A Vegetarian Diet.

I can't wait to see what people say I've been wanting to look into it myself.

There is usually a healthy section in most grocery stores where they sell the organic type stuff. They have pretty much every food you can think of made with tofu instead of meat. Like hot dogs, cheese, ground "meat", sausage, burgers, etc. That way you don't have to buy the gooey lumpy glob and try and make your own stuff. If you insist on that though I usually mix mine up in a wok with water chestnuts, snow peas, broccoli, and terriaki. The tofu absorbs the flavor of whatever you put with it. That's the beauty of it. YUM!

I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but I do eat fish still (mostly tuna) so feel free to have a peek at my diary as well. Also I reccomend lentils, mmm. I have heard good things about quinoa but I haven't tried it yet. I also eat a lot of raw almonds (though I ran out so I haven't been eating them as much so they are not in my diary as much). Another thing to try is squash, and I can't reccomend edamame enough, it is so good!!!

At 10 years old I became a vegetarian. I, too, only liked hamburgers and hotdogs but knew those were the worst things for you to eat. I am 28 years old and still a vegetarian. Here are some WONDERFUL brands you can buy in your freezer section of your local grocery store:

Morningstar Farms: has chikin nuggest, buffalo wings, corn dogs, a dozen different types/flavors of veggie burgers, veggie bacon (my 4yo LOVES these!), veggie saugsage.......basically - you name name - chances are they have it!
*www.morningstarfarms.com

Amy's Kitchen: My favorite vegan/vegetarian frozen entree. 100% organic. Potpies, mexican, chinese, indian, Italian (my favorite is the spinach tortelini with petso sauce), breakfast, and even kid friendly mac and cheese!.....again...whatever she's wanting, chances are Amy's Kitchen has it.
*www.amys.com

If she's wanting to not drink milk (my father was lactose intolerant so we always had alternatives at home): the Silk soy milk is delicious. The Very Vanilla Silk tastes like a milkshake and even my meat-eating 10yo boy loves it.

I'm sure my mother and father were very .....um...confused, to say the least, about my lifestyle change at that age. She just needs to be careful to eat vegetables and fruits......and not just breads, cheesy pastas, and candy. The cheesy pasta was my downfall

Good Luck!

and btw....I hate to cook.....in fact, it wasn't until I got married when my husband started to cook all kinds of tofu stuff for me.....tofu chili, tofu parmesan......seriously yummy stuff To this day I can't figure out how to cook tofu.....But just wanted to let you know too that I can't/couln't/didn't have time to cook.

There are loads of meat-free variations of 'normal' foods. Look for soy protein sausages, burgers etc. You can buy dried soy protein which is like mince. Tofu just tastes like egg/egg whites and I have that instead of egg. I eat dairy-free cheese, soy 'yoghurt', loads of grains and pulses.

Some of the textures and tastes may take a bit of getting used to. Approach it with an open mind. I'd recommend the Skinny B*tch books. There's a Skinny B*tch cook book too.

And yes, Luckymam is right. Skinny B*tch is one fantastic book to read. But just don't let her read it

My son came home from college vegetarian (or pescatarian - he eats fish but doesn't like it that well). My husband is getting good at making dishes where we add meat or fake meat in at the end like spaghetti. I just cook vegetarian when he is home for dinner and regular the other days. If he doesn't come home for dinner he loves left overs. He was lifting weights and realized the protein drinks werre not doing it for him. The doctor suggested more beans. There are really good fake sausages and hamburger. Since i have started MFP I have gleaned the recipe message board for vegetarian dishes and I just googled low calorie vegetarian recipes here are 2 of my results:
This is what I made 2 nights ago but I used part skim ricotta instead of the tofu but I doubt it would taste bad with tofu.

Lasagna Rolls
Crumbled tofu replaces the ricotta in our Italian-style vegetarian meal. You can freeze the cooked rolls and sauce for up to one month.

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
14-ounce package extra-firm water-packed tofu, drained, rinsed and crumbled
3 cups chopped spinach
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped Kalamata olives
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
25-ounce jar marinara sauce , preferably lower-sodium, divided
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse, return to the pot and cover with cold water until ready to use.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add tofu and spinach and cook, stirring often, until the spinach wilts and the mixture is heated through, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; stir in Parmesan, olives, crushed red pepper, salt and 2/3 cup marinara sauce.

3. Wipe out the pan and spread 1 cup of the remaining marinara sauce in the bottom. To make lasagna rolls, place a noodle on a work surface and spread 1/4 cup of the tofu filling along it. Roll up and place the roll, seam-side down, in the pan. Repeat with the remaining noodles and filling. (The tofu rolls will be tightly packed in the pan.) Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the rolls.

4. Place the pan over high heat, cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium; let simmer for 3 minutes. Sprinkle the rolls with mozzarella and cook, covered, until the cheese is melted and the rolls are heated through, 1-2 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
Per serving:
354 calories
11 g fat (3 g sat, 4 g mono)
11 mg cholesterol
46 g carbohydrates
21 g protein
8 g fiber
374 mg sodium
396 mg potassium

This is what I am making for dinner tonight.


Broccoli and Goat Cheese Soufflé
This elegant broccoli and goat cheese soufflé will wow your family and friends. Soufflés are surprisingly easy to make – the only trick is getting them on the table before they deflate. You’ll need four 10-ounce ramekins or a 2- to 2-1/2-quart soufflé dish.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups finely chopped broccoli florets
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups low-fat milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
3 large eggs, separated
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat four 10-ounce ramekins (or a 2- to 2-1/2-quart soufflé dish) with cooking spray and place them on a baking sheet.

