How do you respond when your teenager announces that they want to be a vegetarian?

Whether it turns out to be just a passing phase or a decision for life, look for the opportunities in this challenge.

The announcement provides a wonderful starting point for them to gain a better understanding about foods and nutrients. Their growth and development will suffer if they eat just the usual “meat and veg” minus the meat.

Being a vegetarian is much more than just giving up certain foods. Humans require protein. Vegetarians choose to obtain theirs from non-meat sources.

Often, as a first thought, eggs, milk, yoghurt, and cheese are chosen for protein intake as these are relatively familiar foods. While low-fat dairy products make it easy to get sufficient calcium and contribute to the protein intake, many dishes, such as a vegetarian quiche made with cream, cheese, eggs and flaky pastry, are too high in saturated fat to be eaten regularly. There is also another problem for vegetarians relying on these foods getting enough zinc and iron. This means that vegetarians need to look to nuts, seeds and legumes, the mainstay of vegan eating.

Vegans are vegetarians who choose to eat only plant foods. This choice calls for greater culinary creativity, and means buying, preparing, and enjoying the taste of dishes made up from a wider range of plant foods. Examples include kidney bean loaf, chickpea curry, lentil shepherd’s pie, dahl, and tofu rissoles.

These kinds of dishes are most probably new to your teenager and to your family. How can you work these into family food routines so that meals continue to be shared occasions?

A practical approach is to continue with a “meat and veg” style, but keep the meat dishes plain and simple and dress up the vegetables, which become the main dish for the vegetarian. One example could be grilled steak or baked fish with pumpkin and chickpea risotto. The rice becomes a tasty addition for the meat eaters and when you add either a green salad or steamed broccoli this becomes a complete meal for everyone.

This approach enables you to nudge the whole family towards eating more plant-based protein. The potential bonuses include reducing food costs (lower-cost protein) and improved nourishment (higher intake of health-promoting plant substances).

A mindful response to a teenager’s choice to try vegetarian food can be a springboard for enhancing the whole household’s understanding of nourishment and involvement in family food routines.

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