Question for Savvy Vegetarian:

When I try to become a vegetarian – except for fish (mostly wild salmon) and eggs) – I gain weight.

I eat quinoa, but generally find I must leave beans and rice alone. I’m 68, in good shape, and very active outdoors, hiking, snoeshoeing and camping. How can I control my weight and still be mostly vegetarian? Thank you! B. B.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi B. B. Savvy Veg has had many questions similiar to yours during the last 8 years – including a letter from last year which sounds like it was from you. I don’t have much to say that’s different – except, please consider taking the leap and going all the way veg.

5 Tips for Losing Weight on a Mostly Vegetarian Diet

1. Reduce dairy consumption, and go for low fat dairy options. Salmon and eggs are high calorie, so reduce the portion sizes and frequency. Eat a lot more veggies and fresh fruit in relation to the amount of grains and protein foods (2/1 is a good proportion). Include some raw, e.g. salads or smoothies. Eat little sugar, processed foods, added oils (empty calories). Steam or broil rather than fry. Eat more whole grains and much less bread.

2. There are many types of legumes and whole grains – explore a bit and see if you can find some you can tolerate. Millet, barley, oats, buckwheat, spelt, amaranth, rye, corn are examples of grains. Mung beans and mung dahl, red lentils (masoor dahl), and urad dahl are some legumes that are easy to tolerate. Also black eyed peas and chick peas. Sprouting grains and legumes makes them easier to digest and more nutritious if you have time for that. Also how you cook and prepare them makes a difference.

See the Savvy Vegetarian Nutrition Report and the Beans Without Gas Report for more information. Visit Savvy Vegetarian Recipes for tasty ways to cook those foods.

3. A handful of pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seeds, or chia seeds, ground or whole in cereals or smoothies every day will give you vital nutrients while supplying good fats which you need in small quantities. Same with walnuts and other nuts, and avocados.

4. I’ve found that people often don’t know just how many calories they’re eating. It’s a great reality check to eat as usual for a week, but write down everything you eat, then run a calorie count, using a service like nutrition data.com, or the usda nutrition data tables.

5. Try going vegan for a week and see what happens to your weight. Or establish a vegan day once or twice a week, on which you eat no dairy, egg or fish, but lots of veggies, fruits and whole grains.

I give much more detailed advice in other weight loss advice letters. Rather than repeat myself even more, I’ll list those most relevant to your situation:

Healthy 60 Year Old Vegetarian Wants to Lose Weight

Hidden Calories and Vegetarian Weight Gain

Take Control Of Your Weight With a Nutritious Vegetarian Diet

Question for Savvy Vegetarian:

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

15 Satisfying Ways to Increase Calories & Nutrients at the Same Time:

• Add a small amount of flax or hemp seed oil to salad dressings or cooked cereals
• Add nuts and seeds - toasted or raw - to salads, stir fries, sauces, dips, and spreads
• Eat soaked nuts and seeds as snacks (a small handful a day)
• Add hemp milk or almond milk to cooked cereal, puddings or cream soups
• Saute your veggies in a little olive oil, or add a sauce or dressing to steamed veggies
• Eat avocados, bananas, yams, potatoes, and other high cal but healthy foods
• Eat bigger servings of whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, barley etc, bean dishes, hearty soups, sprouted breads & tortillas
• Eat dried fruit, soaked or in cereal or with stewed pears or apples or in puddings such as rice pudding
• Add a little coconut milk and curry powder to stir fried veggies (has saturated fat, but a little is actually good for you – if you’re trying to gain weight) or sauces
• Eat ground chia seeds or flax seeds in smoothies or cereals or sprinkled on or in things
• Add nutritional yeast to sauces, salad dressings, popcorn
• Eat hummus and nut butters with snacks or lunches
• Eat what feels good and satisfies your hunger
• Continue to eat 6 – 8 servings of fresh fruit and veggies daily along with the above foods
• Drink at least 2 quarts of water, and plenty of other fluids daily

Question for Savvy Vegetarian:

I’m 14 years old and have officially been a vegetarian for a little over a year. My parents don’t really approve, because they think I will become sick from it, but they allow me to make my own choices. I haven’t gotten sick as a result of being a vegetarian, but I know several people who became very sick after only a few months, and I don’t want that to happen to me.

