I Need "Meatless" Meal Ideas That Kids Will Like.

I know there are lots of great vegetarian cookbooks out there that have wonderful kid centered ideas. I have one that isn't necessarily for kids but has pictures of every recipie including the cooking process and has made cooking with some of the lesser known legumes much easier- its called the Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook by Roz Denny, its probably 10+ years old but I love it and the Ministronie recipie is fantastic! I was also thinking Hawaiian Haystacks would be easy to modify with either fish or just the cream of mushroom soup. If you want me so send any recipies let me know- I would be happy to. Do you do Hummus? Its so versatile and so fun to dip vegies and crackers in for kids.
Good luck!!

Penut butter and Jelly is one that has a lot of proteine and that kids generally love. you can make dumplings in chicken broth (so theres no actual meat) and add noodles to it so its kindof like a meatless chicken and noodles. Even though you dont want to eat much meat, remember that the kids need the nutrients found in meat for their development. Proteine is a major factor in growth. Another suggestion is goolosh without meat. You make it exactly as you would before, but without Hamburger. Its still good, and it has no meat. Hope these suggestions help hun. Good luck!

Grillers from morning star are a great hit! Make a veggie burger with sweet potato baked fries.
Tofu dogs are yummy with amys vegetarian chili added you have an all american chili dog.

My kids are obsessed with smoothies add a little soy protein. With the extra juice mold it and put it in the freezer.

My kids love breakfast for dinner. I make a bunch of pancakes and freeze leftovers for breakfast (make them whoe wheat!)Of course, we usually have some kind of sausage or bacon (usually turkey), but you could just do eggs and pancakes or waffles, or even french toast. Anyway, that has been a nice option for us when we get bored with the usual dinners.

I also found some veggie patties at Costco (I don't know if you have Costco where you live, but I love it!). They are just chopped up veggies formed into a patty, not trying to pretend it's meat. I really like them.
Good luck!
M.

fajita quesadillas. make up fajita veggies, spread on burrito wraps add some shredded cheese and bake at 425 til cheese is melted and tortillas are browned a bit. cut up like pizza and serve with sour cream and salsa....

W., first, there are some great books out there, check your natural food store. You can use soy (the flavored is better) and ground nut meats for many recipe's. There are some great soy type meats, a chix, sausage, beef..., to add to meals, there are also "dried" type soy meats in a can, they are all good and will add the protein your children need. As a childcare provider of 12, we made every meal the same. Search your grocery store for these, bigger stores have more variety and cost less. It isn't as hard as you think. good luck. K.

Have you tried "veggie pizza" or "fruit pizza"? This isn't the regular pizza with just vegetables, this is made from instant crescent rolls or from sugar cookie dough,for the fruit pizza. It is really good & fun to make. Do you make vegetable soup or even potato soup? My kids like it when I make vegetable soup because I put the veggies that I know they like. If you go to the Taste of Home web-site you may be able to find delicious receipes, I know I can find a lot. Hope these ideas help a little bit, happy receipe hunting.

Pick up a copy of Vegetarian Times magazine for some ideas. I'm not a vegetarian, but enjoy the healthiness of the recipes in the magazine so when I see one that speaks to me, I incorporate it into the meal plan.

If you don't want to buy a subscription, see if your library carries it.

My 15 year old has also gone vegetarian, we still eat meat, I think my husband would wither up and die if he didn't have meat, I personaly don't care one way or another. I do try to cook at least 2 meals that are vegetarian and then she does for herself the rest of the time.

One thing my family likes is chicken strips/chicken nuggets, I by the fake chicken strips from the freezer section and do them up just like you would regular chicken, they have ground beef and I will substitute them in tacos and homemade soups with vegie broth, another one is eggplant parmesian, get some eggplant coat in breadcrumbs, fry till lightly brown, place on baking dish cover with pasta sauce and a little mozzerella and bake until cheese is melted, serve with some noodles. Lets see what else...... chili relleno bake, if interested let me know I will send it to you, all of these recipes work on the husband and my kids (age range 16 months-16 year) well good luck hope one sounds interesting!

in a lg casrole dish mix a can of tuna with a can of cream of mushroom soup add cooked noodles(egg noodles)top with crushed potato chips and sprinkle with cheese. bake for a 1/2 hour or till hot serve, this is a great meal and my kids love it.

the site i love for recipes is allrecipes.com. not only are there categories, but they have all the calories details, and the other stuff that is on boxes too. I am drawing a blank on what it is called right now! lol. I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Hi! I use the Kraft food website a lot. You don't have to use the brand name items to be inspired! :-)

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/

L.

