Peanutbutter! Eggs....how about a soy milk shake, with strawberries?
Linda C

She definintely liked the smoothies we had. And I told my sister they are so easy, my niece can make them for herself. (A banana, a cup of soy milk, and a handful of fruit.)

Peanut butter's a good one (who doesn't like peanut butter?) altho' calories are also an issue. She doesn't eat egg yolks -- are the whites alone good protein?

With such a limited diet, she is probably not getting the nutrients she needs. I prefer eating and drinking my nutrients, but maybe some high-quality supplements would be beneficial for her.

Beans, nuts and a good variety of vegetables should definitely be part of a well-rounded veg diet. Your sister may want to set up an appointment with a nutritionist, and go with your niece.

How about quinoa. My kids like it, I just made it last night added some sauteed leeks and tomatoes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quinoa

Green Peas are very high in protein as are dried beans.
Roasted soy nuts.
Mix some Protein powder into that shake or any other foods where it can be hidden like mac & cheese, pasta sauces, etc.

Deanna

Look up some Gluten Free recipes. Many Gluten Free Flours have great protein levels in them..and she can still eat bread and get more "whole" grain in her. Also cookies, cakes and the like.
Teff, amaranth and brown rice flour are great options but have to be blended with potato starch and tapioca starch to "lighten" them up.
oh and yes egg whites have some protein in them...

How about...
black bean soup
veggie chili
pumpkin pie
hummus & whole wheat pita
broccoli & cheddar soup
lentil stew
spanakopita
whole wheat/carrot/zucchini bread w/yoghurt
oatmeal cookies
baked beans and veggie dogs
spinach lasagne with whole wheat noodles

TVP (textured vegetable protein) made from soy and wheat comes in lots of forms nowdays. There are "fake" versions in the freezer section now of almost everything--chicken nuggets, sausage, hot dogs, burgers, chicken strips, hot pockets, etc. Some brands are Bocca, Morninstar Farms, Yves.

We need a lot less protein than most people think. However, being a "cheese-a-holic" myself, I think she may need to worry about calories and saturated fat later on. (Ask me how I know, lol!). There are some good lowfat cheeses out there, Cabot is a brand I like.

There are LOTS of good books out there on vegetarian nutrition, some designed especially for kids and teens. You might get her one. I turned veggie when I was 17 during my senior year in High School, and started doing all my own cooking at that time. The book I started with for nutrition was "Diet for a Small Planet." This might be a little above the interest level of a 12 year old. Plus I was a weenie and read voraciously. Maybe a subscription to "Vegetarian Life" magazine might be fun for your niece.

I can see how someone would not like straight tofu, it is very bland, but it mixes well into things like pasta, sauces, dips and fillings.

Beans, soy products whole grains and nuts are great sources of protein if you can get your niece to eat such things. I was and am not a picky eater, so I didn't have nutrition problems.

Ideas:
Tofu dogs or tofu burgers, baked beans and potato salad made with egg whites.
Rice pudding made with soy milk and topped with cashew bits.
Spaghetti with lentils or fake meat crumbles
Nachos with bean dip
Enchiladas with mexican rice
Pita pizzas with fake pepperoni
Vegetable soup with kidney beans
Chili with beans and/or fake meat crumbles
Egg white omlettes with whole grain muffins
Home made triangle shaped hot pockets made with fillings of choice, using prepackaged pie dough, cut into wedges. Can fill with SO MANY wonderful things--cheese, tofu, fake meat, beans, veggies, etc.

I have a couple of recipes at home I could share, which have proved to be fairly kid-friendly, including a peanut based pasta sauce, greek spaghetti with feta cheese, kasha varnishkas (buckwheat groats and butterfly pasta), tofu sloppy joes, baked lentil spaghetti, brown rice pizza, fake chicken soup made with tvp, etc.

If your niece eats a balanced diet with whole grains, protein, vegetables, fruit and dairy products, she should be OK. I would hate to see her get hooked on processed carbs, sugar and fat though, which is what a lot of kids eat nowdays.

