Best Vegetarian Foods to Serve for a 1Yr. Old's Birthday

You have so many great ideas here so I won't throw in any more food suggestions. However, being a vegetarian family as well, just wanted to throw out there that in my opinon Trader Joe's & Henry's Market have the best selection of food for all these receipes =-) We also eat everything organic and again great selection at these market for good prices.

M.,

Cheese pizza, salad and bread is always a crowd pleaser. I make pizza all the time and both my kids love it. You can top it with anything you like. We eat lots of cheese pizza, pizza crust topped with a little olive oil and then topped with sliced veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms usually), but you can use alfredo sauce and broccoli, macaroni and cheese, really whatever you like for toppings.

:-)T.

How about serving beans and rice, guacamole, tortillas and chips, plantains and cheese quesadillas. My son and his friends LOVE that one!-www.weelicious.com

Oooooh, boy, a chance to go ooooon about food.

Our circle is about a 30/70 mix of vegetarians/omnivores...and we do bbq's/potlucks once a week. Here's a list, by no means a menu, but off the top of my head... things that have gone over well at these parties with the steak crowd. Asterisks are kid favorites.

* - Cheese Pizza
* - Quiche
* - Caesar Salad
* - Fried "sweet" green olives*
** - Baguette slices cheese panini's, mix it up with some pepperjack for the adults
* - French fries (home baked, or frozen & baked)
* - Boca Nuggets (but not quorn, for some reason)
* - Mac & Cheese
* - Grilled portobello mushrooms cut into quarters
* - Deviled eggs
* - PB&J "Monte Carlo's" (ahem, think what D-land does, with the smucker's round frozen ones)
* - Belgian Waffles w/ strawberries & whipped cream

- Veggi lasagne (sans eggplant, though it breaks my heart, so few of the carnivorous omnivores I know will touch eggplant)
- Cheese Manicotti
- Enchiladas/burritos
- 7 layer (or 9, or 4, whatever) bean dip
- Hummus & toasted greek pita
- Bruschetta (*especially* just the classic fresh tomato/olive oil/basil, & toasted pesto/cherry tomato/romano )*
- Spanakopita
- Blue Cheese & Pear flatbread
- Grilled aspargras (olive oil, salt, pepper)
- Penne alfredo w/ broccoli & goat cheese & pine nuts (* sans goat cheese)
- Pico de gallo & guacamole
- Fruit skewers
- Caccio el Pepe (spaghetti with a bit of pasta water, a LOT of sauteed garlic, parmesean, & breadcrumbs)
- Puttanesca

I'm sure you've noticed the theme: rich, cheese or dairy heavy, with a few exceptions.

Thai dishes... lots of vegetarian dishes.... spring rolls, salads, etc.

Also, any Asian foods... because there are a lot of such tasty "veggie" dishes in these cultures.

Sushi, with fish if that is acceptable to you.

Or veggie shish-kabobs... marinated in teriyaki sauce first, then grilled. YUMMY! Or, shish-kabob pineapple, even grilled whole Clementines are so awesome tasting. I make these and even my kids love it. I marinate all kinds of things in teriyaki sauce, which you can buy already bottled from the grocery store.

I'm sure there must be an Asian grocer in your area?

OR, instead of making it, get it take out.

Also, Chinese chow-mein noodles with broccoli....

Maybe that food channel HGTV will have recipes online....

Me, i dont' cook it with recipes, but just off the top of my head... so sorry I don't have recipes per say.

OH! Hummus and pita bread.... Greek food too has great salads and dressings... and dips.

Hope this helps,
Good luck,
Susan

A huge Humus platter with tons of organic greens. Celery, carrot and cucumber sticks. Deviled eggs are yummy. EXLarge black olives the kids can stick on their fingers. Avacado dip, bean dip and salsa with chips. A huge fresh fruit salad. Make your pasta salad, a green salad and Potato salad. A variety of Cheeses with breads and different types of crackers. That would feed an army, meat free :-)

You are so lucky you get to be creative1 so many moms throw burgers or hotdogs on the grill, open a bag of chips and call it a party! But not you, you are looking at healthy options, good for you! There are some amazing ideas...i have a few more if you can stand it! LOL

My kids favs: (I have all these recipes typed out and I can send them to you if you want)
Salsa Salad with pita
The "un-taco"
"Un-spaghetti" (yes this is a finger food)
Lettuce wraps
crepes - anything can go inside
Baba ganaush (spelling??)
Pizza bread - french bread - sauce and topping baked in oven - everyone can make their own

M., I honour the choice you are making for your family. You are amazing!

B.

My veggie kids always loved vegetarian pizza, and loved helping make it too.

For the adults you could serve portobello burgers. I have had great success serving those to non vegetarians. For the children, bean flips are always a hit at my house. Just spread some refried beans (black or regular) and some grated cheese on one half of a tortilla, fold it in half over the stuffing and grill or cook on a skillet until the cheese melts and the tortilla is a little bit crispy. It seems like kids always go for the simplest things, food wise anyways! I hope the party is a blast.

I always make pizzas for my kids parties. My kids are allergic to dairy so I use soy cheese. I don't mention it and no one has ever complained. I think a couscous would be good for adults and kids. Another party favorite is nachos with vegetarian chili. Of course fresh fruit and veggies.

