Am I not feeding my kids enough? Is it because we are veggie?

[MrsJackman10]

Ages 6, 4 & 2. We are all veggie but I try very hard to ensure they have a good diet.

Breakfast: Normally a big event, will do fruit, beans on toast for all, cups of milk... Sometimes pastries or pancakes instead of beans on toast. Eggs sometimes...

Snack: hummus and cucumber sticks, cheese, crackers, nuts...

Lunch: varies but I normally give a pasta dish with veggies sneaked in with salad, and desserts of fruit with yoghurt. Occasionally sandwiches but if they have that then there are plenty of extras like hummus, cheese etc.

Evening meals, whatever we are having but decent sized portions and normally something like cottage pie, always something with protein and a carb and I have veg etc available on the table so if they aren't full there is more. Dessert would be frozen yoghurt, or pie and custard. After if they are still hungry there is cheese and biscuits.

I have portions of raw veg, cheese cubes, fruit, falafel, boiled eggs etc in fridge for them to snack on as they want. They also have crisps and sweets a couple of times a week and on a Friday we have doughnuts and brownies (homemade and then snacked on throughout the weekend or taken on a picnic)

Bedtime they always are hungry so they all have a bowl of porridge or cereal. There is food available as they want it but they just eat and eat all day! They are all normal weight, all slim and tall. They seem to eat more than me! They constantly ask for food and ask for snacks... Is this normal or could our veggie diet be meaning they are missing something? I try very hard to cover the main vitamins and minerals and they all take supplements.

i dont know much about nutrition but my kids ask for food when they are bored. could that be a factor? could they go to a relatives house for a meaty lunch and see if that keeps them fuller for longer?

I don't think they are bored, we go out every day - sometimes just the park or feeding the ducks etc but over the summer have some lots of seaside trips and bigger days out and they play together whenever we are at home... They never complain of being bored (just hungry!)

To me it sound like they have plenty and it is almost all nutritious. You are right to let hem have some treats a couple of times a week and snacks available. Hopefully a dietician will be along to reassure you.

Are they drinking enough?

Plus what protein do they have at lunchtime?

I think it's normal, they're just growing. My son has been veggie from birth and is now 6'3" and built like a brick outhouse, so I don't think the veggieness is a factor. Perhaps a side plate of bread and butter with meals?

Lunchtime protein will be boiled egg if sandwiches and hummus or chopped veggie sausages/chickpeas in their pasta or something.
They drink lots of milk and water, sometimes a smoothie, fresh juice. Drink always available wherever we are.

You could put things like wholemeal pittas with peanut butter in as a slow-burning food to fill them up, and more lentils/pulses/beans etc.

Their diets sound great, though, and I think a lot of children do the "I'm hungry" thing before bedtime, partly because it's the only time of day they sit quietly and listen to their bodies. I make mine drink milk or water with meals, and drink lots of water through the day as both are rascals at declaring hunger when really they're just thirsty. Yours sound perfectly healthy!

sounds all right although pastry for breakfast wont stick to the ribs long, and fruit smoothies may make them fat. use teeth.

If they are healthy weight for their height /age why worry?

My ex's sister in law owns a nursery that feeds the kids meals if they are there at appropriate times. She understands good food and is careful to feed the veggie kids proper balanced meals in line with nutritional guidance but said that she feels sorry for the veggie kids because "they are always hungry". She has come to believe that some kids need meat, fish or eggs on a daily basis as they take longer to digest and the kids who eat these things do not get hungry.
I don't have a veggie-bashing agenda as am 99.9% vegetarian myself and have been for years. I eat a whole food diet, organic, nutritionally balanced. I went veggie 30 years ago, aged about 20, because it helped with certain health conditions I used to have (and now don't). But I have to admit that when I ate meat I didn't go around with a raging hunger for most of the day, whereas now that I'm veggie I spend a good few hours every day feeling so hungry I could eat a horse. I should add, I am not underweight -- a bit over, if I'm honest.
I would be guided by your children. If they, for instance, eat meat/fish at friends' houses and bug you to feed them these things, then I would go with it, at least a couple of times per week, and see how they get on. Also ensure they have plenty of saturated fat--full fat milk, cheese, butter, coconut oil. This doesn't fit with some current "official" advice but is slowly coming back into fashion with those who believe that the anti-saturated fat fad lacks good evidence to back it up.

I'm not veggie but I have meat free days and I do find I get hungrier unless I have a lot of cheese and eggs. I know the vegetable protein in beans and hummus, nuts etc should be enough nutritionally but I find it doesn't satisfy hunger.

If they're well and a healthy weight they're eating enough though

PS I know that many veggies do eat eggs but some don't. In my experience they are nicely filling and after a 2-egg omelette for breakfast I don't get hungry again for hours!

@Dushenka that's really interesting. I've been veggie all my life and have a fair (large) appetite!

I am vegan now but give the kids lots of dairy! Inc butter and full fat milk...

I would let them eat fish and dairy when they are old enough to decide, the 6 year old knows and doesn't want to yet.

They have lentils/pulses most days or chickpeas. They have omelettes for dinner sometimes but I have not noticed it effects their massive appetites.

