Dd refusing to eat meat.

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Dd1 (10) has for the last few years went off meat bit by bit and she has now got to the point where she will eat none. This in itself is not a problem. The problem is that she will also not eat cheese, eggs (unless in something like yorkshire pudding but not omelette) shes gone off pasta (think she sickened herself with it as its all she would eat at 1 point)

In fact I think its easier to say what she will eat: crackers/butter, bread and butter, salad and veg, chips, crisps, thats about it actually. I've blown up at her a bit today when she wouldnt eat her dumpling (mince and dumplings) because there was a tiny bit mince still on it, so I've said, ok you want to be a vegetarian, then you will do it correctly so no more haribos, dumplings have suet in, gravy is not veggie (she likes both) etc. I know ive probably shot myself in the foot there, but I'm really worried as I think shes losing weight.

So now im totally stuck on what to feed her. She comes home for dinner as she wasnt eating them and has bread and butter everyday with a bit tomato and cue and crisps (hate her having crisps everyday but she'd not eat otherwise)

I've tried her on quorn chicken and mince, linda mccartney sausages (taste like stuffing which she doesn't like) she wont eat pizza, pasta unless its plain (but like I said above she wont eat it much now)

Any ideas would be very gratefully received.

Don't give her Quorn though. It's terrible stuff.

I love quorn. Used it for years and years and no issues at all. Dh is an avid meat eater and even he will eat quorn mince - he loves it.

She's 10. She's plenty old enough to decide that not eating meat is right for her - you clearly don't approve, you clearly haven't been terribly supportive & you are expecting her to do things other vegetarians would not do (eat dumplings for a start, let alone ones cooked in the meat - bleurgh).

What else did you put out for her to have with her taco's??

Vegetarian lasagne doesn't have to be 'saucy'.

There are millions of risotto recipes that don't include mushrooms or onions. However, if she doesn't like 'saucy' things I'd be trying a bought one before arsing about making one which she might not like.

If she likes 'spicy' how about a vegetarian chili on a jacket potato?

MrsW - because people seem to think that girls only do it because they have a secret eating disorder, they couldn't possibly think it's morally wrong to kill animals to eat them

Quorn is hugely processed. Processed food is bad.

My DD eats things like vegetable pizza and salad, I make Spag Bol with lentils instead of mince, she has veggie burgers which I make....falafels or if I'm in a hurry, she has an omlette and wedges. There are mild vegi curries, soups with cheese on toast...baked potato with cheese, beans or both...I could go on.

I don't like quorn either, made by ICI in huge industrial vats, it is highly processed, and is a species of mould that humans wouldn't otherwise eat. Full of purines and the moulds can cause sensitivity in some and glutamic acid ( similar to MSG) which is a by product of the manufacturing process.

Thanks again all. I've tried her with (frozen) veggie fingers and burgers-no.

If she refuses to eat pulses, what then? I am being as supportive as I can but when she is still willing to eat haribos and the like then I feel like why should I go to extra effort when she is not. I have no experience whatsoever with being veggie. My non-veggie meals are jacket spud (which she doesnt like) or a pasta bake (which she doesnt like) Its ok saying make a veggie chilli/bolognese but without onion or mushrooms its bland (plus they are both saucy so not sure she will eat them) Looking at the replies, it looks like loads of suggestions, but everyone is including stuff I've already said she won't eat-pizza, beans, cheese on toast, Linda McCartney sausages etc...

She did enjoy shop bought bombay potatoes the other day so a easy recipe for them would be good. I'm going to try the falafels (would these taste ok with no onion?) And maybe a veggie curry (any recipes? Remember no onion) If I do make meals that require onion I sometimes do 2 pans if I have the time so hers has none, but thats not always possible if im busy.

Pulses can be served in many forms- not just a pile of beans on a plate. Does she like pakora? Daal, vegetable curried kofta, veggie shammi kebabs, lentil soup etc.

Veggie curry is easy as anything... just use the veg she will eat. Anything is fine. Aubergine fried first and then stirred in works really well too. I tend to cheat and just use a jar of sauce. Obviously just check it is vegetarian first. Add some red lentils about 15 mins towards the end with some extra water and I bet she won't even notice them.

Do you have any vegetarian cookbooks? Would she look through recipes with you and find some that she would be willing to try? And does she help with cooking at all?

I understand the 'no sauce' thing - DS was like that, though luckily got a lot better about that when he was 11 or 12 too, so now happily eats curries etc.

There are veggie things that don't involve sauce, e.g. home-made veggie burgers based on beans, lentils or tofu. There are millions of recipes around - maybe start with a few from here or the ones on the BBC good food website's vegetarian section. Even if she doesn't like beans in their usual form, she might find they are OK when mashed up/processed to make a burger with spices and so on. Likewise onion - she might not like it when it is obvious (DD doesn't either) , but when it is blended in with other ingredients she might not even notice it.

Try and be more supportive if you can. She is 10 and things like gelatin etc are a minefield. It is also not very nice expecting her to eat things that have been cooked in with meat and then picked out

Get some veggie/vegan cookbooks for her to read and perhaps choose recipes to make together.

