Will the real Vegetarian please stand up?

We eat too much meat for our own health, never mind our purse or the planet and many vegetarian recipes will taste just as good as any meat or fish meal. It helps to learn how to stretch the meat you eat with vegetable protein and to cook with low cost cuts of meat. Frugal cooking is all about making more with less, saving energy and reducing carbon emissions whilst enjoying a good wholesome diet. My mother is a complete vagan and on and off we’re tried that but come back to poultry, dairy and fish. Currently we’re trying new recipes and foods to introduce to our family. Partly to have simply more veggies and fiber on the table we’re including more meatless meals. Sometimes it’s confusing as to who eats what…or who eats who I guess. So here’s some guidelines to review:

Types of Vegetarian Diets

Most vegetarian diets will fall into one of the following categories:

·         Semi-vegetarian (sometimes called “flexitarian”) is the least restrictive. Semi-vegetarians eat mostly a plant-based diet, along with milk, milk products, eggs, and occasionally small amounts of chicken and/or fish.

·         Lacto-ovo-vegetarians eat a plant-based diet, along with milk, milk products, and eggs. Legumes (dry beans, peas, and lentils), soy products, nuts, and seeds are eaten for protein instead of animal sources.

·         Lacto-vegetarians include milk and milk products in their diet, as well as all plant-based foods.

·         Ovo-vegetarians include eggs in their diet, as well as all plant-based foods.

·         Vegan is the most restrictive of all vegetarian diets and includes only plant-based foods.

So what do you do with 2 picky kids who don’t really even LIKE veggies? You start with snack. It’s small, it’s fun and you don’t fear them starving since you know that they’ve already had 3 squares a day. At my house snack is optional before bedtime and since we’ve never offered sugary gunk it’s an easy opportunity to add some more healthy stuff. You can see we’ve opted to keep the dairy in our diet.

Here’s what we have for the next 2 weeks for snack on our Menu Plan:

½ oz. cheddar cheese served with:

Any type of grain/bread, such as ½ toasted mini bagel; or ½ oz. whole wheat crackers (4 crackers); or melted on ½ whole wheat pita pocket

Any type of vegetable, such as ½ cup lightly steamed carrots and broccoli or ½ cup carrot and celery sticks

Any type of fruit, such as ½ cup apple slices or ½ cup pear slices

½ oz. mozzarella cheese served with:

Any type or grain bread, such as melted onto ½ toasted English muffin with 2 Tablespoons of tomato sauce for a mini-pizza

1 oz. low-fat cottage cheese served with:

Any type of grain/bread, such as ½ oz. graham crackers (2 crackers) or ½ oz. whole wheat crackers (4 crackers)

Any type of fruit, such as ½ cup pineapple tidbits or ½ cup of diced peaches

1 Tbsp. peanut butter served with:

Any type of grain/bread, such as ½ slice whole wheat bread or ½ oz. pretzels for dipping

Any type of fruit/vegetable, such as ½ cup apple slices; or ½ cup celery sticks; or spread on a banana half and sprinkled with 1 Tablespoon of granola ½ hard-boiled egg served with:

Any type of grain/bread, such as ½ slice toasted whole wheat bread or ½ toasted bagel

Any type of fruit, such as ½ cup fresh orange sections or ½ cup Carrot-Raisin Salad ¼ cup pureed black beans served with:

Any type of grain/bread, such as ½ oz. toasted whole wheat pita bread or spread on ½ oz. toasted tortilla triangles with 2 Tablespoons salsa