Forums: April 2011 Kickstart Forum: Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas
Created on: 04/21/11 01:40 AM Views: 1539 Replies: 7
cathyb Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 149	Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 1:40 AM The chili mac was a hit with hubby tonight! He actually said it was good. Last time I made it, he said it was ok, but there was none left. I am looking for other ideas that have been a hit with non-vegans (his taste buds lean to mcdonalds). He hates eggplant and chickpeas; dislikes zucchini, peppers, winter squash, and sweet potatoes - rules out so many good things. I also have a first communion meal to serve to non-vegans coming up. Any ideas would be appreciated!
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mollyhorn Joined: 03/03/10 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 582	RE: Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 7:27 AM My first stop would be VegWeb. They have a TON of delicious vegan meals that would please any omnivore. You have to be careful, though, because they are not all healthy or low-fat. http://www.vegweb.com/ You might also pick up the book "Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes," which sounds like it's right up his alley. Again, not low-fat or healthy, but you can always make modifications. (Who knows? You may even get him to like eggplant! Haha. ) Often, recipes labeled "for kids" are good for picky spouses, too. Some other favorites: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=16758.0 http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/7114?section= http://vegancookingforcarnivores.com/ http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2005/12/es-kid-friendly-recipes.html Molly Horn
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 8:23 AM cathyb wrote: The chili mac was a hit with hubby tonight! He actually said it was good. Last time I made it, he said it was ok, but there was none left. I am looking for other ideas that have been a hit with non-vegans (his taste buds lean to mcdonalds). He hates eggplant and chickpeas; dislikes zucchini, peppers, winter squash, and sweet potatoes - rules out so many good things. I also have a first communion meal to serve to non-vegans coming up. Any ideas would be appreciated! Hubby makes a wonderful lasagna using whole wheat noodles (we make our own but any good lasagna noodles work fine), pesto (we're using up last year's non-vegan batch but basically you just need the basil, oregano, thyme), tomato sauce, and almond milk based ricotta (found a recipe online somewhere). Oh and we add spinach and mushrooms but you could put anything in there that you like. Best thing about lasagna is that it's wonderful as a make-ahead entree (make it a day or two early then refrigerate and reheat in the oven). Mac & cheese using a non-cheese sauce is easy and fun - bake it up casserole style with some bread crumbs on top and mix in some veg (we've done peas, broccoli, peas'n'carrots, diced red and green bell peppers for a fiesta look, etc) - definitely a kid pleaser that works for grown ups too! There used to be a restaurant near us called "JB Mac" - a whole restaurant devoted to mac & cheese with tons of fixin's to mix in. The thing is, non-vegans will eat good tasting vegan food but vegans aren't going to eat non-vegan food, so just aim for some awesome fun tasty vegan recipes. For my son's 13th birthday party with family (all omnivores), we're making a vegan chocolate cake and vegan snacks/appetizers (mid day, no main meal). Still working out the menu but it will probably include fresh fruit and veggie options, fresh homemade soft pretzel sticks (maybe) with a homemade honey mustard dipping sauce (yes, I know, honey is one of those edge cases for vegans), hummus and crackers, chickpea salad with pumpernickel bread (for open faced hors d'ouevre type snacks), maybe some mini quiches (filled with vegan spinach quiche mixture - uses pureed white beans). --Deb R
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DianeJ Joined: 01/01/10 Posts: 134	RE: Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 8:44 AM My go-to meat-eaters/kids/vegans meal lately is Enchiladas- my 8 yr old grandson took a look and said he wasn't going to like them- after he tasted (which to his credit, he will always do) he announced at the table that I should go on the Cooking Channel! That is definitely stretching it, but..... fill nice whole grain tortillas(read the lables, they vary greatly in calories and fat) with a blend of sauteed drained black beans, diced onion, corn, and just a little (I use maybe 1/3 bag) of veggie meat crumbles, taco seasoning, few tbl. salsa- saute this together until onion tender, about 10 mins. (Note you can also add a little diced, cooked sweet potato, reg. potato, or cooked brn rice and a little water, but not necessary) Cover bottom of baking dish with red Enchilada sauce, lay the rolled, filled tortillas, pour rest of large can (or 2 sm) enchilada sauce on top mixed with a little salsa. You can cover half of them, if desired, with cheese, bake until hot, serve with lettuce, tomato, avocado salad, sides of salsa and toffuti sour cream. Unless they ask, no one will know this is vegan (minus the cheese of course).
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 8:46 AM DianeJ wrote: My go-to meat-eaters/kids/vegans meal lately is Enchiladas- my 8 yr old grandson took a look and said he wasn't going to like them- after he tasted (which to his credit, he will always do) he announced at the table that I should go on the Cooking Channel! That is definitely stretching it, but..... fill nice whole grain tortillas(read the lables, they vary greatly in calories and fat) with a blend of sauteed drained black beans, diced onion, corn, and just a little (I use maybe 1/3 bag) of veggie meat crumbles, taco seasoning, few tbl. salsa- saute this together until onion tender, about 10 mins. (Note you can also add a little diced, cooked sweet potato, reg. potato, or cooked brn rice and a little water, but not necessary) Cover bottom of baking dish with red Enchilada sauce, lay the rolled, filled tortillas, pour rest of large can (or 2 sm) enchilada sauce on top mixed with a little salsa. You can cover half of them, if desired, with cheese, bake until hot, serve with lettuce, tomato, avocado salad, sides of salsa and toffuti sour cream. Unless they ask, no one will know this is vegan (minus the cheese of course). We do something similar but used the not-cheese sauce plus salsa over the top so it was cheesy-ish but vegan. --Deb R
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 8:47 AM hmm I think Veganomicon has a vegan enchilada casserole recipe as well for folks who really like having specifics to follow. (I'm a recipe reader, hubby is a 'pincher' - pinch of this, bit of that, etc) --Deb R
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carrottop Joined: 09/21/10 Posts: 36	RE: Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 9:55 AM Bugsmom wrote: hmm I think Veganomicon has a vegan enchilada casserole recipe as well for folks who really like having specifics to follow. (I'm a recipe reader, hubby is a 'pincher' - pinch of this, bit of that, etc) --Deb R It's a Kale/Potato enchilada recipe. Very yummy and well worth the effort to make it! I cut down on some of the cooking time by buying enchilada sauce instead of making my own. The next time that I make this, I'll forego the convenience and make my own - Veganomicon's sauces are always really yummy. There's another recipe there for BBQ Black-Eyed Peas rolled in collard green leaves. That might be a good choice, too.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Dinner success! need more omni friendly ideas Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 9:57 AM carrottop wrote: It's a Kale/Potato enchilada recipe. Very yummy and well worth the effort to make it! I cut down on some of the cooking time by buying enchilada sauce instead of making my own. The next time that I make this, I'll forego the convenience and make my own - Veganomicon's sauces are always really yummy. There's another recipe there for BBQ Black-Eyed Peas rolled in collard green leaves. That might be a good choice, too. I think hubby has just 'borrowed' the enchilada sauce part from the Veganomicon recipe and put assorted fillings inside - black beans and rice; bean crumbles, corn, diced tomato; etc. whatever sounded doable at the time. --Deb R
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