I have been a vegetarian (not vegan) for 29 years. I have always prepared meat dishes for my family though. You can always do a fiesta theme of cheese enchiladas, rice & beans, salsa, black bean taquitos, tostadas, layered dip. Italian also, pizza, cheese lasagne, vegetable lasagne, spagetti, ravioli, tortellini, breads, bread sticks, salad, etc. Chinese, vegetable fried rice, chow mein, fish dishes, there are many veggie options in chinese foods. Indian food is fantastic but I doubt kids will like it but very vegetarian. If you are familiar with the Torrance area there is a little family owned Indian Deli on Sepluveda between Ocean & Hawthorne (west of Hawthorne) that makes the greatest Indian food ever & very cheap! You should try it with your husband one day. All dishes are vegetarian & like home cooked. Good luck with the party!!!

You have gotten some great ideas here! My family is HUGE and part vegetarian and part not, when we all get together there are lots of dishes! One of them is the chili I saw mentioned ~ we like to put that on Freetos, then top with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and salsa! My Grandma always makes 'tea' sandwiches ~ egg salad, tuna, cream cheese with black olives, she will use wheat bread on the bottom and white on the top. Good luck!

Why not do the classic summertime food? Cook hamburgers and hot dogs! My girlfriend is vegetarian and she eats salmon burgers, tofu burgers, and tofu hot dogs. It might be a cool way for you son's friends and parents to learn about the way he eats. Being a vegetarian get's a bad wrap because most people don't understand what you eat and why. It can be a cool way for all of your partygoers to try new things. You could also serve a variety of your dishes so they can try different things and eat what they like. I can imagine that if you've been eating this way for 17 years you have probably accumulated some great dishes. Plus when people try your cool foods they will rant and rave about your kitchen skills. Every hostess likes that!

roasted vegetables, or grilled veggie kabaobs, potato salad, lots of fruit, chips/dips, hummos, cheese enchiladas

We are meat eaters, so when my cousin who is a vegetarian was coming for the holidays...this was a big challange. One thing was a veggie lasagna, I did not tell ANYONE but her,that there was no meat, everyone LOVED it. and I actually had to tell them NO, NO MEAT!. I did 1/4" slices of eggplant in the layers...it turned out very good.
corn bread and chili (crock pot, no heat:) ) Cooks.com is a great place to get ideas. Good luck, don't stress!! It is summer so lots of fruit and a fresh veggie tray ;)

I would say beans and rice, you can't go wrong. if you eat cheese then quesadillas too and guacamole.
J.

A nice homemade macaroni and cheese works really well with kids. You can serve them with Smart Dogs - my kids are not vegetarian, but they still like Smart Dogs! Another option would be a vegetarian lasagna. If you like Mexican food, bean and cheese burritos are good.

Great question! The last issue of Cookie magazine has a recipe for vegetable latkes (potato pancakes) that I just made. They have parsnips, carrots, leeks, eggs and potatoes. You probably could easily sneek in some finely chopped broccoli or cauliflour too. Served with sour cream and applesauce - they are adult but kids love them too. I just made them for my playgroup of moms and 2 year-old boys and everyone loved them. You could probably find a similar recipe on cooks.com or on sunset magazines website via their recipe search.

Good luck!

Hi M.,

How about Humus and pita, guacamole and chips?

Have fun!

Ratatouille is a huge favorite with my fam! :)

You can have thm make their own pizzas w/ vege ingredients; maybe pesto for the adults. All cheep and EASY.

Jen

If you have the budget, fruit bouquets from Edible Arrangements are dramatic, fun and festive for a special occasion. We had a beautiful arrangement of kabobs in a shark bowl for my daughter's Ariel party a few years ago. You should be able to see options and pricing on their website at ediblearrangements.com. They have stores all over town.

We also made cream cheese sandwiches and cut them into shapes with theme-related cookie cutters that I found online by googling "cookie cutters." I also added food coloring to the cream cheese to make some of my daughter's favorite colors. We made these the night before the party.

I totally agree with the contributor below who recommended making choices that allow you to enjoy the party, too. =-)

why not just veg pizza, make it easy on yourself so you can enjoy the day

veg sub sandwhich, baked beans, salads with cheese, beans, or egg, or plain, fruit salad with yogurt...???

Trader Joe's has some really great fresh and frozen vegetarian food options available and I think it is very reasonably priced for what you get. If you have one near you, I would suggest cruising the aisle there sometime soon to see if there is anything that appeals to you and fits your budget.

Wishing your son a wonderful 1st birthday and a successful party.

Either Veggie pizza or veggie lasagna and a big salad. You're all set.

Hi M.,

Chili is almost always a crowd pleaser. You can make a lot, it's easy, and can be totally vegetarian. I like to throw in TVP, either in the big "kibble" size or in the smaller granola size. Either way, my carnivorous friends can't tell the difference and are amazed when they find out that the meat wasn't meat.

For the kiddies, PBJ finger sandwiches cut into fun shapes are usually a hit, as is egg salad (if you're ovo-lacto). So are bagels and cream cheese. Ants-on-a-log are also fun (peanut butter or cream cheese spread into celery and dotted with raisins or your favorite nut or seed). You can put out a bar of different things for the "ants" and let guest add their own topings. BTW, In my house we substitute soynut butter made by a peanut-free company because of peanut allergies.

If you want something even easier, you can order vegetarian pizzas or buy them a bake them yourself. Costco sells an awesome pizza margharite with fresh basil leaves.

Happy Birthday to your son!

I have found lasagna is always a good food choice. With the right spices and lots of cheese no knows there isn't any meat in them.

Hi, M.,

To add to the list of items you've already received, I would add a few things my nonvegetarian relatives like--Chik'n nuggets (soy nuggets), Soyrizo sausage (a tasty vegetarian version of chorizo) if you want to make a Mexican entree and sliced, baked tofu in an orange, vinegar soy sauce.

Lynne E