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I am not a vegan but my son goes to a Jewish preschool and they allow no meat. We buy those YUMMY! "chicken" nuggets that are better than the real deal IMHO. I too worry about his protein but we do try to gets lotsa cheese and things like that. I would love some suggestions for yummy lunch snacks that I could prepare for him since some of you have raised your children as vegans.
You know, meat is actually gross when you think about it.... you ever had a vein in your steak sub? I could go red-meatless... but what about shrimp... do they have a brain? lol
cil gave you some excellent options. Kids love wraps and rolls (fun to eat) and you can make them the night-before.
If you want variety, there are whole wheat, spinach and even sun-dried tomato "tortillas" (wraps) available.
Easy hummus recipes are all over the web. I'd suggest making your own (use canned chick peas for simplicity) so that you can adjust the seasoning/garlic. Many kids are a bit put off by overly-spiced products.
The tostada idea was great...I'd use mashed black beans (kinda like a black bean hummus?) and smush them between two lightly-toasted corn tortillas to make it a bit "neater".
If you are worried that you are relying on too much cheese, don't forget that you can add protein with nuts and seeds (might want to check first, I know some schools have banned nuts due to nut-allergies). Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds or sunflower seeds in those cream cheese roll-ups for instance.
If he's getting bored with PBJ, try some almond butter. Apples dipped in almond butter = yum!
Hard-boiled eggs were always one of my daughter's favorites. Something about peeling that skin off? They travel well. Save little packets of restaurant salt and pepper and pack them along for a special treat.
Veggie "sticks' (carrots, celery, broccoli etc) can be packed in zip-bags and small containers of dip sent along. Again, plenty of good dips on-line...try doing something with tofu if you want to bump up the protein.
As far as seafood...seafood was the last "meat" to go from my diet. I lived near the coast for many years. When I moved inland I decided the fish wasn't fresh enough for me. I missed going to the docks and picking out fresh scallops. I think sea food is an excellent source of protein and it meets (in general) my requirement for "cruelty free" . If I lived near a coast, I'd consider it again.
I had to laugh at your comment on shrimp. As an avid cyclist I "eat" many bugs every summer. I sometimes wonder how that differs from eating shrimp and other shellfish???
I think sea food is an excellent source of protein and it meets (in general) my requirement for "cruelty free" .
Lots of things are excellent sources of protein without having to kill a living creature. You're requirement for "cruelty free" does not fall in line with the thread of vegetarianism. Just because it comes from the sea don't kid yourself, you are still causing it pain and being cruel.
Lots of things are excellent sources of protein without having to kill a living creature. You're requirement for "cruelty free" does not fall in line with the thread of vegetarianism. Just because it comes from the sea don't kid yourself, you are still causing it pain and being cruel.
I currently do not eat seafood (please re-read my post?).
The "cruel" part in animal farming, to me, is in how the animals are kept and penned during their life-time. Please see my post on consuming only cage-free, free-range dairy/egg products. I also try to buy from small, locally owned farms whenever possible.
"Shrimp" or "scallops" harvested from the sea are allowed to live their lives in the "open".
Exactly how much pain creatures with ganglia experience, is, at this point, I believe, still open to scientific debate. I'm open to evidence to the contrary and would love to read any scientific evidence you may have happened upon.
As I said, I *might* consider this option in the future. At this time, it is a moot issue.
I believe it is the responsibilty of each and every human on the planet to determine exactly what, and how much, harm one is willing to inflict on this chunk of rock. My definition of "doing no harm" may, perhaps, be different from my neighbors (or yours?). We all make ethical choices each and every day, from the cars we drive (or do not not drive ), to the amount of electiricty we burn, to the foods we consume.
I strive to respect the beliefs and choices of others and reserve judgement for myself only.
I strive to respect the beliefs and choices of others and reserve judgement for myself only.
Well said.
I live on the coast now, and last night I had me some steamed cockroaches of the sea that were darned good.