There are plenty of sources of protein other than eating plain beans - baked beans, bean burgers, falafel etc for pulse based stuff. Then you have lots of other protein sources like tofu/tempeh/seitan (seitan is really easy to make and you can flavour it however you want).

Went through loads of multivitamins for DD trying to find ones she would eat - finally found Mr Tumee - they are sugar covered jelly sweets (vegan so no gelatin) that have added bits/mins/veg extracts etc.

well, I would start by accepting that being vegetarian is perfectly fine (which you don't seem to think it is) and engage with it. Talk it through with her, take her shopping so she can start seeing what is or isn't veggie and involve her in cooking the food she likes. Draw up a list of what nutrients etc she needs and see how a meal can be made from them. Get her involved in cooking.

To be honest, you're coming across as thinking it's all a stupid idea and putting obstacles in the way.

You've got me all wrong, I fully support her being veggie, in fact I would be willing to have 2-3 nights a week meat free. I am a huge animal lover and have always bought free range eggs/chicken. I buy meat from the butchers as I assume they will have had a better life on a non-supermarket farm (no idea if thats true though) I don't know any farm shops round here.

What I object to is her reluctance to eat things like beans, cheese, egg, tomato based stuff (like pasta bake) soups, veggie burgers/fingers, onions, peppers, mushrooms, jacket potatoes, pizza, off the top of my head, all of which are vegetarian friendly which is making thinking of things for her to eat so difficult.

Ive looked at those links thanks exexpat and have got a butter cous cous in for her for lunch (she likes butter and cous cous) so will see if she will eat it in a bit.

'I remember going through a phase like this however my mam wasnt having any of it and I sharp snapped out of it. Kind of wish id done that with dd rather than allowing her to not eat meat at the beginning (I thought it would pass on its own)'

that doesn't sound entirely supportive of her views to me.

Can I ask, what should I do if dd wants to eat something that contains meat (ie she doesnt realise) should I tell her. I've told her about haribos but if she still wants to eat them, should I let her?

I would tell her and she can make the decision herself. It's a gradual process, we didn't know for a long time that parmesan wasn't veggie. Now we do we get veggie parmesan, but equally DH knows that in a restaurant the veggie option may well contain non-veggie parmesan which he's fine with - he can't control everything.

get some veggie cook books from library and experiment together. if she wants to be veg or vegan she needs to pay attention to protein and find things she likes that contain it. try to get her to agree to experiment. try things like sweet potato brownies for hidden veg. also chewy vits but check no gelatine. can get b12 dots that dissolve under tongue. I too didnt like meat at her age. still veggie 30 plus yrs later

Will she cook with you?

If she's actually cooking something she may be more inclined to eat it.

I'm veggie but slowly heading back towards vegan - partly out of ethics, partly because cheese and milk don't agree with me.

I would also tell her. Don't make any judgement just tell her so she has the information to make up her mind.

I am failing to see why you are focusing on the vegetarian part of her wishes. Her diet is unvaried, and adding meat to it isn't going to make it much more varied than it is.

The issue is around the narrowness of her food choices, all carbs and sugars.

I think she is old enough for you and her to sit down together and make a list of meals that she does like and look at ways of expanding her tastes.

Shes never been keen to cook. We sometimes make pizza, and although she will make one, she wont eat it. So not sure if that will help, but another option to try. Im just looking at veggie books on amazon. Any recommendations? Should I get a kids one spefically?

I have sat down with her, asked her to write a list of what she will eat. She will add stuff like spag bol, but then not eat it.

Spicy vegetable fajitas or enchiladas?

It's not the vegetarian aspect that's the problem, it's the not eating enough to get a balanced diet.

Do you have any veggie/vegan cafés or restaurants near you? Could be a good opportunity for a girlie day out, show her you respect her decision not to eat meat and encourage trying new things.

Kinda hats off to the girl, I tried being vegetarian when I was ten, I lasted two days.

stop buying crisps and other crap.

if she wants to be veggie for animal welfare reasons that's fine, but she's old enough to understand she needs to look after herself and get involved in meal planning and cooking. What she is not entitled to do is make lots of extra work for you and be a fussy eater.

You have my sympathy, I have a similar problem as my DD2 has decided she doesn't want eat animals and is very fussy. We are having real problems getting her to eat a wide enough range of foods. The main difference is she is four and it is really hard explain to her that she needs to eat a good range of things to be healthy. She would live off carbs pretty much if we let her.

I don't really have advice over what has been given here but will second things like falafel, humous and eggs in things. Would a filled Yorkshire pudding work for her? You could make an egg rich batter make big yorkshires and fill them with veg and gravy.

Well she had a try of the couscous and said it was nice, gave her a bowl she had 2 forkfuls and said it was too sickly.

So shes had a packet of space raiders, 4 crackers and 2 cherry toms.

I just feel like giving up.

Rowrow, She likes yorkshires but I did a "dinner in a pud" the other week (mash, veggies with gravy in a giant pud) but she refused to eat it.