<p>S2 has become quite committed to animal rights. He has donated all of his money to the Wildlife Conservation Society, and wanted to donate his entire allowance on an ongoing basis. DH and I told him that his allowance was meant to teach him to manage money, and we negotiated a deal whereby he will donate 25% and we will (more than) match it. </p>
<p>What is worrying me is that he has given up meat. He loves it, and he stares longingly at hamburgers. The other day, he had lunch at Subway with a friend’s family, and after he ate his vegetarian sandwich, he ate half of a younger child’s meatball sandwich, that would have gone to waste otherwise. (This is the only way he will agree to eat meat, if it would otherwise go to waste.) He kept talking, with longing in his voice, about how delicious it was. When he first wanted to give up meat, I negotiated with him that I would serve less meat to the family, but he would have to eat it sometimes; in this way, fewer animals would be killed, which is his objective. This worked for a while, but now he is refusing meat and poultry altogether (he will eat fish, because “fish don’t have feelings”). I cannot continue trying to force him, because he clearly feels very strongly that it is wrong. Occasionally I can use the “it will otherwise go to waste” strategy. </p>
<p>I am worried about his nutritional status. He is growing very fast, and I know that he craves meat. He is very strong-willed, and will not give in. He has also been reading about factory farms, and he now wants to avoid products from any company that sells factory-farmed goods. He’s making noises about wanting to avoid leather in his shoes. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can feed him? He hates peanut butter - can’t stand to be in the same room with it. He also hates tuna, and there is the mercury problem. He will eat fish and seafood, but I suspect that he is going to want to stop this, as well. He likes tofu, and he will eat beans and rice, and eggs. But I don’t think that I can give him an adequate diet based only on these.</p>
<p>I have been a vegetarian since I was 12. I turned out all right (all 6’0" of me :D). Don’t force him to eat meat, it will just drive his determination to become a vegetarian. I was on and off vegetarian from 12 until 14 and have been devout since then (I’m 19 now). My parents compromised with me at 12 by saying they would buy a free range cow from a local farm and then freeze it so they wouldn’t use factory animals (a great compromise back then and one I would highly encourage people to look into!) It was also cheaper for them.</p>
<p>Give him supplements, especially iron supplements (ie a multivitamin and an iron supplement). They can’t hurt if you take too much and it’s better to take too much than too little. </p>
<p>Milk (especially soy, yes it’s acquired taste), cheese, peanuts, tofu, chick peas are great for protein, beans, etc are all really good for protein.</p>
<p>It can be done! Trust me. When I made the decision at 12 my parents told me that I was now on my own for meals. It was hard, but worth it. </p>
<p>Indians have lived for generations as vegetarians, they include dairy products in their diets. I would add a multivitamin to his current diet. Some of my inlaws are vegetarian, some not. Remember to include proteins, not just carbs. I grew up disliking peanut butter (economics made pbj sandwiches a daily occurrence, I threw away many in HS). Remember eggs are not only for breakfast- we buy the jumbo size and discard all or most of the yolks to make dinner omelets. Serve fish as long as he will eat it to supplement the mostly vegetarian diet. You may even find the whole family eating a more healthy diet if you make some suppers vegetarian.</p>
<p>Some meal ideas- offer spiced great northern beans (and others) as the protein side when you serve spaghetti. You can get him involved in the spicing. Typical Indian spices work well and are cheap at Indian groceries. Some spices to experiment with beans- combinations of garlic, onion, cumin, coriander, red pepper, black pepper, parsley and various other herbs. Hummus comes in many flavors- great on bread instead of pb. Include rice with the bean diet- animal proteins are complete proteins, ie they contain all of the needed amino acids, whereas the combination of rice and beans in a diet will give them. </p>
<p>My son, an omnivore, will spice pea soup and rice- a can of Campbells condensed soup plus cooked white or brown rice. Lentil soup by Progresso is vegetarian. La Preferida makes a good black bean soup. I can give a lentil soup recipe I concocted from some that is spicy enough and has no bacon and two lasagna recipes. You can tell your son he can add beans to vegetable soups and spices as well. Notice- HE can do this, you do not need to do the extra cooking to satisfy his dietary preferences. I also have several Indian dal (beans/peas) recipes as well as one with canned chickpeas.</p>
<p>Check labels on foods when shopping. Pillsbury brown gravy is vegetarian while many have a meat stock. Beans can be put on baked potatoes. Different brands of many foods contain different amounts of protein, as well as fats. Tofu takes on the flavors it is cooked with- it can be substituted for meats in sauces. Experimentation is needed- let your son do it.</p>
