vegetarian 11 month old

[mamazee]

hiya
my 11 month old ds ,and me and dp,are veggie and I am struggling with what food to give him.
he likes quite strong flavours ie houmous, olives etc but is not keen on being spoon fed so lentil casseroles etc are out.
have tried him with quorn which he likes but i am unsure whether i should feed him that (i think it is very salty).

does anyone use Tofu ?

at the moment he is eating very 'snacky' stuff ie houmous sandwiches, pear, banana bits of stewed veg from our plate. and rice cakes (loads of them )

can i give him eggs ?
i got in a bit of a state last night because i just don't feel that he is eating enough. he is very big, energetic and happy boy so i am not remotely concerned about his weight ..just don't want him to get into not so good habits really little. i worry about his protein intake but i am still breatsfeeding him so know that he is getting quite a bit from me. i have started with rice milk in a beaker and know how amazing brown rice is but how on earth do you give it to a finger food addict

i am really concious that my mum and some other people don't agree with him being veggie and i feel are waiting for him to be unhealthy.
i wanna be a fab advert for veggies

please please any ideas gratefully received and tips from other veggie mums

thanks so much

could you make brown rice croquettes?

lentil spread sanwiches?

How about falafel, kebabs with tofu and veg, dolmades?

I think eggs are OK around this age as long as there aren't any allergy worries.

I am having a similar-ish dilemma with DS (13mo), we're veggie but he is allergic to a lot of stuff including milk and lentils (and maybe eggs and soya, we are waiting for test results) so it's tough. I have resorted to jars with meat in for extra protein but he has started to fight being spoon-fed. If I give him just finger food, 95% of it ends up on the floor. His weight is fine but I'm worried about doing the wrong thing and ending up with a toddler who will only eat fruit and yoghurt!

felafel thats what I was trying to think of

eggs are fine surely

[unintersted in food allergies emoticon]

Would he eat pasta or gnocchi that he could pick up himself, you could do a nice cheese sauce to get some more protein in?

Not veggie but how about falafel - nice tasty finger food. Also you don't mention cheese? Cheese on toast, mini babybels etc.

I'm willing to be corrected but I think eggs are ok so bits of omelette are fine.

x-post - typing too slow!

My veggie babies at that age had:

Lentils (they would eat gentle dahl and rice mixtures though they went off them as toddlers)

Chickpeas in hummous and felafel

Eggs

Baked beans (you can buy sugar and salt free ones in tins)

Peanut butter (we don't have any allergy problems, I realise not everyone is keen to feed peanuts)

Lots of dairy. Cheese and yoghurt.

they had quorn sausages probably from about this age.

For iron, we had lots of attempts with green leafy veg, though not all my dds would eat them. Fresh pasta stuffed with spinach and ricott was popular. Also lots of dried apricots and raisins, both of those have iron in. Eggs, lentils and chickpeas are also good sources of iron.

None of mine have been wild about tofu.

There are other nuts besides peanuts of course. if you are worried about peanut allergies what about cashew nuts, or almonds. You can feed them as snacks or as nut butters from health food shops.

How about giving him chick peas and kidney beans etc. to pick up himself and eat? MY DS didn't eat any meat ultil after he was 3 (his choice, he just wouldn't eat it). Falafel are also good. Dry fruit like dates and apricots have some protein in them too, and lots of iron.

I don't see why you can't make him rice (brown or white) for him to scoop up in his hand and eat? I used to make rice-balls (back in the day when I had time). Cook rice so it is quite sticky (I used sushi rice) then roll it into balls and gently fry them.

If he is healthy and a good wieght I wouldn't worry though. A veggie diet id fine for a baby.

You can make lentil paste and smear it on toast for them to feed themselves. Like lentil dahl but a bit more solid.

great...brown rice croquets sound fab. megbusset..i feel exactly the same. we know so many older children who are HORRENDOUS eaters and will only eat fish fingers or pasta...
he has alot of pasta but again i don't want a pasta only diet
when he is older i really want to make him smoothies with oats and silken tofa but right now we are stuck !
megbusset it must be even harder with allergies ?/

does anyone use nut pastes ? ie almond paste ?

what can i put with falafel that makes it less dry ?
thehonenid..how should i do the eggs?
also does anyone give their DC those vitamin drops ?
thanks so much..feel better already

i used to do stiffish scrabled eggs and she ate wtih hands - I recommend doing it for tea then straight in bath!

or chopped up small hard boiled eggs

or egg mayo snadwiches

I serve falafel with tahini and lemon sauce to dip, or yoghurt with mint and cucumber, or ketchup. That usually makes them less dry. You could try varying the quantity of water added too to make them less dry. Are you using a packet mix or making from scratch?

