vegetarian so I end up eating just like them since it's easier to cook that way.

We love to eat mexican so we eat cheese enchiladas, cheese quesidillas, rice, beans. We also love seafood especially fish that tends to be on the sweeter side. We bake, grill, or fry them. We eat potatoes in various forms. We also eat spaghetti but just without meat. We love noodle dishes but instead of meat, we have shrimp or scallops or fish in them. Pretty much, everything that you have meat in, we just leave it out or substitute fish or seafood for it. We really love the Indian and the Italian sauces at Trader joe's (if you're short on time and don't want to make your own from scratch). They really make a difference. But my little one doesn't care much for sauce so we just leave it off his portions and just put it on our own. I'm sure it must seem overwhelming when you're not use to eating a certain way (just like cutting out sweets for dessert and then you wonder what in the world to eat? ). It takes time and patience to figure out it. Just start very slowly and you'll realize over time that there are tons of things to eat. Pretty much everything that you can order in a restaurant, you can cook at home and it really doesn't take that much. I guess it helps that we love various ethnic foods and they are wonderful for cooking things vegetarian.