13 year old DS has decided he wants to be a vegetarian

angie_baby

As above. I dont have a problem with this but can you help me with meal ideas. Im going to look in he supermarket today but just seem stuck in ideas. He is a very active boy and already taller than me.

Thanks x

TravellingAbuela

My DD decided when she was 14 she too wanted to become vegetarian. It was a nightmare wondering what to feed her as the only veg she would eat were peas!! She's now 42 and still a veggie by the way! In those days there wasn't the vast range of vege food you can get nowadays and she seemed to live off C & T pizza!! I despaired! There are loads of veggie cook books in The Works so have a look in one those and start off from there. Lots of on-line recipe sites too. My DD makes some lovely meals and soups and now eats every veg under the sun!

peachyprice

If he's old enough to decide that he wants to become a vegetarian, he's old enough to tell you what meals he wants to eat!

Set him the challenge of doing the research for recipes and making shopping list for you.

kathrynha

I turned veggie at a similar age. My mum bought me a cook book and told me if I wanted to eat different from everyone else I had to cook for myself.
She did buy some veggie burger and stuff but like TravellingAbuela said, they were rarer back then. I was only allowed them once a week, and I wasn't allowed to just do cheese/beans on toast all the time either. I had to cook proper food.

I remained veggie for about 3 years until for health reasons I had to start eating meat again.

It was a hard stance from my mum, but I am so greatful for it, cos firstly it made me seriously think about my choices, and secondly it gave me a real passion for cooking and experimenting with food.

Memory_Girl

peachyprice wrote: »

If he's old enough to decide that he wants to become a vegetarian, he's old enough to tell you what meals he wants to eat!

Set him the challenge of doing the research for recipes and making shopping list for you.

If he is old enough to make the decision - he is old enough to be doing some of the cooking:D

Should free up a couple of evenings for you per week - and its amazing how fast they learn to cook when there is an "audience" sitting there waiting to be impressed (give constructive feedback)

I know - I am a horrible mother

MG

DigForVictory

Twelve is a splendid age to start the young on real grownup skills like figuring their own food (& a budget for triple bonus points). They're raveneous, inquisitive, & there are no major school decisions required in the year - thirteen & they have to answer what exams to I want/need to do. Still, if they can manage unilateral vegetarianism, I doubt options will be too severe a poser unless you utterly disagree with their future hopes & dreams.

Our mum decided that on summer holidays we would take it in turns to cook the evening meal. The 4 year old's open sandwiches & Mars Bars were always popular, and we had a swift lesson in managing picky eaters by discussing with my father what he would agree to eat... Although he taught us all how to make a proper white sauce, which decades later is still a handy skill.

The only caveat I would add is that *if* he turns out to be lactose intolerant, you get him back onto meat pronto. An ill & growing vegetarian is a bad mix.

Prinzessilein

He is still a growing lad, make sure h is getting the balance he needs in his diet...particularly protein. Luckily there is lots more to choose from these days! Quorn products are useful. Keep a check on veggie burgers/sausages et.c some of them are really excellent, but others are worryingly high in fat and salt. And the simple practice of combining a starchy grain with a (preferably unrefined) carbohydrate is simple and very MSE (beans on toast, chilli and rice, lentil curry and a naan....)


You should be able to accommodate his vegetarianism without too many disruptions to the weekly meal plan...simple swaps like giving him veggie sausages with his mash or a quorn fillet instead of the roast on a Sunday mean that you shouldn't have to cook two different meals.


And I would look at this as a chance for the whole family to join him on one or two nights a week! Vegetarian meals are too good to be only served to non-meat eaters! Not that I am suggesting the family give up Sunday roasts or bacon sarnies! But veggie chilli and rice is just as good as the con-carne version...vegetable lasagne with garlic bread is another that most family members will happily tuck into...lots of curries can be made veggie and still enjoyed by all.


(I was veggie myself for a few years....back to omnivore these days but still go veggie out of choice for a day or two each week)

THIRZAH

My DD was a vegetarian for about 12 years from the age of 14. We'd eat a vegetarian family meal about twice a week-veggie lasagne, chilli etc. I'd often make extra portions and freeze them.

She liked some shop-bought veggie burgers so I'd keep a packet in the freezer. I make tomato sauce in bulk to freeze so would freeze some in individual portions so she could have pasta with tomato sauce topped with cheese or with peppers. Another meal that she liked was baked potato topped with chilli beans (Tesco do small tins) plus cheese . I'd also use chilli beans to stuff pancakes adding extra veg such as peppers and mushrooms and topping with cheese sauce.

Home made pizza was easy-I'd just do a separate one for her. If we had steak pie I'd make a pie for her filled with mushrooms and veg. If we had stir-fry I'd cook the meat separately and serve fried cashew nuts on her portion.

There are lots of vegetarian ready meals so it might be worth keeping a few in the freezer.

Jack Monroe's site " A Girl called Jack" has lots of cheap vegetarian recipes-the carrot and kidney beans burgers are good.

angie_baby

Thanks for all the advice. Didnt get a chance to go to the shops but will tomorrow.

Im looking forward to having less meat too now, its just he told me on sunday after id served pork chops! I wasnt happy with the no warning.

He did try this a while ago when he was about 10, didnt last long tho. He did make me laugh though as we were in the supermarket asking for sweets and i told him he couldnt have them and he proudly told the whole isle that it was ok because he wasnt a virgin!

angie_baby

Memory_Girl wrote: »

If he is old enough to make the decision - he is old enough to be doing some of the cooking:D

Should free up a couple of evenings for you per week - and its amazing how fast they learn to cook when there is an "audience" sitting there waiting to be impressed (give constructive feedback)

I know - I am a horrible mother

MG

Not at all! I love it!

166million

What meals do you normally have? Maybe start there and find a way to replace the meat with something else like Quorn? I have spag bol, curry, shepherds pie all made with Quorn mince or pieces.
Or use the burgers and cut into strips you can make fajitas?