Teen new Veggie = Stress for mum...

julieq

If you're doing shepherd's pie, you can substitute mince with lentils, presoaked, a few pulses and beans, and lots of garlic and thyme and seasoning. The same basic mix can be used with passata for vegetable spag bol, helps if you can sneak some worcester sauce in (but it does have anchovies as part of the mix).

Or slice some courgettes and coat with olive oil in a medium frying pan (which seals them and stops them getting mushy), with sliced onions and mushrooms, add some sliced tomatoes, fennel seeds and salt and pepper, then simmer in about half an inch of water for 15-20 mins or so and you'll have a delicious vegetable mix to add to pasta, spaghetti works well, fusilli also good.

Veggy curry is great too, roast potatoes with cauliflower, onions, maybe sprouts and even brocolli, you can add tomatoes for a nice acidic bite or leave them out for a richer taste. Lots of garlic and onion obviously and use freshly ground spices if you can.

You don't miss the flavour of meat when you cook with vegetables, it's more the texture that's lacking, so you have to find ways of adding a bit of crunch to meals, that often means being careful not to overcook.

I wouldn't be worrying too much about vitamins, there are plenty in vegetables. Save the money. The same goes for Quorn really, it's really just an expensive way of replacing meat like for like without really looking for other things of doing. You wouldn't try to make a chicken taste like a potato, so why go the other way?

And as others have said it wouldn't be a bad idea to involve your son in meal planning and what comes from his choices. It will engage him more which he'll need in the future when he's feeding himself.

Probably you'll all find benefits, vegetables are a cheap and nutritious (and delicious) option.

Doom_and_Gloom

juilieq as a vegan and once vegetarian person I would be very sickened and offended if someone ever 'sneaked' some worcester sauce into my foods. Soya sauce is a good substitute to it and works very well. He has chosen to exclude fish and as such I am hoping his mum will respect this and not use foods that are non vegetarian.

abaxas

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

juilieq as a vegan and once vegetarian person I would be very sickened and offended if someone ever 'sneaked' some worcester sauce into my foods. Soya sauce is a good substitute to it and works very well. He has chosen to exclude fish and as such I am hoping his mum will respect this and not use foods that are non vegetarian.

Get some 'Henderson's relish' from Sheffield.

It's basically Worcester sauce without the anchovies in it. Wor lass is a veggie so it comes pre-approved :P

NoahsPennilessMummy

There is someone on here who has a thread or two of Vegetarian meal plans......cant for the life of me remember who it is .
Am sure someone else will.;)
It gives lots of meal ideas.....and I would definately be looking at sometimes making vegetarian based meals for the whole family...even just once a week

VeganClaire

Get him to help make veggie food and freeze it - I used to do this with my mum once a week when I lived at home - it saved her hassel during the week and she taught me how to cook lots of nice veggie stuff even though she eats meat.

Any mince-based meals can be easily made veggie by using soya mince (verry cheap form health food places) or lentils. Frozen veggie mince is nice too but a little more expensive. Make a big pot and freeze (better still show him how to the first time then get him to do his own in future).

Cheap and easy bean burger recepie:
1 tin of well drained soft beans (e.g. kidney beans, butter beans)
Small tin of tomato puree / pureed left over veg like butternut squash
Oats / breadcrumbs
Herbs and Spices
Oil
Lemon juice/soy sauce/ hendersons rellish
Mash beans with pototoe masher, add tomatoe puree herbs a large dash of oil and some lemon juice/soy sauce. Add enough oats/breadcrumbs to make a shapable mixture. Shape into burgers / bean balls.
These can be frozen and baked or fried as needed.

Hope this is helpful

RightyTightyLeftyLoosey

abaxas wrote: »

Get some 'Henderson's relish' from Sheffield.

It's basically Worcester sauce without the anchovies in it. Wor lass is a veggie so it comes pre-approved :P

Seconded, it is lush.....and I'm not even a veggie any more.

kafkathecat

I can only echo what evryone else has said. I became veggie, then vegan at 17 and my mum's solution was for me to cook my own meals. I am still vegan now in my 40s and still love cooking. Someone on here has a cheap and easy recipe for lentil and stuffing burgers which you can freeze and then serve with veg when you need a quick meal. It is basically cooked lentils mixed with about the same amount of sage and onion stuffing mix and shaped into burgers. It's brill.
K

kafkathecat

And Mr Ts has a veggie Worcester sauce in their special diets section (at least my local has) which is my son's favourite of the 3 we have found.

lynzpower

I really liked Mushroom ketchup thats quite a good thing instead of the worcester sauce isnt it - holland & barrett sells it as does waitrose IIRC

EssexHebridean

I agree with those that have said that he should do some research to help you with meal planning etc. He's more than old enough to sit down with you and the computer, plus a calculator and a notebook, and plan some meals that come within your budget, are easy for him to cook while you're preparing a meal for the rest of the family or for you to cook for him. As it seems like it is an ethical choice rather than a health related one (ie, he's not unable to eat meat, he just chooses not to) then it is only right that he should take the responsibility for ensuring that his personal preference doesn't inconvenience you to a huge extent. It would definitely be a nice idea for the whole family to eat meat free once or twice a week though - so you can all sit down together and eat the same meal, as much as to keep preparation time to a minimum. Good luck!