Daughter refuses to eat any meat

[VickiLeigh]

Wondering if anyone else's children avoid meat? My daughter is 4 and whilst weaning and everything was mushy she ate what ever was given then started to drop out beef and chicken but still eat ham and sausages, has never liked bacon! In the last month she had completely refused to eat any meat at all and will gag if I try and persuade just one small piece of any meat at all. She eats fruit and vegetables willingly and always try's anything new I might offer but I'm just worried she's not getting enough of what's needed? She also avoids most dairy produce too but that's not surprising as she had a really sensitive tummy and had to be put on dairy free baby milk and we had to wait till she turned one to introduce dairy into her diet.... funnily enough she'll happily eat a child's size dairy milk bar which isn't frequent but tells me she can eat dairy...

Sorry for probably a rambling post but any suggestions would be great. Will be arranging a health visitor appointment too but it's on my mind tonight after another meal partially eaten

[TheMysteriousJackelope]

DD never liked eating meat or dairy since she was around 3. She doesn't like soya and to be honest I think many fake meats are heavily processed and not terribly healthy.

She does eat lentils, chickpeas, black beans, red beans, many types of nuts and seeds. A lot of the lentil dishes are smooth and easy to eat. The black beans are small. The red beans we make into a sort of hummus with lemon juice and garlic.

I was worried about her nutrition and took her to a professional nutritionist that we were referred to by DD's pediatrician (not in the UK here). The nutritionist worked with her to ensure she was getting the nutrients she needed in a way that she liked - it's pointless if the nutritionist just tells the child to eat stuff they don't like. If she made a suggestion and DD didn't like it, she'd find other options that would work.

DD is a teenager now and goes on line to find recipes that she'll cook for the whole family to eat. She found many Iranian and Indian recipes that have always been vegetarian which generally work better than using fake meat products which never taste like the real thing imo.

[bluefeathers]

Eat lots of greens and cruciferous veggies (e.g. Broccoli and kale) for calcium and iron; much healthier sources than dairy anyway.

Get fats not from oils (they are processed and not part of a healthy diet) but from nuts and wholefood nut butters, seeds and tahini / hummus which contains tahini (puréed sunflower seeds), and avocado. If eating a variety of fruit, veg, nuts, seeds and pulses (beans and pulses are very important for protein and fibre) then the only supplements needed are B12, iodine (from seaweed e.g. Nori sheets preferably or buy a supplement if not), and omega oil (www.vegetology.co.uk do a great one, avoid fish oils as they're typically contaminated with mercury). Note that meat eaters are also commonly short on all of these so don't panic...