9yo DS has announced he is a vegetarian

[shortbun]

OK, I admit that I hate to cook. DS is complicating my life
with his need for nothing to be killed to feed him. We are
omnivores in our household. Many meals are meatless but
we do eat meat. So many of our old standbys have meat.
I told DS yesterday that he will be learning to cook. LOL-
he said, "right now?" Besides tofu, seitan, grains and beans,
anyone got any good ideas for protein consumption for him?
He's a muscle bound, lean young boy as it is and I know he
needs lots of protein. He says he'll eat eggs and cheese if
I can find rennet free cheese. This is a moral stance he has
come upon all on his own, none of his friends nor family are
vegetarians. Ideas? He's kind of a picky eater lately but thinking
back, it's the meat he's objected to.

 

[pw2pp]

One of my favorite foods.....
PEANUT BUTTER!

 

[pumba]

talk to your family doctor so he gets enough of the needed growing power in all of his foods.........even though we think they are getting enough ....sometimes they aren't

 

[phillybeth]

Almost all cheeses today are made with rennet that is isolated from bacteria- no calves are killed. It's cheaper, easier to use and store. Just about all cheese you can buy in the supermarket would be made with the bacteria-derived rennet, especially the ***-produced brands like Kraft etc.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Buy him a couple of vegetarian "how to" books and both of you read them. You have to be very careful, especially since he is shunning some (all?) dairy products to make sure he is getting the proper protein combinations. Combining certain foods can give him the complete proteins he will need. Rice and beans, corn and beans are examples. Amino acids are a concern here, too. I was a vegetarian (as an adult) for 9 years, and it can be done, but must be done carefully. He should probably take a B12 supplement, consult your doctor for others.

Since this is a moral issue, as was with me, is he willing to give up his leather sneakers, too? I shunned anything that came from killing an animal. I read labels a lot of prepared cookies, crackers, etc, used to be made with beef tallow or other byproducts. It won't be easy for him, but I admire that kind of conviction in a 9 year old.


This may just be a phase he is going through. After a few months, he may crave meat when he smells something good cooking on the grill. Or it may be a lifelong change.. My HS best friend has been a vegetarian for over 20 years...

Good luck. Maybe your local health food store can help you find the cheese he will eat.

 

[amid chaos]

Please educate yourself and your son. Being a vegetarian is wonderful, rewarding, and a healthy lifestyle... but can be difficult to do it correctly so you are getting everything your body needs, especially a growing boy.

 

[pumba]

remember that they have some bikes that are made with non leather seats ........my son in law is a vegatarian but not a vegan.......and he is a manager of a Bike store........there are alot of the college kids that come to his store to get bike parts that are not made with animal parts..........I think that he mentioned something else besides the seats.....and sneakers and back packs

 

[bjgrazi]

Usually in the vegetable section of the supermarket, they have a section with many products for vegetarians. My daughter just hit the 2 year mark and is doing well with it. Also in the freezer section there is usally a spot devoted to non meat eaters (no it's not the ice cream section)

There are some great cookbooks out there. Many meals I can make for my daugther is the same as ours minus the meat.

Good luck, in the beginning it was hard, but it has gotten easier.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Phillybeth, did you type "mass-produced" and forgot the "m"? You got bleeped. I did that once and typed a "f" instead of a "t" in tag fairy. Oops.

Back to the question at hand. First of all, we are vegetarian, and we have 4 kids. As much as I don't regret being vegie and wouldn't have it any other way, I'll have to say that sometimes it is difficult, especially with picky-eating children.

I'm not sure what types of food you have when you eat meat, but as much as possible I would try to give your son a vegie alternative within the confines of what you are eating for dinner. (I'm working on my first cup of coffee and that probably didn't make any sense). If you are having hamburgers, make him a vegie burger. We usually buy the Morningstar Farms burgers--there's a variety of flavors and they are very tasty (my fav is tomato basil, but we all have different favorites so I stock up). I know several of meat eating friends who buy and like these. If you're having mexican food, heat up some refried or black beans for your son. Italian is easy and I have a recipe if you'd like for a very easy to make sauce that we all like (no lumps, so all my kids, even my very picky 10yo likes it). Just ask and I will post or e-mail to you.

