My son has been, for the last half a year or so, been on what I would call a voyage into slight vegetarianism. Its not completely giving up meat, but the list of what he does eat is far smaller than the list of what he refuses to even taste.
He won’t eat plain meat, and I am sure this must be a texture issue. He hates plain chicken, but will eat chicken nuggets. He hates beef of ALL kinds, but I can sneak it into spaghetti sauce. He used to enjoy prime rib (I know, such a connoisseur) but the last two times he tried it, spit it out into the garbage, saying it tasted too beefy. Its hard to argue when your child tells you he just plain ol’ hates the taste. And unlike most kids he won’t eat most fast food, he hates burgers and only likes chicken wraps, but of course, deep fried chicken not plain. Not that he can survive on it, but if the kid won’t eat McCrap’s burgers, then he really hates beef, because those don’t even taste like beef at all.
He will eat meat disguised in anything, he will eat butter chicken like its a soup, spaghetti like its going out of style, and chicken nuggets of course, and all sorts of legumes (of course, any that are in a curry sauce, once again, like soup, I swear).
I do get tired of trying to hide protein in all these different foods though, and it seems that the kids are eating a different meal from us all the time, as Mike & I eat chicken a lot. So I guess what I am asking is, does anyone out there have any other ideas for meals that hide meat? That sounds hilarious, but that literally is what it is, meals that disguise the taste of meat.
Recipes and suggestions?
I would be happy he doesn’t want to eat meat. Meat is a major factor in heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer. Most people get enough protein whether or not they eat meat. Non-animal sources of protein are derived from beans, nuts, soy products, grains and vegetable.
Here is a good source for getting protein from plant sources: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/protein/
Do you guys eat fish? My kids adore lemon dill salmon. We don’t eat beef so I can’t help you there, but we substitute ground turkey for anything you’d find beef in. Turkey tacos – delish. Turkey chili – fantastic. Also we eat a lot of eggs here as a source of protein. K is really quite picky about the meat she eats and R has a few things she doesn’t like as well. I just don’t worry about it. I know overall they both get enough, so if sometimes their meal is slightly different than what I’m eating, my response is *shrug* lol
Sigh, I am the only one who eats fish. I have made myself some amazing maple glazed salmon, but only when my dad or someone else is here to share! I only wish!
I honestly think its the texture that he can’t stand, he eats it ground up (like in chili) so its all about hiding it in the meal somehow LOL!