Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Share your experience, challenges and success implementing the McDougall program with family and children.

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, John McDougall, carolve, Heather McDougall

Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby wife2abadge » Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:16 pm

I've been looking through the McDougall books trying to find recipes my 9 and 14-year-old kids would like (and my carnivore dh, for that matter). Does anyone have any recipes in particular to recommend -- that your kids have liked? They like beans and many vegetables, but not sweet potatoes, eggplant, cooked zucchini, or cooked greens unless they're well disguised.
Susan
User avatar
wife2abadge
 
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:36 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby jld » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:22 am

Well, my boys (12, 9, 6, 3) like pasta with sauce. It's their preferred lunch. Dd16 will make Mexican lasagna (corn tortillas with one of Jeff Novick's recipes -- basically canned tomatoes, beans, corn, onions, and whatever other vegetables you want to throw in, plus chili powder) often in the evening, and that goes over well. Ds6 just eats bowls of brown rice sometimes.

We eat a lot of stir-fries. I don't know if the boys like them, but if it's what's available, eventually they seem to just eat it.

You know, one thing that is pretty popular here is sushi. It's just rolls of nori with sushi rice, bits of avocado, carrot, and cucumber rolled in. Dd enjoys making them. Man, we love those.

You know, this is a great idea: sharing recipes kids like. Thanks for starting this.:) I'll try to think of some more . . .
A clean life is its own reward.
jld
 
Posts: 700
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:22 pm

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby circle city vegan » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:08 am

My tween is my best eater. He likes just about everything I make. My current rotation is:
Enchiladas made with beans, corn, potatoes, chopped greens in an oil free sauce I found at sprouts market. Diaya cheese sprinkled on top if I have it. These were alot easier to make than I thought they'd be.
Pot pie made with peas, corn, potatoes, carrots, chopped greens, mushrooms in veg. broth and baked in a pilsbury pie crust. Please don't knock the pilsbury, I don't even want to know what's in it. These little crusts make life so easy and what's inside makes up for the little bit of crap on the outside.
Standby pasta and sauce. Try the prego light smart sauce. It has no oil in it! I saute onions and mushrooms first, dump in the sauce and pour over pasta. We usually have a wheat french bread with this.
We've tried the walden farms white sauce and have gotten mixed reactions. I don't eat it but from a taste it is somewhat sweet and thinner than traditional alfredo sauce. The 11yr. old loves it though. I put this over pasta with mushrooms, onions and mix veg. on hand.
We make vegan pizza with a crust I found at sprouts. It doesn't have diary in it. The oil free sauce and diaya cheese that's it. Sometimes I put pineapple on it but not usually. I have to make alot of these because they're popular and not very filling. The family gets more oil in their diet because they aren't overweight. I stay away from the pizza unless my weight is under goal.
Stirfrys are always a hit. I go back and forth between putting it over rice or over noodles. The 5yr old wouldn't eat rice for the longest time.
tacos (tostadas, burritos, mex. food is all the same, just different wrappers)- refried beans no oil, shredded carrots, corn, iceberg lettuce, olives, salsa, whatever else. These are fun. I make them ahead though and put a bunch of premade tacos out on the table. Again with the shells, a little crap for a whole lot of veg. I'm sure they have palm oil in them (ugh!)
I know this is going to sound cruel but I try to make one meal a week that the kids aren't crazy about. Right now it's the mixed veg. beans, chopped greens diced tomatoes over pasta. They don't love it but I do because it's easy. Pretty soon they'll get used to it and I'll have another cheap easy meal to make. I think we overall spoil our kids and they should get used to eating things even if they don't fall in love with it at the first bite. I try to have a dessert after this meal for extra encouragement ;-)

Also, get used to buying chopped greens if you don't already. Mix a little into everything you cook. You can't even taste it.
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wP3S3L8/]
Image
[/url]

Vigilance requires effort until it does not require any effort.
User avatar
circle city vegan
 
Posts: 409
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 2:34 pm

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby wife2abadge » Thu Nov 03, 2011 1:03 pm

My kids do like bean tacos, burritos, etc, though my 9-year-old eats them with some real cheese on top. I can't find a whole wheat tortilla they like though. They don't even really like the white flour ones made with olive oil.

They liked lentil tacos and were okay with lentil sloppy joes. They actually really liked the tofu lo mein recipe I made, but it used ramen noodles (not the seasoning packet -- just the noodles) and I'm not sure they'd have been as wild about it with whole wheat noodles. They'll eat part of a bean burger, but aren't crazy about them.

My fourteen-year-old is on a "no dairy" kick, though she eats meat. I got her an rice crust non dairy pizza (Amy's brand I think) and she said it wasn't bad. Of course, a homemade pizza would be healthier. I don't know why I never think to make pizza crust.
Susan
User avatar
wife2abadge
 
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:36 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby jamietwo » Sat Nov 05, 2011 12:58 pm

1)Soups with compliant muffins or biscuits on the side

2)"Lasagna" - this is the only kind my child has ever known so its normal to him - cooked rice pasta layered with sauce (1 jar light smart oil-free prego, 2 cups white beans, 2 leaves greens processed into a sauce)

3)Jeff Novick's bean burgers (although we make a variation of them); my son likes them with bbq sauce

4)if you can eat corn, there are lots of Mexican style meals you can make (less the cheese) ... or cornbread!

5)if you can eat wheat (we make a gf oat tortilla), you can make different wraps with your favorite fillings or just ff refried beans with salsa and lettuce

6)oil-free hashbrowns and ketchup per Dr. M!

7)cheese-free pizza (you get used to it!)

