What are some good vegetarian meal ideas, must be kid friendly. Thanks.?

Answer 1

It's easy to make pretty much anything vegetarian. You could always substitute tofu, seitan, or tempeh in pretty much any recipe. Aside from that.... ok, mexican - you could make burritos, tacos, taco salads, enchiladas, fajitas (with marinated tofu or shrimp or fish if you eat that and peppers, onions, tortillas, all the toppings..), maybe for lunch nachos with refried beans (maybe a "lighter" canned version, even), typical mex. toppings but don't feel limited - you could even top unconventional toppings such as shredded carrot, diced bell pepper, lightly chopped broccoli, or almost any veggie you like - then top with cheese (or veggie cheese)....... Italian is easy too because there are so many combinations of various types of pastas (I like soy and wheat based pastas) and just take a bunch of any veggies you want, cook 'em up, and mix 'em into the pasta with marinara sauce, peanut sauce, alfredo sauce, olive oil/vinegar/herb/parmesan cheese sauce, or pretty much any type of sauce you'd like, it doesn't even have to be "traditionally italian" - pasta and veggies... are pasta and veggies ;) or even different types of veggie lasagnes, or you could try substituting tofu for ground beef and adding chopped veggies in the lasagne............ Asian - brown rice topped with stir-fried (in canola or other healthier oil, even) veggies of any sort and an asian sauce (peanut, a sesame/soy sauce based, teriyaki, whatever you like), miso soup with chopped veggies and tofu, etc. (You could look up different asian recipes for different asian countries and try those... and again, if it does call for meat you could always substitute)...... Of course, there are also veggie dogs, veggie burgers, you could try serving those with baked sweet potato fries (easy to make, recipes out there online) and some organic ketchup (which in my opinion just tastes way better!)...... there are infinite combinations of salads (green salads with chopped veggies and/or fruits, seeds, and a yummy dressing you make yourself (sometimes I make honey-mustard, raspberry, I've made an orange-poppyseed before - you could use a little honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, agave, stevia, etc., to sweeten them...look up salad dressing recipes to find some your kids may like); of course there is the standard ev. olive oil and balsamic which is purported to be healthy but may or may not be a little too strong for their tastes - if it is, you could still try it but with maybe a little added sweeteners I mentioned) - also try making some different grain salads by mixing in seeds, chopped veggies, and/or dried fruit to brown rice, couscous, wheat berries, tabbouleh (and I love traditional tabbouleh in and of itself :), etc. Again, look for some grain salad recipes online...... there are also so many possible combinations for soups; again you may want to look online... (I would give you maybe some links but just google in these various phrases and TONS will come up, I guarantee you)!....... you could make vegetarian chili...... maybe try serving an "appetizer veggie plate" before dinner each night - you could swap out different veggies... a large selection at once, or several, perhaps, or feel free to just have even like one to three different veggies on the tray (whatever you feel like and have on hand) each night -- like cucumbers, carrots, celery, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, jicama, bell pepper strips, broccoli, etc, or go to your produce section and try something new - you can serve the veggies with hummus (storebought, or it's not hard to make yourself), or a yogurt-based dip with a seasoning packet or your own choice of herbs, salt, spice, etc. (I'm sure you could find dip recipes as well; I personally like to make dill dip) (and, if you must - ranch! ;) ). I was just thinking of spinach, you could make a spinach souffle and top it with pine nuts, for instance, cheese, etc.... or you could make the traditional greek "spanokopita" pie....... If you get into ethnic foods (Indian is a good one that has tons of vegetarian dishes; and all the middle eastern countries have lots of vegetarian options as well), you will find a wealth of recipes there....... Good ol' beans mixed with greens and served with cornbread is a good standy....... for lunch, maybe some mac and cheese with finely chopped broccoli and tomatoes or whatnot........ (there's anything fish/seafood, if you eat that; or toss chopped hard-cooked eggs into things for added protein, if you eat eggs)...... You could try different types sandwiches - even use different types of nut/seed butters other than pb, or try cream cheese/cucumber, tomato/avocado/cheese, or look up different marinade recipes for tofu and marinate the tofu overnight, sliced thin, and put on the sandwich with whatever else........ But I think you can be surprised what you come up with that your kids will like. Sometimes you will need to "hide the veggies" in there but really, just keep trying new veggies, raw and cooked, the "veggie plate" idea, etc., to get them used to really enjoying veggies. (Also, be sure not to overcook veggies where they're limp... ugh!)... Serve desserts of plain yogurt drizzled with honey and berries, fruit, sunflower seeds, nuts, etc. -- the honey gets mixed in and sweetens it - this is what the Greeks have for dessert and trust me, it is divine!!....... (BTW, you may already know this but if you're not buying organic, spray down all produce with a water and white vinegar solution first - that should suffice but I even add a few drops of grapefruit seed oil to further get the chemicals/wax off, and I keep it on my sinktop with a veggie brush - unless you're going to peel them).