If your DS gets a varied diet he shouldn't need vitamin drops. Will just make expensive wee.

I've never given my DD vitamin drops, she doesn't need them. Another option is lentil kofte - lentil patties done in an oven. Also, potato cakes made with mashed smoke tofu. My dd will only eat tofu with olives in, or smoked tofu or the red stuff. she's always been one for strong flavours too. One thing she used to really like at that age but has alas fgone off was quinoa cooked with ginger then seasoned with lemon and peanut butter (kind of satay flavour).

Also try dips - other than hummous there's cream cheese and olive, or tahini and lemon, or even tofu blended with spring onions/olives/tomato puree/whatever takes your fancy.

At around 9 mo I introduced nut butters and ground up nuts into her diet - she still gets her porridge with ground nuts and seeds and it gives her an iron and protein boost in the morning. I left eggs until a year old as it's advised where I live, and then introduce the yolk before the white.

I'd wait until he's a bit older before introducing brown rice as tends to inhibit absorption of certain vitamins. Wholemeal bread is OK but I'd go slow on the brown anything else.

Don't worry about the pasta, you can never get too much pasta. We live in Italy and DD has it almost every day at nursery. You could also try pizza and ravioli to ring the changes.

Yes, it is tricky with allergies as chick peas, lentils, eggs, nuts, soya and milk are all out of the equation for now (luckily he is OK with other dairy products like cheese and yoghurt).

His diet tends to consist of:

Toast
Cheese
Yoghurt
Fish fingers
Mini pizza / cheese on toast
Peas and sweetcorn
Pasta with tomato sauce
Risott

Cheese sandwiches
Fruit, fruit and more fruit!

Plus the occasional jar with chicken or beef in, if he is feeling co-operative.

I guess it's not the worst diet in the world, but does seem a bit limited!

hi megbusset just checked your profile and seems your ds ain't sleeping either maybe we have the same child
thanks for advice.

Do you have many cook books? I bought "Baby and Child Vegetarian Recipes" by Carol Timperley a few years ago and still use it now for family meals 7 years later.

Also "Veggie Food for Kids" by Sara Lewis - don't use it so much but has the most delectable broad bean and feta felafel recipe. We love it - kids aren't so keen!

My veggie dd (although she eats fish, I don't) ate everything until 1 yr and then became extremely faddy. Very trying. Although that said she'll eat anything at nursery it's just at home with Mummy where she messes about.

I have to say some weekends she eats very little/limited and I don't worry about it. She's offered a range of healthy choices throughout the day she has lots of fruity snacks and they won't let themselves starve.

A good way of getting eggs into her is making eggy bread (or french toast if you prefer). Also cheese on toast, cream cheese and pitta breads, my dd is obsessed with any kind of bread so I out nutritious spreads on it to get good stuff inside her.

the rest of her diet is;

veggie sausages
yoghurt
houmous
mashed up sardines/mackerel
peas and sweetcorn
broccoli
risotto
and loads of fruit and yes
breadsticks and rice cakes!!!

Limited but she likes it and she always eats plenty of porridge for brekkie!

We had Carol Timperley baby and toddler recipes, it was helpful. Check out the Kicheree (sp?) lentil and rice recipe, I fed them that for years.

Also, fortified breakfast cereals are a good way to get various vitamins into them. If your fussy eater will eat cereal + milk (can be soya) or yoghurt, perhaps with fresh or dried fruit added, you've really got enough nutrition and variety of food groups in just that to not worry about what else they eat or don't.

This is true fennel, my dd has porridge with chopped up apricots/grapes or other fortified cereal with finely chppoed dry fruit and she really maxes out on breakfast.

I know then if she just eats breadsticks all ady she'll be ok!

That's true, which is why I put ground up nuts and seeds, molasses or raisins in dd's porridge - protein, omega 3 and other healthy fats and iron/calcium etc. Finish off with a glass of orange juice or fresh fruit and a good chunk of the day's nutritional requirements are sorted