springdellgirl

It Ain't All Tofu and Salad




I have wanted to write this post for a long time. I know there are lots of you inquiring minds out there who want to know "What do you guys eat?", "Do you eat a lot of tofu?", "Is Tyler OK with just eating salad?", "Why are your kids vegetarians are you and Tyler aren't", "How do your kids get enough protein" and a slew of other questions. I am going to answer them all.

I usually describe me and Tyler as being 95% vegetarian. We eat a vegetarian diet 95% of the time. I have since learned that there is actually a word for this...we are...drum roll please...flexitarian (carnivores with vegetarian inclinations). Our kids on the other hand are 99% vegetarian...and therefore qualify as vegetarians.

Why?

Are we health nuts? No. Are we animal lovers? No. Do we want our kids to learn a healthy way of eating and become critical thinkers about what they are putting in their mouths? Yes. Do we think a vegetarian diet is the healthiest choice. Definitely. If you ever did much research on the meat industry I think you would seriously reconsider all the meat you eat too. Scary stuff.

How it all started.

If you would've asked me when I was younger if I ever thought I would eat a vegetarian diet I would have laughed in your face but then I married a diabetic and became a mother. Things changed quickly. Just by being married to Tyler I had to rethink how I cooked and what we ate...especially early on before Tyler got his pump and he had a much harder time with his blood sugar control. His pump has changed our lives and we can eat normally again. When Reilly was about 18 months old she got really sick after eating a hot dog...about that time mad cow was all over the news...and we decided to try at meatless diet for her. Things went great. She thrived. We had a two year old who begged for VEGETABLES!! How cool was that? I got tired of fixing a vegetarian meal and a non-vegetarian meal every night so we just started eating more and more vegetarian meals and guess what? We liked it! We felt much better, had more energy and were full and satisfied...without meat.

Then Kameron was born and he had a milk allergy. I was told to go off all dairy while I was breast feeding. I did and we tried being vegan (no animal products...including dairy). This was very difficult. After Kameron was weened we went back to our mostly vegetarian diet. It just suits our family so much better. BUT...if you ever read much research about the dairy industry you would seriously rethink how much dairy you eat. Scary stuff again.

Since then we have never looked back. I rarely buy meat. I cook a meat meal maybe once every two weeks (for Tyler and I) and our kids don't eat any beef or poultry. They do eat fish and eggs etc. So that's why I say they are 99% vegetarians. Also- I will use chicken stock etc. in recipes... that's not that big of a deal to us...but in almost every recipe vegetable stock works wonderfully as does cream of celery soup to replace cream of chicken. Tyler and I will usually eat meat if we go out to dinner...if we're going to eat meat it better be good! You'd be surprised at how often we find ourselves raving over the baked potato when we are out for a steak dinner. No joke.




Is Tyler OK with eating salad all the time?

He rarely eats salad. There are tons of great recipes out there. Salad is usually not on our menu.

Do you eat a lot of tofu?

Nope. I buy it occasionally but it's not a staple. We do love and eat A LOT of tempeh (a block of fermented compressed soybeans.) It is fabulous. I'm not kidding. You should try it.

How do your kids get enough protein?

There is such a thing as a vegetarian food pyramid to follow if you need it. I've been doing this for nearly 11 years and am great at food combining to make a complete protein. Our pediatrician is A-OK with it and even comes to me for recipe ideas for her vegetarian daughter. Our kids take a multi-vitamin and things have worked out fine. Kameron is on the skinny side but that is genetics...not meat.

What do you guys eat?

Funny you should ask... at the bottom of all my posts I'm going to say what we are having for dinner. This should ease your curiosity and will inspire me to be a more creative cook.

What is the upside of a vegetarian diet?

Cheaper grocery bills, kids that love fruits and vegetables (our kids even love Brussels sprouts), kids who have experienced palates (even Ailey will eat spicy Thai food), kids who are critical thinkers, and kids who early on have to stand up for our family's beliefs even when they seem strange (not a bad thing given our religion!!)

The downside?

Happy Meals!! You don't know the lengths I've had to go to to get a fish fillet put into a happy meal. But if you are lucky enough to live in Seattle (which we don't) you can get a veggie burger put in your happy meal. How cool is that? Also- people think we are crazy. Oh well. And...it sometimes stresses people out to have us over for dinner. Cook your meat...we are OK with it and our kids love to eat the side dishes. Not a problem.

What happens if your kids want to eat meat when they get older?

When they are teenagers if they want to eat meat that's their decision. We will have tried to teach them how to eat a healthy diet without a taste for meat and if they do decide to eat it they will at least think about what they eat (hopefully they will do that in all respects) ... and not just eat things because they are there.

There it is. We are weird I know.

What's for dinner?

We are having a REALLY good dinner tonight. This is one of my favorites and since it is still COLD here it will hit the spot.

Aunt Margaret's Hot and Sour Soup

1/2 onion (chopped)
2-3 garlic cloves
1 to 2 T turmeric
1/2 cup sliced almonds
salt and pepper
1 T vegetable oil
3 cans broth (chicken or veggie)

In a blender with enough water to get it going blend the onion, garlic, almonds and turmeric to make a paste. In a frying pan heat the oil and cook the paste until it browns. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a stock pot heat the broth and blend in the cooked paste.

In a bowl layer: (You want you bowl to be nearly full)

Rice (cooked)
chopped boiled eggs
sliced almonds
bean sprouts
chopped green onions
chopped cilantro
shredded chicken (optional)

Ladle the broth over the rice and all the toppings. Squeeze approximately a tablespoon of fresh lime juice onto the soup and add hot sauce to taste. I prefer the Asian hot chili sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is seriously SO GOOD! I crave it. My Aunt Margaret is Indonesian and is an amazing cook. I like my soup with LOTS of almonds, cilantro and lime juice. I will probably serve fruit to go along with it.

So that's what we are having for dinner! What are you having for dinner?