Vegetarian...........with kids?

[npmommie]

I need some fresh meal ideas. I have several great cookbooks, but I am getting in a rut with what I cook.........I need some new ideas that are veg and kid friendly.
What do you eat for meals?

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh man, we're in the same rut. We're eating waaaaay too much cheese, as evidenced by how many 2 pound blocks of Tillamook we're buying in a month. (going through grocery budget, trying to spend much much less) So I'll be watching this thread.

 

[Princess Roo]

If your kids like black beans, here are my DS' two favorite vegetarian entrees (we're not vegetarian, but eat a lot of vegetarian stuff).

Mexican Rice Pilaf
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups instant brown rice
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1) In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in broth, rice, chili powder, jalapeno peppers, and cumin. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and black beans. Cover. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.
2) Stir tomato and shredded cheese into hot cooked rice.


Black bean lasagna (This makes 2 9X9 pans. I freeze one and then it just needs to be defrosted before cooking, and may take an extra 10 mins or so to cook that one. You could also adjust it slightly and make in one 9X12 pan.)
Ingredients:
2 16-oz cans black beans, rinsed, drained & slightly mashed
1 cup of salsa
2 cups of meatless spaghetti sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
15-oz container of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of grated or shredded parmesan or romano cheese
1 egg white
1/4 cup milk
vegetable oil spray
8 no-cook lasagna noodles
1.5 cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
(2) In a large bowl, stir together beans, salsa, spaghetti sauce,
garlic, and cumin. Set aside.
(3) In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg
white and milk. Set aside.
(4) To assemble lasagna, spray 2 9x9x2 inch baking dishes with
vegetable oil. Spread about 1/2 cup of bean mixture in the bottom of
each dish. Cover with 2 uncooked lasagna noodles, making sure noodles
do not touch edges of dish. Cover noodles with half of the remaining
bean mixture, making sure bean mixture covers noodles completely (I
think this was about 1 cup in each pan). Spread with half of the
ricotta cheese mixture and sprinkle with half of monterrey jack and
half of the mozzarella. Repeat layers of noodles, bean mixture,
ricotta cheese mixture, monterrey jack and mozzarella. Cover dishes
tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes
more or until noodles are done and lasagna is heated through. Let
stand 5 minutes before serving.

 

[gabriellyn]

You could try a mediterranean night if your kids are willing:

hummus
babaghanoush
tabouleh
grape leaves stuffed w/rice

You can serve these pita bread for dipping.

Good luck!

 

[Woodland1]

I'm vegetarian. My kids are MOST of the time, and dh is "eating healthier" which means more veggie stuff and less "meats." I am always short on time due to work, the house, kids, and everything else going on so we do alot of the MOrningstar farms veggie products and sides of veggies. Also do alot of pasta. Its amazing how many ways we've put broccoli & cauliflower into our rotation in different styles .
There are lots of good recipes online, that is where I go for my special meal ideas. However, the area in which I LACK is lunches for the kids. Outside of PB&J, I don't know too many ideas. Any help on that would be wonderful!

 

[gabriellyn]

Also you could try subscribing to Leanne Ely's savingdinner dot com. She sends out a weekly menu w/shopping list and all of the recipes come with a vegetarian option. Usually one of the nights is veggie anyway. She has a fabulous variety of foods and my family has liked just about everything I have made (we are not vegetarian.) Even my super picky DS6 will eat some stuff. Very healthy, usually quick and lots of variety. I highly recommend her menus! She does have a sample week you can download to check it out. Good luck!

 

[npmommie]

Great ideas, thanks everyone!!!
We love the morningstar farm products too.......I am trying not to rely so much though, its hard when pressed for time though!

If anyone needs a good cookbook, I have Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas..........its great...........most recipes are very kids friendly and she has a whole section on school lunches too.
I bought it on amazon fairly inexpensive.

 

[grlpwrd]

I love savingdinner.com, too.

I have also used the recipes at vegsource.com and vegweb.com.

Another suggestion is to add ethnic vegetarian foods, such as Japanese, Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc. Yum!