The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids - M.s.j., Dana Villamagna [64]
◆ Veggies with hummus dip
◆ Cold pasta salads
◆ A-B-Vegan Soup (recipe later in this chapter) with garlic bagel
◆ Baby carrots, garbanzo beans, and spiced almonds
◆ Vegetarian baked beans with veggie dogs cut up and mixed in a thermos
◆ Leftover barbecue tofu strips
◆ Any of Amy’s Kitchen brand vegan soups
Don’t stick to the mundane apple or banana in the lunchbox every day! An amazingly diverse assortment of packaged fruits and veggies are available in mainstream grocery stores these days. From packaged pineapple spears to dried peas and carrots, your child need never get bored with a plant-based lunch.
Play Date Lunches
It’s simple to serve omnivorous kids vegan food without fuss when you’re the play date host. In our experience, most of our children’s nonveg friends love the chance to try veggie chicken nuggets or baked tofu cubes and sides of fresh fruit, fun-shaped pasta with vegan margarine, and vegan cookies for dessert. It’s a novelty to them, and most kids love trying new and different ways of doing things, if only to go home and shock their parents with the news that they ate tofu and lived to tell the tale! Or if you want to serve something “tamer” you can always go with vegan tacos, vegan mac and cheese, and pita pizzas.
When your child leaves the nest for her first play dates out, unless the host family is also vegan, it’s a good idea to pack your child a lunch (with a vegan treat to share with her friend). Having taken this preemptive step, there’s no hot seat for your child left to climb off alone when the cheeseburger or turkey sandwich is served and you’re not present.
As your child gets older, leave it up to her whether she wants to take food when she goes over to hang out at friends’ houses. She may prefer it, or especially in the tween years it may be embarrassing or isolating. Perhaps she’d rather just eat the few veg-appropriate foods served at the friend’s house, like fruit or chips, and eat more upon returning home. Respect her comfort level and social needs.
Out to Lunch
School isn’t the only place kids find themselves out and about at lunchtime. Eating while out and about or especially when traveling can sometimes present challenges for vegans of all ages.
Vegan bars, dried fruit, and nuts lend themselves well to days out. Don’t forget the bottled water! Infants and young children become dehydrated much more quickly than teens and adults. If your child is active in sports, encourage hydration by bringing water bottles with you. Or provide water-rich fruits and veggies as snacks at half-time and afterward for hydration.
That’s So Vegan
Check out www.happycow.net for a global (yes, global) guide to veg-friendly restaurants and health food stores. Add your favorites, too!
When traveling, it might be easiest to pack your own veg foods. (Taco Bell’s bean burritos minus the cheese is one of the few vegan fast-food options other than salads.) If you’re flying, be careful about packing travel snacks. Liquid snacks like smoothies, juice boxes, or sippy cups filled with liquid of any kind won’t make it through security.
Travel is one of those times that settling for the BPO may be necessary. Still, you can try to avoid BPO situations by packing more food for your child than you think necessary. Especially on long road trips, pack the biggest cooler you can fit in your car. You’ll not only have food for the road, you’ll also have room to pack food to eat when you get to the nonvegan relative’s house, hotel, or wherever you happen to be going.
Christi’s Secret-Ingredient Hummus
This hummus is kid-friendly because the onions and garlic are sautéed, leaving a much milder taste that comes from the secret ingredient—tahini-based jarred salad dressing.
2 tsp. olive oil
1 small sweet onion, finely diced
3 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup tahini
½ cup Annie’s Goddess Dressing, or other
ahini-based salad dressing
½ cup lemon juice
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
3 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
and rinsed
Yield: 4 cups
Prep