Everybody makes their own food chain in the circle of life.
It's actually quite a luxury to be able to choose.
The "cruel" part in animal farming, to me, is in how the animals are kept and penned during their life-time. Please see my post on consuming only cage-free, free-range dairy/egg products. I also try to buy from small, locally owned farms whenever possible.
So let me get this straight - it's cruel to cage them but not to kill them? Hmm... something smells a little fishy there. You'd thinking killing them would be cruel as well. Sure is in my book.
Yes, we all let people make their own decisions and respect that. However, this thread is about being vegetarian, not about killing animals. Possibly it shouldn't have been posted here to open the subject up to debate.
And please, don't give me the "I don't jude" people routine. We live in a world that judges. If you didn't judge things you wouldn't know right from wrong, danger from safety, etc.
Bottom line: killing shrimp and other sea creatures is just as cruel as killing a cow. Free range or not. Killing them is cruel.
re: kid friendly veggie dishes...how could I forget edamame???
You can find these tasty wonders in the frozen section at your grocery store.
Get the ones "in the shell", 'cuz they're fun to eat.
You'll want to make these at home first, so that you son knows how to eat them. The "look" kind of like sugar snappeas, but you don't eat the "husk".
Boil the edamame according to package directions, then drain and rinse. I like to add a bit of sea salt and sometimes a shake of rice vinegar.
Your son will discover how fun it is to sort of "pinch" the pod and squeeze the little green edamame beans into his mouth. Great finger food and packed full of protein.
Excellent ideas for the little man's lunch! Thank you everyone. Endamame... I am thinking he will LOVE that. Kinda meets the gross factor (pinching and squeezing) that kids love so that could outweigh the fact that it's green lol We are going to head out to the store after school and see how creative we can get.
I saw an expose on free-range farms. You may want to investigate your state's requirements. Some of these animals are penned then let out for a little bit of time a day. This recess time qualifies the animals as free-range.
Yes, the way that our meat is raised and killed is very disturbing but I don't think alot of people consider that pretty eyed cow is the steak they grill on Saturday night. Veal "farms" break my heart and I have always refused to eat it but a cow, no problem. Until now. Thank you all for your educating and informative posts. I am going to have to rethink the way we eat as well. But those cockroaches.... sorry I love em.
Ok, off topic first: anyone else find that as some of these threads grow you have to back and re-read the original post just to see what the original topic was???
Since there were requests for recipes and cookbooks, I'll mention 3 of my favorites:
The Clueless Vegetarian by Evelyn Raab. The subtitle says it all: A Cookbook for the Aspiring Vegetarian. I've lost track of how may copies I've given away. Super easy, not-too-scary, introduction to vegetarian cooking using some short cuts such as canned beans. Excellent for recent grads on their own for the first time and men who claim they "can't cook".
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. Ms. Madison's excellent soup book was mentioned earlier. This volume is pretty much The Joy of Cooking for veggies. Everything from tools and techniques to menu planning and wine-pairing. No mushy lentil-tofu stew here, this is serious cooking for serious cooks. Definitely a must-have if you are a vegetarian who entertains
And finally, a quirky personal favorite: Three Bowls by Seppo Ed Farrey. Many vegan recipes with a lovely "slice of life" POV from an American Zen Buddhist Monastery. Especially delightful for those who are exploring the spiritual/ethical side of food. Farrey's food/seasoing pairings may seem incongruous at first glance, but I have found his recipes to be spot-on. I've loved everthing I've made using this book and I have "tweaked" many of these recipes according to my own personal tastes and the ingredients on hand.
I'll have to check out those cookbooks. My favorite has remained the same over the years, I don't know why- but I keep coming back to it all the time. Lots of great vegan recipes in it...it's the Companssionate Cook that's put out by PETA. It's old, but you can get it cheap on ebay or half.com or probably even new. Great cookbook!
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), to the amount of electiricty we burn, to the foods we consume.
Back on Topic pt. II