I just wonder if they are hungry all the time because they're bodies are trying to get something I am not providing. Are there any veggie alternatives they take longer to digest?

I was raised vegetarian and was not hungry all the time. I ate normal amounts at meal times. My brother was also raised vegetarian and he could eat all day, had whole loaves of bread and pints of milk . He’s very tall and until adulthood was slim so some people just have faster metabolisms and need more food I think of course my mum tried to veer him towards healthier foods than bread! He would eat whole cucumbers too.

If they aren’t gaining weight then just feed them more. Vegan food is lower in calories generally so portions will be bigger than for standard diets.

Have you tried meat alternatives like tofu, seitan, vegan quorn etc? I tend to find that the carb to protein ratio on these is better than for beans etc and so they do make me feel more full.

I'm Vegan OP but my kids are pescatarian. They're always hungry too and both skinny despite constantly eating. I think it's just growing children!

Have you tried chia seeds? They're relatively inexpensive now and I put them in everything. Can be added to their porridge, hummus, soups, pasta etc. I get the white ones, they're tasteless and virtually undetectable in food so my kids don't notice.
They're very good for you, good protein and vitamin source.

You could try switching it up a little and perhaps upping the protein intake to see if it makes a difference. If that doesn’t work then see if increasing carbs helps.

I would also keep an eye on vitamin B12 intake and iron levels. Calcium inhibits iron absorption which can be an issue for some vegetarian children (my DD is prone to low iron). I like to give at least one dairy free / iron rich meal per day. I tend to do this for lunch and provide drinks high in vitamin c rather than milk, as vitamin c helps iron absorption.

Also with the food you have listed I would say that is way more than my 8 year old DD eats in a day - she rarely complains of being hungry and when she does it’s usually around meal times.

I think this is just kids tbh. I was the same as a child and my DC are too. Also tall and slim but always seem to be eating. As long as it isn’t constant junk, it isn’t a problem. Sounds like your DC have a healthy varied diet, I wouldn’t worry.

Have you thought about speaking with a dietician?

Protein may be the issue?

In the interest of balance, my kids are not vegetarian, they eat a varied, mostly healthy diet including plenty of meat. They too are always asking for snacks between meals, I really think it is, at best a growing child thing or at worst a bored child thing. Mine are also ideal weight and height.

"I just wonder if they are hungry all the time because they're bodies are trying to get something I am not providing"
Focus here on protein and good saturated fats, two things that many veggies don't eat enough of. As other posters have said, lentils/pulses are good protein and take longer to digest than veggies and fruits, but in my experience nothing satisfies me for hours as much as the protein and fats in meat/fish! Good that your children are eating eggs and full fat milk. I am not convinced combined veggie sources provide as good protein as meat/fish, though it's possible there is no scientific explanation for this as I've read all the veggie/vegan arguments and find them very convincing!
However, I have a friend who was veggie for years and so much 'always hungry' that he overate and was very overweight. I suggested he eat some fishafter resisting, he didand it transformed him--he eats non-farmed fish every day and the weight dropped off him. Also he no longer gets energy slumps during the day. I think the bottom line is that no one diet suits everyone. Some folk do really well on a 100% veggie diet; others seem to need some animal protein.

Sounds like absolutely loads, all very healthy and your kids are a healthy weight and size. You’re doing fine, stop worrying!

They’re growing and if they’re active they’ll be burning through calories. All you’re doing is fuelling that

I tended not to give my kids snacks apart from an after school snack. (Unless they were very little or there was a particular reason such as a late meal or if they had been swimming or something). I wasnt strict about it but generally they just ate four times a day. They would have treats but I generally kept them to mealtimes.

I felt with my kids that it made them eat properly and enthusiastically at meals times. I felt it stopped them growing up with a constant need to snack. They are adults now and they do snack and have treats but all four of them seem to have a good relationship with food.

BTW, if you think they are always hungry as little kids just wait until they are teens.

There is an AMA dietician thread knocking around. How's portion sizes?

I have often seen a 1200-1400 calorie recommendation for 4-8 year olds, but check the small print and thats for kids who are essentially pretty sedentary.

There's a big problem with childhood and adult obesity so there's a bit of downward bias in the calorific recommendations. If your kids run around for an hour a day more than others, they could burn off a couple of hundred calories that need replacing so if they aren't fat, personally I wouldn't worry about them being constantly ravenous.

Having restricted my meat and fish intake, I noticed it was hard to get enough protein on veggie food. The protein density of various pulses and beans varies a lot. Chickpeas & lentils for example, only pack about 9g of protein per 100g, whilst Mung beans have a stonking 23g.

Protein & fibre are what fill you up most - it's probably worth checking they get enough of both by weighing out food for a couple of days?

There's no perfect number, recommendations range from 10-30% of calorific intake from protein, which is a big range, but protein is slow to digest, so if you want them to be fuller and grazing less, you could make adjustments within that? Dietary fibre is recommended to be 20-25g for the older 2. A slice of wholemeal toast and a 1/4 of a tin of baked beans gets you about halfway there already