<p>That salmon sounds really good.
My grocery stores have a wide variety of both garbanzo beans( chickpeas) & yellow & red lentils. Black eyed peas, split peas, really all kinda of dried beans are very nutritious & inexpensive (& delicious)</p>
<p>I have pm’d with you about the dangers of anemia and talking to your Dr. about if your D is a candidate for an iron infusion. I had one…it’s really like your body at a filling station, but instead of gasoline, it’s liquid iron! I also now get monthly B-12 injections, which has also helped in my energy level tremendously.</p>
<p>I feel 1000% better since my iron infusion a year ago and I would certainly have the Doctors look into it for your D. She doesn’t seem to be making sensible food choices and that is worrisome.</p>
<p>Hi ChocChipCookie – I remember your kind PMs from last year about infusion. I have mentioned this to D’s doctor and D – both were negative – Dr said “let’s see if the iron supplements work first” and D is downright hostile about the whole topic, but I tried. She says the anemia isn’t a problem for her, but I think she’d feel better if her levels were normal. I asked her to call her Dr again and discuss ways she could bring up her iron. I want to get out of the loop. I can’t force her to do the infusion. She should take charge of her own health.</p>
<p>^^ah thumper.–Good old Moosewood. D1 went to school in Ithaca and D2 (the vegetarian) always asked that we go to Moosewood restaurant when visiting D1. The restaurant is always very busy. But it is delicious.</p>
<p>I’ve noticed my old Moosewood cookbook does not skimp on butter, cheese or cream in some of their recipes. So although vegetarian, not necessarily low fat for sure.</p>
<p>Classof2015: I’m sorry, but I don’t think this is about your daughter’s vegetarianism. I think it’s about her pushing your buttons. I think you should cook food you like that is healthy, with some vegetarian dishes and some with meat, and let your daughter eat what she chooses. But I wouldn’t buy the junk food (and most energy/protein bars are candy in a healthy disguise), and it’s my opinion that you shouldn’t even discuss her diet with her, since she’s using her food choices as a way to bother you.</p>
<p>My daughter has been a vegetarian off and on (currently on) since she was 8. Meat (of any kind) has never agreed with her. When she lived at home, I accommodated by cooking vegetarian side dishes and always having some healthy vegetarian snacks–nuts, peanut butter, protein shakes made with fruit and protein powder, yogurt, that kind of thing–in the house. Side dishes like potatoes au gratin and baked beans work well. </p>
<p>We also had a vegetarian meal–pasta with sauce, that kind of thing–two or three nights a week. It’s definitely easier on the budget, and it can be healthier for everyone. Right now, I have vegetarian soup and vegetarian chili in the freezer, because that way I can serve a nice meal on short notice to any friends who happen to be visiting.</p>
<p>My older sister (now 61) has been a vegetarian since she was 14; I grew up with the idea that it is quite normal for people not to choose to eat meat. </p>
<p>How anemic is your daughter? Is she showing any symptoms?</p>
<p>dmd – I have had the same thoughts-- it’s a power play.</p>
<p>Her iron level is 9 and it’s supposed to be 13-14. She doesn’t admit to any symptoms, but she started taking adderall this semester so I wonder if the anemia is causing problems concentrating. She experienced more symptoms when she was running cross country (heavy legs). I remember when I ran when I was anemic – every hill felt like a mountain.</p>
<p>She did tell me that she eats better at school than at home, so maybe some of this is drama for my benefit. She said at school she has tofu once a day, and in the morning, hard boiled eggs and oatmeal. </p>
<p>I try to make something she’ll like but since I work full time and get home around 7 pm, my interest in cooking multiple dishes is pretty limited.</p>
<p>I think I’m just going to tell her: go to the store and buy the healthy food you need.</p>
<p>dmd and NYMom – thanks – yes, she would be the perfect person to cook her own meals. She has the time - -why not learn now? I love Mark Bittman (and he’s a runner). I’ll suggest that.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus-- that’s interesting – could be. I associate eating disorders with weight loss (having had one myself where I lost 20 pounds I didn’t really have to lose) and she has been at the same weight since high school. I told D she would benefit from talking to someone (i.e., a therapist). She had always resisted, but when the pediatrician suggested it, she agreed. One session so far. The woman called me after and said she is very anxious. Not sure if she’s seeking to control her life through food (that’s a common reason people develop eating disorders). I encouraged D to book another session with the therapist; she forgot. </p>
<p>She’s 20 – she keeps saying she’s an adult, but I am not seeing a lot of personal responsibility for her own welfare yet. Very frustrating.</p>
