Kid-Friendly and Eco-Friendly Vegetarian Meals
You’ve probably heard by now about the environmental impact of eating beef, and that a vegetarian diet is much easier on the planet than a carnivorous one. But that can be easier said than done when you’re crunched for time and trying to feed a restless brood of picky eaters. Fortunately, it is much easier than you think to hold the beef, and even if you only do it once a week, you will significantly reduce your family’s environmental impact. Here’s how to make eco-friendly kid-friendly meals:
Vegetarian Surprise! Chances are there are probably a bunch of meals in your repertoire that are already meat-free; you just may not even realize it. Better yet, you’re kids probably don’t realize it either. So the next time you’re looking to skip a beef meal, pull out one of these tried and true stand-byes.
Cheese Pizza (Make sure it’s eco-friendly pizza!)
PB &J
Grilled Cheese
Macaroni and Cheese
Tomato Soup
Spaghetti
Minestrone Soup
The Sneak Attack: Leave the meat out of your ordinary recipes and replace it with beans, vegetables, cheese, or even tofu and you’ll get a vegetarian meal in disguise!
Lasagna: Think lasagna has to include meat to be a hit? Think again. There are a million and one ways to cook lasagna without the meat that are sure to please even the pickiest eaters. Here’s a few to try:
Burritos: Your family will never miss the meat when you serve them burritos stuffed with vegetables, cheese, or beans. Try out some of these recipes on your unsuspecting brood:
Black Bean Burritos
Tomato Spinach and Bean Burrito
Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos
Tofu Burritos
Vegan Bean Taco Filling
Chili: Ditch the meat and jazz up your favorite chili recipe with beans…lots and lots of beans.
Bring It On: If you think your family is ready for some hard-core vegetarian dishes, try out some of these awesome, kid-friendly recipes:
Of course, this is just a sample of the eco-friendly vegetarian meals that your kids will love. If you’ve got a family favorite you’d like to share, please do!
If you’re looking for more info about healthy, eco-savvy eating, check out these posts:
Eating Out: How To Green Your Dinner
Reduce Your Dinner’s Food Miles
and of course, It’s Good To Share
Any advice for pork chop substitutes?
Blog Hoppin’
Bravo!
Love this post!
I just went vegetarian not long ago and have been having some trouble with it honestly.
I LOVE that I’m doing something environmentally friendly and I LOVE that I’m being kinder to animals but I HATE that I’ve actually gained some weight because of my excess carb intake.
Very frustrating.
Try to stick to whole grains- ie brown rice
This is great! I need to save this!!! We are slowly moving toward a vegetarian diet. Beef is pretty much out, as is pork. By the time J starts eating “real” food, we hope to be there . . .
This is a great post!
Nice post. We are mostly vegetarian. My kids are natural vegetarians. They don’t like much meat at all–with the exception of bacon.
Blog hopping–HP
Help!
I have a child who is a vegetarian from birth, in a non-vegetarian family. She has never liked any kind of meat. I totally support her in this and will not force her to eat meat.
I’m having a hard time making sure she gets a decent amount of protein. How much (# of servings) does a 6 year old need? She does eat pbj, eggs, cheese, drinks milk, but does not like beans.
THis is totally new territory for me any suggestions. Balance in my family’s diet is very important to me.
Thanks!
Hi Colleen,
Thanks for your post. My eldest is 5 and she has never liked meat either…even though we are not vegetarians. Nuts, eggs, cheese, milk, chick peas, and PB are all great sources of protein…if your daughter won’t eat beans, will she consider tofu? My daughter loves it and it is incredibly versatile. Brown rice, broccoli, and potatoes can also give you daughter some extra protein.
You should check with your daughter’s pediatrician regarding the amt. of protein she should eat each day to make sure she’s getting enough. The Vegetarian Society shows a chart that recommends 19.7 grams/day for a child your daughter’s age (http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html)…but you should back that up with your pediatrician’s advice.
Good luck and please let us know how it’s going!
i became a Vegan three years ago and i can say that my health have been very very good. meat and dairy substitutes like soy also works well for the body.
We made these egg rolls as a family activity for the first time. They fry up so quickly. My whole family loved them and are asking when we’ll be doing this again. There’s more filling in these than the ones you buy and much less expensive. We didn’t include the water chestnuts or the Chinese mushrooms because my 2 teenage boys (who are second generation Chinese-Canadians and love Chinese cuisine as much as the Chinese from HK or China) didn’t think it would taste right, but the egg rolls still tasted great.
we must concentrate more on eco-friendly materials and practices to help save the environment.-`;