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Food

DGD has become a vegetarian

(31 Posts)
Stansgran Sat 29-Apr-17 18:43:13

She may well be staying with me this summer and I would love a recommendation for a cookbook for teenagers. There seem to be loads on Amazon but I really don't want to buy more than one. She has to cook for herself at home in the week and I would like to do a few recipes with her so that she has a varied diet.

paddyann Sat 29-Apr-17 20:26:47

if she's not vegan you should be fine ,you can use cheese and eggs and come up with loads of things.Canned beans of all variety's make good chilli ,veggie lasagne is always popular ,mushrooms in a stroganoff sauce or with pasta ,vegetable stews served with good bread and rice pilafs are good one pot meals.I was veggie for around 15 years ,if you vary the diet its very healthy .Dont depend on just cheese on toast .You'll get loads of recipes online

paddyann Sat 29-Apr-17 20:27:24

if she's not vegan you should be fine ,you can use cheese and eggs and come up with loads of things.Canned beans of all variety's make good chilli ,veggie lasagne is always popular ,mushrooms in a stroganoff sauce or with pasta ,vegetable stews served with good bread and rice pilafs are good one pot meals.I was veggie for around 15 years ,if you vary the diet its very healthy .Dont depend on just cheese on toast .You'll get loads of recipes online

M0nica Sat 29-Apr-17 21:09:37

Search online for recipes. You will be overwhelmed by choice.

hildajenniJ Sat 29-Apr-17 23:06:56

My daughter makes lots of Indian vegetarian meals in her house. They go down well with the children. Lots of lentil based curries with coconut milk. They are vegan (not by choice) as GS 2 has bowel problems and can't process dairy.

hulahoop Sun 30-Apr-17 10:10:44

My daughter became vegetarian when 10yrs old I found it difficult then but now there are some good recipes online and choice in supermarket so no worries now

PRINTMISS Sun 30-Apr-17 12:53:49

My daughter and grandson are vegetarian and they cook the most delicious meals. It is all about the seasoning, I think, they both know their spices, which helps. There are loads of recipes on line and some of those mentioned above are among my daughter's favourites. Nothing wrong with a veggie burger.

M0nica Sun 30-Apr-17 16:00:57

I am not vegetarian but I love vegetables and we eat lots of meals that do not contain meat, I rarely, if ever eat beef burgers, I prefer the vegetarian alternative.

Vegetarian cooking is just ordinary cooking, but without meat. No different to cooking for a family which contains someone who is allergic to salmon, tomatoes, sesame, almonds, and hazelnuts and another that won't eat mushrooms.

Norah Sun 30-Apr-17 16:36:21

Greek, Indian, and Thai recipes are a good start. Look to the internet.

Greyduster Sun 30-Apr-17 17:03:14

My daughter was a vegetarian from her teens until about five years ago when she suddenly decided to eat fish. Before that neither she nor I had any difficulty finding dishes to cook. As others have said, a wealth of recipes on line, and if she will eat Quorn, just adapt some of your own recipes to suit.

Soniah Mon 01-May-17 09:47:56

As Nora says just look online, no need to buy a book. Also if you join the library you can borrow cookery books or, even easier, borrow emagazines which stay on your computer as long as you like and are free, here in Wales we have a very good selection including some vegetarian cookery magazines.

sweetcakes Mon 01-May-17 09:53:39

Halloumi kebabs are very nice,skewers with halloumi, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes marinated and then grilled or done on a barbecue,

sweetcakes Mon 01-May-17 09:54:51

BBC good food online is very good such a wide choice

Sheilasue Mon 01-May-17 10:07:34

My d is a veggie. She has a few books she got from Amazon. Try them

Theoddbird Mon 01-May-17 10:12:51

As suggested by sweetcakes the BBC are brilliant... I have been veggie for around 38 years. Cooking veggie food is not complicated. You can also look in the freezer veggie department at your supermarket. Just adding something from there to your usual cooking is easy to do. Make cottage pie with quorn for everyone is easy to do as well. I am sure she will have loads of ideas as well.