Egg whites are actually a better source of protein than the yolks, as the whites are mostly protein. Check comparison of whites to yolks. Here's a list of some vegetarian sources of protein. I would want to make sure that she is eating whole grains rather than refined ones.

Avocados are a very good source of protein, as well as beans and nuts, as Gina recommended. Too many nuts can mean too many calories, however. I would also be concerned about over-reliance on dairy. I recently bought some hemp milk, but I haven't tasted it yet. It's supposed to be high in the beneficial Omega oils, similar to flax seed.

Lars

Here's a fun Web site for your niece. Nava Atlas is a great vegetarian cookbook author, and practical mom too!

In a Vegetarian Kitchen with Nava Atlas
http://vegkitchen.com/kid-friendly-recipes.htm

I concur with all of the suggestions made above. A good way to make smoothies is to use plain yogurt, or even vanilla flavored yogurt and some juice to make the liquid. Add some frozen fruit and some protein powder, and you've got yourself a tasty and nutritious meal.

The TPV is great for making veggie chile, adding to spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, etc. Don't overdo the soy, though - remember it's an estrogen mimicker.

Sally

Nava Atlas wrote a book that I own called Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet. I found quesadillas in there that were made with monterey jack cheese, sweet potatoes (roasted) and canned green chilies.

You could also send her to AnnT, she'll bring her back to carnivorism....

Here is a link that might be useful: Nava Atlas - lots of other books too

You also have to delve into the world of complete and incomplete proteins. Some vegetable protein sources are incomplete and require you eat another food to complete the protein chain. However proteins from animal sources are complete be it eggs, cheese, milk etc. If the kid drinks milk everyday they are getting a complete protein from that. Rather than buy expensive protein powders just mix in a tablespoon of powdered milk into a soy shake etc to add even more complete protein without altering the taste.

Was also going to add that if the kid is reistant to drinking milk most like I was will drink chocolate milk which is another good source of protein with not that much added calories and certainly better than drinking pop. There's a reason why McDonalds etc don't serve chocolate milk

But they serve chocolate shakes! (Ooops - I mean, uh, I've been told...)

LOL

You only asked for dietary suggestions, so I hope it won't offend if I say that I think some 'food for thought' is needed also. As lpinkmountain noted, the real danger is that she'll get hooked on sugar and processed carbohydrates. In fact, it sounds like she already is.

You can't forcefeed kids, of course. And who would want to, even if they could? But I wouldn't allow her complete freedom to continually make the wrong food choices either. That would be tantamount to allowing her to skip visits to the dentist because she doesn't like the drill...

Seeing a nutritionist is a good suggestion, but it would probably help your sister more than your niece. She needs to have a really cute teenager explain to her the (social) consequences of eating nothing but Velveeta and potatoes and bread. The health consequences may be worse, but they're not likely to have much effect on a 12-year-old.

She's too old to just do as she's told and eat right -- and too young to grasp the fact that she's jeopardizing her future if she fails to do so. It's been my experience that 'tweeners rarely respect opinions that differ from their own unless the person putting the mental hurt on them is some god-like teenage creature. In your sister's place, I'd be frantically searching for an intelligent, attractive 15-year-old vegetarian who could get across to my daughter the things she wouldn't accept from me!

sm

The ideas above are so good!! I'll try to add...
I love the Tofurkey sausages which come in Italian, Bratworst and Kielbasa and they don't taste like tofu or tempeh. Maybe she would like the flavored and baked tofu? They usually sell it in a shrink wrap and it comes in teriyaki, herb and other flavors.
I hated cheese, nuts, and tofu when I was a young kid and I was a vegetarian...I started eating meat because I just did not get enough protein or nutrients. These days, there are so many pre-made and pre-flavored fake meats in the fridge and freezer sections that she should take an adult supported visit to the market and try everything there.
Also, since she is a young gal who seems very sure of her diet needs, I'll bet she can manage going online to some vegetarian and vegan websites to see what others are eating to keep their nutrients up. The vegan sites have a lot of nutrient info since they usually need it more than vegetarians.
If her weight or fat intake is in question, the only thing I know that works with the young is to tell them that the effects are immediate. Something like, "too much cheese and oil gives you pimples" or "you want to fit into that outfit" or whatever level of self-consciousness she is at. I don't think that a twelve year old is going to respond to good health or heart care...

