How to make decision or what to buy at the grocery store

[Justine Cooper]

Lynn, my teenager just decided to become a vegetarian after seeing the email about Kentucky Fried Chicken and how they abuse their animals. I have become half a vegetarian-ha-I used to be a huge meat eater as my momma raised me that way, "you need meat for protein". So to cut out entirely is difficult, but I may be on my way. I am not sure of my reasons yet, just driven to eat way less and some days none. It has helped my grocery bill.

Anyway, what do you suggest I cook for a picky teenage vegetarian? He is eating too many starches and carbs now and doesn't even eat many vegetables! He still eats eggs and fish. How do I get him a well balanced diet while still cooking for the other three meat eaters in the house??

[Lynn Farris]

I know some vegetarians may cringe - but one good cookbook that helps people who actually like traditional food - but don't want to eat meat is Linda McCartneys. She uses a lot of TVP (fake meat).

We use Morningstar products - burgers - huge variety, hotdogs, chick patties and cook just like we always have. My children like it much better than Boca. There are a wide variety to experiment with. But a burger takes 1 minute in the microwave - and if you are still eating dairy - you can put cheese, mayo, lettuce, onion and tomato on it - or whatever fixing you like.

I have used www.savingdinner.com She provides both vegetarian menus and regular menus with vegetarian options. We sort of liked the regular with the vegetarian options better (substituting fake meat for real).

By the way, we used to joke about how our kids could be vegetarian when they didn't eat salads or too many vegetables. But they did snack on raw carrots and celery. Or better yet, our kids loved a vege tray with a yogurt dip (made combining plain yogurt and dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing). They would eat brocolli, cauliflower or most vegetables with cheese sauce (White sauce with a little cheese in it).

They ate banannas and any fresh fruit I had sitting out. One of my favorites - which is a dinner is cutting a papaya in half, then filling it with plain yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, banannas, with a little granola and honey on top. It is a great dessert - but one of my favorite dinners - I haven't had anyone not like it.

And I wouldn't worry too much about teenagers - Spaghetti for example has tomatoes - and even pizza (especially if you make it yourself has tomatoes, and you can sneak in some veges) They are even finding that cooked tomatoes provide more phytochemicals.

"This research demonstrates that heat processing actually enhanced the nutritional value of tomatoes by increasing the lycopene content -- a phytochemical that makes tomatoes red -- that can be absorbed by the body, as well as the total antioxidant activity. The research dispels the popular notion that processed fruits and vegetables have lower nutritional value than fresh produce."

http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/April02/Tomatoes.Liu.bpf.html

[Justine Cooper]

Lynn,

Thank you for the suggestions and I will try them. I was happy when I learned about canned tomatoes too, since that is about the only canned good that is better than fresh! I try to incorporate all the food groups for the kids but it gets tough! While I was thrilled that they finally changed the food pyramid recommendations (that took too long) I do find it difficult to get that many servings to each child! All we can do is try. Thanks for the tips!