<p>Beans and milk. Lentils, kidney,garbanzo…if you want to look up the English translation of “urad dal” and “moong dal” which are the Hindi names for which I don’t know the English, all taste great, and some places will sell soy nuggets that I think are also good. Any and all dairy products (I don’t eat eggs, but do drink milk) have protein. dark leafy greens contain iron, spinach comes to mind. Vegetarians grow fat on rice and potatoes as well (starch) and pasta is good.</p>
<p>And if he feels it’s bland, find some spices and cook them in with the beans.</p>
<p>It isn’t hard to get full nutrients if you are a vegetarian. (being vegan is much more difficult). Cheese, legumes, eggs, bread, vegetables. We aren’t vegetarians, but know several. When they come for dinner I have made everything from eggplant parmagania, salads with cheese and beans…get a vegetarian cookbook. Or go online to foodnetwork.com and search. You will be pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>I would suggest you make an appointment for the two of you to meet with a nutritionist. It is important that your S also understand how to make sure he is making good choices and getting proper nutrition. It may take some adjustments, but it’s pretty cool to see a young kid so focused and determined.</p>
<p>My oldest D (17) and I are vegan while my D (14) is a vegetarian. There is a whole world of possibilities for food and protien that doesn’t involve animals at all. For example, this morning we had a tofu scramble with peppers, onions and veggie sausage wrapped in a tortilla - delicious and easy to make (saute the onions/veggies and then move to the edges of the pan, add a touch more oil and saute the crumbled tofu with seasoning to taste). Tonight I’m making a veggie pot pie that is amazing (younger D requested it as she’s coming home from a ski-trip tonight). I make fettucini alfredo with a sauce made of tofu, a little white wine, garlic, onion, some vegan butter and blend it, it is incredibly creamy and my son - the carnivore, prefers it to the real thing. My girls live on Boca chick’n patties that can be pan fried on microwaved - very tasty! Also, ground veggie crumbles can be blended into marinara sauce for spaghetti or mixed with sloppy joe sauce for sloppy joes. I have a ton of options so please feel free to PM me for any info. Also, as to vitamins, they come from plants - cows get their calcium from greens too I have great cookbooks I can recommend too. I’d let him follow his own path and discover new things along the way.</p>
<p>Our neighbors are vegan. They have 4 kids who are all teens. The kids are healthy and robust. Strong athletes and strong students. The kids have not seemed to suffer from ill health due to their diet.</p>
<p>You know what frustrates me? The kids are being bombarded with “anti-meat” sentiment by certain teachers. It started with our 4th grade health teacher. D also told me her high school art teacher was showing some type of “gross meat pictures” to the class one day.</p>
<p>I agree with my-3-sons. When my D became a vegetarian, we met with a nutritionist. She explained to D about the effects on the body of too little protein. She also told us about Morningstar products. My D loves their veggie burgers and they are very easy to make. She likes the grillers. H and I like the black bean. Each has 17 grams of protein. My D also eats lots of hummus. She will eat eggs but only from cage free chickens. </p>
<p>Check out the “health food” section of your grocery store or visit your local health food store. There are lots of products that are protein fortified.</p>
<p>I went stone cold vegetarian at 14. I did start eating fish and poultry again at 25, but minimally. I did not pay particular attention to nutrition during those years and I was fine. I’m in my 50’s now. Still eat (free range) poultry occasionally and (wild) fish, but not a lot of it. I pay a little more attention to nutrition now, but am not particularly attentive. I have never had a significant health problem in my life, in fact, I don’t recall even having an insignificant one. I had two children (one a meat-eater, one will eat poultry and fish only, but rarely) and they are tall, strong, healthy high-acheivers. My husband has been strictly vegetarian (not even poutry or fish) for decades and he is athletic and healthy. He zips up a protein shake each day after coming back from the gym, but otherwise pays little attention to nutrition.</p>
<p>My two brothers, also vegetarians, are both very tall, strong and healthy. My mother was a vegetarian for the last 30 years of her life, or so. She died last year at 92.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m not advocating. Like I said I have one voracious carnivore that I love dearly. (I do buy free-range organic meat when he’s home, which isn’t that often anymore.) But I am saying, while it’s good to pay attention to non-meat protein sources and include them in your diet, you don’t need to get all crazy with food-combining strategies and all that. You can add a vitamin supplement, but if your kid blows off taking one more often than you’d like, it’s probably not a huge problem either. Most in my family don’t take them at all. I take them off and on… when I think of it.</p>