8) (this was supposed to be the number 8 and a right parentheses!) hummus and ...
Jamie
jamietwo
 
Posts: 1633
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:40 pm

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby circle city vegan » Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:27 pm

I just made the sushi! It's so easy and since the little taste buds in the house didn't like it with the cucumber,carrot, avocado mix I'm going to try sushi rolls with fruit next. I'm thinking still the shredded carrots, apples and banana. Sounds good. Maybe sprinkle cinnamon sugar over before rolling. It just might get the 5yr old to start eating rice! I'm so excited, the possiblilities are endless! For anyone else interested in making these, the rice labeled "calrose" is the sticky kind. Thanks
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wP3S3L8/]
Image
[/url]

Vigilance requires effort until it does not require any effort.
User avatar
circle city vegan
 
Posts: 409
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 2:34 pm

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby fulenn » Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:00 pm

Mine go crazy for soup: white bean and kale or spinach, chili, tomato with pureed garbanzo and added orzo, chickenless and dumplings, tomatillo soup served with corn chips.

My children are 13, 14, and 16. The oldest loves sushi and will do almost anything to get me to buy it at a local Thai restaurant or to make it for her. (Gotta get her making it herself.)

They all love pizza with no cheese, though the youngest likes a light sprinkling of Daiya on top. Everyone enjoys hummus, too, both as a spread to replace mayonnaise in sandwiches/wraps and as a dip for fresh veggies and wheat crackers. Be sure to use fresh lemons with this one.

Good luck! Be
Fulenn
What if love really IS the answer?

Read my journal about tackling Multiple Sclerosis with a plant-based McDougall diet in the journal forum on this site, Fulenn's MS Page.

My blog: http://fulennskitchen.blogspot.com
User avatar
fulenn
 
Posts: 2439
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:04 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby jld » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:30 am

circle city vegan wrote:I just made the sushi! It's so easy and since the little taste buds in the house didn't like it with the cucumber,carrot, avocado mix I'm going to try sushi rolls with fruit next. I'm thinking still the shredded carrots, apples and banana. Sounds good. Maybe sprinkle cinnamon sugar over before rolling. It just might get the 5yr old to start eating rice! I'm so excited, the possiblilities are endless! For anyone else interested in making these, the rice labeled "calrose" is the sticky kind. Thanks


Glad you liked the sushi. What an interesting idea to use fruit!:)
A clean life is its own reward.
jld
 
Posts: 700
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:22 pm

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby fulenn » Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:30 pm

We made sushi with cucumber and sweet potato today; my two oldest really liked it, go figure.

Fulenn
What if love really IS the answer?

Read my journal about tackling Multiple Sclerosis with a plant-based McDougall diet in the journal forum on this site, Fulenn's MS Page.

My blog: http://fulennskitchen.blogspot.com
User avatar
fulenn
 
Posts: 2439
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:04 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby Faith in DC » Fri Jan 06, 2012 1:37 pm

For the teens/tweens that didn't like the standard sushi with carrots/cucumbers/avocado - may I suggest trying it again and making a inside out roll? Maybe that is what you did. I know I hate when the nori is on the outside.
Faith
I'm in training for maintaining
User avatar
Faith in DC
 
Posts: 4325
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Falls Church, VA

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby fulenn » Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:25 pm

That's a good idea, Faith. Another thing you can do is make onigiri balls instead of sushi. All they are is rice that is formed into a ball and you can stuff them with whatever. We bought little forms so we can make different shapes, but balls work, too. You can put sushi filling inside, umeboshi plum paste (the kids love it), or whatever. We had a guest who had jalapeno and cucumber inside theirs.

Fulenn
What if love really IS the answer?

Read my journal about tackling Multiple Sclerosis with a plant-based McDougall diet in the journal forum on this site, Fulenn's MS Page.

My blog: http://fulennskitchen.blogspot.com
User avatar
fulenn
 
Posts: 2439
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:04 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby Grammy Ginger » Sun Jun 17, 2012 5:05 pm

[quote="jamietwo"]we make a gf oat tortilla

how do you do this????!!!!????
Grammy Ginger
 
Posts: 977
Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 9:29 am

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby carrotlvr » Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:55 am

http://www.straightupfood.com/blog/

Cathy makes her sushi rolls with sweet brown rice. I don't know if I have seen this type of rice. I will have to look for it in stores. Fruit sushi sounds like a great idea. You could mix some cinnamon or cardamon in with the rice.

If I put greens in my food processor and then add them to a dish my kids think it is spice and they will eat it. I also give them smoothies home made popsicles made from all sort of fresh fruit for dessert.

Kris
carrotlvr
 
Posts: 255
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:00 pm

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby jamietwo » Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:34 pm

Grammy Ginger - here's the info on the oat tortillas. :D


Gluten-Free Oat Tortillas

1 1/4 cups gf oat flour (I make my own by blending/processing gf oat flakes)

less than 1/2 cup water, depending on how fine your flour is

a little extra gf oat flour

parchment paper for rolling out


Preheat a dry cast iron or stainless steel skillet. Stir the water into the oat flour until it starts to clump together, and then knead it. Wet your hands and shape dough into 4 or 5 balls. Flatten and roll out between pieces of parchment paper (if it gets sticky, sprinkle some more flour on your paper). Warm on both sides in a pre-heated skillet. These are very good and pliable if you don’t cook them too long!
Jamie
jamietwo
 
Posts: 1633
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:40 pm

Re: Anyone with tween/teen kids?

Postby Grammy Ginger » Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:49 pm

Thanks

I'll give them a try.
Grammy Ginger
 
Posts: 977
Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 9:29 am

Next

Return to Family and Children

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests



Welcome!

Sign up to receive our regular articles, recipes, and news about upcoming events.