It doesn't help teach her about proper eating but her mom can always make mac and cheese or lasagna and sneak all kinds of things in the mix like Jessica Seinfeld's techniques, even brownies. Egg yolk, whole milk, tofu, green veggies, etc. etc. Guess it is being dishonest but if it really gets down to her not eating enough to maintain her health, probably worth a try (at least now and then).

What wonderful suggestions everyone has presented. I can only add that whey protein has the highest Biological Value (BV) of protein of all foods. That means you receive and absorb more protein from whey protein than other foods - even meat. Eggs are second. So you get more bang for your protein buck when you add whey, eggs, and milk to the diet for protein, rather than more soy or beans (common to most vegetarians).

Whey - 100+
Eggs - 93.7
Milk - 84.5
Fish - 76.0
Beef - 74.3
Soybeans - 72.8
Rice (polished) - 64.0
Wheat (whole) - 64.0
Corn - 60.0
Beans (dry) - 58.0

Adding whey protein to all kinds of things is fairly simple to do. How about a GRAPE COW (milk, yogurt, or kefir + grape juice + whey protein powder) will give you a very high protein drink for snacking on. Whey protein powder can also be added for part of the flour in cookies and other baked goods.

High quality protein is very important for growth and tissue development, especially in a child. Whey protein is often a supplement added to the diet of people recovering from surgery for tissue repair (a time in our lives where extra protein is a good thing).

-Grainlady

I've been a healthy vegetarian for 30 years, so I have some knowledge of vegetarian nutrition. Overall, when it comes to protein, vegetarian nutrition involves a different mindset than meat eating. Meat and other animal protein sources have highly concentrated, complete protein. A relatively small amount of those foods can fill you up and meet your protein needs because of this concentration. That's why for meat eaters, good nutrition actually involves eating smaller portions of meat, and balancing that with whole grains, fruits and vegetables. On the flip side, vegetarians get a little bit of protein from a lot of sources, generally it is less dense, more fiber, etc., so vegetarians eat more food, hence the whole idea behind Dean Ornish's "Eat More, Weigh Less." Over the years, I've become more moderate on that, because constant grazing isn't good I think, it is too easy to fall into the trap of junk foods that are so readily available everywhere in our society. So the challenge for the mother of a picky 12 year old vegetarian is twofold, the way I see it--to make sure she gets enough protein if she will only eat a limited amount of foods, and to make sure she's not filling up on junk. What I see very often with picky eaters is they like plain foods. They are absolutely loathe to eat any type of casseroles, mixed salads or complex soups. As a picky eater friend of mine once said, "I don't do bits." My brother is very picky but in his adult maturity realizes he as to eat healthy. He likes plain steamed vegetables, plain rice, whole grain bread, salads with just salt, pepper and vinegar and oil dressing, raw crudites and plain fresh fruit. My vegetarian best friends have very picky kids, and they resorted to giving them chicken breast meat and turkey sandwich meat out of desperation for them to get enough protein. They didn't eat much else but noodles and cheese, as my friend said. Plain nachos with cheese, which seemed very dry to me. Tofu dogs.

Years ago, I read one dietician say not to eat a carbohydrate without complementing it with some type of protein. That helps keep your blood sugar level. Carbohydrates alone break down quickly into sugars in the bloodstram, not good. Eating carbs with fiber and protein allows for a more gradual blood sugar rise. This had been a good rule for me. So that means a cheese sandwich with tomato soup, peanut butter and jelly with a glass of milk, apple with peanut butter and/or cheese, bannana muffin with walnuts and non-fat yogurt. You get the idea.