I was raised in a mostly meat-free house myself. Molly Katzen's recipe books are fabulous resources for lots of healthy, meatless, kid friendly food(The Moosewood Cookbook, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, etc...) This article has five recipes by Katzen to try, before making any commitment on book buying.

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/family/feature/dony107kat...

Also, I've found that mixing tofu into things--chopped up in pasta sauce, whipped in a food processor with cooked squash and a bit of maple syrup, pureed into a cream of vegetable soup,and more-- boosts protein without sticking out like a sore thumb.

I also make "beef" stroganoff with seitan, a semi-pickled wheat based meat substitute, usually at any natural food store, co-op, Whole Foods, etc.. It can also be made from scratch using Vital Wheat Gluten. There's a great recipe here, as well as tone of other meat(and dairy and egg!)free recipes.

http://theppk.com/

Happy Eating!

check out allrecipes.com they have some wonderful meatless options one of my family's favorites is veggie chili it has all sorts of vegetables and the base is vegetatrian vegetable broth I believe.

I've found that it's easier to find recipes if you look for international dishes. Other countries don't rely so much on meat. Chinese, Italian, Mexican and even more exotic ones like Indian... Think stir fries, manicotti, tostadas (my kids love these and they take 5 minutes to make!), etc. Chili is big here too. You can also substitute cooked brown rice, mushrooms or white beans for meats in some dishes to get the same type of texture. It's generally healthier to use real foods instead of the "fake meat" stuff (it's still processed) but that's good on occasion too if they have a favorite dish you want to recreate.

Check out the following websites - they might give you more information and good ideas for meals.

www.vrg.org
www.lightlife.com
www.gardenburger.com
www.bocaburger.com

I've gotten a lot of ideas from vegetarian websites- they even have vegan ideas if you want! We however also eat dairy and eggs. I have found that pizza is a weekly meal (plus it's so good!)- I cook zuchinni then mash it and add it to the dough along with the veggies on top (in case my son picks the toppings off).
Also- stuffed noodles- tube noodles cooked then mix in whatever veggies you want with ricotta cheese and spaghetti sauce- top with cheese and bake it (350 until brownish).
Soup with tofu squares in it- just use veggie broth and add veggies then last thing you can put in is rice and/or tofu. I also make a flat bread (ww flour and some cheese and garlic) with it.
Cauliflower/Broccoli "mac n' cheese"- cook up cauli and broc. and some noodles- make a cheesy sauce mix it all up- sprinkle with bread crumbs and some cheese and bake it. My son loves it and it actually doesn't taste much like veggies! I personally do not like broccoli but like tricking myself with this dish :)
Hmmmmmmm
Veggie Lasagna
All mexican food- outpost has taco mix that is really tvp.
Scalloped potatoes- add soft tofu and it just gets creamier! also put in some sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, corn... whatever.

Again, look at vegcooking.com?? google it!

Good Luck and feel free to send me a message :)

For fresh ideas, just go fresh! I have a couple of lazy suzannes that every once and a while, we have a utensilless meal! All fingers! I get a bunch of different veggies and cut them up and put them in the spots and have a few different dips to use too! The kids get a kick out of it, and it is actually really nice! Something else I have done, which you can omit the meat, is do like a stir fry, but instead of any sauces, scramble a few eggs and throw that in. good luck!