My overall feeling that I feel very strongly about is that kids need to be exposed to a wide variety of vegetables in order to get used to eating them, and also that what they see their parents eating, they will be inclined to eat as well... it may take a little time, but keep on exposing them to creative meals that revolve around a wide variety of vegetables, and make sure you (and hubby, if you're married) are used to eating in such a healthy way so the kids see you guys doing it. And make sure you pick up fresh produce at the store often so you'll always have it on hand, staples such as pasta, rice, and other grains in the cupboard, and with some meals you can try to make extra meals ahead of time and store them in the freezer (I'm planning on getting a big deep freezer myself), for an easy defrost so you won't be tempted to do fast food dinners..... Good luck! :)

Answer 2

Try being creative and making some little pizzas out of bread rolls. All you need to do is cut the rolls in half, spear on some tomato paste, add all your favs (mushrooms, pineapple, capsicum etc) and then top with some grated cheese. Pop them in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes and you've got a heathly snack for children or adults!

Answer 3

Well, some snack ideas for the kids could include carrots +2 tbsp. of ranch or celery and 2 tbsp. of peanut butter. they sell veggie burgers and non-meat chicken nuggets and stuff like that (most of them come frozen) at your local grocier.
BREAKFAST:
Breakfast burrito: 1 small tortilla, 1 medium egg plus 3 egg whites (or all egg whites or egg beaters), ¼ Cup veggie crumbles (the stuff that looks like ground beef),amount you like of chopped peppers and onions, ¼ Cup (or just a sprinkle) of low-fat shredded cheddar. Microwave the veggie crumbles, scramble egg, put the burrito together and eat! And ½ Cup orange juice to drink. This is very good, and the crumbles taste like meat but its not.

LUNCH:
Soup, Salad and Sandwich: 3/4 Cup low fat non-creamy soup, Salad with lite dressing, 2 slices lite whole grain bread, 1-2 slices of cheese (low fat or fat free would be good, but I can't do that!), 2 slices of fake turkey or ham (these are near the packaged salads at my supermarket), Lettuce, tomato, and onion

For dinner just have like a veggie burger and a small side salad w/ lite dressing.

for one more snack possibility or even a meal (they're called meal bars) you could have the special k chocolate & peanut butter meal bars. they are 190 calories and very tasty :-)

good luck, hope this helps,
-sara

Answer 4

our family favorite is fondue. (you can get cheap fondue pots at thrift stores. I got a dual chamber one at Marshalls for 13 dollars) I make a vegetarian sauce, either cheese, spagetti or alfredo and serve it with dunkers of brocolli, mushrooms, mozzerella cheese balls (I use the string cheese, and cut it into little bites) rosemary boiled new potatoes, tater tots, garlic bread, steamed baby carrots, brussel sprouts, cherry tomatoes, and just about anything else we can think of to dunk. My daughters non veggie friends love this, and never realize they are not eating meat. It is filling and fun. For desert, we do chocolate or caramel fondue with apples, pears, strawberries and bananas to dunk. This is versitile enough to do several times a week, and is super easy on the cook. I just cook all the veggies in a steamer at the same time, and heat up the sauce and cut up the cheese. It takes minutes to prepare. We enjoy threading the different dunkers on the long fondue forks, or wooden skewers. We also enjoy grilled veggie kababs-just thread lightly steamed potato, pearl onion, mushrooms, turnip, rutabegga (whatever your fave veggies are) on a wooden or metal skewer, and grill in a pan, grill, or under the broiler (brush them with a little olive oil and your favorite seasonings before cooking. Enjoy!

Answer 5

This shouldn't be a problem!

normal mexican food-- no meat [or substitute beans or tofu]
maccaroni
cheese pizza
veggie/cheese pastas
cheese+tomato+lettuce sandwiches
PBJ
raw veggies
egg salad
vegetable soup

They sell soy EVERYTHING now: Bacon, sausage, chicken patties, buffalo wings... try MORNING STAR FARMS, I practically live off of those.

Really-- half the time you can just cut the meat out of the recipe, the rest of the time they have substitutions.

Good luck!!

Answer 6

My favorite quick-n-easy burrito recipe:

1 can vegetarian (no lard) refried beans
1 can black beans
1 cup salsa or chopped tomatoes and peppers
+ chilli powder or other seasonings
+ corn also makes a colorful and texturally exciting addition, but provides little in the way of nutrition.

simmer in saucepan or microwave. fill wheat tortillas, wrap, and enjoy!

this contains lots of protein and fiber, little fat, and plenty of flavor.

Answer 7

Fruits are identified as ripened flower ovaries which produce seeds.

Answer 8

like both, fruits: berries, oatmeal, pears, peaches, dragonfruit, pomegranate.... Vegetables: CUCUMBERS, bok choy, green beans, broccoli,.... I actually guess the two are great.

Answer 9

Depends on definition of 'vegetarian'. Tacos/chili substituting ground chicken or turkey instead of hamburger is excellent - also a number of good veggie lasagna recipes available...

Answer 10

http://vegweb.com/
here is a newsletter that you may be interested in...
this is a place where I go when I am tired of the same old stuff
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Everyday-Cooking/Vegetarian/Main.aspx

Answer 11

vegetarian lasagna