Vegetarian Kid Meal Ideas?

MMMMMmmmmm....so delicious! The Cauliflower Toastie. It can be made with or without cheese. You steam two good sized chunks of caulifower all broken up until tender. Then, in a bowl add a little black pepper, a dash of onion powder, and a smidge of celery salt. Mix in a squirt of honey dijon mustard (a little goes a long way) and a dollop of mayo. (Just enough to be creamy- think tuna salad) I sometimes add a little shredded cheese. Then, make like a grilled cheese. Spread the caulifower between two slices of bread and grill until golden. My one year old and I love this! This will make about three full sandwiches. Save the leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow. Enjoy!

So many yummy recipes that my family loves:

http://www.elanaspantry.com/

have not found a bad one yet, such great flavors & good for you ingredients

Mi Goreng...it is a fave at my house

Get a package of ramen noodles (oriental, chicken or beef) and soak the noodles in a bowl of water.

Meanwhile, saute some onions and bell pepper in a little olive oil. Then add sliced carrots, cabbage, green beans and yellow squash. Once everything is a little softer then add your noodles (take them out of the water).

I add just a little water and I use the seasoning package. I'm not a big fan of the MSG, but it makes it a lot easier to season that way. If you use it, don't use the whole packet. If you don't then season it with some salt and pepper.

Cook until veggies and noodles are cooked to your liking. I add bacon when I first start cooking the veggies if I have some. If not, it is still really good. It is a meal I grew up on and love cooking it for my kids.

Here are a few recipes you may like:

Black Bean Pie
2 tsp. jarred minced garlic
1 Tbs. olive oil
One 15.5 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 of a 28 oz. can diced tomatoes w/ their juices
3 oz. tomato paste
1 tsp ground cumin
Juice of half a line
Refrigerated rolled piecrust (both top and bottom)
4 oz. grated cheddar or a blend of cheeses
In a sauté pan, brown the garlic in olive oil. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin and lime. Bring ingredients to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 350.
Shape piecrust in pie pan. Pour bean mixture into bottom of the crust; top with a layer of cheddar (adjust type and amount to your liking). Cover with other piecrust. Pinch top and bottom of piecrust together; make several slits in the top with a knife. Bake pie for approximately 35 minutes or until the crust is slightly brown around the edges.

Couscous with Chickpeas, Tomatoes, and Edamame
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame (soy beans) (may substitute peas)
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 ¼ cups water, divided
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 (16 oz) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup uncooked couscous
2 cups coarsely chopped green onions
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add edamame, red pepper, and garlic; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in ½ cup water, basil, chickpeas, and tomatoes; simmer 15 minutes. Add 1 ¾ cups water and salt; bring to a boil. Gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in onions and feta; toss well.
Yield: 5 servings (1 1/3 cups)

Easy Cheese-Ravioli Casserole
Two 9 oz. pkg. refrigerated four-cheese or beef ravioli
One 7 oz. jar oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 oz.)
1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz.)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
8 eggs, beaten
2½ cups milk
1-2 Tbs. snipped fresh basil or Italian flat-leaf parsley
1. Grease a 3 qt. (roughly 9x12) rectangular or oval baking dish. Place uncooked ravioli evenly in dish. Sprinkle with tomatoes to taste. Top with cheeses; set aside.
2. Whisk eggs and milk together until combined. Pour over layers in dish. Cover; chill for 2-24 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes or until top is golden and center is set. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with basil just before serving.
Yield: 12 servings

Zucchini Patties with Feta
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (from about 3 medium)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 eggs
1 tbls flax seed meal
1/4 cup (or more) all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tbls olive oil
2 tbls calola oil
Plain Greek yogurt
Toss zucchini and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer to sieve. Press out excess liquid; place zucchini in dry bowl. Mix in egg, yolk, 1/2 cup flour, cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix in parsley, onions, and dill. If batter is very wet, add more flour by spoonfuls.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons corn oil in large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls into skillet. Fry patties until golden, 5 minutes per side, adding more olive oil and corn oil as needed. Transfer to paper towels. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Place on baking sheet, cover, and chill. Rewarm uncovered in 350°F oven 12 minutes. Serve with yogurt.

Spinach Squares
4 Tablespoons Butter
3 Eggs
1-Cup Flour
1-Cup Milk
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1-Teaspoon Salt
1 Pound Grated Sharp Cheddar
2 Packages Frozen Spinach (drained and squeezed)
1-Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
Garlic Powder
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Melt butter and cover the entire 9x12-baking dish.
In a large bowl beat the eggs then add flour, milk, baking powder, salt, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Mix well. Add the cheese and drained spinach and combine thoroughly. Spoon into the baking dish and spread evenly. Bake for 35 minutes, remove and let it cool.
*It can be made 2-3 weeks ahead and frozen. To reheat – set oven to 325 degrees for 12 minutes.