You said that occasionally you do tuna? We have a "staple" at our house called "Tuna Lumies" (no idea where the name came from...it was a fave of my hubby's growing up) and they're basically tuna melts. You just use tuna and mayo to make like a tuna salad (we use Miracle Whip) and then add things like onion, green olives, shredded cheese, mushrooms, garlic and anything else you like to the "salad". Then spread it on buns (halved) and top with a slice of cheese (Kraft singles or whatever. Bake at 350 farenheit till the cheese melts a little and then put them under the broiler for a minute or so to crisp them up a bit. These are nice because they're really versatile...put in or leave out whatever you want...maybe even try a totally veggie version. My son is 8 1/2 now and he loves them and always has. Enjoy. :)

W.-

All I can say is www.allrecipes.com! It is the best site for recipes. People submit recipes and then people make them and rate the recipe on a 5 star system. When you see a recipe with a four-or-five star rating, you know it is going to be a good recipe! It is my fave site! S.

Lentil Soup (don`t make on a busy night, but freeze some when you have a good hour to cook)
2 big leeks
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp fresh thyme
8 stalks celery
1 lb carrots (maybe about 6-7?)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 lb French Green Lentils
3 containers vegetable boullion (about 8 cups of liquid depends on how many veggies you use)
3 tbsp tomato paste
Red wine or balsamic vinegar
chop all veggies saute in 1/4 cup olive oil for 15 minutes with thyme, salt and pepper. Meanwhile, rinse lentils and cook in bioling water for 20 minutes; drain. Add boullion to veggies, simmer for a few minutes. Add lentils and tomato paste and cook until lentils are soft (about an hour). Add some red wine or balsamic vinegar at the end of the cooking time, boil for several minutes. Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top and with garlic bread.

Sonora Pizza (Easy, about 20 minutes)
Flour Tortillas
Vegetarian refired beans
Tomato sauce (whatever kind you like)
Shredded cheese
Pizza and taco toppings (we like olives, cilantro, tomatoes, and sour cream!)
Bake or fry tortillas in a small amount of oil until crispy. Spread beans around on tortilla. Top with tomato sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is bubbly and heated through. Serve with pizza/taco toppings. My kid loves these!

Fish and roasted veggie terrine (medium)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup milk (not skim, you need sole fat for this)
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheese (we like gruyere)
carrots, zucchini, yellow zucchini, green or red peppers, whole scallions any combination will do
fresh or frozen tilapia, 2-3 fillets
Slice veggies into wide strips, about 3/8 inch think. Put in one layer in pan coat in olive oil, sprinkle on salt and pepper. Roast at 425° F until browned and soft, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy and small saucepan. Whisk in flour, simmer with whisking for two to three minutes. Add milk. Boil with occasional whisking until it gets thick. Remove from heat, let cool 5 minutes. Beat eggs together, add to milk mixture and mix. Stir in cheese. Now you will make some layers. Get a loaf pan (I have a special pan from France, I don`t know if the American ones are the same size? It shouldn`t matter, you will just get a thinner or thicker terrine. You could adjust the recipe up or down) Layer some veggies in the bottom of the pan, pour in 1/4 of the milk/egg mix. Layer some more veggies, pour 1/4 milk/egg mix. Layer fish, pour 1/4 milk/egg mix. layer rest of veggies, pour remaining mis. Sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake at 325°F until fish and eggs are cooked through. Cool 10 minutes before serving. We eat this with a big salad and bread, of course.

Roasted corn and Black bean salad
1 bag frozen corn (small) or 2 cups fresh
1 can black beans, or 1 cup dry soaked overnight and cooked through
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1-2 tomatoes
1 avocado (optional)
2 scallions chopped (optional)
1 habenaro pepper chopped (optional)
juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch sugar
Roast corn in oven until browned (see above recipe for instructions). Mix with black beans and all veggies. In seperate bowl whisk olive oil, cumin, lime juice, salt, and sugar. Adjust to your taste. Mix dressing with salad. We eat this a side to many things, or a lunch with a sprouted wheat bagel with some cheese.

I have tons and tons of recipes, most vegetarian and most kid friendly. I have desserts too. I have food for parties and kid parties. Email me if you want more recipes. I don`t ever actually measure anything, so these amounts are approximations of what I usually think I use. As you cook more, you will be able to tells when it is the right amout. Bon appetite!
M.

