Protein ideas for 12 year old

[ohwhattodo1]

Looking for ideas to get more protein into my 12 year old (bonus points for fibre ideas too!).

They won't eat meat or fish (except fish fingers), and doesn't like eggs or yogurt.

They'll eat eggs in things like pancakes, but not in quiche etc.

They love cheese, but obviously that's not particularly healthy in excess.

Will eat nuts sometimes, and will eat peanut butter in moderation.

I've tried all kinds of meat substitutes; quorn products, tofu etc, but all have been rejected due to texture.

Happy to 'sneak' protein in where possible - such as adding blended tofu to pasta sauces.

ETA - have tried blended cottage cheese in things, which was detected! But have had some success with the 'greek yogurt bread' type recipes.

Any and all ideas welcome, particularly snack ideas. Thank you!

I'm assuming your dc has sensory issues with the texture or taste. Carry on with the fish fingers, and eggs in pancakes are fine. Same level of nutrition.

What about milk?

If they tolerate soup, you can make that with homemade chicken stock and they wouldn't know.

Oh yes, forgot. Do they like Marmite?

Have they rejected Quorn nuggets? That’s my DC’s favourite for nice predictable texture

Chick peas.
Legumes.
Beans.
Cashew nuts.
Falafel.
Hummus.
Halloumi.
Tahini.
Seeds.
Tinned fish?
There are lots of different types of fish fingers available. Some with more fish ie more protein. Check labels.
All the best.

If they won’t eat meat or fish then you need to go down the vegetarian route…..beans, lentils, chickpeas….although if they won’t eat all the things you’ve tried I’m not hopeful!

Would they drink a smoothie with protein shake in it? Some of the SEND kids I have worked with have had smoothies/milk shakes. Smoothies can have Greek yoghurt and the shakes stuff like the attached
https://youthsportnutrition.com/products/nutriteen-shakes?tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=23090588546&tw_kwdid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23084712195&gbraid=0AAAAADNIbtJkoros-tSc4aSduVcs9CunF&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt4LDw__tlQMVVYpQBh2YGjiBEAAYASAAEgIaOvD_BwE

This is a nutella made with black beans so more protein than regular nutella

Makes 550g
100g hazelnut butter 1 400g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder 2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil 4 tablespoons of raw honey 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract A small pinch of sea salt
Method
Add all the ingredients to a food processor or high-powered blender and pulse to the desired consistency.
Transfer the spread to a sterilised jar and store in the fridge for up to three weeks.

Chia and pumpkin seeds are high in fibre and protein. Sprinkle on cereal or you can make easy chia seed jam.

What about veg protein? Beans, peas, lentils, spinach. Spinach shrinks down to nothing in a sauce.

Beans in toasty mentioned pancakes, what about Yorkshire pudding?

Nut butters that are not peanut.

Nutella, in moderation.

Cheese straws made with puff pastry.

And obviously the normal (cheaper) protein powders that are apparently OK for over 4s.

Thanks all, yes, ND and sensory issues, so no to soup, lentils, chickpeas etc, but recently a 'yes' to hummous, so I'm exploiting that while I can :-)

They don't like marmite, but I could use that as a seasoning instead of salt for a bit more protein.

I will try the smoothie idea, I was also thinking of freezing smoothies like ice-lollies, so that could work with the protein powder ideas.

Good idea for spinach blended in sauces, and yes, they will eat yorkshire puddings - I'd forgotten about that!

I might try a blended tomato soup too - I could use chicken stock and serve with cheese on toast.

Won't eat chia due to texture, but I might get away with that blended into something.... will have a think.

Thanks again - the quest continues :-)

Use Bone Broth instead of water or normal stock for the liquid in any savory recipe https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/oxo-500ml-nourishing-chicken-bone-broth - it won't add a huge amount but will help a bit

Chickpea flour? If you use that for pancakes it’ll boost the protein. Tastes a bit ‘nutty’ but might be acceptable?

Or start whacking a sneaky spoonful of nutritional yeast (nooch) in everything - it just tastes sort of cheesy, so good in pasta sauces etc.

My youngest went vegan for a year & we both disappeared down a rabbit hole (heh!) of protein boosting.

I’d suggest lots of whole grains instead of rice, too, but that’s a lot harder to hide if your dc has sensory issues.

@ohwhattodo1 mine also has hummus as a sort of spread/butter substitute in sandwiches. Hummus and cheese sandwiches, which I think sounds totally bizarre, but they like it

Sounds similar to my very fussy autistic DC. Recently turned vegetarian too, so now eats even less. She will eat beans though, especially black beans in tacos or burritos. Is avocado an option? You can also buy a spread called sunseed which is made out of sunflower seeds which I find a useful alternative for packed lunches where peanuts are not allowed. There is also a chocolate version. Also you can buy packets of ground flaxseed which would be quite easy to blend into things.

@CorvusPurpureus yes, I might be able to make chickpea flour work in some sort of cheesy pancake stack type thing! Nutritional yeast is a great idea!

They will eat wholegrains luckily, so something like wholemeal pasta and homemade pesto is a regular for us.

@TeaandHobnobs good idea - will try this :-)

@Tickingcrocodile yes, the vegetarianism is new here too, only the last few months. My DC loves avocado, so I might try black beans as a sort of burrito/quesidilla thing. Thanks for the ideas.

Will they eat haloumi?
Make Yorkshire pudding wraps?
french toast
custard
Will they eat macaroni or cauliflower cheese? If so you can blend cannellini beans into a cheese sauce.
how about soups blended smooth?

Mine “hates butter beans” but is yet to detect a tin of them whizzed into random sauces and soups.

i know you said no chickpeas but what about roasted crispy chickpeas? Basically crisps.

I will give the roasted chickpeas a go!

There are various legume snack recipes, but you can also buy packets as an alternative to crisps. Various flavours too.
https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/297596290?srsltid=AfmBOoonFc8A8iufdMcgl_IFYYZunATmtsS3x4Jovy1sVkVBlnKrQztq
https://www.asda.com/groceries/product/olives-antipasti/cypressa-roasted-salted-broad-beans/5489360

Socca - pancake made with chickpea flour.

Soybeans are a complete protein so maybe add small amounts in lots of places like miso glazed chicken, miso noodle soup ect. (There are lots of recipes on BBC good food.)

Our son was in hospital a few years ago. They told us not to overthink it. Cheese , eggs, milk, beans on toast ham chicken. They said kids shouldn’t be given adult foods that are fortified and said things like protein milks and yoghurt should be avoided for kids and they only recommend things like supplement shakes for children who have proven deficiencies (ds had had eating restrictions due to allergies and stomach problems but they didn’t see him as requiring them afterwards ).

Thanks, I didn't know about these, they look good.

mini babybels and cathedral city, there are low fat versions, think one light babybel has 5g of protein and 50 calories for example. Protein pasta made out of pea or chickpea protein?