2. Place broccoli in a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave until the broccoli is tender-crisp, 1-2 minutes. Set aside.

3. Melt butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, for 1 minute. Adjust heat as needed to prevent the mixture from getting too dark; it should be the color of caramel. Add milk, mustard, rosemary and salt and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in goat cheese and 3 egg yolks until well combined. Transfer to a large bowl.

4. Beat the 5 egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold half of the whipped whites into the milk mixture. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites and the reserved broccoli just until no white streaks remain. Transfer to the prepared ramekins or soufflé dish.

5. Bake until puffed, firm to the touch and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 160°F, about 20 minutes in ramekins or 30 minutes in a soufflé dish. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
Per serving:
254 calories
17 g fat (8 g sat, 6 g mono)
184 mg cholesterol
10 g carbohydrates
16 g protein
1 g fiber

I make a really good vegetarian chilli if you want that recipe I could put it on MFP that one is mine. My son's girl friend is also vegetarian and her family has been converted as well but her father wouldn't let her until after high school. Now the whole family eats great vegetarian food. I sort of admire that they told her to wait till she had grown and then totally accepted afterwards. Part of it is making sure you are able to cook the right nutrition for a growing girl. You can but it takes some effort.

Keri

I announced I was going to be a vegetarian when I was 14. My mothers response was, "That's fine, but I'm not preparing special meals just for you." She would make sure any side dishes she was preparing were vegetarian. She got me a subscription to Vegetarian Times and would buy almost anything I wanted to try cooking and was happy to help me work out recipes, but if I was old enough to make that kind of choice, I was old enough to be responsible for my meals. Obviously I was a little older than your daughter, but making me self-sufficient in the kitchen was one of the best things she did for me. I'm still a vegetarian 25 years later and a pretty good cook (if I do say so myself).

Some of my favorite meat substitutes:

Quorn: I can't say enough about Quorn. It's my favorite meat substitute. I eat the Naked Chick'n Breast a couple of times a week. They are great with a little bit of a marinade and grilled. (if you live in the US, anywhere near a Whole Foods, they're on sale until the 15th for a really good price ) Found in the frozen foods.

Gardein (available in the US and Canada): personally, I'm not a big fan of their prepared, heat & eat products. I really like their meat substitutes that you add to your own recipes. I recently made stew using the Beefless Tips. I've also made pot pies using their Chick'n Scallopini. I used the recipes from the Gardein website, just adapted them a bit for my own tastes. Gardein can be found both in the produce section and the frozen foods. They Beefless Tips and Chick'n Scallopini are in frozen foods.

Tofurkey: I really like their sliced lunch-meat for sandwiches. St. Ives does deli meat in a greater variety (bologna, salami, ham, etc.), by I'm personally not really fond of them. Your daughter might like them. At my supermarket, the faux deli meat is in the produce section.

A lot of vegetarians eat eggs. If they eat fish they are pescatarian, not vegetarian.

Yeah, if you eat fish, you aren't vegetarian. Basically, if you eat anything that had a face, you're not a veggie!

If you eat eggs and dairy but not meat, you're a veggie.

If you don't eat any product derived from an animal, you're vegan. A true vegan won't even wear wool or drink from a bone china cup.

Why is she going vegetarian?

If it's because of not wanting to harm animals, you can mention to her about animal by-products. Staying away from foods with ingredients such as gelatin, rennet, lecithin (soy lecithin is fine). These are all animal by-products, gelatin: ground up bones, common in yogurts, frosting/icing (pop tarts, marhmallows), rennet: enzyme from calf's stomach, very common in cheese so you have to be careful with that. Lecithin is in chocolate.. but soy lecithin is seen more often now.

Sorry, I just had to mention that! I become a vegetarian when I was 17 and didn't know about these things until six months later for most of them and felt so cheated! But I don't know how strict of a vegetarian your daughter wants to be but at least she will have the option of chosing.

For recipes, I eat everything and anything.. just not meat! Vegetarian Spaghetti, chili, stir frys, shepherd's pie, soups/stews, wraps, sandwiches, pasta dishes. You can add beans/lentils to a lot of things to get your protein. Make sure she is eating lots of leafy greens for iron. After a month of being a vegetarian you should take her to the doctor to get blood work, she may need to be supplemented for vitamin B12 and folic acid if iron levels are low.

It's really not that hard and you will be surprised with how many meals you can make vegetarian!

My husband has been an Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian(this means he eats eggs and dairy, but no meat) for over 20 yrs. While my sons and I are omnivores we eat a largely vegetarian diet. It is really easy to work the two together. I have a vegetarian cooking blog, called My Veggie Table (http://www.myveggietable.com) and I think it would really help you. I have tons of recipes which appeal to meat eaters, but they have no meat!

If you are interested in tofu, the secret is in the prep. You are going probably perfer firm or extra firm tofu. Then you need to drain it really well. I usually cut it into four pieces length wise and then place the pieces on a cutting board covered with paper towels. On top of that tofu place some more paper towels and then another cutting board. On the top cutting board place some heavy pot or maybe a tea kettle and press out all that extra moisture. This will allow you to get that nice browing effect on your tofu.