ethelwulf Mon 01-May-17 10:17:56

If she already cooks for herself at home, she may well have a favourite recipe book of her own. Ask her what it is, and check it out on Amazon. :-)

Lupin Mon 01-May-17 10:42:27

My daughter became a vegetarian in her teens and we discovered a different and delicious cuisine. I found that good student vegetarian cookbooks had easy and cheap recipes. I've got Beyond Baked Beans by Fiona Beckett which is worth a look. If it's still available then Mean Beans by Cas Clarke is useful. I hope that you enjoy eating veggie too.

sluttygran Mon 01-May-17 10:58:59

My daughter and her family have recently changed from vegetarian to vegan, and are vigorously trying to convert me. I agree with their principles, but am finding it very difficult to manage without dairy products. sad

barbaralynne Mon 01-May-17 11:04:10

I think what has been said already is excellent advice. We couldn't afford meat more than twice a week when our 3 were growing up so ate loads of beans and pulses. Now one DD and her family are veggie and the other 2 eat mostly veggie meals from choice, as do we. Lentils are really versatile and full of fibre and protein. Check out falafels with tinned chickpeas. Refried beans with red kidney beans tinned and combine with bulgar wheat. Red lentil and pasta bake is another family favourite. Have fun being adventurous and enjoy - you may become a convinced vegetarian too!

W11girl Mon 01-May-17 11:10:13

There are loads of recipes on the internet as have been suggested by fellow posters. Just remember not to use the same cooking utensils if you are having meat yourself. Go veggie while she's visiting its easier....I am not a veggie but like other posters I rarely eat meat, particularly red meat...mainly because I was never very good at cooking it...I can just about get away with roast/steamed chicken! For a quick meal I fry peppers and mushrooms in olive oil and garlic and add it to tagliatelle mixed in pesto...with a side salad...delicious!

durhamjen Mon 01-May-17 11:34:19

www.viva.org.uk is another good website with lots of recipes.

Kim19 Mon 01-May-17 11:35:21

How about simply asking her what she likes and then doing an inventive bit of mix 'n' match with the ingredients yourself?

keffie Mon 01-May-17 12:12:56

No need to buy and cookbooks. Search the internet for recipes and save them to a bookmark.

Better still if you havent got Pinterest, set up an account, make a vegetarian recipe board and save them to there .

You have then got them to hand all in 1 place. I save all my recipes to Pinterest I find online

Stella14 Mon 01-May-17 13:09:58

Quorn, the stuff with the brand name, not the cheaper imitations, is excellent. Quorn bacon for instance, looks like pink shoe leather (I try not to look at it) but tastes just like smoked bacon. It makes a great sandwich. Their minced beef makes great lasagne, cottage pie etc.

HMarie Mon 01-May-17 13:38:50

I’m sure you’ll have no difficulty finding great recipe ideas, but maybe start by asking the girl what sort of thing she likes? At her age she may well not yet have acquired a taste for spicy food.

I’ve been vegetarian myself for well over 20 years and could easily “beef” on about it, but for now I’ll just stay on topic... When my three granddaughters came for their usual two summer stays last year, the middle one, then aged 9, had recently turned veggie, and some of the things I found she especially liked were crispy jacket potatoes, fresh babycorn, raw peas, cherry tomatoes, plain pasta, and boiled or “sunny-side up” eggs, usually with toast. She also loved M&S stuffed red peppers, and the lemon (now lemon & herb) variety of Tilda microwavable basmati rice. Plus, as usual, all three girls ate truly unbelievable amounts of fresh soft fruit, which apparently isn’t available where they live on the other side of the world. Finally, it turned out that (unlike me) my so-called vegetarian granddaughter did still eat fish, which meant she didn’t miss out on the girls’ all-time favourite of fish fingers and chips!