My daughter goes vegan

Parent Cafe
1

She came home a week ago after her freshman year and declared she has gone vegan. She started eating less meat the last couple of years, so it was quite gradual, but she would still eat eggs and cheese. Now totally vegan. She was never a heavy meat eater since early age.

I have read up a bit on vegan diet which seems healthy, but I am still worried that she is not getting enough nutrients and vitamins. She says she knows what she is doing. now it feels like I have to make 2 types of dinners, I do want to learn making vegan dishes for her. She fixes her lunch for work (mostly salads and fruits) and I cook more veggies, rice or pasta for dinner. My grocery cart has never had so many different kinds of fruits and veggies in it. Maybe the rest of the family will start eating healthier too. But we have to remind her that we don’t have a salad bar and a veggie station at the house, like at her college! :slight_smile:

Please share any experience and your absolute favorite vegan recipe.

Thanks.

2

I am not a vegan. I am a pescatarian, eventually hoping to transition to a vegetarian - that basically means that I am mostly vegetarian, but I will still eat certain types of seafood on occasion.

That being said, I know protein is on my radar, since I am trying to build up muscle mass, especially upper-body strength. Steel-cut oats are great for breakfast. For dinner, I often have lentils (I buy them dry - they are very easy too cook - just simmer in boiling water for 10 minutes, no pre-soaking required) as my protein sours or peas, chickpeas.

To make my meals more interesting, I love adding mushrooms! I also really enjoy shishito peppers.

Everything I eat is very basic (aka, just sautee in a little olive oil or boil or bake or just have fresh - something that doesn’t require time - I don’t like to cook at all), so no recipes, but I feel like just a variety of veggies and a protein make a great dinner- that’s what I have most nights. For example - spinach, shishito peppers, Portabella mushrooms, and peas, all sautéed in olive oil with a little salt. Simple and delicious!

The only thing I would caution about is not going for the processed/frozen. When I first became a vegetarian (also started in college although didn’t fully transition to no meat until the year after college), I ate a lot of fake meats, pastas, frozen foods - you get the idea (I didn’t become a vegetarian for health reasons, so didn’t really pay attention to it). Now, everything is fresh, non-processed food based, with lots of fruits and veggies. Oh, and I highly recommend Ezekiel bread - a nice not overly-processed bread, which is a complete protein source.

3

My daughter (who doesn’t live at home anymore) has been vegetarian for about fifteen years–never liked meat much. Lots of common, popular dishes are vegan–but not advertised as such. Rice and beans, long a staple in the South, for one example. Potatoes of all kinds. I often inadvertently make vegan dinners when I’m just thinking vegetarian. We had make-your-own fajitas the other night. Things you could put in the (corn) tortilla included black beans, guacamole, salsa, cheese, chicken… we were all happy, and all of us ate something different.

I know a lot of vegans (since I live in Portland, OR). They’re healthy and far fitter than I am! And they’ve been vegans for years. B12 and the omega-3s seems to be an issue; flax seed meal adds omega-3s and is a nice thickener in place of eggs (bizarrely) in some baking. B-12 seems to be a needed supplement for many vegans.

Nuts provide a lot of protein and are very healthy. I like to make a risotto/pilaf and add pecans to it. My daughter eats it straight; DH has meat with it.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a popular lunch with just about every vegetarian and vegan I know.

4

I would get your daughter involved in the shopping, planning, and some of the preparation of her meals rather than you being expected to accommodate them on your own. I’m not saying you shouldn’t take her into consideration, but at the same time you should not be expected to make two meals every night.

Getting her involved will be a teaching experience for you as well.

When my D is home, she often asks what I am planning for dinner. It it’s not to her liking, she fixes something else to eat.

5

My daughter was a vegetarian through high school. I didn’t make separate meals, but often made part of a casserole without meat and I bought many more veggies than I had been. One time she remarked she might like to be vegan, but I told her she’d be on her own to make her own food. She was such a big dairy person that I knew that would never happen. For many years, she ate only a ‘white’ diet (pasta, cheese, bread, rice, milk, eggs) and no fruits or vegetables at all, so this was quite a change. After a month or so at college, she went back to meat.

We’ve always had a lot of meatless meals at our house so her transition wasn’t that hard. She did become anemic at one point so she added vitamins and more protein. She still inhales fruit (no bananas) and often will still get a vegetarian item on a restaurant, but so will I.