I usually cook for myself because everything my mom cooks has meat in it. Right now, my nutrition would probably be considered poor. I don’t eat a lot of fruit or vegetables. Most of what I eat comes from the grain and dairy food groups.

I’ve tried some vegetarian recipes, from a vegetarian cookbook, and they were very good. The problem was, I was the only one who would eat them, even though the recipe served more than one person, and the food would go to waste. My mom hates food waste, and I see her point. Do you know of any recipes that my whole family will like, and aren’t too difficult to cook?

Also, I’ve heard of foods that are imitation meat. Do these have a lot of nutrients in them? What brands are the best? – J.S.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi J.S., There are lots of recipes that the whole family can eat, that just happen to be vegetarian. Some of them involve cheese, but there are also many non-dairy recipes that everybody likes too. I’ve noticed (over & over) that as long as it’s familiar and tasty, it doesn’t matter if it has meat in it or not – people will eat it.

A few ideas: calzones, quiche, chili, lasagna, burritos, quesadillas, veggie burgers. Have a look at Savvy Vegetarian’s Kid Friendly Recipes – many of those recipes are ones that everybody likes.

The problem with eating lots of dairy but not much fruit and vegetables (and whole grains & beans & lentils) is that you don’t get the vitamins and minerals your growing body desperately needs, and as you said, that can be serious. Here’s some suggestions to help you eat more:

1. Eat 2 – 4 pieces of fresh fruit a day – any kind – as snacks.
2. Make smoothies with fresh fruit (banana, blueberry, strawberry, mango, raspberry etc), almond or soy milk, orange juice, and if you like, additions like protein powder or ground chia seeds, green barley grass powder, yogurt and other interesting things.
3. Eat a salad every day, or some raw veggies and dip
4. Make salads involving rice or quinoa or noodles, and beans, a one-dish meal which will keep in the fridge for 2 – 3 days for you to eat whenever you’re hungry.
6. Eat beans – as in hummus, or chili or refried beans in burritos or quesadillas – beans are powerfully nutritious, low fat, low carb, full of protein, iron, B vitamins.
7. Try tofu and seitan (wheat gluten)

Imitation meats (like veggie sausage, hot dogs, burgers etc) are fine in moderation. Most are made with soy, so are high in protein, plus other things like artificial flavorings, fat, sodium, preservatives, msg and so on. You can buy TVP (textured vegetable protein) made from soy, soak it, and add it to stews, casseroles, sloppy joes, burgers, chili etc in place of meat. Seitan or extra firm tofu can also be used like that. I’m not so familiar with fake meats, so can’t tell you what brands to buy – also I don’t know what’s available in your area. Go exploring.

One way to get your veggies and avoid food waste at the same time is to make a pot of something like vegetarian chili or jamaican red bean stew (recipes your family might like), then freeze it in individual portions so you can have something to eat when you’re hungry. Same with whole grains, veggie burgers, baked tofu, hummus, etc. That way there’s less cooking and no waste.

A few more suggestions:  (are you sorry yet that you asked me for advice? :-)

1. Try making 1/2 or 1/4 of a recipe in case you’re the only one to eat it.
2. Take a multivitamin, which includes Vit B12, Omega 3s and Vit D, or eat foods that are enriched with those and other vitamins and minerals, like iron (extremely important for teenage girls)
3. Study up on vegetarian nutrition – I recommend the book ‘Becoming Vegetarian’ by Melina & Davis, but you could start with the Savvy Vegetarian Nutrition Report. See if you can get your Mom and Dad to read it too.

4. Check out our weekly menu plan for kid friendly meals as an example, to put the nutrition info in context

Hope this helps! Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

Message for Savvy Vegetarian:

I’m vegetarian, my 21st Birthday is in January and I’m planning a big party which my non-veg mum is very keen to have and pay for.

Birthday Party Menu Planning: I would love for the food at my birthday party to be ovo-lacto vegetarian with lots of vegan options, but I didn’t think my mum would like that very much. About 10 of the guests would be vegetarian or vegan, and I’ve found a local vegetarian caterer.

