Would appreciate some ideas and recipes on slowly converting my family over to "the healthy side". my kids are 18,. 16 and 12 and total meat eaters. (which I have been too up until last week when I read Alicia's book)

Would appreciate other "regular weekday meals" I can prepare that are tasty and teen friendly and enjoyed by regular meat eaters so that they don't even miss the meat.

They simply laugh at me at this point and aren't very supportive and don't think I will last. It is very difficult when I am preparing something I can eat and something they will eat.
Thanks for your help!
Shawn-Marie

For teens, I'd start with the peanut butter cups. They're not a meal, but they are so yummy your kids will have to admit they love them.

I wouldn't try making big differences right away. Maybe using less and less meat in their regular meals like spaghetti or lasagna. Maybe using smaller cuts of meat and adding more vege dishes.

Good luck.

I tagged that peanut butter cup recipe yesterday. I am a huge baker anyway, so won't even mention to them it is out of Alicia's book, they will just think it is another yummy dessert I am trying! thanks for the idea! And I have started cutting back their meat portions, which they haven't realized-- and serving it less frequently. I have also substitute other things in the house like the earth balance spread, soy and rice milk in the fridge, egg substitute since they like their eggs... things like that. Thank you, I appreciate your time and ideas!

I love Mochi!  It's fun for kids if you have a waffle maker, and delicious as a snack from a frying pan.  Up until a few weeks ago I was a complete Chipotle fan, but now I make my own at home with brown rice and whole grain tortillas, they are awesome!  I usually throw in some cilantro or thyme to the rice or beans to add a little flavor.  You could do a burrito bar with a bunch of toppings on the side for them to throw on top!  (and speaking of toppings check out the tofu cream recipe, good substitute for sour cream!)  Good luck converting them! :)

I have four children myself and have just decided to try and not be pushy with the chnages, but just do it for myself first.  I am trying recipes and when I find one I like, I work it into the family dinner..example-the Rustic Pasta I make and then just add meatballs for them, keeping mine meatless.  I make the healing soup and keep it in small glass containers to be able to grab and go for anyone.  It also freezes ok, so have done that as well.  The Fruit Smoothie with a cinnamon stick and vanilla is AWESOME!!  My new favorite.  I also make the brownies twice a month and the kids love that.  Taco/mexican nights are good, of course..and I just eat a Boca burger when they have burgers.  Since I am not pusihng it on anyone and just happy for myself , they are slowly showing more interest and proudly telling their friends.  My meat and potatoes husband is even curiously interested and more and more open every day to the idea because he sees how good I feel.

I converted my sister's meat eating husband (okay, neither of them are completely, but now it's only fish!) with what we've started calling 'hippie bowls'
Basically, throw together whatever!  I usually go with quinoa or some grain, roasted vegetables (just a great mix of anything and everything), beans, greens, some seeds, nutritional yeast (why not...) and either bragg's, hummus, tahini dressing or guacamole for dressing.  Mix it all up!  use chips, pita chips, tortilla, WHATEVER you want to enjoy it with.

Thank you so much for all these ideas, I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to help me out!! Let you know how it goes! :)

I have similiar issues being that my husband doesn't eat anything green and his diet consists of meat and cheese.  My 2 boys are cheese crazy just like dad, I am new to the no meat and dairy lifestyle although my kids love veggies.  In the book somewhere near the end Alicia says something about no need to make a huge announcement because as you and I know our family will laugh... but adding to your cooking maybe your dinner can be their side dish to get them use to it and once they see its not so bad it will be easier to "phase out" the bad stuff!  That's gonna be my approach anyway.   My husband knows me as " the health nut"  so he's kind of use to me bringing in new dishes, it's just getting him to EAT IT!! :)   Good Luck!

I slowly converted my 3 boys and hubby by using replacement products. for spaghetti in meat sauce I used textured veg protein from the produce section of my grocery, also for sloppy joes, mac n beef, lasagna (soy & rice cheese) Just find 3 recipes u can convert, and it starts getting easier, we also do beanie weanies with veggie dogs! I just fed things to them and told them after! But it did help that they were onboard to try! it does get easier, we are 8 weeks in and it's almost on cruise control! Good Luck!

Thank you everyone for your ideas. I spent some time in the Green Acres Market tonight, looking at all the shelves of items to see what they carry vs. my local store Oranic section. I want to go check out the huge Whole Foods store when I am on that side of town, hopefully Saturday. It was a tad overwhelming tonight to say the least!

I would suggest using the flirting section of TKD for slow substitutions and not letting them know. They probably won't notice the difference most of the time, such as with vegenaise, butter, and some of the ice cream bars. Boca makes a really good spicy chicken meatless patty. I used these really briefly when I first made the transistion, and my boyfriend loved them. Also, just give it some time so they can see the changes in you - I'm sure there will be changes! Once people at work started noticing the weight I was losing and how much better I seemed to feel overall, they started asking me questions, so I could let them know what I had changed without being pushy.

I recently bought this great book called The 30 Minute Vegan by Reinfeld and Murray, so far all the recipes have been great (I just posted a French Toast Recipe and it has lots of recipes aimed at making kids happy.  It is set up so all recipes take under 30 min to prepare and then it has suggestions are variations of recipes and also if you have more time, how to make the meal a little "fancier".  It has been good on getting me to experiment more with my vegan meals.  Good Luck!

Thanks for the recommendation of the 30 Minute Vegan.  I just put it on hold in my library! 

Check out the blog vegandad.blogspot.com It's a lot of regular american food that kids would really like.  Also definately try rustic pasta, the kid in me loved it!  seitan is a good first meat alternative.  Be careful with tofu.  Kids probably might like fried tofu from restaurants before they get accustomed to it.  

I have a 15 year old. I have been a vegetarian since well before he was born. He is used to the vegetarian lifestyle, although not 100% practicing. When younger, he would eat meat at other peoples houses, but around 2nd grade, he choose to lead a mostly vegetarian lifestyle (he eats fish on occasion).  I am new to vegan eating. It was suggested to me, by my MD, to start a vegan diet once I got high cholesterol (hereditary, but half and half and cheese didn't help it). My son thought I was going off the deep end.
I do not control what he eat, other than I buy the groceries. He was a HUGE egg lover. I started making tofu scrambles with one egg mixed in as well. He found that he LOVES tofu scrambles, and preferes them over eggs. WE don;t buy eggs anymore now. We also replaced our real butter with earth balance. We also found that we both really prefer tofutti cream cheese over regular. In fact, I gave it to him on a bagel, without a word, for lunch. He later asked me what kind of cream cheese that was, and that it was better than any cream cheese he had ever had. He also LOVES veganase far better than mayo. I hate mayo, but like veganase. He likes BLTs with veganase, and morningstar fake bacon.
This morning I made a huge pan of kale chopped finely with onions, garlic and salt. I left it there for a few minutes, and when i got back, the whole thing was gone. He ate it all! He loved it so much, he didn't save any for me. If I'd asked ahead, he would have declined though. TEENS! @@
Try doing half and half on some things. For example, half burger, half TVP for tacos or sloppy joes. Sneak in some finely chopped up swiss chard. Make stuffed shells, or manicotti, but replace half of the ricotta with tofu. I know it is hard, but make small changes. Cook something they like, and somethings that are new to them.
Best, Ellie