To ask about a vegetarian diet for a 4-5 year old

[ICanSeeTheSun]

My daughter hasn't eaten meat for months now, asked her for the 50th time today why. Her responce was she don't want to eat animals.

I don't even know how she has found this out, but I am going to respect her wishes and do her dinners without meat.

So how do I go about making sure she eats right.

I was 5 when I decided to go vegetarian. My older sister was veggie but I think I just clocked on one day and realised what I was eating and decided that I didn't want to eat animals. I was 7ish when I realised the same for fish.

Have a google about what vitamins and minerals she will find harder to get without meat in her diet. Protein and Iron are the big obvious ones, but B12 is one too. You'll want to look at what combinations are good too, as some things are best consumed together, or completely separately because they may help/hinder absorption of the vitamins & minerals.

I have this up in my kitchen:
lizcookcharts.co.uk/nutrition-chart.php
It's a colourful chart of what fruit/veggies can provide various minerals and vitamins and I find it handy to have on hand.

Thank you.

I did ask my mum advice and she said DD was too young to make this choice, but if in x amount of time she wants to eat meat than I will give it to her.

The main concern is protein. There is a good book called "Diet for a Small Planet" that has some great ways of combining the different amino acids in different foods to make up better proteins. Comes with recipes. For example combining brown rice, lentils and sesame seeds gives you more proteins than eating them separately, and is delicious.
Of course, eggs, cheese and beans are all good. Indian food too is a good source of vegetarian recipes, but she might be too small for too many spices.

Loads of info on the Vegetarian Society website. There's a guide for parents and young vegetarians on the page below:

www.youngveggie.org/resources/parents

As a lifelong veggie I just want to reassure you!

A vegetarian diet is clinically proven to be healthier, and as long as she is eating a good variety of foods there is no need to worry.

I proclaimed vegetarianism at 6. And have been veggie ever since and I'm 34 now!

Protein and b vitamins are the things you need to make sure she is getting, alongside a wide variety of fruit, veg and diary.

Nut milks, peanut butter, marmite and hummus are your friend!

I've been vegetarian since I was 16, and my DCs have been predominantly vegetarian (they eat some fish, so technically pescetarian) since birth, and are very big, healthy children. We eat lots of fruit and veg, and protein comes from beans, lentils, tofu, eggs, cheese, milk, nuts and the occasional meat-substitute thing like vegetarian sausages.

It's really not hard to get enough protein in a vegetarian diet, and the combined-proteins thing is a bit outdated - these days, most dieticians seem to agree that as long as you get a range of proteins in your diet over a period of a day or two, there is no need to worry about combining foods to get complete proteins at every meal.

A lot of people just seem to take the lazy approach and substitute quorn/soya versions of meat products for most meals, but I don't think it's healthy to eat that much heavily-processed food, and making things out of fresh veg and pulses is much nicer. Simple things for children could be pasta with a bolognese-style sauce made with lentils instead of mince, and cheese sprinkled on top, or veggie burgers/sausages made with beans & veg held together with egg and breadcrumbs.

There are lots of vegetarian recipe books for children, but I find that the internet is the best way to find recipes these days.

Thank you so much, I was out of my depth with this.

I did buy her some frozen vegetarian foods today, it shocking. Went into Iceland and only 1 freezer that contained vegetarian food.

Just stir-fry vegetables, serve with pasta/rice/noodles; really quick and easy in small portions. We're not veggie but eat this quite a lot!

vegetarianism is compatible with human existence, as long as she isn't a fussy eater. She's also old enough for a little bit of supervised involvement in preparation, start 'em young!

I agree with fascicle, the Vegetarian Society have lots of helpful advice.

Look for a couple of books: Herb the Vegetarian Dragon (a lovely supportive story) and Cooking with Herb (child-friendly recipes so she can cook with you). My DC have never eaten meat or fish and are perfectly active and healthy. We used these books a lot when they were small, I hope they are still in print.

I have been a veggie for 30 years. Both my children (4 and 11) have been brought up as vegetarians and they are very healthy.
I can highly recommend 'Baby and Child Vegetarian Recipies' many of which you can make in batches and freeze. Although the recipies are divided into baby and toddler sections my children love them eg lentil hotpot, vegetable paella, mild curry etc. The vegetarian society are great for info as well.

It is really expensive to do a 'ready made' veggie diet. I don't know why it costs so much but it does! You'd be better making one or two of your family meals veggie and also batch cooking things like pasta sauces. So if you would normally all eat spag Bol, do dd a tomato sauce with extra veg, make enough for a few meals and freeze the leftovers. Or make a veggie version with lentils and give that to everyone.

I am a lapsed veggie and now eat practically everything, but we still all eat veggie at least twice a week for cost and health reasons.

There's also a food board here op with lots of different threads on veggie food and cooking.