<p>I really don’t want to sound like I’m being critical, but do there need to be two meals? Can the rest of your family deal with eating vegetarian some nights as well? I’ve been lucky because nobody in my family is vegetarian except for me, but they eat vegetarian a lot of the time, so most of the time when I am home I don’t have to make a special meal. I love to cook so I often do help out and make meals anyway, but I only need to make myself something different if it is a rare occasion that my family happens to be eating meat. For example, my mother has a wonderful tofu ball recipe and that’s what I grew up eating – I don’t ever remember her making meatballs. Now if I asked her to veganize it, she might be a little stuck. ;)</p>
<p>Of course, I think that is a different issue from her taking responsibility for her own health. I do think a lot of college students particularly drag their feet about that sort of thing a bit anyway. I remember a time when my brother needed a physical because our insurance provider required it and he just had no interest in scheduling it and my mom couldn’t schedule it for him because he didn’t know when he’d be home. It just sounds to me like there are a few issues going on, and it might be a case of choosing priorities. If you put your daughter in charge of preparing her own meals, will she just eat energy bars for dinner? And if you know she’s eating healthy at school the vast majority of the time, can you let that slide?</p>
<p>eireann – if I read the other poster’s suggestions correctly, I think they were advocating having a variety of dishes at each meal (not two meals) – so the idea would be I would offer a chicken, a vegetable or two, a rice, and D would eat the rice and vegetables (and her brother would probably eat just the chicken and rice). Sort of the smorgasbord/buffet idea where there’s something for everyone.</p>
<p>And some nights, we do eat vegetarian. Ex: last night H and I had roasted beet salad with spinach, goat cheese, and chopped pistachios on top. That was our dinner. I can definitely see having nights without meat. We only have red meat maybe once a week, if that. Mostly chicken and some fish.</p>
<p>My D (a vegetarian) has two wonderful cookbooks that include delicious vegetarian recipes. I would highly recommend them: Plenty and Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi. I use them quite a bit and I’m not a vegetarian.</p>
<p>thank you Bromfield – I’m going to check out those two, plus the Mark Bittman one, and I’ll get Moosewood again (I had one from the '80s – either lost it or gave it away).</p>
<p>I had the old Moosewood cookbook and actually tossed it. It’s dated and full of ingredients we don’t want to use these days - butter, cream, huge quantities of cheese. I believe there’s a new one with lighter recipes, though.</p>
<p>Those 80’s cookbooks were something else. I remember a recipe from the old Silver Palate cookbook (my former standby). It began, melt 1 lb of butter. Even in those days, I choked on that one. I used to make the recipe (rustic apple tart) with 1/4 the butter. Still not a healthy choice. I decided at one point that I didn’t want to spend my time making food that would clog people’s arteries.</p>
<p>Most of my recipes these days are online. Cookinglight.com is my favorite source. I also use allrecipes.com and epicurious.com. It’s so easy to find exactly what you want this way. I also use some cookbooks for old standby recipes. The Bittman cookbook is the only one I use extensively, and read for information.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t make a recipe that calls for a pound of butter, either. But, there is little evidence that butter “clogs the arteries”. Butter is vastly healthier than many of the substitutes: crisco, margarine, even vegetable oil.</p>
<p>If anything, scienstists have now figured out that the sugar in the apple tart is probably most closely linked to coronary artery disease.</p>
<p>You’re right, of course, idad. But I didn’t know that in the 80’s! I agree that butter is better than the fake substitutes, but I only use it in small amounts. I use olive oil for most cooking, almond or safflower oil or butter for most baking.</p>
<p>Here’s an update: D has now seen therapist 3x, and she recommended melatonin for the anxiety/sleep issues plus pediatrician spoke to her about iron levels, and D agreed to take 1 pill a day. Maybe that was a level she felt she could deal with. And therapist said she should continue seeing someone at school (not sure how that works – I don’t know if the college mental health services offers sessions or if they’re more crisis counselors). We’ll see if this helps.</p>
<p>I’m a pescetarian, but I eat relatively little fish. I’m quite a fan of Beyond Baked Beans Green, and The Vegetarian Student Cookbook (Hamlyn). They’re both veggie cookbooks aimed at students. However, they are good for non-students from the point of view that they use relatively few ingredients, don’t assume much prior knowledge / skill, are fairly quick to do, and assume that you are on a budget. </p>
<p>When cooking for both meat eaters and myself, I have found that the easiest way to do it is to have two separate pans. Put appropriate quantities of all the veggie ingredients into both pans, and leave out the meat from one. Where possible, replace it with something like Quorn or TVP (I’ve never liked tofu, personally). </p>
<p>Ultimately, veggie food can be very nice, even if you’re an avid meat eater. I cooked a veggie pie not long ago for the whole family. “What meat did you use?” asked my grandmother ;)</p>