6

Quinoa is a source of protein, which is one of the big challenges for vegans. It’s easy to fix and it’s a chameleon in terms of flavor, so it can be eaten a million different ways. (I just drizzle a little honey on it for breakfast – simple and quick.) It keeps well too. I make a big batch on Sunday, and that’s my breakfast for the whole week.

7

I would have her take a calcium and Vit D supplement. I don’t want to spread misinformation but I recall reading that girls only store calcium until age 22. Also perhaps an iron supplement as that is hard to get enough of.

Toasted Angel Hair Pasta in Shiitake broth. (use veg stock not chicken of course)
http://www.food.com/recipe/toasted-angel-hair-pasta-in-shiitake-broth-188889

Pasta Nona
Pasta with tomato sauce and eggplant

Make a Southwest Rice Salad with corn and beans and tomato, with this dressing
http://www.food.com/recipe/tomato-lime-dressing-light-189782

Simple lentil salad in vinaigrette with diced celery

Homemade Tabouli with cracked wheat, cukes, lots of parsley, tomato on top, lemon, olive oil, salt. I liked to put it in a pita with homemade hummus, and eggplant spread with tahini - 3 great things to serve together.

Try making your own Falafel.

Chick pea and tofu spread - lighter and fluffier and lower cal than hummus, and I can’t taste the tofu
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chick-pea-cumin-dip-102066

Artichoke Olive dip - crazy good on homemade pita chips- people rave at parties
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/artichoke-olive-dip-with-fennel-crudites-11811

I’m not vegan or vegetarian, It took me a lot of sampling before I liked certain veggies, just keep trying them when you encounter it mostly did it for me, but also encountering a different preparation. Like roast cauliflower.

A great apple crisp, might work with vegan butter or coconut oil?
http://www.wnyc.org/story/recipe-americas-test-kitchens-skillet-apple-crisp/

8

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

My daughter does not mind to make her own meals, but as a mom, I always feel that I “should” make dinner, plus the fact she works during summer and I am retired and have lots of time, lol. Now I will include more of her “kind” of meatless dishes.

Basically these are the food she eats: lots of veggies, fruits, rice, pasta, beans, oatmeal, nuts. Loves to make smoothies. She also uses flaxseed, chia seeds in some food. Absolutely LOVES potatoes and sweet potatoes! She can inhale them!!! She does not eat eggs and drinks almond milk, soy milk makes her break out she claims. She did mention about B12 and she said she can get it from including certain food in her diet.

She gives me lists of items to get when I go grocery shopping, which helps.

It is a little weird to see while the rest of the family have lots of meat (& some veggies) on our plate, her plate is just piled with rice/pasta/potatoes/salads/veggies! But she is healthy and happy with the diet she chooses.

9

My favorite vegan recipe website is http://www.theppk.com/recipes/. Everything is delicious and very whole-foods based (so you don’t need to worry about the rest of the family enjoying fake cheese dishes).

10

The B12 is something that she does need to watch. In the past it was considered to not be available in any food that was solely plant-based. There may be more recent studies that have found plant-based sources. If she can’t give you any solid evidence about that, she needs to be taking a dietary supplement for B12.

11

DS became a pescatarian a number of years ago, then became a vegetarian, now is bordering on vegan (will eat some cheese and milk products). My first piece of advice is to avoid the processed, fake foods (as others have also suggested). I also avoid soy. One of the best resources I’ve found for information and recipes is mynewroots.org. The recipes are vegetarian, most are vegan, many are gluten-free. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from this blog, and I’ve made many of the recipes. They’ve all been successful, delicious even for teenaged boys. Some of the recipes have a lot of ingredients, but you can leave many out. For example, one of our favorites is:

http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2013/07/flavour-bomb-greens-n-noodles/

I skip most of the toppings (one son is allergic to nuts, I don’t like sesame seeds, I don’t always have cilantro or mint). Basically it’s a pile of shredded greens over brown rice noodles with a nice dressing (you can leave out some of those ingredients, too). She has some nice seasonal “bowls” - again, I usually leave out several ingredients. Her lentil soup and lentil salads are great. I’ve tried quite a few soups, all wonderful. These are the best brownies I’ve ever had:

http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2015/02/chocolate-chunk-nut-butter-blondies/

They do have eggs but they are grain-free. There is a cookbook, but the recipes tend to be on the complex side.