I asked my dad, also a vegetarian, if he thought my mum would mind having a vegetarian party menu and he said he didn’t think so, but I spoke to my mother about it last night and I was right, she isn’t keen, saying it might come across as self-centred. She comes from a country where meat is a real status symbol.

Even at home in Australia, barely a family party goes by without a whole roast pig on the table. I know some of my guests, even the non-vegetarians, would find that confronting. When I cook for my close friends it is always vegetarian and they make fun of me but are happy to eat it.

Is it unreasonable for me to want a vegetarian birthday party menu? My parents are paying for it after all. I could let my mum cook a bit of non-veg food. Really that’s not what I would prefer but if I must compromise, I must.

If it is NOT unreasonable to have a vegetarian party, do you have any advice on helping my mum be okay with my idea? I’d hate for her to be sour about it, but I do want the party to reflect me, and possibly show some of the guests that I eat more than salad and boiled vegetables. Vegetarian food at parties is usually terrible if there is any at all.

Any advice or information would be great. Thank you, K. C.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Veg-non-veg issues are covered in the free report, Veg and Non-Veg Eat Together, and I have answered similiar letters in the relationships veg advice section. But I haven’t come across this exact problem, so I’m happy to give you advice.

My personal view of birthday parties – well, any parties – is that they are held for the guests. As the birthday girl, you should shower love & gratitude on all of your guests who are gathering to celebrate your birthday with you. And so should your parents, as hosts.

It’s very nice of your Mum to want to give you a birthday party. On the other hand, even though she’s paying and hosting, the party is in your honor, so the party menu ideas should make you happy, too. I don’t think that it’s self-centered of you to want your 21st birthday party to reflect who you are to your guests, but the dominant birthday party theme should be that you’re 21 – yay!

So I suggest that you and your Mum compromise and produce a blended party menu plan. I recommend a buffet serving arrangement as the easiest way to do this.

Here are my party menu ideas:

Things To Keep In Mind: Of course, do not expect the vegetarians to “just pick out the meat” from non-veg dishes. And try to accommodate other dietary restrictions among your guests such as diabetic, or food allergies. So have a dessert & main dishes that are sugar-less, egg & dairy & gluten free, and don’t put peanuts in anything!

There should be a good variety of vegetarian and vegan foods, as you are a vegetarian, and 10 of your guests are vegetarians, plus your Dad. But they should be familiar tasty dishes that everybody, both vegetarian and non-veg, will enjoy. If you do that, the non-veggies won’t even notice that the meat is missing and that they are (gasp) eating vegetarian food. You won’t need to announce that these foods are veg, except to the vegetarians.

Some vegetarian party menu ideas: nut loaf with veggie gravy, lasagna, quiche, salads, rice pilaf, soups, breads, fruit, cheese or chocolate based desserts, hummus or guacamole, bowls of roasted nuts, a fruit platter. Of course there are recipes for almost all of the above on Savvy Veg! Avoid tofu and other exotic ingredients such as quinoa or buckwheat, as non-veg don’t usually enjoy them or even know what they are.

There should be a reasonable number of meat based dishes for whatever number of non-veg guests – nothing like a whole roasted hog, or a bloody haunch of beef that will gross out the vegetarians. These non vegetarian foods should be set together separately, or at least pointed out to the vegetarians so they can avoid them. They should be different from the veg dishes in ingredients and appearance (apart from the meat) to avoid confusion and add to the variety of the spread.

A word of caution: This won’t be the best time to introduce your non-veg guests to vegetarianism. At a party, everybody is supposed to enjoy themselves, and it may make your guests uncomfortable if you insist on telling them that you’re vegetarian and all the reasons why. So be diplomatic, spread your birthday magic around, and talk about other things. Maybe your veg friends will agree to do the same.

Hope this helps. Happy 21st birthday!

All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

Message for Savvy Vegetarian: My stepdaughter is vegetarian in the most ignorant, stubborn teenager way.

I have no problem with her eating a sensible vegetarian diet with lentils, chickpeas, quinoa or whatever it takes to keep her energy levels high, maybe some leafy greens for folate, even supplements if needed. I have a lot of problem with her just skipping meat and eating almost nothing.

