This blog is my place to vent and share resources with other parents of children of trauma. I try to be open and honest about my feelings in order to help others know they are not alone. Therapeutic parenting of adopted teenagers with RAD and other severe mental illnesses and issues (plus "neurotypical" teens) , is not easy, and there are time when I say what I feel... at the moment. We're all human!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Veggie no more!

I'd be more excited about Kitty giving up vegetarianism if I hadn't just bought a bunch of expensive tofu and meat substitutes. Tuesday night we had a family favorite - Poppyseed Chicken. It's super easy to make and the kids love it. Kitty got Poppyseed Tofu and thought it nasty.



Poppy Seed Chicken


4-6 chicken breasts boiled and chopped into bitesized pieces.

2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup (I use Healthy Request or the low fat kind)
1 4 oz container Sour Cream (I use fat free or fat free yogurt works too)
1 TBS Poppy seeds

I stick melted butter or enough milk to moisten crackers
1 tube Ritz crackers (I use whole grain or low fat)

Heat oven to 350. Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and poppy seeds in casserole dish. In a bowl, mix butter or milk with crushed Ritz crackers. Spread cracker crumbs over the top of the casserole. Bake about 45 minutes or until bubbly and crackers are lightly browned.

Poppy Seed Tofu

Substitute Cream of mushroom soup for the Cream of Chicken. Substitute extra firm tofu for the chicken.

This is apparently inedible. So save it for tomorrow's meal - Beef Stroganoff.


Beef Stroganoff

Mix ground beef, sour cream or yogurt and Cream of Mushroom soup. Serve with noodles - watch it all disappear.

Fake Meat Stroganoff - so nasty it makes vegetarians convert!

Scrape the cracker crumbs off the top of the Poppyseed Tofu and throw away. Carefully remove as much of the tofu as you can from the remaining goo. Rinse the tofu for another meal. Add vegetarian ground beef to the Cream of Mushroom yogurt mixture and heat. Serve over noodles. Watch your vegetarian child take one bite, throw it all away and serve herself the Beef Stroganoff.

Chicken Tofu Stir Fry

Take leftover tofu from Poppy Seed Tofu, add to cubed chicken breasts. In a skillet cook the chicken and tofu with soy sauce and garlic powder until chicken is fully cooked. In a small cup mix cornstarch and orange-flavored sugar-free drink mix (because 2 family members are allergic to oranges) - add to skillet. Add one can cranberry sauce and mix well. Add leftover veggies and stir fry veggies. Simmer until rice is done. Serve with rice (because kids won't allow you to serve it over rice). Be shocked and amazed that no one comments on the tofu (not even you notice it). Maybe you will be able to mix the fake meat in with the rest and get rid of it that way!

Yea! I don't have to worry about Kitty being a vegetarian anymore. Now all I have to deal with are the meltdowns caused by recent changes in her meds. We're removing Geodon and adding Seroquel. The Seroquel is not at a high enough dose yet apparently.

Chef Mary

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh, congratulations! Welcome back to the land of the carnivores. (No offense to those who choose to be vegetarians.) Isn't it a relief when you discover that you don't have to cook special meals for her. Don't be surprised if she waffles back and forth in and out of vegie land for several years. I suspect this was partially motivated by a need to be in control (I'm sure you've already figured that out,) and that she may dapple with eating issues. Keep an eye open for bullimia or anorexia (again, not to offend true vegetarians.)