DD seems to be turning veggie.

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DD1 is 6.5 and for the last few months has really gone off meat, she's never been a big meat lover anyway but she says that it's the texture she doesn't like.
I enjoy cooking homemade meals and have tried few things but each time she picks at it and begs not to eat the meat. DD2 and DS love meat and eat anything however.

What I would like is any kind of recipe and/or advice with children veggies? Sounds ignorant I guess, but want to make sure she's getting everything. Should she have supplements?

Just to add she LOVES fruit and makes a thing of her 5 a day

Does she eat chicken or fish - minced meat? Tofu, quorn, tempeh? There are loads of high protein foods she can eat - legumes too.

She shouldnt need supplements if she is eating enough of a a variety of foods. Why not get her to have a logo through some kids cookery books at the library for some ideas.

Omelettes, French toast, pasta of all varieties (Kamut is high protein), quorn sausages are nice (DS is carnivore extraordinaire but prefers these to real meat ones). Couscous? Risotto (pea and asparagus), stir fry - cook meat separately, veggie lasagne, soya is ok, not my favourite but other people do like it, lentils - make a mild Dahl with rice (yum)...

Ive been veggie for donkeys years but everyone else here eats meat, so you just learn to adapt!

She doesn't need it, but it may prove to be a pita when she goes to other peoples houses to eat.

I wouldnt label her as veggie just yet - just say that she prefers not to have meat/chicken/fish... Then she may try other things as she gets older and it won't be an issue.

I can empathise with your DD, I don't particularly like the texture of meat either! The sensation of biting down on a gristly bit is horrible.

Alternatives we use here are paneer (cheese) in curries and quorn mince for things like spaghetti bolognaise or mexican. We use prawns a lot too as I find the texture inoffensive, and chicken is ok but I prefer it served on the bone so I can pick and choose the bits to eat.

With a vergetarian diet, the only supplements I occasionally need are for iron, but your DD should be fine until she hits her teenage years with that one!

She loathes mince occasionally if it's been in slow cooker all day I can get her to have some but one bit of gristle and that's it end of.

Was wondering about quorn actually.

She eats fish yes and lots of pasta and rice. She tried prawns but wasn't that keen. Tuna she likes more now though.

She loves curry and my DS loves cheese so will give that a go.

Thanks ladies

Quorn mince is ok - no chance of gristle! The chunks are fine too

Anything chewy she says it's raw. Was quite embarrassing that she told everyone I gave her raw meat and she doesn't like it!

I can relate to your DD too & was at a similar age when I started to kick back & refuse meat, I'm now pescetarian, eat fish & veg but rarely any meat (bar the occasional craving which I always regret) -

my own DD(nr10) has never eaten meat - her choice bar the early years of course - blood tests over the years have shown her to be nutritionally extremely healthy, which proves the point they do not need to eat meat - if anything it makes for a far healthier diet, especially if she's still eating fish too.

Tuna is good, but along with prawns & a few other fish, limit the weekly intake to 4 or 4 times, as it tends to hold mercury which can be absorbed by the body - mackerel, sardines, Basa, & lots of others to choose from though. My DD loves pulses - she'll happily eat a pile of kidney beans, lentils of chick peas - plenty of B bits & iron & protein in most of them, almonds for protein & calcium, & eggs are a good supper food as are bananas & avocados.

Its good you are letting her get on with it & supporting her, I remeber too well my parents not being so understanding & it was hell, so well done :)

DS2 is the same. He declares he is vegetarian because he doesnt like animals being killed but then will eat chicken nugets, burgers, sausages, processed cold meat of all kinds (except ham) and white fish.

He just does not like the texture of meat. A tiny bit of gristle or fat is inspected minutely and then the whole plate rejected. Even good quality mince is an issue sometimes.

All in all things have turned into a bit of a war at mealtimes despite my best efforts. I cook all our food and I take a lot of care over it. I do sometimes think he refuses food to get attention as he eats meat when at school where there is peer pressure but at home he seems ultra fussy and will eat meat products one day and then not the next.

Not sure what to do. I am sure he would not like vegetarian food if I took the trouble to make it and just feel like I he is using this to make me jump through hoops. He has a bit of a tendency to do this in other aspects of his life too and I just dont want to pander to it as I know it wil only get worse.

Oops I always confuse vegetarian and pescetarian!
RockinHippie she's strong minded like her mum but want her to be happy so from now on I'll try and give her alternatives.
Thankyou for the advice.

MoreBeta I wish you luck too

Veggies don't eat meat, fish, fowl...

I also gave up leather, anything with animal byproducts..... I must have been a complete pain in the backside for my parents!

Oops I always confuse vegetarian and pescetarian

I wouldn't worry about it RNC I often find saying veggie is easier as pescetarian is often met with blank looks as unless you are amongst other non meat eaters, often people just haven't heard the term.

good luck, sounds like you are doing a great job ;)

As it is a texture thing, is she losing her milk teeth? It could be that her gums are making room for the new teeth to come through so chewy bits are getting stuck in the gaps.
Quorn is an excellent substitute in spaghetti bolognese etc and a b vitamin supplement for children as recommended by your pharmacist ( or marmite for b12) should cover any nutritional shortfall.

Greenhill she has lost some and grown adult teeth through already but it's the texture that gets her. She has a wobbly top tooth but happily bites into a apple!

If she doesn't like Marmite it makes excellent veggi stock (I don't know if the vitamins survive cooking, but I've used to make vegetable stew).

My proviso for any DCs wanting to turn vegetarian is they have to eat pretty much everything else.

If I can throw, lentils or a tin of beans in the tomato or curry sauce fine. If your happy with Quorn nuggets or veggi sausages great. If I can make you a casserole or stir fry with what ever veg I have brilliant. If you'll eat all forms of eggs that will help too.

However, if you are going to want to be a normal fussy kid and try to replace your protein with cheese, cheese and more cheese and still only eat carrots and sweet corn, that is not healthy and unsustainable long term.

I was the same, gradually stopped eating meat of my own accord because of the texture (I think the standard of meat my mother gave me in the late 80s was rather poorer than she would use now!) I remember finding gristle in mince, turkey drummers, chops etc. I was fully veggie from 11 and started eating fish again at uni because I wanted the extra protein and missed tuna sandwiches.
Neither of my DDs are big meat eaters, I offer them the choice but if they don't want it I don't make them have it. They eat a wide variety of fruit and veg, eggs, nuts etc.