My partner is worried she is undernourished, too skinny, low in energy and has bad moods because of her diet. I think he is probably right but I don’t think the problem is being vegetarian. The problem is being ignorant.

My SD does not like to read or do research. I have bought her several vegetarian cook books and given her all mine (I like to sometimes eat vegetarian even if I am not commited to it and don’t want to be). I have printed and photocopied recipes for her, emailed her and her father recipes and all to no avail. 

She has anxiety disorder, control issues, hates me (I am her stepmother after all and she’s been through a lot) and can barely read so she is not able to process the information on her own and does not want to do it with me.

Her dad gets angry if I try to involve him. He does not want to learn about vegetarian diet or help her cook. He wants me to do it, but he is not willing to help. I think if I were to show him a bit of what I know my SD would be willing to learn too.

I loved your tips on vegetarians and non-vegetarians eating together. That’s pretty much how we got through Christmas (a roast made from cashews and macadamia nuts costs even more than turkey…but at least people liked it.) Whenever I cook I make sure there is some vegetarian food as well as meat.

I got my SD a slow cooker for her birthday. I thought it would be useful to her to throw things in it and come home to a decent dinner. I thought she would be reassured by having her own cooking pot that had never cooked meat. I researched many simple and more elaborate recipes she could do and put them in a folder for her (this was how I found Savvy Vegetarian). She has not used any of the recipes or tried out her pot (it’s been months) because her dad is really not on side.

This kid is surviving on packet pasta with the odd tin of beans or frozen veg and far too many chocolate bars and junk food. I get shouted down by both if I say anything. Apparently getting the facts straight is me “putting her off” the few foods she will eat.

I don’t know how to get them to come to Savvy Vegetarian and find some stuff out, but I think her psychiatrist recommended she see a dietician which is a good thing!!

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi S. R. Thanks for writing. It’s great that one of you knows something about vegetarian diet. It would be nice if the vegetarian and her Dad did too.

It’s hard when you live with a problem and can see the solution, but can’t convince anyone who needs convincing. And it’s sad but true that the more you push the less likely it is to happen, especially since your stepdaughter hates you, and your partner is a vegaphobe – and a guy!

At least her therapist has recommended a dietitian. That could help Dad become aware of the nutritional issues, and take more responsibility for her diet. A supplement which includes B12 and Vit D would be a great idea, if you could get him to buy it and her to take it.  A dietitian might have better luck.

I don’t know many parents who have succeeded in forcing their teens to eat properly. SHE has to want to, then it’ll happen, and YOU can’t make her get to that point. She’s made that clear by refusing to use the crockpot or cookbooks you’ve given her.

Many teens have worse diets and survive. She’ll grow up and figure things out, or not, but meanwhile, there’s no point in aggravating yourself or her.

My advice is to continue for now with what has worked for you – making delicious nutritious things that everyone will enjoy when you have the chance – and otherwise stay out of it. Don’t drop helpful hints, hand out reading assignments, nag, or lecture. Hard not to, I know, but do it for the sake of your relationship with your partner.

Maintain a calm, serene, pleasantly detached facade and keep your lip zipped. Generously offer to share your wonderful food, but don’t show that you’re offended when they don’t.

Try to stick with easy kid friendly recipes. I haven’t met anyone, veg or non-veg, who doesn’t like these easy recipes, and they’ll give her the calories and protein she needs: pasta tofu & veg, tofu burgers, or black bean quesadillas, hummus wraps, guacamole & corn chips, fruit salad, veggies & dip, or carrot salad.

She could make these simple vegetarian recipes  easily herself, if she wanted to, when you’re not around. But don’t mention that – let her make the first move. Leave one or two extra servings in the fridge or freezer for Dad to feed her – not too many; scarcity creates demand.

If they ask you about anything veg, say the minimum necessary, then drop the subject. They’ll come ’round – eventually. And you’ll be well on the way to sainthood!

All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

Question for Savvy Vegetarian:

I was wondering if you have vegetarian recipes you can recommend that we can make a big batch of ahead of time and freeze or store to eat as quick meals when we’re rushed for time? I’m not a big fan of eating the same thing day after day, so vegetarian meals that can be changed up to make new things would also be appreciated.

