Daughter wants to become a vegetarian.

hngrymummy

OP, just one little thing. Make sure that she can face eating a meat meal should the need arise later in life.

We went to an elderly relative-in-law's house. First time I'd met her, and unfortunately the last. She'd gone to a lot of trouble to ensure that she'd got everthing ready to feed us. She knew I was veggie, so she went salad-based with a quiche. She'd picked one out that had a picture of cheese and tomato on the box especially for me. Alas it was quiche lorraine :eek: As far as I was concerned, sparing her feelings was far more important than staying veggie for the day. Had to do the same with some ham sandwiches when I was about 8 at a friend of the family's house. She was about 80 and knew that I didn't like mustard, so I had a plateful done especially for me without mustard. Or maybe I'm just too polite for my own good

It's good for her to know her own mind, as long as she is able to spot when other people's feelings come first.

mutley74

https://www.vegsoc.org/

Humphrey10

hngrymummy wrote: »

OP, just one little thing. Make sure that she can face eating a meat meal should the need arise later in life.

No, she need never eat meat if she doesn't want to. Well except if she would starve to death otherwise I suppose! I would never eat meat, even if someone served it to me out of ignorance/stupidity. If someone can not be trusted to read the ingredients of something to check to see if it has meat, they cannot be trusted to read cooking instructions, use by dates and allergy information.

Kirri

Ditto, I'd never eat meat to spare someone else's feelings, I may as well not be veggie in the first place were I to do that!

meritaten

I havent read all the thread so forgive me please if I repeat someone elses post. Tell your daughter that you respect she doesnt want to eat meat - but in return, for the sake of her health and cos veggie sites recommend it, she eat some raw veg (ie salad) to help with her nutritional needs. then if she doesnt like lettuce then could you substitute raw cabbage? or carrot? cucumber? then does she like melon? tomato - lots of people who dont like raw tomato like tinned or tomato puree or ketchup. there are lots of ways to substitute salad hun - fruit being one and veg being another. will she still eat fish or shellfish? both very nutritious!

PudseyDB

I have a 14 yr old veggie in the house who is now partially vegan - which means she now has her own milk and margarine. I havent really found it a problem as she's now old enough to cook for herself when i'm doing a meat meal for the others that I cant adapt. Like tonight's tea for us was sausage, mash and spaghetti - she made quorn pieces and cous cous - it looked yummy too!

Luckily (apart from daughter no 2) the rest of the family will eat quorn and I actually prefer to cook with quorn mince than the real stuff. There's no waste with quorn products as there's no fat in them.

I've also become a dab hand now at eliminating the foods with gelatine in them - to be honest I'm horrified at the thought that some chocolate mousses for example contain beef/pork fat!

The comment about eating a meat meal when it may hurt someone's feelings - well I can safely say my daughter would refuse point blank simply because it hurts her feelings and goes against her beliefs.

pebbles88

aliasojo wrote: »

We did do this. She sat at the pc one day and went through lists and recipes on a site that was recommended and picked things she reckoned she'd eat. Only once she's got them in front of her, she doesn't. She seems to want to try things and eat stuff in theory but the reality is always different.

Agree with the vitamin suggestion, will do that I think, thanks.



Appreciate the replies, thank you. Few more ideas been thrown up that we can try.

ooh, just had brainwave! forgive me if this has already been mentioned, but what about the innocent veg pot meals? they are packed with veg. bit pricey but it seems a lot of the supermarkets are doing their own versions too!

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi, I also became a vegetarian when I was around 13. Mum was brilliant and said I had to help organise meals for myself which she supervised to make sure I was getting a good balanced diet.

I stayed vegetarian until I was about 16 then it started to slip. When I met my husband who has to have meat of some kind in every meal it eventually went out of the window completely. I still love vegetarian food though and sometimes make veggie meals for myself.

For me it was because I wasnt keen on the taste and texture of meat which I suppose is very different to someone who has ethical issues about eating animals.

pollypenny

Everyone should lighten up about vegetarians. The truth is that people in the UK and the USA are too focused on meat.

If you eat plenty of good bread, plenty of fruit and vegetables, especially the brightly coloured ones, you will be fine.

BTW; vegetarians do not eat fish!

Bufger

I would try to gauge whether she wants to become a veggie because the flavour/texture of some meats you often have she doesnt like or whether its for a moral reason. I was always fussy as a kid and hated red meats, i 'became a veggie' for a few days to avoid these meats and i wasnt that bothered that it involved chicken either. I thought it was a great solution! that was until my family had a cooked breakfast with sausage and bacon which i loved. I asked for some and my dad said i couldnt because i was a vegetarian - its at that point they figured out i was just fussy instead and there was no way the whole family would work meals around me just because im fussy. Worked out ok in the end as it was just a phase and i love meats now.

If she really is a veggie then it could be a good opportunity to get some help in the kitchen after getting her some different recipes to have a look at and see if she likes. I realise you said you dont always have the time but you could maybe put away some time for some bonding over a nice cooking session - this will also teach her some cooking skills so you can get yourself some help and she can get the meals she wants

And for quick meals they do loads of vegitarian stuff. I love the nacho bean burgers and would prefer them over normal ones!