Any Vegetarians

luvkadcl · 01-12-2010, 11:03 AM

We are a vegetarian family of 7. Children have been vegetarians since birth. My dh and for about 25+ years. I am always looking for new recipes. vegan dad and vegan yumyum are both filled with great recipes. Vegan dad has a blog and a book now. We love spicy interesting foods. Indian is a favorite. Last night I made vegetable korma. I'll share the recipe later today. Now I need to head to the city.

Peace,
Cindy

Angela · 01-12-2010, 11:25 AM

We are not vegetarians, but a few of my daughter's friends think they are. I know that sounds mean, but they (one especially) just doesn't eat meat. She doesn't watch for gelatin and doesn't seem to believe me when I told her about mono- and diglycerides. I have a vegetarian friend who I was trying to make a snack for when I learned about those.....

Anyhow, one of daughter's friends is not only "vegetarian", but she is allergic to SOY. Feeding her is a bit difficult. I don't like making two meals, so when she is over I try to make something that everyone will like. Any soy-free (mushroom free, pepper free, bean free.... aren't we fussy?) ideas that you can throw my way would be helpful.

I like tofu, but have only found a couple stir fry recipes that everyone likes. Can you teach me how to make a die-hard meat eater like tofu?

annabanana · 01-14-2010, 06:23 PM

Have you ever tried Quorn products. They are kind of expensive and sold in the freezer section. They are kind of like fake chicken non-soy protein replacement sold as nuggets, patties, etc. My husband LOVES them, I like them. They may be worth trying for such a "picky" group. Good luck.

luvkadcl · 01-14-2010, 10:58 PM

You may want to try vegan dad's blog. He has some really good recipes that everyone would like. He has picky boys and he will always say what they liked and didn't like. You may want to try seitan. It is a wheat product and very tasty. I just made vegan dads hot wings. My kids loved them!

Tofu is a soy product. But if you are making for yourselves you may want to slice it dip it in egg (I add Bragg to the egg), then flour and then bread crumbs. Bake it in the oven at 400 until they are golden brown. Your kids will love them. We only use extra firm tofu. I have found that each brand tastes different. I love it when I can get it fresh soaking in a bucket of water. But I really like the taste of Trader Joes tofu. I find that marinating tofu in anything makes it taste good. Then you can stir fry it,bake,grill or deep fry it. Freezing it also will change the taste and texture of it. I have a friend who will only eat it that way.

As far as gelatin goes, I have not had meat for twenty some years. But come summer time I will have some marshmallows. To buy gelatin free marshmallows is not only very expensive but you have to order them online. I am going to try making them myself. There are vegetarians who will at times eat fish or meat. Especially if they are in a situation where they don't have a choice. We don't, but I do know people that do. They are still vegetarians even if they occasionally eat meat. I try not to judge, because I don't want people to judge my choices.

We love Quorn, but we try to buy it on sale.

Vegan yum yum and vegan lunch box are also very sites.

Peace,
Cindy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angela

We are not vegetarians, but a few of my daughter's friends think they are. I know that sounds mean, but they (one especially) just doesn't eat meat. She doesn't watch for gelatin and doesn't seem to believe me when I told her about mono- and diglycerides. I have a vegetarian friend who I was trying to make a snack for when I learned about those.....

Anyhow, one of daughter's friends is not only "vegetarian", but she is allergic to SOY. Feeding her is a bit difficult. I don't like making two meals, so when she is over I try to make something that everyone will like. Any soy-free (mushroom free, pepper free, bean free.... aren't we fussy?) ideas that you can throw my way would be helpful.

I like tofu, but have only found a couple stir fry recipes that everyone likes. Can you teach me how to make a die-hard meat eater like tofu?

mamakaty · 01-14-2010, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvkadcl

Tofu is a soy product. But if you are making for yourselves you may want to slice it dip it in egg (I add Bragg to the egg), then flour and then bread crumbs. Bake it in the oven at 400 until they are golden brown. Your kids will love them. We only use extra firm tofu. I have found that each brand tastes different. I love it when I can get it fresh soaking in a bucket of water. But I really like the taste of Trader Joes tofu. I find that marinating tofu in anything makes it taste good. Then you can stir fry it,bake,grill or deep fry it. Freezing it also will change the taste and texture of it. I have a friend who will only eat it that way.

I was actually just going to post asking questions about how to cook tofu!! My little one doesn't seem to like meat, except occasionally fish, so I'm trying to figure out other things to cook him (and yes, I know it's not going to hurt the rest of us either!!). He does eat a lot of beans, some milk, yogurt and cheese, so he's getting some protein, but I'd like to find other sources as well, kwim?

Angela · 01-15-2010, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvkadcl

There are vegetarians who will at times eat fish or meat. Especially if they are in a situation where they don't have a choice. We don't, but I do know people that do. They are still vegetarians even if they occasionally eat meat. I try not to judge, because I don't want people to judge my choices.

I know I am judging this one particular girl, but that is because I think I know more about what is in things than she does. I think she jumped into this without any reasearch. She doesn't read packaging, she eats Jello and gummy candies (and actually tried to argue with me when I pointed out the fact that gelatin is not vegetarian -I wound up dropping the subject) .... anyhow, I think of her as not a meat eater rather than a vegetarian. Oh, and she was 14 when I met her....
And I know I shouldn't judge, but if you call yourself a vegetarian, it is more than just meat. At least I thought so.
However, she is not over at meal time much any more. She is the one allergic to soy.

As for my tofu question, that was totally seperate from the allergic girl. I do know that it is a soy product. my youngest and I really like it, my oldest can take it or leave it and my husband rolls his eyes when he sees tofu in the fridge and sometimes will make his own dinner if I am serving it!
For the baking that you mentioned, could you 'dumb it down' a bit for me? How thin or thick should it be sliced? Do they get dipped in something like a chicken finger or eaten as is?

How does freezing change it's texture?

What is good for marinating? How long? Do you cut it up first?

Will you be my Tofu Yoda? I bought some yesterday........ maybe I should start a new thread instead of hijacking yours.

Jrits · 01-15-2010, 10:39 AM

I'm not, but we mostly eat vegetarian

mamakaty · 01-15-2010, 12:13 PM

bumping this back up as well. Some of the newer posts got buried, and i don't want them to get lost.

phernies · 01-15-2010, 08:37 PM

I'm vegetarian most nights of the week...but, otherwise, we are omnivores. A great quick, easy crowd pleaser are tacos - sub the meat for beans or squash in the summer. Whatever seasoning I would have put on the meat, I put on chick peas, black beans, summer squash, peppers and onions - basically whatever I have. Serve with lettuce, tomato, salsa, cheese (if you're not looking for vegan), most importantly - guacamole. Have a side of rice and veggies.

starr5678 · 01-16-2010, 09:39 AM

We're not strictly vegetarian. We don't eat red meat and rarely eat poultry. We do like fish though.

I'm looking forward to swapping veggies recipes with everyone!