Teen new Veggie = Stress for mum...

pickledonionspaceraider

My 16 yo son decided about a month ago that he wants to become vegetarian (no fish either but will eat eggs) . I know he isn't doing this on a whim, as he has mentioned this on many occasions in the past.

Problem is, what to cook for him? and how to keep this cheap, as not to enflate my food shopping,by buying extra stuff and be stress free for me...

To be honest, I really am absolutely clueless, as we are a family of meat-eaters, and this is really stressing me out, as every evening im trying to convert a meat meal into a veggie one, ie, buying those quorn sausages and bits n bobs - which is proving expensive.

I work very long hours in a stressful job too, so when i come home after a 12 hour day, I could do with easy meals, that convert to meat also.Im quite a simple kinda cook, lots of lasagne, sheperds pies, bangers and mash etc.I dont really do 'exotic' recepies etc lol

I have got him straight on multivitamins, as am very worried about him not getting nutrients.

So far his meals have been consisting of lots of pasta, and as I said, me trying to convert meat meals, with quorn sausages and burgers.

I probably dont buy/cook as much fresh veg as I should with working and stuff.

I have helped him make a huge quorn bolognaise sauce, most of which was frozen into single meal sized tubs in the freezer, so more ideas like this, which I can freeze for midweekwould be absolutely amazing, and any other veggie ideas would be so appreciated.xxx

Pitlanepiglet

What does he want to eat? TBH at 16 part of his decision to go veggie should be how he is going to deal with his diet in the future.

Can you work on a meal plan with him so that he can put together his own meals?

Barneysmom

If I were you I'd make it as boring as possible so he moves on to something else quickly :cool:

painted_lady

OK, I feel I need to reply to this. I come from a big family of meat eaters and when I was 6 I stopped eating meat, too young to know there was a name or movement for it. By the time I was 10 I ate no meat at all, not even gelatine in sweets. Mum thought I would grow out of it and never made a fuss, we are very much a meat and 3 veg family, but mum replaced the meat with those forzen burgers, bakes etc from supermarkets. I do and always have eaten dairy. As I became a teenager, i got bored of them and started learning ho to cook. by the time I was 15 I could make chili, curry , pasta sauces etc from scratch,w ould often make these for the family too. If mum did the cooking I would usually have the meat replacement and veg. I am the only person who ever left home at 18, went to uni and started eating healthier. I am now 32 and eat very healhtily (my vice is take out pizzas though, and chocolate). I find people who find my diet difficult to understand tend to eat a lot of meat and veg and think what is on the plate without meat. That wouldnt be a healthy diet. I tend to incorporate te veggies into one dish, many of my dishes have bean mix in, lentils etc, pulses are a great meat replacement. I have a congenital health problem and had to see a dietician a few years ago, who was exteremely impressed by my diet, I have nevr needed extra vitamins or nutrients and neither should your son if it is done properly.
I would encourage him to learn how to make certain things himself, a good skill in life anyway, especially at this age when he will be looking towards leaving home in a few years, it will make that transition easier and less worry for you.
Maybe buy him a veggie cook book (loads always in charity shops going cheap) or i can this week email you some of my fave recipes (many of them are very quick and cheap to make). Send me a PM if you want me to do this for you.
I would also suggest not making a fuss of it, I am a psychologist and always advise people not to make a fuss of meal times.
Also remember eggs are a good source of protien so if he is eating these thats fine (obviously not fried all the time) and things like lentils, beans, cereals, couple of dairy portions and a few fruit and veg a day can make a healthy diet.
It is a lifestyle choice he has made so should be prepared to change his lufestyle and learn to cook for himself a little, as I did, if he is motivated enough, he will do it.
Good luck with it all

painted_lady

Also be careful he doesnt replace meat with cheese, a lot of vegetarians crave cheese, as I do, but obviously the fat content is high.

RightyTightyLeftyLoosey

I was veggie for 7 years from ages 14-21. It was OK, especially when I was a student, pulses and veggies were much cheaper than meat. So, it should save you money

My mum said she would be supportive as long as I learnt to cook and gave her ideas of what to cook for main meals. TBH, it was much harder back then, as there were fewer meat substitutes like Quorn etc.

