Vegetarians please advise...

shandyclover

Two of my teen daughters have decided to go veggie, one clarifying she's a pescatarian (she'll eat fish). Our family doesn't eat a huge amount of meat so that really is not a worry, other than I am having to retrain myself to not having every meal revolve around the meat available. I'm looking for tips and advice from long term veggies. We're on a very tight budget, so what are your best OS recipes? Also your best sources of protein? Hubby thinks a veggie diet is simply taking out the meat but I know you do have to make sure you include protein. All my daughters are quite used to pulses and legummes, though they have never beeen too keen on eggs or cheese and milk. Thankfully they do like motzarella. I read somewhere once that you must eat a grain with a pulse to form a complete protein, though it doesn't actually have to be in the same meal, as long as it is within the same 12 hours. Is this true? Some of our family have had problems with aneamia in the past, now I'm worried as veggies it might be a problem again, should I get them to take iron?

HappyMJ

Protein is one of the easiest to replace in a vegetarian diet. Beans, nuts...etc just google that. Iron is also easy to replace just google that one too for some ideas. The only thing which is really lacking in a full vegan diet lacking all animal products is vitamin B12 which is obtained from meat, dairy, eggs etc but in a vegan diet it is only found in fortified breakfast cereals or marmite and a few other places.

One of my favourite vegetarian foods is lasagne just layered with vegetables instead of meat.

shebangs

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LameWolf

I've been a veggie for donkeys' years - my freezer always contains a supply of veggie sausages and packs of soya mince, which I use exactly as you would the meat variety. A wee observation - I find Quorn mince very dry; Morries or Tescos own meatless mince works heaps better for the Shepherd Spy that I make on a regular basis because Mr LW loves it.

We have HM nut loaf for special occasions.

We also always have cheese of various sorts available; if they're not overly fond of cheese, have they thought of trying different types? There are so many sorts of cheese. Be aware though, that some cheese contains animal rennet. I don't know how strict they intend to be over this type of thing, but you may find yourself seeking out cheese made with veggie rennet (it's not hard to get).

sunflower76

I've been a pescatarian since June 2011. I now can't stand the thought of meat in my mouth and I actually gag if I try it. Very odd as I was a huge meat eater until this point!

It was weeks before anyone noticed I'd changed my eating habits and, to be honest, it hasn't been a massive inconvenience for anyone. MrS has gone along with it and now eats much less meat than he did before although it's usually when we go out to eat that he has it. I will happily still cook it for him, and others, if so required however.

So what do we eat?

• Vegetable lasagne
• Pasta with cream cheese, or a tomato based sauce
• Risotto
• Cauliflower / Broccoli cheese
• Vegetable Pies - HM and ready made
• Filo pastry tarts (usually HM)
• Vegetable / lentil curries
• Stir fries
• Potato Gratin with veg
• Bubble and Squeak with Poached or Fried Egg
• Soup and Bread
• Fish Chips and Peas
• Fish Cakes
• Veg pizzas

Anywhere I'd normally do a 'meat and two veg' type meal, I'd now do a piece of fish instead of meat.

I don't eat tofu, soya or meat replacement products like Quorn as I don't see the need and I don't want to eat 'pretend' meat like chicken style pieces. I can't say that I miss them or see a requirement but I know other vegetarians do eat them.

For snacks I always have fruit, yoghurt and snacks such as dried fruit, yoghurt covered raisins, nuts and seeds available. Packed lunches are simple.

I don't worry about anaemia or being short of vitamins or minerals as I'm sensible in what I eat and I have a balanced diet rich in fresh fruit and veg. I am seriously ill and have blood tests every few weeks which monitor iron levels etc each time and the doctrs have never suggested that I need to amend my diet.

I wouldn't worry too much about how you will accomodate them I knwo it seems scary at first but it won't be as difficult as you think. You may find that the rest of the family are keen to be meat free once or twice a week and I can recommend the Veg Everyda book by Hugh FW and Meat Free Mondays by the McCartneys for some fab recipes and tips.

rinabean

No need to eat dairy or meat if they'll eat their greens. They're the best source of calcium and iron. Many pulses have a good level of iron and a little calcium and many nuts and seeds (and apricots?) are high in calcium, but greens have both. If they're picky eaters and vegetarians, things get more difficult, obviously! You don't need to combine pulses with grains at the same meal, you're right. It doesn't need to be in 12 hours, either, your body will even things out over a couple of days. If they're eating a good amount of pulses (including tofu) and nuts they'll have enough rounded protein. Grains are not low in protein and even fruits and veg contain a gram or two in a serving, so it's very unlikely that they will be deficient if they eat a varied diet.

Two deficiencies they are at risk for are vitamin B12 if they are not eating much in the way of animal products at all (easy to get tablets for this) and vitamin D (even fair-skinned meat-eaters need to keep an eye on this in the winter, and if you're not both of these then all year round).

Regarding iron, I don't think there's any need to supplement it if they will eat foods that contain it unless they actually have a problem absorbing iron (in which case I would ask a doctor how much iron they should take a day). However, I personally take iron at the beginning of my period, if I have a blood test and a few days before and after giving blood. I could eat enough vegetarian iron, it's not impossible and it's not even that hard, but I'm lazy and I prefer scoffing chocolate to making kale chips if I'm already feeling terrible due to blood loss, and I don't expect that this is unusual.

I just remembered one more thing, not such a big deal for the fish-eating one but for the other - essential fatty acids. You can get supplements (make sure it's a vegetarian one and not fish oil, obviously!) but it's easy enough to include in the diet. Omega 3 is the one most people lack, and flax seed is the easiest way to get it, but you must ensure it's actually ground or chewed or you won't get the benefit from them (you'll get a different "benefit", of course...)

OrkneyStar

LameWolf wrote: »

We have HM nut loaf for special occasions.

I am not a veggie but been craving a nut loaf for ages, any chance you may share your recipe ?
Many thanks

*dinky*

Lifetime veggie here - lots of protein ideas already (personally I quite like Quorn but each to their own!) but I second the B12 point - if they like marmite that's great, otherwise fortified breakfast cereals. Also orange juice with iron-rich foods will aid absorption. If you start noticing they're more tired/pale/their periods change then iron supplements could be a good idea.

icontinuetodream

I have been a vegan for well over a decade and have no health issues at all, in fact, am probably healthier now than I was in my twenties ....as long as they eat a varied diet there really shouldn't be any difficulties at all..... a lot of people on an omnivorous diet are at more risk of nutritional deficiencies because they tend to eat the same stuff week in, week out and have little or no variety.....

if the kids are fussy eaters, you may have problems.... however, if they are serious about wanting to make a lifelong change to their diet, they will have to be willing to try things out and to 'train' their tastebuds to accept things that they are not used to...either that or spend a lot of money on supplements!!!

lizzyb1812

The other posters have made good points and provided useful info, but isn't there another perspective here? You say they are teens. They have taken a pretty big decision re food which you intend to respect. Surely they are old enough to do their share of the research re their nutritional requirements? They also need to realise that you are catering for the whole family and can't produce 3 completely different meals every day - or not without some practical input from them.

misskool

Just another small thing to add, I'm not veggie but often have veggie meals. A nice way to mix up textures would be sprinkling nuts (peanuts or almonds) to things like stirfry to give it a good crunch and provide more nutrients.