Help me convert my family

I have found the soy crumbles used in spaghetti sauce or lasagna are covered pretty well and not as noticeable.
Maybe get the kids hooked on fruit smoothies made with a little bit of silken tofu.

Check out chocolatecoveredkatie.com. There's tons of vegan/vegetarian recipes on there that your kids will most likely love.

Look up the recipe here for zucchini tots.

Tofu comes in different textures and it absorbs the tastes/flavors from surrounding foods .. keep that in mind when cooking with it :-)

If you're not a Vegetarian by nature .. then slowly cut back on meats. As you are still going to be experimenting with finding suitable protein substitutes .. just make smaller portions, and find leaner cuts. Incorporate more fish into your diet :-)

Seeds and nuts have protein .. cottage cheese (low fat) .. and greek yogurt have good protein content. You'll have to do some research and find what you all will enjoy eating. Veggies and fruits are always good of course.

When I first went off meat, I used a lot of meat replacements (Chik'n burgers, veggie nuggets, fake-bacon), they generally taste pretty good and have waaay less calories than their meat counter parts. That said, they aren't very filling, so they are more of a kind of crutch when you first stop eating meat and don't know what to do.

This is my best recipe for tofu: http://www.instructables.com/id/Tofu-Jerky/ It's delicious, you can use it as a snack, or put it on sandwiches.

The thing you'll notice about not eating meat is that your taste buds change, vegetables seem more flavorful when they aren't competing with the richness of meat-and that in it of itself tends to spur plenty of new ideas.

Anyway, we eat asparagus 2-4 times a week, and I tend to pair it with rice or red potatoes and a salad.
Eggplant is also great for replacing meat in your favorite recipes.

The mistake many vegetarians (or just people like you trying to mostly cut out meat) make is replacing meat with pasta. Pasta is all calories and not really that filling. Your focus of the meal should be vegetables, not a pasta. I have also found that a lot of times people will just replace meat with cheese-and that's something you need to be careful of. Sure if you're not eating a steak you can eat a little more cheese-but cheese calories add up fast! Laughing Cow light cheese wedges are my best friend, I use them in rice, potatoes, on quesadillas..and as a dip! Only 35 calories per wedge.

I sent this response to one of my friends the other day who was having trouble getting the rest of his family to make the adjustment:

This blog and her book of the same name - Peas and Thank You - are particularly fantastic and very family-friendly: http://peasandthankyou.com/

We really like the Lulu's Mac and Cheese and Crack Wraps and the Best-Ever Black Bean Burgers are to die-for

My daughter really likes the Moosewood Cookbooks (all of which are vegetarian) made for kids - Honest Pretzels and Salad People are two of our favourites. If you can involve your kids in choosing and making recipes (these two books come with very kid-friendly directions), they're usually more willing to change/try things.

A recent favourite recipe (veg, not vegan) is this one - which my daughter chose out of our local grocery store newsletter:

Hearty Bean Soup

Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 25 min.

1 tbsp (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp (2 ml) chili flakes
3 fresh tomatoes, diced*
1 can (19 oz/540 ml) mixed beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt
2 cups (500 ml) fresh or frozen cooking greens - we used frozen kale
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and cook onion, garlic and chili flakes for about 3 minutes or until softened. Add tomatoes, beans, broth and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in greens and cook for about 5 minutes or until wilted and tender. Sprinkle with cheese to serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 167 calories; 10 g protein; 5 g fat; 20 g carbohydrates; 5 g fibre, 663 mg sodium

* you can sub a can (28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes for fresh but the fresh were really lovely

And this is another favourite of hers, chosen from our Meatless Meals cookbook:

Meatless Hash

1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
3 cups frozen corn
1 medium-large onion, finely diced
1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, cored and finely diced
salt and ground black pepper
1 1/2 pound baking potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 5 cups)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (can also use parsley or basil)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over low heat.

Meanwhile, cut up pepper and onion. Two minutes or so before cooking, increase the heat to medium-high. When the oil starts to send up wisps of smoke, add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion and pepper, season lightly with salt and black pepper, and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.

While the vegetables cook, dice the potatoes and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a bowl and set aside. Add the potatoes to the empty skillet and cook, stirring only occasionally so that they form a golden brown crust, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the ketchup, mustard, 2 tablespoons of water, the cumin and the cilantro in a cup or small bowl.

Return the cooked vegetables to the skillet and stir in ketchup mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until the flavours meld and the hash has browned nicely, about 5 minutes.

Serves 4.

What I think these recipes have in common is that they taste substantial (much like the meat dishes that we're used to) and they're very close to comfort-food recipes that we've used in the past. So you lose the animal products (at least meat) without losing the "feel" of the recipes. Once your kids get used to the first adjustment, then it's easier to go further.