Julie Bove > wrote:
: I should know how to do this. I did eat a vegetarian diet myself for many
: years. And although I do eat meat now, most of my meals are still
: vegetarian. I was never a totally strict vegetarian though and was fine
: with eating something in a restaurant like refried beans that probably
: contained lard.

: But now Angela wants to eat a vegetarian diet. The problem? Well there are
: a few. She doesn't like to eat what I eat. Such as bean tacos. I have
: been concentrating so much on getting the proper diet for my husband and for
: her that I have been mainly eating bean tacos for myself unless I can manage
: to come up with something that we all or at least two of us can eat. And
: now she is complicating things further. I also like most vegetables and she
: does not. Of the vegetables we do prefer, we both prefer most of them to be
: raw. But her list of what she will eat is limited. And she can't eat a lot
: of nuts and seeds, partly due to an intolerance and partly because she
: doesn't like the ones she can have. She is currently eating sunseed butter
: on apple slices.

: I did boil a dozen eggs last night and she told me she would eat them. I
: don't usually make eggs because I can't eat them. She does sometimes make
: an egg product for herself. Like Egg Beaters but different brands. She can
: do that in the microwave. She will eat cheese in and of itself but mostly
: doesn't like it in thing. Exception being mac and cheese. And Kraft does
: now make one that is part whole grain. Her dietician has her on a mostly
: South Beach diet. She doesn't want her to be strict with it and just wants
: her to aim for that WOE most of the time.

: We did buy a lot of vegetarian and vegan foods today but some contain soy
: and some like seitain are a tad on the carby side. I don't want her to be
: eating soy on a regular basis due to her thyroid problem.

: She is unwilling to eat things like quiche which I likely could make with a
: whole wheat crust or for sure crustless. I did make those when she first
: went on South Beach and she didn't like them.

: She doesn't like most cooked vegetables. Exception being canned green or
: waxed beans. She will eat salad but is picky as to what type of greens and
: what is put in the salad. There had better not be a tomato in it! She will
: eat ketchup and salsa. She used to eat tomato soup but these days will not
: eat any soup at all.

: She does make her own smoothies with Greek yogurt, milk, berries and
: spinach. She tried kale last night but didn't care for it. Hafta find a
: use for the giant bag of kale!

: So... While I probably have her diet covered for a good week or two just
: with what we bought today, I am going to be stumped for upcoming meals.
: Here I thought I had it made because she and my husband both love the
: chicken I've been making. I would just cook up 8-12 boneless, skinless
: breasts at a time. Save some for 2-3 meals during the week and if any was
: left, I'd put it in the freezer. All I had to do was come up with some
: sides.

: But now? She won't be eating the chicken. I need to make sure she will be
: getting enough protein. And I need to find a way to get her to eat
: vegetables. I guess I should consider myself lucky that she does like a lot
: of raw ones and like me, is perfectly happy to eat a plain salad with no
: dressing and maybe just a squeeze of lemon.

: I realize that there probably aren't any vegetarians here but... I am
: stumped. Because of the pre-diabetes, I can't base the meals on beans and
: rice or beans and pasta like I used to do when I was vegetarian. And bottom
: line, she just doesn't like vegetables. I used to be able to make her a
: meatloaf and sneak all kinds of veggies into it. Hmmm... Is there
: something like that, that could be done with veggies that isn't overly
: carby? Hmmm... Help!

Amgela is not 14? I had a number of friends who had children(generaly
girls) who bcame vegetarian for a while in their teens. to a large extent
they put much of the descisions on the girl to understand what her basic
nutrition needs for a heathy lifestyle were and to let her handle much of
her food needs. she has to take responsibility for understanding what her
needs are. Perhaps her dietician can help her with this and then work
out how she will get what she needs. How successful this will be in your
home with all the sensitivities and food phobias that seem to be present
may make it difficult for both of you. At least, she is willing to eat
eggs and dairy which helps with the protein.

Good luck!

Wendy