Vegetarian/Vegan Children

wendy james
Posts: 42415
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:29 am
Location: Flollopy Simpleton Land

Vegetarian/Vegan Children

Post by wendy james »

Sproglette is sticking with the lacto-ovo-vegetarian thing. She eats cheese (though no feta or halloumi) and loves pasta, noodles, hummus, rice with soy sauce, Heinz tomato soup, eggs in various forms and potatoes cooked all ways. She does not like mayonnaise, mushrooms or raw carrot despite repeated attempts, but we can now include raw pepper with her cucumber crudites. :faint: She generally refuses anything spicy (curry, chilli, etc) and just eats the accompaniments, though she liked some of the chilli and lime snack pack I had from Aldi so there is possibly some scope there. Tomatoes, olives, kale (preferably crispy) go down well and she will eat cooked carrot. She doesn’t like LM sausages (I’m going to try her with Quorn ones), does like Morrisons vegan burgers, Quorn fishless fingers and most brand fake sausage rolls/chicken nuggets*, and she recently tried Tesco’s hot dogs and they were ok. Nuts are not allowed at school.

Elvis has decided that she is also going to be vegetarian (again, though seemingly a bit more aware of what it entails this time :lol: ). She’s a bit vaguer on the egg thing (she said no when asked) but I may ease in on that one until she’s more established. She’s not as fussed for cheese, and finds the school cheese sandwiches ‘minging’. She doesn’t like JPs either, which means she’s going to have to take packed lunches twice a week (when there’s nothing she will eat on the school menu). She tried the Quorn fake chicken slice with cucumber and mayo and said she’ll have that, hummus is also an option. She likes more veg than Sproglette, so raw carrot, mushrooms, broccoli are all fine, and she also likes pasta, noodles, rice and potatoes (anything but JPs). I’ll try her on the replacement stuff too but we only have that type of thing once a week or so, so can’t rely on them too much.

So far I haven’t really been able to convince them on tofu or pulses other than baked beans and the occasional chickpea.

So now we have 1 omnivore, 2 vegetarians and 1 vegan. P is fine with eating vegetarian/vegan dinners as he eats what he wants at other times. I have plenty of books for meal planning, but just wondered if anybody had any T&T ideas for vegetarian packed lunches, vegetarian dinners that can be easily veganised or vegan dinners that children might like?

*Based on neither of them complaining when they’ve been served vegan versions. :lol:
Last edited by wendy james on Mon Jan 13, 2020 9:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Froozy
Posts: 6347
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:08 pm

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Froozy »

Will they eat round things they don’t like? We’ve been having this Creole Rice recently and it’s very tasty. It’s easy to alter the amount of spice in it and substitute other veg.

We’ve also been through a fairly intense falafel run. I’ve yet to make my own but I believe they’re straightforward and might make a good base for a wrap.

This Pasta Alfredo is also very tasty. We’ve done it most recently with broccoli which worked well.

I’ve also been using cauliflower as a meat replacement in curry. I know they’re not necessarily into spice but a mild curry might be a good introduction or caulk might work well as a replacement in other meat dishes. We are currently working on the assumption that the Pataks spice pastes are acceptable but are more plant based than strictly vegan.

ETA: We’ve also been adding beans to the leftover creole rice and having it as burritos the next day.
User avatar
emma_p
Posts: 39032
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:50 pm
Location: stateside

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by emma_p »

Tacos? We have them once a week - always veggie and you could easily make it vegan just by not adding cheese.

I usually do some combo of:
cauliflower roasted with cumin
pico de gallo / salsa
guacamole/chopped avocado
a dish of raw veg/herbs - sliced radish / lettuce / rocket / coriander
corn salad https://www.countrylife.co.uk/food-drin ... alad-16111
AJ black beans: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lime ... lack_35645
chopped jalapeños and hot sauce on the side - nothing else is spicy.
shredded cheddar / crumbled feta/cotija
yoghurt mixed with salt, lime and cumin
popcorn - AJ puts them on her corn tacos, she adds a bit of maple, cayenne pepper, salt and cumin and it's addictive.

