Creative Plant-Based Eating for Kids

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ChildrenCryinNCoffee
ChildrenCryinNCoffee Posts: 477 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Our family eats mostly healthy foods/meals with a few less than stellar choices here and there. (And no, this is NOT a debate about what is considered "healthy" and what isn't).

We have a strong history of cancer and heart-related illnesses in our family, as well as weight-issues on my side of the family (parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles. Surprisingly my great-grandparents were on the lean side.)

My husband and I decided to experiment with a Plant-Based diet for 30 days to SEE if our health improves; energy levels, general health, metabolism, sleep (or the lack-thereof), etc. I bought the "Eat to Live" books a few months ago and today I figured I'd crack em open and familiarize myself with the jest. I also watched "Forks Over Knives" with my family today, very insightful. We decided to try this "experiment" starting the day after Thanksgiving until right before Christmas, as to not disappoint the kiddos for upcoming family holiday celebrations.

I've been dealing with a few healthy issues, myself specifically. From mental illnesses to Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), issues with my kidneys & liver, Asthma, and most recently severe and unexpected back pain (of which the Doctor believes to be Bursitis of my shoulders and inflammation around my spine. I'll learn more next week.)

We're not looking to become full-fledged Vegetarians/Vegans, just trying something different for more than 21 days to see if we notice a change. My kids are great eaters for being 10, 7, 4 & 2, they do eat veggies and fruits and prefer to have those as snacks over typical "snacks" their peers have (Fruit gummies, Quaker Granola Bars, Gushers, etc.) so thankfully I don't have an issue with that.

I just want to make their food choices appealing for ages. Hubby & I will eat any and every type of produce. But my kids are more inclined to want Mashed Sweet Potatoes with a bit of cream & butter, rather than a whole sweet potato with a dusting of Cinnamon. But we're not going to be using Meats, Diary Products or added Oils. Also, nothing Soy-based.

Are there any parents out there that are Vegetarian or Vegan that can offer some insight and ideas? We want to make sure we're getting enough protein in our diets without having to rely on Animal-products or supplements (bars, shakes, pills, etc.). TIA!

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  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    http://www.pinterest.com/Gramstein/kids-vegan-recipes/
    Make an account on Pinterest and try various search terms.
  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
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    http://theedgyveg.com

    http://www.theppk.com
  • ChildrenCryinNCoffee
    ChildrenCryinNCoffee Posts: 477 Member
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    Thanks Ladies, I appreciate the tips :D
  • Grace215lbs
    Grace215lbs Posts: 129 Member
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    I'm in to see more tips too. :D I like the idea of giving my kids healthier foods in their lunch box than, yesterdays chicken nuggets. Which is pretty much the only thing school canteen offers.

    They do enjoy PB2 and celery though :)
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMsofHNghUw
    http://www.vegkitchen.com/kid-friendly-recipes/school-lunch-recipes/
    http://www.petakids.com/parents/vegan-lunch-pack/
  • Maitria
    Maitria Posts: 439 Member
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    The PeasandThankYou cookbook and this link http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/ may have some of what you're looking for. She has a kids section (or used to.)

    However, I'm not sure you'll find a way to make vegetables appealing without a bit of added fat, and the added fat is good to help them absorb their vitamins. (Plus fat is really good for us anyway.) A little bit of coconut oil on the sweet potato or olive oil on roasted veggies could make a big difference. You don't want them to come out of this hating vegetables and beans. Protein is also going to be an issue for the kids. Would you consider doing this with your husband but not having the kids join you in all of it? You can make little foil packets of their roasted veggies and still make the adult versions the way you want to.

    I'm a gluten free vegan, I'm not biased against what you're trying here. But in all honesty, I'm not sure how well this will work out for the kiddos.

    If you do reconsider on the added fat, you could try making them some roasted, salted chickpeas or other seeds for snacks.
  • I_love_cardiobunnies
    I_love_cardiobunnies Posts: 6
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    http://paleohacks.com/supplements/vegetarian-with-major-digestive-distress-on-eating-meat-4852
  • ShinyFuture
    ShinyFuture Posts: 314 Member
    edited November 2014
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    A couple of sites to try:

    veggieventure ---not a kid-specific (nor a vegetarian) site, but focus is on veggies and she does indicate when the recipes are a hit with kids

    twopeasandtheirpod --again, not vegetarian/kid specific but lots of veggie recipes that kids like
  • sweetpea2820
    sweetpea2820 Posts: 181 Member
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    Here is a website I use.

    http://www.theppk.com/recipes/

    Making the veggies appealing will not be your problem if they eat those anyways your problem will be substituting your meat for other proteins. Look online for vegan burgers, loaves etc. there are some great ones.
    eg.
    instead of meat loafs you can make a lentil loaf. Use the same recipe that you have just add lentils instead of hamburger and I use water instead of eggs.Or if you want you can use flax seed blended with water for eggs

    for pasta you can make a great Alfredo sauce out of almonds ( I like to add pureed squash to mine as well)
    You can even make cupcakes out of black beans (go figure)
    In cookies cakes and such I use applesauce instead of eggs.


    I raised 2 boys now 19-17 vegetarian mostly vegan and they are totally healthy and active. Not sure why people think this is child abuse. :)
  • Maitria
    Maitria Posts: 439 Member
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    sweetpea2820 wrote: »
    Here is a website I use.

    I raised 2 boys now 19-17 vegetarian mostly vegan and they are totally healthy and active. Not sure why people think this is child abuse. :)

    She's not talking about just a vegetarian diet or even a vegan diet. ETL has more restrictions. It's hard to tell for sure from her post, but it seems they are not vegetarian or vegan and are just going to give this a shot for a while. For young children, particularly the toddlers, it's important to have a plan of how to make this work. (Vitamins D & B-12, calcium, protein.)

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Good for you for trying to eat more healthy.
  • bimaldave
    bimaldave Posts: 4
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    This is another worth checking out with great gluten free healthy recipes: http://simidave.com
  • sweetpea2820
    sweetpea2820 Posts: 181 Member
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    I was looking at the books etc.
    From the book Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
    One thing that needs to be remembered is that this is a weight loss plan and unless your children need to lose weight they need to eat other things then just veggies. Like Beans, legumes, nuts, seeds etc. As long as that is remembered they should be fine. :) Hope it works out for you
  • ChildrenCryinNCoffee
    ChildrenCryinNCoffee Posts: 477 Member
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    Ah thanks all! I'll definitely be checking this all out. And I don't have trouble with my kiddos eating veggies, I'd just like to make it fun with having to repeat meals too often.

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