My husband and I became vegetarian a couple weeks ago. We really appreciate all the delicious recipes and advice! It’s been a real help as we’ve made our transition to a healthier lifestyle. Thanks so much! Sarah P.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi Sarah! Many of our vegetarian recipes can be made ahead in big batches and frozen or fridged! That strategy is a big part of my vegetarian meal planning. I absolutely depend on having pre-cooked foods in my fridge for quick vegetarian meals: several kinds of beans, batches of bean soups, mung dhal, dosa mix, cooked brown rice and quinoa, leftover oatmeal, applesauce, etc. You can even make up big batches of dry pancake or muffin mixes. Muffins, quick breads and cookies freeze well too.

Please check out the Savvy Vegetarian soup recipes, grains and bean recipes, where you’ll find the most likely candidates for big batch vegetarian cooking. Vegetarian Chili is a good example. You can also cook beans and grains separately in large batches to freeze or fridge in small containers and use as needed for soups, stews, casseroles and salads.

Making quick vegetarian meals is a lot easier if you have what you need on hand. Keep your fridge and cupboards stocked with basic ingredients you’ll use often.

Here are some examples:

• Canned beans, tomato paste, tomato sauce, olives, coconut milk, veggie bouillon cubes
• Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce, various cooking and salad oils, vinegars and condiments like mayo, mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce, hummus, nut butters, miso
• A full range of herbs and spices you like, and spice mixes like masalas and curry paste. Store in tightly sealed glass jars to keep them fresh.
• For veggies, keep your fridge stocked with carrots and other root veg, green veg like broccoli and kale, celery, yams, sweet potatoes, peppers, potatoes, garlic, onion, squashes, salad fixings, parsley, and frozen veg like peas, beans and corn
• Have a variety of fresh and frozen fruit on hand for snacks, lunches, desserts, smoothies. Don’t forget avocados!
• Various flours and baking supplies like baking powder, baking soda, sugar, dried fruit, salt, etc.
• A variety of raw beans, grains (e.g. rolled oats, quinoa, rice, barley), lentils, nuts and seeds, noodles and pasta
• Packaged tortillas and breads to make sandwiches and wraps
• Eggs and dairy if you eat them, tofu, tempeh, seitan, non-dairy milks, yogurts, sour cream etc

Keep a list of things you need posted on the fridge, and shop once a week to restock your fridge and cupboards.  Running to the store every day is a huge time waster.  Shop local and seasonal for variety and freshness. Fruit and veg in season are often cheapest, and most nutritious. Shop at your local farmers market or join a CSA if possible. Make up possible menus on the fly according to what’s available.

Here are a few examples of quick and easy vegetarian meals you can make using what’s in your fridge & cupboards:

If you have black beans in the cupboard or freezer, and some cooked quinoa on hand, you can quickly make up a big batch of quinoa black bean salad, which you can eat for several meals, or just enough for one meal, as you prefer. Or you can whip up some quinoa black bean stew. Add a tortilla, hummus, guacamole, and you’ve got a satisfying meal.

Make a big batch of mung dhal soup using celery and yam or winter squash. Freeze what you don’t eat in amounts big enough for a meal for both of you. Add rice and steamed veggies or salad for a quick meal. Frozen soups heat up quickly in the microwave or on the stove top.

Make a veggie wrap, burrito, or quesadilla using refried beans, hummus, quacamole, salad fixings, leftover cooked veg, eggs, shredded cheese, sour cream, or whatever you like.

Make a quick veggie stir fry, adding beans, tofu, tempeh or seitan, coconut milk, nuts and seeds or whatever you like and serve sauced or un-sauced over quick cooking noodles or rice.

Thanks for writing! All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

Question for Savvy Vegetarian: My 20 month old daughter has food allergies – she is allergic to dairy, eggs, and all nuts. I am concerned that there are several key nutrients she may be either low on or not getting, among them protein.

Her doctor recently suggested I add tofu to her diet…is this enough? We already eat soy yogurt and soynut butter and soymilk. I have removed all allergens from the house…what other foods can I use to replace those she’s allergic to?