There are lots of soups you can make as well.
Enjoy,
J.

Try www.eatingwell.com and www.weelicious.com
My family eats meatless 4-5 nights a week. We eat eggs at least one night, huevous rancheros, quiche, Martha Stewart's site has a great recipie for a fried egg atop spinach salad which my kids love. We also eat soup one night a week, cauliflower-apple soup, lentil soup, carrot soup, broccoli-cheese soup, squash soup, to name a few favs. "Burgers" are another go to option in our house. Martha Stewart has a lentil burger recipie that I love. We also love black bean burgers, veggie burgers, pinto bean burgers. My kids are also tofu fans. We substitute quinoa for rice most nights. Good luck!

We eat vegan/vegetarian frequently at my house. Some of the cookbooks I use are:

How It All Vegan - Sarah Kramer & Tanya Barnard
How to cook everything Vegetarian - Mark Bittman

I also use allrecipes.com. They have alot of vegetarian recipes.

We eat alot of tempeh, seitan and beans. How about different grains like couscous or quinoa? We also use udon or soba noodles alot. I also try to incorporate lots of different veggies so that our food is colorful and the kids love eating purples, oranges, greens and reds.

Have your son pick out a recipe he wants to try and involve him in the prep and cooking. It's a lot of fun to try things together!

How about stir fry? You can even add tofu to it, tofu is great because you can make it taste like meat, but it's not...or if you didn't want to do that, that's cool too. Pluse tofu comes in different densitiies...soft, firm, etc. What about homemade soups with chicken or beef broth. I make chicken noodle without the chicken, but season it with chicken broth, plenty of veggies and herbs like oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, chives. I know you said no cheese, but my son likes the "twirly" noodles with cut up asparagus, peas, baby carrots and string beans mixed with melted cheese. Sweet Potato fries, I've only made this once successfully, so I'd look up a recipe, otherwise, I have someone else make them and they are excellent. Minestrone, I've had some without meat, some with meat, without meat, it was seasoned with beef broth. Veggie dumplings, also called gyozas or potstickers. Veggie lumpias, eggrolls, also fun to make for little kids.

I just asked a very similiar question...here's some of what i already do for healthy quick meals:

-asian tofu stirfry: (get frozen asian veg medley or sometimes grocery stores have it fresh & cut up for you) then just fry it up w/firm tofu and either a bottled sauce or if you prefer just soy sauce/ginger & garlic. Can put over coucous instead of rice.
-hummus on whole wheat bread w/roasted red peppers or sliced cucumbers: to make homemade hummus, blend chickpeas w/extra virgin olive oil, garlic and fresh lemon juice.
-Filling salads: add chickpeas, black olives, mushrooms, celery to any mixed greens w/other more typical salad ingredients.
-Fruit Smoothies for b-fast- blend together frozen fruit, yoghurt, and a little juice.
-Boca makes a great fake chicken patties: put on a whole wheat bun w/lettuce & tomatoe or serve w/salad and sides
-veggie sausage w/muti-grain waffles.
-veggie quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas: in a large frying pan- toast a tortilla lightly for a min, add soy cheese, then add cooked veggies like peppers, onions, mushrooms, top with more soy cheese and put the other tortilla on top, then fip it over and let cook for a another few mins. Then cut up like a pizza.
-Greek Pasta Salad: Cook pasta of your choice, then cool and mix it up with fresh lemon juice, black olives, EVOO, cut up green & red peppers, red onion- you can leave out feta cheese if you want. add a little salt & pepper to taste.
-mashed potatoes w/steamed chopped broccoli w/veg gravy.
-Marinate and bake some sliced tofu: whatever sauce you like i.e. bbq, bake in the oven on 350 for 10 mins, then serve with quiona or couscous & steamed veggies.
-Spinach Lasagna with soy cheese

I always need new recipes that are quick, easy and healthy too. I'll send more as I think of them....

This may already be in your pocket, but one of our standby meals are burritos. It's really easy and pretty healthy and balanced.

we use:
-heated up handmade or wholegrain tortillas
-spreadable goat cheese or feta
-sauté: mushrooms, spinach, red/orange/yellow pepper with -pinch of salt and chili pepper (add spinach at the very, very end)
-heated refried veg. black beans w/ added chopped onion
-and then have a guacamole/pico de gallo like dip: chopped cilantro, salt, lots o' garlic, chopped ripe tomato, avocado

I love your question and will be looking at the answers!