Another good site is ohsheglows. Most of her recipes are too complicated for me, but there are some we like. The cauli-power fettucini alfredo is incredible - the sauce is mostly cauliflower. I use some real Parmesan instead of the cheese substitute.

I’ve also come up with some quick dinners. For example, brown rice pasta (Trader Joe’s has great brown rice spaghetti and Whole Foods has some good brown rice pasta, too) tossed with cannelini beans (from a box, drain in colander, then drain pasta on top; the hot water warms the beans) and greens (baby spinach, kale, chard), with bottled peanut sauce.

Smoothies are good for protein. I learned about hemp hearts on mynewroots - it’s a vegan source of complete protein.

12

She can cook for herself. When I went veg when I was 15, I became responsible for feeding myself or making do with what was in the cabinets. You can also make food that you add the meat to at the end, so that she can just top it with something different. This works well with rice dishes and pasta - she can just add a different sauce or protein.

13

My daughter (then 15) went vegan in September and while I was dreading the cooking at first, it has been a lot easier than I thought. I make a lot of Asian curries with coconut milk and veggies and also marinate and roast tofu cubes in the oven. They caramelize nicely. My daughter always fixes her own breakfast and lunch and sometimes makes her own dinner. A lot more dishes - even in restaurants - can be vegan: pasta, sushi, Asian dishes.

My one condition was B-12 supplements and a blood test once a year. As your daughter is already fully grown and sounds educated about the subject, I wouldn’t worry.

14

A lot of the traditional beans and rice recipes get their flavor from ham hocks and meat stocks - you may need to find other things to provide some flavor.

I personally think the hardest thing about cooking for a vegan if you aren’t one yourself is finding substitutes for the dairy products - no butter, no milk, no cheese, no real yogurt. And no eggs. It means most baking recipes have to be adjusted. You can’t use honey either for a strict vegan.

15

“A lot of the traditional beans and rice recipes get their flavor from ham hocks and meat stocks - you may need to find other things to provide some flavor.”

There is a seasoning called Bacon Salt. It is vegetarian, I believe. At least TJ’s version is. :slight_smile: It adds smokey flavor without the grease.

16

A lot of these dishes sound very tasty. I would never want to give up my beloved eggs or fish, but to each his own!

17

I stumbled across this recipe for lentil and sweet potato stew a while back. Pretty tasty, I thought.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014563-spicy-lentil-and-sweet-potato-stew-with-with-chipotles

I was vegan for a while. One quick dinner I still make is stemed veggies over pasta with peanut sauce. IWe always have peanut butter on hand so its easy to whip up the sauce. You could have chicken or other meat for the carnivorous folks to add as well.

18

My daughter is vegan as well. This is the best cookbook we’ve come across: http://www.amazon.com/Veganomicon-The-Ultimate-Vegan-Cookbook/dp/156924264X The potato-kale soup is especially delicious! I can’t stop eating it and I am not a vegan myself.

You can add a chicken flavor to your dishes with this product: http://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillon-Chicken-Certified/dp/B000N7YKQK/ref=sr_1_21?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1432247644&sr=1-21

They also have a vegetable flavor that I throw into everything.

For ham flavoring, I put a drop or two of liquid smoke into her bean/pea soup (as well as the vegetable bouillon). It tastes like ham is in it! http://www.vitacost.com/colgin-liquid-smoke-hickory-4-fl-oz

For baking, I use Crisco (ugh) or this product: http://earthbalancenatural.com/product/vegan-buttery-sticks/

For dairy, there are so many options–almond, rice, coconut milk, etc.

For eggs in baking, she uses a banana or applesauce as a binding agent. It works well enough, but the banana flavor is sure to come through (I don’t like it but she eats it). You can also grind flax seeds (3TBS flax plus 1 TBS water = 1 egg), use potato starch, arrowroot powder, or use silken tofu as an egg substitute.

There are many, many delicious foods awaiting you. Make sure she takes her B12. That’s the one thing that is unhealthy about this diet.

19

Also, there is no good vegan cheese. Daiya or Chao are two brands that are passable. (Barely!) Tofutti cream cheese is okay as well.

20

Bacon salt doesn’t have bacon in it.
It is a big hit with the military stationed in Muslim countries.
http://www.jdfoods.net/our-story/operationbaconsalt/