I want to make sure she has a healthy diet, and as healthy a start as possible. Thank you – Rebecca S.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi Rebecca, thanks for writing! It’s the age old mother’s dilemna: how to give your kids a healthy diet that’s also kid friendly! Things get complicated when there are food allergies to take into account, but it’s still pretty easy to give them a healthy but kid friendly diet they’ll actually eat.

Fortunately, kids love tofu, and it’s high in protein. There are lots of great tofu recipes on Savvy Veg. Some kid friendly favorites are tofu burgers, pasta, tofu & veggies, tofu quiche, and fried tofu.

But rather than focus exclusively on soy foods to compensate for her food allergies, you could add beans and lentils, mashed to make them easier to digest and also to disguise them, to her diet. Or cooked in veggie soups and stews, until very soft. Crockpot lima bean stew and mung dhal veggie soup are two easily digested examples a 20 month old could eat. Kids a little older like black eyed peas and pinto beans a lot, because they’re soft, sweet tasting beans.

Kids, even as young as 20 months, usually like mild hummus.  ( if you make the recipe on Savvy Veg , omit the garlic). Lentil burgers or black bean burgers might also appeal to her – something she can eat with her hands. Check our bean recipes for these and other recipes to try.

I’m assuming your daughter can eat sunflower, sesame or pumpkin seeds, chia seeds or flax seeds, ground up and added to other foods or made into a paste? Remember too that all veggies and most fruits have some protein, which adds up over the course of the day.  A one cup serving of avocado, for example, has 3 grams of protein, and a medium potato with skin has 4 grams. And whole grains like quinoa, brown rice and oatmeal have significant amounts of protein in each serving.

From what I’ve read, and my own experience, giving her lots of those foods should also help the food allergy situation by making her diet more alkaline and adding a wide variety of vitamins and minerals not found in non-plant foods.

I know this is a challenging situation but here’s the upside: Dealing with your daughter’s food allergies will help the whole family move toward a healthier diet!

By the way, it might be helpful to check out our article on Vegan Baking Substitutions.

All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

More On Children and Food Allergies:

• 3 year old has dairy allergy
• Lactose intolerant baby has soy allergy
• Food Allergy Survival Guide Review
• Son’s allergic reaction to dairy in M & M’s

Medical Disclaimer: Any changes that you make to your diet, and the results of those changes, are your decision and responsibility. Savvy Vegetarian and its employees do not claim to be health care professionals, dietitians, or nutritionists. We do not treat, or recommend treatment, for any illness or health condition.

Dear Savvy Vegetarian,

My 8 year old daughter became a vegetarian two months ago. My husband and I who are not vegetarian are trying our best to support her choice.

She is also an avid dancer training two to three hours a day. This is HER choice, we are NOT pushing this on her. (I have 4 daughters and K. truly is her own unique little person) ;-)

We also homeschool so before she started she had to do her own research and decide what level she would be – lacto-ovo vegetarian.

I am concerned about her not getting enough calories. She has lost a few pounds and doesn’t have them to lose. How can I make sure that she is getting enough calories with her growth and her intense dance schedule? She will be training even more next year.

I’m sure we are going to be regular visitors to your site. We had the quinoa black bean salad for lunch today. Yummy!!!

Thank you for your help. Smiles, J. H.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi J.H.,

It’s not easy to keep active, growing vegetarian children from being skinny. They’ll plump out, then shoot up and get skinny again and so on. At least that was my experience. But losing weight isn’t so great!

My advice is to go heavy on the carbs and fats – no more than 50% whole grains, oatmeal and rice are good – lots of nuts and seeds, dried fruit, beans in whatever form she likes them. She should be eating a kid vegetarian diet, not a grown-up vegetarian diet.

Kid friendly recipes my kids loved to eat (over & over): refried beans & hummus in burritos, quesadillas, wraps, sandwiches or as dips, vegetarian chili, pasta tofu & veggies, tofu burgers, pizza bagels, mac’n'cheese, endless bowls of cereal, scrambled eggs, toast & nut butter, blanched almonds, tons of fresh fruit, juice, yogurt, pancakes, muffins, chips, cookies (I made healthy ones, preferably with oatmeal – the only way I could get them to eat it without a fight. That and granola. Moms have to be pro-active!).