My mum bought me a copy of a veggie cookbook and this helped with kickstarting ideas for cheap, tasty meals. This should be much easier now as there are a multitude of websites covering veggie food. Also, keep an eye out for cheap copies of good budget cookbooks, as lots of the food in there tends to be veggie. I still use something called 'The Student Vegetarian Cookbook' and Cas Clarke's books on cheap cooking are also good.

RightyTightyLeftyLoosey

Oh.. and try Red Dragon Pie! Easy if you're already making Shepherd's Pie. I used to LOVE this when I was a teenager.

http://www.eighth-day.co.uk/recipes/bredrago.htm

Oldernotwiser

Make some vegetarian meals for the whole family and save money.

Buddingblonde

Barneysmom wrote: »

If I were you I'd make it as boring as possible so he moves on to something else quickly :cool:

I think that is very unfair to dismiss someones beliefs when this obviously hasnt been done on a whim (OP herself confirms that he has mentioned doing this many times before).

I have been a veggie since I was 15 (now 33) - firstly veggies do not eat meat or fish (how many people call themselves veggie but arent is unbelieveable). The first thing I did was join the Veggie Society - at 16 he is old enough to do is own research about nutrition and healthy eating.

I know that a lot of people panick when they think about feeding a veggie but a lot of meals are already veggie - breakfast is often a veggie meal (cereal, toast, scrambled eggs etc) and lunch is easy enough (cheese salad sandwiches, baked potatoes and beans, soup and a roll) so really you only have to focus on 1 meal a day (if that!).

When it comes to meals plain cooking is often easier to make veggie that fancy meals - make mash, and veg and then you have meat (chops, roast whatever) and give son something veggie - tescos and sainburys so have a lot of their own veggie ready meals but to be honest I find it cheaper to go to farmfoods and buy frozen quorn mince, fillets, burgers and sausages.

Veggie food is very freezer friendly so encourage son to do more bulk cooking - the bolognaise is a good start - that could easily be used in a lasagne or add some chilli powder and make it chilli. Add more veg or lentils to it and add a mash potato top and have a veggie cottage pie.

The main thing is to get him to take responsibilty for more of the food in the house - there is nothing to stop you meat eaters having garlic mushroom spaghetti, or cauliflower cheese, or home made veg soup is there?

Pretani

If he really is concerned about becoming a vegetarian he obviously has done some homework on the issue. Get him to help you prepare his meals, and here's a trick you shouldn't miss. sent him to the shops.

He's 16, nearly a man and if he really is sincere about this, he'll have to learn how to manage it himself.;) that may even include growing vegetables for the whole family.

Good luck!

Doom_and_Gloom

First of all you do not need to put your son on a multivitamin and mineral tablet at all. A vegetarian diet can be very healthy and packed full of vitamins and minerals. If he eats a wide selection of fruits, vegetables, pulses, nuts and seeds you're pretty much okay.

Vegetarian meals that contain lentils and/or soya mince (you can buy this cheaply dried in most shops now. A 500g bag is around £1 I believe) are very easy to make and freeze very well also. Lentil soup, lentil and vegetable lasagne, lentil/soya mince shepherds pie, lentil curry (not very exotic as all it entails is curry powder with yogurt really to do this) lentil chilli (same as the curry but with chilli powder). A lot of vegetarian meals are cheap and very nutritious. Even vegetable and lentil stew with vegetable dumplings (use vegetable suet instead of beef) can freeze very well and can still be nutritious. I’m a vegan (was a vegetarian before that) and my parents are very into their meat and my ma can still make me a good vegan shepherds pie. If you make the base of the meal that is vegetarian friendly then split it into two pots and then add the meat to one pot and lentils/soya mince (making sure there is a lid on the vegetarian pot to minimise contamination) to the other it isn’t as hard for you. A bit more washing up but that’s about it!

If I were you I would try and get your son to try different grains such as couscous, quinoa, whole wheat rice etc as loading up on pasta every day is not a very good idea. You can crave carbs just as much as painted lady said that you can crave cheese on a vegetarian diet. It shouldn’t be that stressful for you and indeed if you don’t let him eat too much of the processed meat substitutes but pulses etc your shopping bill could go down.

If you need any more help on this you could PM me as I do not mind answering any questions you may have.

D&G