Veg Mamas Tribal Roll Call and Veg Support: June Thread - Page 9

[Erin Pavlina]

Here is a link to the vegan food pyramid:

http://www.nutrispeak.com/vegan_food_guide1.htm

[guestmama9924]

thanks! much more colorful than the one on my fridge now!

[Amandzia]

Thanks for the vegan food pyramid. It didn't say anything about nutritional yeast for B-12. I'm wondering what you all think about that. I was using it alot, then I read that too much can cause gall stones. Now I use it more moderately. We like it for it's "cheesy" quality in sauces.

[root*children]

It is my opinion that miso is a much better source for B12. I have also heard from a vegetarian nutritionist that Nutritional Yeast can lead to a calcium deficiency by making it harder to digest calcium, much like meat has the same effect.

[memory maker]

what can you tell me about flaxseed oil? How do I use it? I am trying to get more of the healthier fats in our diet because both of my kids are very tiny.

[root*children]

I like to put flax seed in smoothies. I'm not a huge fan of the taste, so I try to disguise it. Don't cook with it, it doesn't do well with heat.

[PikkuMyy]

I'm sure Chikngirl means farm animals - she probably still eats fish.

I sometimes buy a liquid mix of omega oils and put some of it with some olive oil on my salads. You can also just get flaxseed oil and do this. For kids you could put a bit of it in soups (right before serving), smoothies, in mashed potatoes, anything that might require a little non-cooked oil.

There is a liquid mixture made just for kids you can find in the refrigerated section of the vitamin section in your local health food store.

[memory maker]

Ok, I have never used tofu, but am going to add some to our diet. dont think Im a tofu flunky, but how do I use it? do I need to do anything to it before using it? What are some good ways to prepare?

Also, I had asked earlier about flaxseed oil. What about flaxseeds? can you cook with them?

BTW this is my new favorite place to hang out. I used to like just the diapering board, but this one has become more fun for me lately

[tug]

deep fried tofu is yummy but not really healthy. my dh lately has been pressing the tofu between paper towels to dry it out and then cooking it on a foreman grill. it flattens it and cooks it without grease and it comes out yummy. we use strips on a salad or put strips or chunks in any kind of recipe.

flax seeds are fabulous. you can grind them in a little spice grinder to get the healthy oils, but i'm sure other folks have much better ideas. i think dh told me that if you didn't grind them and ate them whole, then they passed through your system without you getting much of the benefit from them...but i'm not sure.

[HeatherG]

Tug, that is a great Tufo idea, I NEVER would have thought to use the Foreman grill. I may just have to get one now

[root*children]

An easy way to incorporate tofu in is to crumble it up into spaghetti sauce or on a pizza. This is the only way I can get DH to eat it

[Amandzia]

I stir fry tofu or blend it up in sauces. I've even made an uncheese cake with it. There are a lot of vegi cookbooks that can give you ideas. I'm lucky that my local library has lots of cookbooks, including vegan ones.

[guestmama9924]

last night I made veggie tofu lasagne. I did not use ricotta as the traditional recipie calls for, I drain and mash tofu and mix with seasoning and use that in place of ricotta. I still use organic mozzerella ( the whole stuff) and then portabellos in my sauce. Very good way to use tofu!

[PikkuMyy]

ONe great thing to do with tofu - especially for kids - french toast. By the Norimu Silken tofu - the soft one in the aseptic box.

Into the blender with 1/2 Cup soy milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and a bunch of cinnamon. Then you can dip the bread and fry like you would with regular egg batter.

We LOVE this! Always with real maple syrup and Earth Balance.

[Emmama]

That french toast sounds really good!

Here are two things we do with tofu that the kids LOVE:

Mash firm tofu and mix in salsa. Dip pita bread or tortilla chips in it.

Mash firm tofu. Add sliced celery, veganaise, sea salt (or whatever you use) and pepper. Makes an eggless salad. I serve this on bread with tomato and spinach

[root*children]

One that my kiddos love is just to drain some firm tofu and then slice it up, put it on a baking sheet, sprinkle tamari on both sides and top it with minced fresh garlic or granulated garlic. Put in the oven on broil for 10 min., flipping over halfway through cooking. REally good finger snack.

[guestmama9924]

dready we do a very similiar one too that my kids love- except I mix honey, tamari and a little olive oil and we coat the bites in that and then sprinkle with seasame seed and bake until golden. They dip in in soy or catsup and love to practice with their chop stix

[Annie7]

PikkuMyy, I'm definitely trying that this weekend! I've tried so many french toast recipes that never quite did the trick, but none of them used tofu! Great tip...thanks!



dready*mama, I'm trying that with the smoked tofu that I bought. We usually make our own version of "shake and bake" to dredge tofu in...but your idea sounds really good! Thanks for the heads up on that one!

[Thomi'sMommy]

Hi everyone -

I just found this thread and I think it's great that there's a spot for veg discussion and support. (Though something more than a wee thread would be even better!)

Does anyone know of a good source of information regarding raising a child vegetarian? While I am a veggie, my husband (who used to be a live-on-peanut-butter vegetarian) can't get rid of his meat habit, though he loves the food I cook (can I just say that Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian is the best). He just gets these burger etc cravings and then complains about feeling yucky afterwards

Anyway, dh is slowly getting into solids and has been SCARFING the bean soups and hummous and veggieburgers etc I make, but I feel like I need some additional info about how I can raise her without meat in an extended family that, well, frankly, considers potato chips a vegetable.

I know some people feed their kids meat until they're old enough to make a decision for themselves.....but I have a problem doing that morally and health-wise, though dh doesn't mind one way or the other.

Any thoughts? resources?

Thanks!

[callmemama]

Thomi'sMommy, check out the book Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis and VM (I can never remember the spelling of the second author's name!). They are both nutritionists and there is good info on nutritional requirements for adults and children! They also wrote a similar book, Becoming Vegetarian, if that suits your needs more If your husband doesn't care, my vote would be to raise your little one veggie with the option to change when he's older