The vegetarian adventure of me and my family is going very well. I am having some trouble letting go of cheese, but other than that, I am extremely happy with how things are going for me. As for me, for dinner one day this week I used chopped up tofu in a hamburger helper stroganoff instead of ground beef. It was really good and no one even noticed! I served organic salad and tofu helper and no one even batted an eye!
So I am feeling pretty successful at the moment and I thought I would share my simple three step plan that got me from dinner time fights and bad food to healthy dinners and lovely converstaion.
- I started by serving a side salad with just about every meal and having a variety of dressings on hand to make experimenting fun.
- Once the kids got used to, and in some cases enjoying, the salad, I gradually modified the portions of each until the salad (or other vegetable dish) was clearly the main course and the meat entree was the side item.
- Use a meat substitute. In the beginning do it with recipes that they are familiar with and enjoy the taste of the pasta, sauce, or other element, so that the change in meat texture is not as obvious.
That’s it! That’s how I presented my first successful fully vegetarian meal. What do you think about tofu? Have you tried it? Do you have any favorite recipes?
That sounds like a healthy way to eat
I’m always kind of freaked out by tofu but I don’t know why. Do use the stuff that crumbles like meat or straight tofu? More details!! I might even be inspired to try a meatless meal one day 
Tofu is a healthy protein! Tofu is the perfect vegetarian replacement for meat in any recipe.
Brandon’s right. Tofu has made the process so easy for me. The SB book, and many others, have great recipes, but they are just not practical for families or beginners, in my opinion. That I can take any recipe I already have and use tofu makes things “doable” for anyone. We may not be “organic” but we’re getting there.
Robin’s right too though! Tofu is freaky if you’re not used to it! I cubed some up and prepared as scrambled eggs (while my fam at the real thing. I felt that was too big of a step to impress upon them!) My Hubby was impressed with my dedication. I had to choke it down, though. Definitely need to work on the tofu breakfast recipes for me!
They do have the crumbles but I haven’t used them yet. I “crumbled” it myself. I’ll let you know when I get some.
Thank you for commenting!