Vegetarian cooking for teens

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If you like this post, you may enjoy Easy Vegan D inner Recipes. Serve with baked sweet potatoes and a salad. Adapted from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. Microwave the potatoes until done but still firm.

Serving healthy meals for your family can be a challenge if a family member, particularly a teen, decides to become a vegetarian. To support your teen's food choice, you may need to find new ways to prepare some family meals. Involving your teen in making his or her own meals can help them learn how to cook and prepare a nutritionally balanced meal. Teens need to know there's more to being a vegetarian than simply eliminating meat! And yes — they do need to eat their vegetables!!

Teens become vegetarians for many different reasons. Regardless of why a teen stops eating some or all animal-based foods, parents play an important role in helping make sure their child gets all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients necessary for growth and good health. Vegetarianism can mean avoiding all meats, dairy products, and eggs or eating dairy and eggs but no meat. Some vegetarians even eat small amounts of fish occasionally. Talking with teens about which animal-based foods they do and do not wish to include in their diets, and why, helps parents provide support and ensure their kitchen is stocked with a variety of plant-based offerings.