AJ proper chilli https://gasmarkfive.com/2015/04/01/proper-chilli/ is a big favourite we have it just with cheese / yoghurt with salt, lime, cumin / leftover tacos baked in the oven to make tortilla chips, radish, lettuce etc
It's very forgiving so you can use any pulses/grains you have in. Mine do now eat black beans and lentils but when they were iffy about it they just had quinoa and bulgur wheat and I added black beans in after for S and I.
I don't add any chilli - I just add smoked paprika. S and I then have hot sauce / add slices of jalapeños to ours.

Do the girls like tofu?
User avatar
emma_p
Posts: 39032
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:50 pm
Location: stateside

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by emma_p »

Falafel is an excellent call! Mine both love them with hummus/tahini dip, crudités, slaw, pitta or rice.

I love the Leon sweet potato falafel recipe (the one from the first book).
wendy james
Posts: 42415
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:29 am
Location: Flollopy Simpleton Land

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by wendy james »

We’re not a fan of tacos but often have fajitas so I shall look at those filling suggestions thanks!

I’ve bookmarked the creole rice too, and will have a look at some other links later.

Tofu and falafel are still being worked on as in we serve it up but they usually don’t eat it. :mrgreen:
User avatar
Hamm
Posts: 23978
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2005 4:58 am
Location: Where it's hot and wet

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Hamm »

T isn’t a huge meat eater but does love cheese and eggs.

For lunches, he likes cold pizza (I buy the small ready made bases or use ciabatta and jarred sauce), leftover pasta made into a salad, wraps with cheese or humus with salad and cold quesadillas with a salsa dip. If I’ve made cheese and onion pie or pasties or a tortilla/quiche he will take that with a leafy salad. I like to change the bread a lot with sandwiches etc, wraps, pitta, rolls etc as that seems to matter more than the filling for him. Toasted pitta or flatbread with hummus and salsa, for veg he quite likes mange tout and baby corn to dip. Soup or hot pasta (leftovers microwaved) in a flask for winter.

For dinners, he loves a lentil Chili, anything Tex mex (I add kidney beans to everything but canellini work too, just baked beans without the Heinz) which is handy as I’m not good with dairy and you can opt out or substitute easily and for a fast meal, egg fried rice with veggies or a glass noodle salad with cashew nuts. Vietnamese spring rolls are a fave but they are a thing we do together as an activity so hols or weekend but they make a great lunch the next day. A lot of stir fries as I adjust the veg to everyone’s taste.
Figaro
Posts: 14660
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:47 am

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Figaro »

The bosh chilli is really good, you could tone down the chilli so it’s not spicy and just add chilli sauce or salsa to individual portions for those who want it. Falafel wraps, veggie hotdogs, loads of good veggie curries (my kids prefer the ones based on coconut milk), satay tofu, veggie pad Thai. All of these are things my fussy eater will sometimes eat part or all of. I think I’m just mean as we just serve stuff up anyway, and if he’s hungry he will eat some, even if it is just the rice or noodles and a bit of sauce.

Pizza and quesadillas are also easy and really adaptable if people have different dietary preferences etc.
User avatar
Morganna
Posts: 17303
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:25 pm
Location: Avalon

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Morganna »

I had a household like that for years, Wendy. No vegans, but a veggie/pescatarian/omnivore combo. It gets easier with practice, and now there are a lot more convenience things like burgers and nuggets made of more exciting things than Quorn. Sainsbury's meat free range is good.

I used to do a lot of bean casserole type things and add chorizo or pancetta to half of it - veggie sausages or marinated tofu would work too. I know you said they weren't keen on pulses, but a bean casserole is similar to baked beans in texture.

Now I think about it, the vegan bit wouldn't work with a lot of my T&Ts, as I used cheese quite a lot. A real favourite with mine that your girls might like was rissoles/burgers/cutlets made with equal quantities of cooked brown rice, grated cheese and ground nuts, mixed together with a bit of sage, then shaped and dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and shallow fried. I used to do a similar mix and make it into small balls then use it like sausages in a toad in the hole.

So not really very helpful, sorry.
User avatar
Tits McGee
Topaz Titanium
Posts: 4368
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:58 pm

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Tits McGee »

My friend has the exact same set up in her house, and I know she really rates the No Bull range from Iceland for things that the whole family will happily eat.

