7yo wants to be vegetarian

[Indecisivelurcher]

Dd age 7 has asked to be vegetarian. Which I don't have any issues with as such. She often skips the meat anyway and chooses quorn at school, I feel I might as well plan for this. However I do want to make sure she's getting everything she needs from her diet. Particularly coloured by my own issues with very low stored iron that made me quite ill. Has anyone got any experiences of raising vegetarian children, any advice or suggestions? Food wise my main issue is she doesn't like anything cooked in a sauce or tomatoes! She does like a variety of veg, some pulses, cheese, Greek yog, she doesn't like milk. Welcome any advice!

Don’t feel bad about giving her ‘fake meat’.
Combine iron with vitamin C, so you could give her sticks of red pepper or a couple of easy peelers as a snack
Eggs contains lots of B12
Nuts and seeds contain omega 3, but so do these fishless fingers which are popular in tacos in my house!
It might be hard to get decent kids' veggie food when eating out – a lot of kids' menus are all nuggets and chips, with only pasta and tomato sauce for veggies.

Frittata
Egg fried rice
Cheese and chive pancakes
Veggie toad in the hole
Halloumi/falafel/bean burgers - my DC like these
Crispy tofu stir fry
Paneer skewers
Lentil slice
Paella

When my Dd did this at the same age, I told her she couldn't be fussy in any other way. Having said that 8 years on and we are pretty much a vegetarian house- so much easier but it has been a journey. In the beginning vegetarian sausages are your friend, the plant planet range is good.

Yy to eggs: quiche ? Stir fry with nuts ? We eat a lot of plant based pasta dishes. Spinach lasagne? Or macaroni cheese with spinach ?

Thank you. I had a chat about needing to eat greens and things. Last winter she loved kale but this winter won't eat it, she's said she will eat it again.

Those fishless fingers look great for me too, I don't eat fish and would like to eat less meat again. So we can pair up.

Food shop day today so just giving this a wee bump for any more ideas.

Filo pie
Halloumi gyros
Pasties
Vegetable gratin (add a tin of butter beans for a bit more protein)