<p>My DD became a vegan after a year of declared vegetarian. I thought it was a phase. It’s not. We worried about nutrition. My XH was concerned about the lack of meat as any good hunter would. Then we looked at athletes who are vegetarian and vegan. We then let the DD do her own thing. I was waiting for the weakness and illness to happen to take her to doctor to talk some sense into her…never happened. She got stronger and healthier as vegan. So I cut out meat and have been absent a cold now for three years.</p>
<p>I like the stuff she eats, Quorn is better than chicken. Hummus is the new hors devours at our gatherings. Scrambled tofu is better than eggs. She learned herself to work with tofu, to press it and drain it. DD uses MARMITE and sometimes NUTRITIONAL YEAST from the health food store (Whole Foods).</p>
<p>DD has been vegan now 5 or 6 years. I guess it’s not a phase.</p>
<p>Toledo, when I was 14 (this was back at the dawn of time!) I was in a class where we read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. The teacher had no anti-meat agenda, it was more read as an example of muckracking journalism and how it can be a force for change. We took a field trip to a slaughterhouse. I wore sandals. I remember the blood under my feet, and the cows moaning as they were hauled upsidedown on hooks and had their throats cut. That was it for me!</p>
<p>Does he like vegetables? He might try kale, spinach etc…the dark green leafy vegetables are good for protein. Also, bean sprouts, seeds, and nuts (almonds and brazil nuts are good).
Avocado and olive oil are “good” fats.</p>
<p>Fish - wild salmon or sardines</p>
<p>I’ve been eating raw food since mid-October and I really love it. Not to lose weight or because I was against eating animals. I just fell into it when looking for kale recipes and
came across a recipe for a kale salad, with avocado, olive oil, lemon juice and sun-dried tomatoes and sea salt - it’s become one of my favorite salads.</p>
<p>Read some books about vegetarian cooking. If your child will eat beans and eggs I’m not worried about a lack of protein. I suggest trying some of the soy products - tofu (smoked and regular), tempeh. There are also tons of vegetarian products in the healthfood aisles of your local grocery store. Morningstar as someone upthread mentioned is one manufacturer Boca is another. Annie’s is a third. As long as you are not a vegan, you are likely to be getting enough variety in your diet to be getting complete proteins.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the suggestions! I particularly like the idea of seeing a nutritionist. I have already gone shopping and picked up a few of the recommended items. I talked to S2 about trying some new foods so that we can increase the number of choices he has. He was very happy to hear this, and he is going to try a Boca burger after school today.</p>
<p>I would love some of the recipes - the lentil soup, the fettucini Alfredo, the kale salad (I guess I don’t need a recipe for that). If people could post these, it could benefit other who find this thread, as well.</p>
<p>Just a tip, GardenBurgers and Amy’s Kitchen burgers are W-A-Y better tasting than Bocas. I like Bocas, and they have marginally more protein… but the other brands are actually yummy.</p>
<p>^ Personally, I think Morning Star makes the best veggie burgers :). Have him try different stuff, some brands are much more appealing than others (some have veggie burgers that taste like rough cardboard). </p>
<p>Amy’s Kitchen has amazing vegetarian food. It’s a bit on the pricier side though, even for organic food.</p>
<p>My D (now 24) has been a non-dogmatic vegetarian for quite some time (age 12). Non-dogmatic is what she calls it; she means that if no other choice is available and it would be otherwise disruptive, she will eat meat without mentioning her vegetarianism. (In practical application, that means she doesn’t mind if the soup is made from chicken stock.)</p>
<p>Her reasons for becoming a vegetarian (money and the impact of beef on the environment) made so much sense to me that I cook non-meat meals several times a week. </p>
<p>My favorite vegetarian lunch is peanut butter on whole wheat toast with sliced apples and a glass of milk.</p>
<p>I haven’t read this whole thread, so forgive me if this has already been mentioned, but it is imperative to get B vitamins to your still growing child and these cannot be gotten through a vegetarian diet, and they need to be supplemented at a high rate. Also, omega 3s will mitigate some of the neurological issues associated with vegetarianism in still growing kids. Even the vegetarian groups will tell you that you absolutely cannot get enoujh b vitamins from a vegetarian diet and these are the building blocks for the central nervous system. The other important thing to remember is that b vitamins do not work without adequate magnesium and magnesium does not work without the presence of calcium. fwiw. (D became a vegetarian at age 10.) At 18 she started to eat meat again. :rolleyes: go figure.</p>
I have great cookbooks I can recommend too. I’d let him follow his own path and discover new things along the way.</p>