They ate veggies of course. Potatoes were always good, carrot salad, broccoli & carrots, peas, corn, green beans, baked yams & winter squash, raw veggies & dip often. They weren’t fond of leafy greens, but I could sneak them into soups, quiche, stir fries.

A childrens multivitamin is a good idea, imo. Rainbow Light Vitamins is a good one – Vita Cost has the best prices.

Here are links to a few articles and advice letters which might be helpful:

9 yr old goes veg, Mom worried

Veg Protein Sample Menus

A Week of Menus for Vegetarian Kid-Friendly Meals

I highly recommend the book “Becoming Vegetarian” as a 1st class vegetarian nutrition guide. It has an excellent chapter on child veg nutrition.

All the best, Judith Kingsbury

Medical Disclaimer: Any changes that you make to your diet, and the results of those changes, are your decision and responsibility. Savvy Vegetarian and its employees do not claim to be health care professionals, dietitians, or nutritionists. We do not treat, or recommend treatment, for any illness or health condition.

I have just become vegetarian, I hate to cook. How can I have a healthy vegetarian diet? Use cooking gadgets, stay away from processed foods. Two of many tips.

Message for Savvy Vegetarian:

I’ve recently become vegetarian, but I hate to cook. I would like to buy pre-packaged foods, pre-made foods, etc.  What do you suggest?  Where do you suggest I go?  I love tofu and that’s my main source of protein. Help! Thank you, K.H.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi K.H. – If you want to have a healthy vegetarian diet,  you’ll need to eat healthy: whole grains, beans and lentils and fresh fruit and veggies. You also need other sources of veggie protein than tofu.

So please try to overcome your cooking phobia a little bit. The nutritional benefits and increased variety in your diet will make it worth the sacrifice.  :-)

This list of 10 tips will make your vegetarian diet healthier without chaining you to the stove

1. Make full use of cooking gadgets: juicer, blender, food processor, rice cooker, crock pot, or pressure cooker to make any cooking you need to do quick and easy.

2. It’s extremely simple to cook whole grains, and you can make enough to last several days and put them in the fridge or freezer.

3. For beans you can use canned beans, and add them to things.

4. Many root veggies, like potatoes, yams, winter squash, carrots, beets, parsnips can be roasted in the oven or crockpot or baked in the microwave.

5. Steam  or microwave frozen veg or mixed raw veg packages to eat with a grain and some canned beans and a prepared sauce.

6. Raw veggies and fruits can be juiced or added to smoothies made with non-dairy milk, protein powder, nuts etc.

7. Make a crockpot soup once a week and freeze it in serving size containers to microwave or heat up on the stove.

8. Thaw and add a serving of brown rice, noodles or quinoa to a salad with some nuts or seeds or beans for a complete meal.

9. Make pasta or noodles, eat with fried or baked tofu or seitan, steamed frozen veg and a prepared sauce.

10. Stock your fridge and cupboards with foods for quick healthy meals with little or no cooking. Here’s a grocery shopping list of convenience or quick & easy foods you can buy at any well-stocked supermarket, or natural food store:

• Pasta and instant whole grain noodles
• Whole grain tortillas and breads
• Canned beans, refried beans, soups
• Tomato sauce and other prepared sauces
• Whole grain crackers and blue corn chips (blue corn isn’t gmo)
• Hummus
• Nut butters: almond, cashew, tahini
• Nuts and seeds
• Dried fruit (soak to make them easier to eat)
• Trail mix or energy bars (watch out for excess sugar)
• Washed salad mixes, baby spinach, mixed baby greens
• Raw veg like avocados, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, sprouts, mushrooms
• Washed and chopped veggie mixes
• Fresh fruit
• Granola
• Dairy or non-dairy milk, yogurt, sour cream, cheese
• Frozen veg
• Frozen or dried organic vegetarian entrees
• Tempeh, seitan, baked tofu, miso
• Falafel or veggie burger mixes
• Frozen veggie burgers
• Fake meats
• Artichoke hearts, water chestnuts, etc.
• Condiments like curry paste, mustard, mayo, ketchup, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, salad dressing

Cautionary Notes:

Processed foods tend to be full of things that are Bad For You like excess sodium and fat, preservatives, flavor enhancers like MSG  (sometimes called natural flavoring), high fructose corn syrup, and toxic chemicals, so you should choose carefully what you eat. Read labels.