Could you try introducing lentils by stealth, maybe in a whizzed up tomato soup? :Scottish: :)) Or a very mild dhal.

M made this https://food52.com/blog/24247-indian-ch ... ily-recipe last night and it was really nice. L won’t eat anything spicy at all so she didn’t join in, but it looks like you could make it milder or spicier quite easily.
I've got ham, but I'm not a hamster
olive
Really Creepy
Posts: 21810
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:06 pm

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by olive »

Will they try bean/ falafel burgers? I make these for us every so often

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/black-bean-burger/

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbcg ... gers%3famp

The falafel can be a bit dry so I usually make a mint yogurt sauce to go with it.

If they’ll eat hummus can you get them to try a lentil dip?

T is an omnivore through and through but T will take in hummus, crackers, crudités for lunch or a cold pasta salad with whatever veg I have in and a mountain of cheese.

Like Hannie I will vary the bread and pasta type for variety.
User avatar
bramblerose
Posts: 27486
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 4:05 pm
Location: Somewhere, everywhere, nowhere

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by bramblerose »

Have you tried them with a Bhudda Bowl? I had one the other day which was bean chilli (not helpful!), barley and cous cous tabbouleh, pureed slightly minted peas, crushed potatoes and salad. They should be easy to pack for a lunch.

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/20-v ... -your-day/

Also fritters; corn or sweet potato or courgette?
Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either, just fuck off and leave me alone.
Figaro
Posts: 14660
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:47 am

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Figaro »

Oh yes, my boys love the Bill Granger corn fritters recipe which is online. They freeze well too.
olive
Really Creepy
Posts: 21810
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:06 pm

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by olive »

I thought my boys would have loved the corn fritters but they really didn’t. I might re try them and introduce my mum to them (who is pickier than a 5 year old!).
User avatar
emma_p
Posts: 39032
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:50 pm
Location: stateside

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by emma_p »

My two like them, as do I! The fritters reminded me of these Anna Jones polpette recipes which we all love:

https://myatedaysaweek.wordpress.com/20 ... -polpette/
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... odern-cook

The polpette aren't as dry as falafel and you can't really make out the lentils. Not vegan though, unless you use vegan cheeses, I guess. I've used the polpette recipe to make mini burgers which went down well.
wendy james
Posts: 42415
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:29 am
Location: Flollopy Simpleton Land

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by wendy james »

Thanks all!

I emailed P with a load of links and ideas earlier, so we’ll give them a stab. Those black bean burgers look fab olive - they got an enthusiastic nod for inclusion next week!
olive
Really Creepy
Posts: 21810
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:06 pm

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by olive »

Hope you like them!

You can make them vegan by substituting the egg for half an avocado apparently. I’ve never tried that though!

I’ll often add ground cumin and coriander plus smoked paprika instead of (or as well as) chilli powder. Also 2 cans made loads as they’re quite dense and there isn’t any shrinkage.
User avatar
Hamm
Posts: 23978
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2005 4:58 am
Location: Where it's hot and wet

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Hamm »

User avatar
Thora mkii GTi
Posts: 15098
Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:26 am

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Thora mkii GTi »

Not much of a contribution but have you tri ed Cauldron veggie sausages? They have a very different texture from the LM and Quorn sausages; they're flavourful and don't have that tang that I find with the Quorn sausages, although they do have a little bit of pepper in them, which might not be agreeable to kids. If I remember rightly the Cumberland are a little less pepper than the Lincolshire. They make lovely sausage sandwiches and work well for toad-in-the-hole :ready:
wendy james
Posts: 42415
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:29 am
Location: Flollopy Simpleton Land

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by wendy james »

olive wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2019 8:18 pmYou can make them vegan by substituting the egg for half an avocado apparently. I’ve never tried that though!
I told P this and shared the blog post you linked to.

It’s like he doesn’t understand the concept of mashing. :ella: And noses were turned up because it didn’t look like the picture. It was very tasty though.
User avatar
Shoe
Posts: 50509
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:54 am
Location: Online

Re: Vegetarian Children

Post by Shoe »

:lol: There's not even an attempt at mashing, it's a large dice at best.

I'd totally eat it though. :ready:
Post Reply