Ok, so my 13 yr old daughter had decided she wants to become a vegitairian?

Question

which is fine with me, i actually never ate meat until i met her dad ( my mom was vegitairian) but, my question is, what are some good meals i can make? i hATE to cook, the rest of the family are extreme meat eaters..like the cheeseburger has to have bacon too, lol. She is sooo picky too, the only thing she wants is grilled cheese. she wont eat tomatoes, mushroom, onion, or alot of veggies, idk, but it seems like now she wants to replace her meat with sweets.. any suggestions?

Answer 1

Being a vegetarian is a great thing, but pickiness is not. Vegetarians need to eat vegetables, beans, grains and nuts so that they can have a balanced diet It really sounds like your  daughter is actually more of a picky eater than a vegetarian. This could also be the warnings signs of a eating disorder.

Have a serious talk with your daughter. Why does she want to be vegetarian? Is it for health, compassion for animals, earth resources. Then go from there. Stress that she must eat a variety of wholesome foods. Restrict sweets- it is very common for vegetarians to fall into a junk food diet.

Mark Bittman's 'How To Cook Everything Vegetarian' is a great resource for tasty food that is also vegetarian!

Answer 2

it'll take time but make sure she keeps retrying foods she thinks she doesn't like.... when i went veg i had never really eaten any veggies and swore i didn't like them... but i kept trying things different ways different times and my tastes changed... you find new things you didn't think you liked... she has to open up and eat more than grilled cheese or she won't be healthy.  suggest she get a cookbook or browse the internet and start trying new recipes and foods. let her get involved with the cooking process.  even if people are big meatteaters they need veggies too right? so find ways to incorporate foods you guys can all eat.  if she isn't goign to do it healthy then she shouldn't do it becuase it can be very very unhealthy if someone just drops meat and eats sweets and carbs all the time.

Answer 3

i don't eat any red meat, but i do eat some chicken and turkey. i eat a lot of fruit, pb&j, grilled cheese, eggs, cereals, veggie soup, breakfast foods, baked potatoes, salads, and some other random things. i do eat candy, but in moderation.

Answer 4

Well, if she wants to become vegetarian, she's going to have to learn to eat her vegetables.  You can't replace meat with sweets.  I learned to like vegetables more after going vegan.  But they have to be prepared right.

Will she eat marinara sauce?  You can get vegetarian marinara sauces that have veggies blended in so she won't notice and use that on homemade pizzas or on pasta.  Then the meat eaters can have something meaty, while your daughter has veggie sausage or something.

You can also find recipes for veggie loaves and sneak vegetables in there.

If she wants to go veg, she has to eat her fruits and vegetables.  She has to eat properly.  She can't live on grilled cheese sandwiches.

And someone is going to have to learn to cook, by the way.

Answer 5

Well, you have to teach your children to eat healthy. Becoming a vegetarian just to eat more junk food is not going to help her.

Answer 6

There are some simple and no-fuss meal recipes, some no-cook recipes,  at my vegetarian recipes blog, you may want to have a look :

http://www.crystalbyblog.blogspot.com/

But it is Asian, not sure it suits her tastes and ingredients wise you may need to omit or subitute with something else.

Does she eat pasta with tomatoes sauce? If yes, you may want to blend more onion n tomatoes to make the sauce.  Creamy veggie soup maybe a option, just boil all the veggie and blend till creamy and soft.

Dessert wise, you can blend silken tofu and strawberry with some sugar to make a dessert that is like yoghurt, then she has her good intake of soybean product which consist valuable protein for vegetarian and fiber from fruit.

If she like cheese, make baked rice/pasta with brocoli/cauliflower and cheese.  There are some way to hide veggie in dishes, like finely chopped or blended spinach to fry rice.

Sweet and junk food is no good for a growing teenager :)

Answer 7

I became vegan for athletic reasons.

You should just let her cook for herself.  She will have to learn someday, might as well start now.  Buy you a stainless steel high quality wok (look'n at maybe $200, but will last 50 years) and tell her to go to it.  Olive oil, heat, add garlic and ginger, throw in veggies, add flavour or whatever... soy sauce... throw in some tofu... There you go... a meal.  Eat with rice or noodles or something.  I have a huge collection of cook books... and I very rarely follow a recipe... I just flip and get ideas... and use what I've got etc.  Build up a nice collection of ingredients that she can use... spices, herbs, olive oil, sea weed, baking powder, starch, different types of pasta, rice noodles, beans, legumes, ... the list is endless...

Answer 8

i was a vegeterian for about 5 months because i just wanted to expereicne it + i gave up ! my mates were not very supportive.....

Answer 9

If she is old enough to make the decision to become a vegetarian, she is old enough to take some responsibility for her diet.  Take her grocery shopping, and get a variety of easy to cook teen-friendly foods, like cheese pizzas, veggie burgers, corn dogs, mac n cheese...  and let her prepare them.

And don't worry, I've never met a thirteen year old, vegetarian or otherwise, who gave a rat's behind about nutrition, or their health.  Most would live off Red Bull and Pop Tarts if they could get away with it.

This website has lots of kid friendly recipes, and articles and message boards for teens:

http://www.vegetarianteen.com/

Answer 10

try these links it will help u alot

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?ca...

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?ca...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/vegetarian_and...

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/vegetari...

http://www.recipelink.com/rcpveg1.html

http://www.simple-vegetarian-recipes.com...

http://www.immuneweb.org/lowcarb/

http://www.theveggietable.com/articles/p...

http://www.protein.com/soyproteinrecipes...

http://vegweb.com/

http://www.veganchef.com/

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/

http://www.veganvillage.co.uk/recipes.ht...

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Everyday-C...

http://www.vegan-food.net/

http://www.emilyskinner.com/food/pretend...

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/NU/002...

http://www.dianagrayministries.net/recip...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_livi...

ENJOY :-)