Buy organic and whole grain foods as much as possible. Avoid foods with corn and soy products as these are mainly Genetically Modified foods, have many proven health risks and aren’t even close to adequately tested before being approved by the FDA.

Consider taking supplements such as a one-a-day multivitamin, Vit. B12 and Vit. D to fill nutritional gaps. Plus buy enriched non-dairy milk and other packaged foods.

All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

SV Blog, Recipe Collections, Holiday Menus, Newsletter, New Look

Since last summer, Savvy Vegetarian has had a new look, an upgraded navigation system, and other technical improvements, to make the site prettier, more accessible, easier to read and faster to load. We’ve been performing SEO miracles on the vegetarian recipe pages to make it easier to find what you’re looking for, and we’ve been busy re-testing recipes, adding pictures (what a concept!), and lots of new recipes. Now we have a largish elf doing SEO updates on the articles. Next the advice section gets a tune-up.
This incarnation of Savvy Vegetarian Blog is brand new. For longer than we’re willing to admit, we’ve wanted to join the 21st C. and switch the original antiquated Savvy Vegetarian Blog to an updated blogging platform with separate categories for advice, cooking, health and news, all integrated with the site.

Now we can quickly & EASILY post veg-related news, health info and cooking tips on the site. We’re still pulling in content from the old SV Blog, and our blogger.com advice blogs, working out the glitches - and we’re happy! Tossing back champagne and dancing in the streets kind of happy!

Vegetarian Recipe Collections: We’re excited about this new direction at Savvy Vegetarian! So far we’ve put our most popular tofu and quinoa recipes into convenient downloadable collections, with more to come.

We love giving the recipe collections to our friends and family. They make special, much appreciated, and economical gifts – always a bonus! And it means they can make the recipes for themselves and have us over, instead of calling and inviting themselves to dinner all the time!

All Your Favorite Tofu Recipes: It’s wonderful to have all our tofu recipes printed out in one attractive recipe booklet, to keep in a neatly labeled folder in the kitchen. Before we had the recipe collections, we were always running to the computer to look up and print out our own vegetarian recipes. Or trying to find recipes in haphazard stacks of stained, tattered and scribbled recipes. We feel so professional now!

Same goes for the quinoa recipe collection. We’ve heard from lots of people that they’d like to eat more quinoa, but don’t know quite what to do with it, or they cooked some quinoa and it turned out badly. It seems that GOOD quinoa recipes aren’t that easy to find, which makes our collection of reliable and delicious quinoa recipes quite nice to have around!

10 Best Vegetarian Holiday Menus is our BIG ebook, at 81 pages. That’s because it has over 50 recipes to go with 10 Menus covering special occasions throughout the year – Traditional Vegetarian and Vegan, Gluten Free, 4th of July, Holiday Lite, Birthdays, Game Days, Valentine’s Day, etc.

Savvy Veg visitors have asking us for some time about our newsletter. NOW you can subscribe! PLUS get 2 free specials reports on Vit. B12 and Vegetarian Protein. You’ll also get our 10 part series on how to go vegetarian, and our free newsletter containing new recipes, advice posts, and tips for healthy vegetarian diet or vegan diet. Subscribe Now!

We now have a ShopSavvy store, where you can buy all the great books we recommend. We’ll be adding other cool veg-friendly stuff soon: cook ware, kitchen ware, t-shirts etc

Future Plans: Any day now we’ll have an RSS feed on the site, and a new site search from Lijit Search. Printable recipes are coming too. They are actally now printable – if you hit the print button on your browser tool bar, you’ll get nothing but the recipe. But we’re planning to take that to the next level, with actual PRINT BUTTONS and nicely formatted ad-free pages. Nutritional info on the recipes is also in the works. Plus, we’re planning to have comment boxes on all the pages on the site. Cooking videos are also coming – sometime in the next year, as soon as our kitchen is set up for it, and we have a video camera!

All these plans involve much time and labors of love. Mostly by us since we work for food. Please be patient – it will all happen! Eventually.