I've been vegetarian since the age of 7, my dc's vegetarian since birth. It is v easy to eat a balanced vegetarian diet. We do use quorn as a meat substitute in things like bolognese, stir fries, etc, but beans, nuts, lentils and pulses are all excellent sources that are also cheap and filling.

Iron from plant sources is a bit harder to absorb and vitamin c helps with this, so I've always given my lot a glass of undiluted orange juice with an iron fortified cereal at breakfast. Other than that they only drink water.

I don't think she is too young to make the decision. My take with my children is that when they're old enough to understand where meat comes from then they may choose to eat it. So far they don't want to but I'm sure they'll try it one day. Your approach is much better than lying (calling it soya meat when it isn't) which my parents tried to do to me and has undermined my trust in them.

look for fortified cereals.
I think eggs have a lot in them... dd is allergic so we have to look for other things. does she eat eggs? milk?

A bit of research and she will be fine. better if you cook your own.

My son became vegetarian aged 5 (he's now 30). I use Quorn mince, chicken-style pieces, sausages (we are not mung-bean-type-veggies!).

I just cook ordinary meals i.e. stir fry, shepherds pie, bolognaise, roast (with quorn fillets), veggie meatball casserole, sausage casserole, macaroni cheese, etc. etc.

My son does body-building and is 6ft tall

My dd became vegetarian when she had just turned 4 for the same reason (or was nearly 4; don't remember now). She is now 71/2, tall, strong and healthy.
We have never worried much about designing her diet and counting nutrients. She eats lots of eggs, cheese, nuts and lentils, with various vegetables, pasta, rice and noodles. She quite likes vegetarian sausages but we all only tried quorn mince once - quite enough. She will eat fish fingers and mussels, so actually pescatarian.
She was quite old enough to make the decision at that age; I would never have ordered her/tricked her to eat meat (although we eat some meat in the family). She occasionally yearns for a bacon sandwich or a sausage and has a bite or two ... then decides not to finish it.
I quite admire her principles (although I have been told by friends and family that it is just attention seeking . Principles are obviously something to be dismissed as early as possible.)

our dcs all raised vegetarian and all healthy adults now- I think it might only be tricky if you are wanting to cook meat for the rest of the family. If you do mostly veggie meals and then substitute quorn/soya sausages for the times you are eating a 'chunk' of meat (like a chop or whatever- but clueless about meat cooking!)- I think with young children you may need to be a bit more careful about protein but there are lots of ways of getting it- hummus, peanut butter, beans, tofu (try frying it in small cubes) eggs, cheese (high fat though so be careful) lentils....

Thank you, I know know where to start researching.

I try my best to be honest with the DC, I don't think there is any point in lying to them. Well apart from fictional characters but that is fun.

My son has been vegetarian since birth. He is healthy and strong. I think in his entire life he's had a total of 3 days off school due to sickness. His favourite protein rich meals are: Eggs, marinated tofu, cashew nuts, humus, cheese and peanut butter.

I would have become veggie at 3 or 4 if my parents had been more receptive, I said things like 'is that fish like that goes in the sea' and didn't want to eat it, so I was lied to by my family who were very meat & two veg.

became properly veggie at 12 ish. I've brought up my daughter as veggie, just told her where meat is from but said if she wanted to try it at school or friends, she could have it, but she has always chosen not to (to my pleasure) and us now a very fit healthy teen.

as others have said, lots of variety. The one thing I would do differently now is supplement with omega 3/6s... the ones from fish oils recommended for brain development... you can get veggie supplements, as I think they can be harder to find in veggie diets. I take them now myself.

Iceland does have a particularly poor veggie 'ready meal' section, much better choice in Tesco or Sainsburys if you want to go down that route. i'm not a fan if 'pretend meat' but nice veggieburgers, cutlets and sausages are good to have in reserve in the freezer (we have an addiction to morrisons own brand vege sausages!)

I read somewhere recently that veggies who eat eggs and dairy get enough protein, there isn't any need for any of those protein substitute things like tofu or quorn (which is really low in fat so not really suitable for children anyway).

The main thing you need to watch out for is too much fibre, so definitely keep away from brown rice and pasta - too much fibre isn't good for young guts and veggies tend to have more fibre in their diet than non-veggies anyway.

I give DD (who is 4) vitamins, there is a well kid one which has a veggie source for omega 3.

My DS was also vegetarian as a child (no idea what he eats now). 6'4" of solid muscle, and represented GBR at World Champs in two different sports. All built on milk and yoghurt! So don't worry too much about your DD

ps, really like your attitude in respecting her wishes.
it may be a phase she may grow out of, or it may be a lifelong lifestyle choice, (which it sounds more like it is to her) but either way I think respecting her views and taking it seriously is great parenting.

I don't feel angry towards my parents for lying to me, such was their upbringing/experiences - they grew up during the war, but I do know that my natural desire to be vegetarian is part of me, and hasn't changed in time.

Also, OP, check the salt and sugar content in all ready meals, as they may be too high for a young child, vegetarian or not.