One meatless item that has saved me many times are those soy burgers, like Boca burgers. My one boy loves them and one tolerates them. It takes only a couple minutes to heat up in the microwave. I mostly serve it plain but if your kids like bread and condiments then your options are endless. They sell a really good veggie burger in a large sleeve at Gordons too.

Our little vegetarian baby loves the "fake" sausage from morning star farms. She also will eat the "chicken" nuggets. She also eats beans and lentils when we have soup. Try a nice warm batch of black bean soup, your kids could suprise you.

Hi W.. We are not vegitarian but eat quite a few meatless dishes for health and to save money. There are a few ideas that we do for fun and the kids love. One is a peanut butter quesadilla. We just take flour tortilla's and put a small amount of oil (or pan spray) in a pan and get it nice and hot. Then take two flour tortillas. Spread one with peanut butter and then put the other tortilla on top. Fry on both sides until each side is brown. We do a different second ingredient, choosen by them. Like jelly or banana's (sometimes a few chocolate chips).

We also eat one egg omelets with just a bit of sharp cheddar cheese or goat cheese. For the grown ups we add onion and tomato.

Another favorite is "build your own pizza" We make a crust from mix packets, then we make mini crusts for the girls and then use the rest for my husband and I. Each person gets to top their own pizza. One of my daughters doesn't want sauce on hers and puts tomatoes and mozzerella cheese. Another might have broccoli and cheddar cheese.

The last idea I have is a black bean quesadilla. We take one can of refried black beans and mix one package of taco seasoning into the refried beans. Then spread the black bean mixture onto one flour taco shell. Then put the next flour shell down and you can serve as is, or warm shells in a dry pan. Cut into slices, then top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and lowfat plain yogurt.

I have more idea, but would need to think longer about that.
Enjoy!!

Sincerely

CK

My favorite veggie cookbook is Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison. The Moosewood cookbooks are wonderful, too. Check the natural food store for books on other veg cookbooks that are more geared towards kids - or, go to Amazon.com and type in "vegetarian kids", under the "books" category. You will find tons of great ideas.

Some of my favorite meatless meals are meatless soft tacos: make a mixture of rice, beans tomatoes, onion and avacado in flour tortilla or you could put it in hard shell- I like the soft shells. Extra firm tofu cut into small cubes is amazing- it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in, but fills you up. Good snacking is endamame- they are frozen soy beans in the pod- you get them in the freezer section- boil them for 5 min then toss them with a little sea salt and take them out of the pod and they are ready to go. Also- spaghetti squash is a nice change of pace for spaghetti night- cut it in half, scrape out the seeds, put the 2 halves together and microwave it for 3 min, flip, 3 min, flip 3 min- and possibly again depending on the size of the squash- then use a fork to scrape the "meat" out of the skin- great with spag sauce or just pepper and butter- it's very versatile.

My kids like BBQ Tofu Bites (we just cut up the tofu into cubes let it drain/dry for a few minutes stir it with a little BBQ sauce and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes) they snack on them, or use them as salad toppers if I cut the cubes really tiny :-)

We also use meatless crumbles in place of meat in pretty much every soup that calls for it (White Chilli rocks with meatless crumbles in it)

My friend introduced TVP--Textured Vegetarian Protein to me just the other day. You can use it in place of meat. You could always try it as a substitute say in stroganoff and rice, or even lasagna. Hope that helps!

Something I like to make is a taco pasta salad. I usually make it with chix, but it's totally not necessary. I chop up peppers (green and red), cherry tomatoes (they're sweeter and easier for kids to appreciate), green onions, black or kidney beans (great for protein), and cilantro (which totally optional, depending on your tastes). Throw everything in with the cooked pasta, making sure that there are a lot of veggies compared to the amount of pasta. I toss with the dressing: mostly jarred salsa with a couple of tablespoons of caesar dressing. I plate it, sprinkle with cheddar or pepper jack cheese and crunch up a few tortilla chips as croutons.

This recipe is really easy and fast, and it tastes great, without much fat! Try it, it's a really big hit with my family.