Things I'd try:
Have chopped fresh veggies in the fridge for snacking--carrot, celery and green pepper sticks, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas. Then make a dip with lowfat sour cream mixed with tofu and dip mix, or servie with peanut butter or hummus for dipping. Also apples and bannanas go good spread with peanut butter. Get the NO SUGAR kind of peanut butter. Ants on a log, which is PB spread onto celery boats topped with raisins.

Show her how to make pita or english muffin pizzas. Amys natural brand has frozen pocket sandwiches and pot pies, both good quick snacks to make in the microwave. You can make your own pocket sandwiches using refrigerator pie dough. Mix potatoes with lowfat cottage cheese and lowfat cheddar cheese. Throw in broccoli, carrots, cabbage, zuchinni, marinated baked italian tofu, peas, etc.

Fantastic brand sells soup cups, find a kind she likes. There are also great soups that come in paperboard containers--squash, tomato varieties, black bean, cream of mushroom, split pea, etc. Also bean dips to go with nachos, which is a great snack. You can make lowfat cheese dip out of lowfat cottage cheese mixed with cheddar cheese in a food processor. Add a can of chopped mild chilis or roasted red pepper or sundried tomatoes if you want to jazz it up. There are some lowfat processed cheese dips which taste like glue to me but a kid might like them.

Have her learn to make sandwiches out of whole grain bread, bean spread (hummus, white bean, pinto, etc.), lowfat cheese spread, fake sandwich meat, tofu salads (I make Tuno salad, Hamless salad, and Eggless salad out of tofu). In a pinch, peanut butter and jelly with all-fruit jam.

Whole wheat crackers and pretzels can be dipped in PB and lowfat cheese dip, or bean dip.

Also, toast and grind sesame seeds and keep this ground seed sprinkle in the fridge, can be added to all kinds of dishes to boost protein. As for nuts--sunflower, peanut, cashew and soy have the most protein. Make a trail mix from these nuts plus almonds for magnesium, raisins, dried cranberries, and sesame sticks. Have that on hand for snacking. Use chopped nuts and sunflower seeds as a topping for salads and other dishes.

Also there are some kinds of protein bars you can buy, but I would make them, or healthy cookies made from whole grains with soy flour or powedered milk thrown in. Below is a recipe to get started with.

Here is a link that might be useful: Michael Chiarello's Energy Bars

Wow! Great ideas, everyone -- both the specific dishes and the basic principles.

I'm sending a link to my sister, and I'm copying down a lot of ideas for my own diet.

Thanks again -- I knew I could get some great suggestions here!

Alison, not much I can add here, my oldest daughter was a vegetarian for years and I gave up and went to visit a nutritionist, who told me most of the things that are mentioned here. I sure could have saved myself a trip if I'd have been a member then!

One of my girls' favorite "meals" is a smoothie type concoction, Ashley had one every morning for 3 years, I swear, and still has them at least three times a week. She just puts a banana into the blender, adds a heaping tablespoon full of peanut butter, a squirt of Hershey's chocolate and some milk. Blend. Hey, it's a lot healthier than soft drinks and there is protein in the milk and the peanut butter. Some fiber, potassium and lots of vitamins and minerals plus, IT'S CHOCOLATE!!!

Annie

Here is an excellent website:

The Vegetarian Resource Group...click on the link for teens, but also there is good information throughout the website. Honestly, it's fairly easy to get enough protein, even for vegetarians (and there are many variants of vegetarianism), unless the person has an incredibly limited diet. Often, iron, B12 and other micronutrients are harder to get in sufficient quantity from food, depending on what the teen eats. Reasonably careful planning is necessary if a growing teen eliminates various food groups from their diet. Good luck to your SIL!

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetarian Resource Group