Families moving towards vegetarianism often aren’t sure what kinds of meals to offer, or how to offer a wide variety of healthy foods that everyone will like. One of my twitter followers asked me if I would share an example of what my vegetarian family eats in a week so today I am providing you with some ideas. I generally don’t menu plan (but I should!) so what we usually eat depends on what’s in the house at the time. While all palates differ, this is a typical week for us.
I’m sorry in advance for not having a recipe for everything listed. I tried to choose easy recipes where none are provided, but if anything this has given me an idea for what to post on for a few coming weeks.
Snacks – I always have available a wide variety of fresh fruit, also dried, canned, and frozen (i.e., berries), veggie sticks, whole grain crackers, cheese, yogurt, whole grain bread, whole grain bagels, nut butter (my kids don’t like nuts or seeds), pickles, hard-boiled eggs and home baked muffins. Oh, yes, and breast milk! (How could I forget?) A favorite snack for my 34 month old since 2007!
Breakfast – Almost always the same thing because my kids like the consistency. They eat oatmeal (made from scratch with whole oats), dry organic cereal (O’s or Cornflakes), or toast and fruit. On weekends I make pancakes and eggs.
Lunch and Dinner
Monday:
Lunch: Egg salad sandwiches, veggie sticks and homemade yogurt dip.
Dinner: Vegetable pakora (you can buy healthy pakora from some deli or Indian food shops), rice, salad.
Tuesday:
Lunch: Lentil tomato vegetable soup with crackers and cream cheese
Dinner: Vegetable stirfry with chickpeas and brown rice (I keep it simple and flavour with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or Tamari).
Wednesday:
Lunch: Peanut butter sandwiches, orange and apple segments and veggie sticks
Dinner: Kamut (I like to keep a variety of pastas on hand – kamut is my favorite!) linguine alfredo and garden salad
Thursday:
Lunch: Homemade pizzas with choice of toppings
Dinner: Mung bean dahl, rice, cucumber raita, steamed broccoli and kale
Friday:
Lunch: Miso soup with veggies and buckwheat soba (or udon) noodles
Dinner: Homemade veggie burgers with homemade french fries and salad
Saturday:
Lunch: Picky platter – hummous, yogurt dip, pickles, bread rolls, cheese, veggie sticks, fruit slices
Dinner: Pinto bean, cheese and veggie-filled burritos with salsa, guacamole and pico de gallo
Sunday:
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches with fruit smoothie
Dinner: Vegetarian hash from leftovers
As you can see most of these meal ideas are pretty simple. The only thing about being vegetarian that some families might find off-putting is that it requires a lot of chopping. Since I have been eating this way for a very long time it comes second nature to me, but for families in transition it can be a challenge. Making large batches of food for freezing at one time is one way to get around the daily task. The only foods I find that don’t freeze well are potatoes and eggs. We froze about 4 liters of potato salad after our wedding and when we went to dig in it was AWFUL! (shudder).
Anyway, if you have a question about feeding your family vegetarian meals I’m happy to help. So please feel free to ask!
This post is being linked at Ann Kroeker, Food Renegade, Momtrends, Designs by Gollum, and The Urban Momtographer.
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I have to say it can be daunting doing the switch but now that we are in the grove (1 1/2 years) I think vegetarian cooking is way easier. You just have to get past the what do I make to make sure we’re getting everything we need. Great menu (looks a lot like mine). : )
Wow! Thanks for the great ideas! While we’re not vegetarian, we try to limit our meat to 2-3 times a week, so I’ve been needing some veg dishes
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[...] Self Sagacity 2. Kristen (mexican chicken) 3. Stretch Mark Mama (Sausage Rice Casserole) 4. Breastfeeding Moms Unite! (Vegetarian Family Menu for a Week) 5. Alison @ Under the Big Oak Tree (week of food) 6. Comfy Cook – Cabbage, Carrot, Potato [...]
This is helpful! We’re trying to transition to whole foods, so I need all the meal ideas I can get.
Have you tried a food processor or a mandoline or other type of veggie slicer? That might cut your prep time way down.
.-= Kacie´s last blog ..Throw Away the How-To Guide and Learn from Experience =-.
@Kacie – I had a food slicer and found that I never used it. I guess I’m kinda stuck in my old fashioned ways in some sense! But I do use my food processor and blender a lot. I couldn’t live without them!
Your meals are so fantastically healthy! I wish my family would just eat 1/2 of the fruits and veggies you list. But, it is me struggling to add the “rabbit food” into the weekly budget. I also have a house full of guys (husband and 3 sons) which makes it harder. Great information. But, I did breast feed all three boys. So I did start them out healthy.
Win Rachael Ray bake ware at my blog.
Thanks!
Sherry
Yum! I always think of vegetarian food as gross, but your menu sounds delish! And there is lots of chopping in (good) meaty foods too, like chopping chicken, bell peppers, and onion for fajitas, or carrots and zucchini for spaghetti. So people shouldn’t be too put off by the chopping inherent in vegetarian cooking, in my opinion.
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Fabulous ideas and thanks for posting all of that. I’m struggling with trying to get my family to eat better and your list here is giving me new ideas for what to try. The egg salad with cilantro sounds divine. I love cilantro! Oh, and my children are not fans of nuts either, but I bought some almond/hazelnut butter and they think it’s wonderful. I love it on carrot-raisin Manna bread. Yum!
.-= Jacquie @ Wild Mother Arts´s last blog ..Herbal Baby Bath =-.
thanks for these ideas. i’m disappointed that my almost-2-year-old is not like his mama…he isn’t interested in veggies unless i disguise them. i’m hoping this changes because i would love to sit down to real vegetarian meals with him!
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The menu is so helpful. The way you’ve balanced everything is remarkable! Thanks for joining us at FF!
Great Menu- Thanks for posting. Our weekly staples are very similar, but we’ve never tried Kamut- we’ll have to buy some and give it a try. We eat a lot of Indian food as well, so delicious.