Veggie Recipe Brainstorm

[sunbutter]

I am trying to decrease our meat intake and increase veggie intake. This is easy for me but harder to plan for the family as most of the meals our kids eat revolve around meat.

So please share your vegetarian meal that your kids will eat.

Things that we have success with are:

1. quesadillas loaded with black beans, spinach and corn

2. Fresh mini raviolini with blanched and sautéed asparagus, broccoli and peas

3. Homemade pizza with peppers and spinach hidden under cheese

Things that they are less receptive to but I will try again are:

1. Spilt pea soup with carrot and potatoes
2. Lentil soup
3. Minestrone
4. Veggie lasagna
5. Omelets and frittatas

[mommyatty]

We do antipasti one night most weeks for dinner. We include steamed carrots, hummus, olives, and fresh raw spinach, along with popcorn and pitas. Generally, the carrots and spinach are the first things we run out of. My kids love carrots and DD loves spinach as long as it's raw.

[saraml13]

I like stuffed peppers. I typically use a small amount of sausage or ground beef with the rice and beans in the stuffing, but you could also make it meatless.

We like Indian food and there are lots of vegetarian recipes. I'll throw a bunch of random veggie into a vegetable curry. I also like saag paneer (spinach with chunks of hard cheese) or mateer paneer (peas in curry with cheese). Tofu cubes work well in place of the cheese.

[186momx]

I have the opposite problem and have to sneak meat into meals for DD. So everything is usually heavy on the veggies with some meat.

Meatless chili
Stew with lots of veggies little meat
Zucchini noodle spaghetti or just meatless spaghetti
Veggie quesadilla:peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives and cheese
Breakfast burritos with veggies and no meat
Vegetable barley soup

[nellgirl]

My daughter (19 months) loves a lot of vegetarian meals.

minimalistbaker.com/sweet-potato-chickpea-buddha-bowl/

Szechuan green beans with tofu (served on rice)- extra firm tofu pan fried in sesame oil, add garlic, peeled ginger, and onions, then green beans (cut in half if they're long), then add some soy sauce, a dash of fish sauce, some hoisin and Thai red pepper sauce or red pepper flakes, as well as a generous pinch of sugar.

We love veggie stuffed peppers and zucchini fritters.

Also, hearty minestrone soup with rolls.

[campermom]

Sweet potato black bean quesadillas. I love the recipes that call for a dash of cinnamon.

[judyblume14]

I do a crock pot recipe that has tater tots, cheese broccoli and chicken&bacon. I do believe it'd be tasty without the meat, though. Like a loaded baked potato? I once added spinach, but that didn't go over well. But you could definitely add rainbow peppers and onions. Yum.

I'm actually making it today. If I hadn't already trimmed and prepped the chicken, I'd test a no meat version for you.

[judyblume14]

I'm taking this thread as inspiration. Our meals ALWAYS revolve around the meat. We eat way more meat than we need to, but I'm miserable when it come to finding alternate sources of protein.

[sudokufan]

My local deli does a 3 bean salsa salad (looks to be a jar of salad, can each of black, cannellini and kidney beans) that I use for quesadillas when pressed for time.

Also a big hit here is baked ziti (I use roasted red peppers, zucchini and yellow squash), ratatouille, pierogies with oninos and peppers, butternut squash ravioli, and this pasta: www.scordo.com/food/pasta-with-parsley-garlic-and.html

I also really like some veggie burgers - the ones that don't pretend to be burger, so we do those sometimes.

[leap]

Lets see:

Black bean and sweet potato quesadillas
3 bean chili
Cheddar, broccoli and carrot soup
Corn and potato chowder
Bow-tie Garlic Parmesan pasta with veggies (I usually do broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, but you could really do anything with this).
Homemade Marinara with any kind of pasta
Black bean burgers
Spinach and cheese quiche

[sunbutter]

Thanks everyone! My son has a texture issue 🙄 so while I love burritos and enchiladas, that is always a challenge.
He did just warm up to the concept of burgers and I love the idea of a good veggie burger! Maybe I need to strike now while the iron is hot (and don't tell him it is made of legumes, lol.)

[sunbutter]

Adding a recipe that we tried last night.

smittenkitchen.com/2015/12/potato-kugel/

We also had a tossed salad and applesauce.

Pros: few ingredients and prep is fast; no meat but eggs for protein

Cons: lots of potatoes which could be an issue if you are reducing carbs; baking time prevents it from being a routine weeknight meal.

Kids liked it (DS more than DD) and it filled everyone. Will put it in rotation.

[kbw]

We love two peas and their pods roasted tomato basil soup. It's actually what we're having tomorrow for dinner.

[5thofjuly]

Do you have a Trader Joe's? The Cowboy Quinoia burgers are yummy when baked or pan fried (to get a little crust) with some cheese, pickles, and chipotle mayo. You could make it regular condiments for the kiddos.

[mommyatty]

sunbutter, I feel you on the texture issue. My kids won't eat food that is mixed with other food. So no casseroles, no soups, not even pasta mixed with anything else. Makes me nuts. They even eat sandwiches and tacos deconstructed. There is no veggie-hiding in my house.

[sunbutter]

Sept 28, 2017 18:36:55 GMT -5 mommyatty said:

sunbutter, I feel you on the texture issue. My kids won't eat food that is mixed with other food. So no casseroles, no soups, not even pasta mixed with anything else. Makes me nuts. They even eat sandwiches and tacos deconstructed. There is no veggie-hiding in my house.

Yes, this is my son exactly.