Don't worry too much about protein--Americans tend to consume way too much protein. Don't worry too much about him consuming complete proteins at each meal--it's more about what he consumes in a whole day.

One of my earlier vegie cookbooks might be good, "The Apartment Vegetarian Cookbook", by Lindsay Miller. I don't know if it's still printed, but if so it's smaller servings of food and might be at least worth checking out from the library if the have it.

I'm sure that I'll think of more things later, but I need to drink that coffee and try to wake up.

T&B

 

[JulieWent]

I laughed when I saw your post because my 9 year old announced that he is going to be a vegetarian, too. When I pointed out that he doesn't eat many vegetables (broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes -- I know,not a veggie -- corn, and potatoes are pretty much it for him), he said, "I'll be a fruitatarian instead."

Julie

 

[poohtown]

my 9 yr. old has been a self-proclaimed vegetarian for about 4 years. Whenever I tried to get her to eat meat, she would throw up. Mostly her meals consist of peanut butter, eggs, etc. It's actually not that hard to cook for the family and also for her. Whatever we have - she has minus the meat. If we have chicken, brocolli, rice - she'll have just the veg and rice with half a peanut butter sandwich. If we have burritoes, she'll have a bean burrito with all the regular fixins. Three of my friends are also vegetarian - the hardest part with them is that they read every ingrediant. Did you know that some of the Doritoes are made with a beef broth? I have to be very carefull where they're concerned. Usually if they come over we have vegie burgers, tofu hotdogs, and pasta primavera ready. Good luck!

 

[Pete's Mom]

How lucky are you!!? No more McDonalds or Burger King! Whoo Hoo!

 

[bubie2.5]

Nuts, eggs, eggplant, spinach, avocados and okra have a lot of protein

 

[Microcell]

Ensure?

 

[Nancy]

When my 16 yr old was 6 or 7 she decided she wouldn't eat red meat after watching some documentary. About 4 months ago she decided she can't eat chicken or turkey anymore. She will do dairy still...which is good because it gives us more choices on food for her.

She eats tofu now and lots of veggies. We buy a product from Quorn..it is "meat" but made from wheat products. They have hot dogs, chicken nuggets, meat crumbles, short ribs, and a few other products...so when ever we have tacos...we make some up with the crumbles for her. We throw one of her "dogs" on the grill when we cook our hot dogs. It is a bit more expensive to purchase these special products, but with her being the only one to eat them, they last along time. Plus she loves the Boca burgers and sausage.

Luckily the store I work in has a great section called Natures Marketplace and they have such a great selection of meat free foods in the frozen and dairy sections.

Also lucky for me is that she is 16 and can cook her own meals.

 

[JKanownik]

Morningstar Farms, Boca Burger and other companies make a ton of frozen vegetarian burgers and other frozen faux-meat products that are high in protein. I personally am not a vegetarian but I eat a ton of these products because they are not too expensive, extremely easy to make, high in protein (10-20 grams per serving) and low in fat. Pop two patties in the microwave for 3 minutes, toss them on a bun and voila, you've got an excellent high-protein meal. And they have many different varieties so that you don't get tired of eating the same thing.

Another excellent option is energy bars. I'm not sure which are vegetarian friendly, but most use Whey or Soy protein, so I assume they are OK. Balance and Zone bars can be had for about $.80 each at Walmart and contain 15-17 grams of protein each.

And if your son is willing to eat eggs I would recommend checking the various egg white products (Better n' Eggs or Egg Whites) when you're at the grocery store to see if they are on sale. At regular retail price they can be pretty expensive, but when they're on sale they can't be beat when it comes to healthy high protein foods.

-Josh