a bit of advice?

[brioni]

i was hopeing 1 of you could give me a bit of advice please. my 21 month old will not eat meat, and hardly any fish. is there any kind of supplements i can give to her? any suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks

Ds is veggie but doesn't have supplements (he is 18m). I make sure he has a balanced diet - pulses, fruit, veg, rice, pasta, bread, dairy etc etc along with his milk. They can get all they need from their diet.

thank you. would i be ok giving her fresh fruit juice as well?

Wouldn't worry brioni.
Plenty of kids do fine with no meat.
Lots of cheese,yoghurt and beans will see to her protein needs.

thanks i was getting quite worried.

Fresh juice fine.
Would water it down a bit so she doesn't get too hooked on v sweet things.
(I always do a 50/50 mix.)

You can if you like. We don't but that's because dh and his ex p gave their dd loads of juice and it ruined her teeth! Ds just has water and milk but if they won't eat any fruit then once a day should be ok (juice can only make up one portion of fruit or veg each day).

ill leave the juice out then, thanks. i just wanted to make sure she was getting enough iron because anaemia is a problem in my family.

thank you again for the advice, but i got to go shes wrecking the house, at least i know her energy levels are ok.

I would definitely give her \link{http://www.expresschemist.co.uk/product_2589_minadex-orange-flavour-tonic-200ml.html\this} Iron is very important for toddlers.

My DS is vege (along with his parents!), and I firmly believe he needs no supplements. I do give (very watered down) juice with lunch and dinner to help absorb the iron (never outside of meal times), but otherwise, so long as your child is eating plenty of iron-rich foods like leafy green veg, tofu (tip: add orange juice to any tofu mixture; the kids love it, and again, it brings out the iron), beans and so on, there is absolutely no problem.

Most children in most countries eat very little meat, and often none

Hi Brioni, I think the suggested quantities of fish/meat a child your age should eat is tiny. You could check this out properly yourself but I really wouldn´t worry if I were you!

Just tp add some reasurrance. my DD (2.5) is veggie and does not have any supplements, just a very good diet. I find she'll eat fruit and veg till the coes come home. A good and simple meal is lentil stew. Just make the lentils (takes about 20 mins to cook) and after throw in your leftover veg from sunday lunch. Add some stock for flavour if needed (my DD doesn't have any). My DD wolfs this meal down and can never get enough of it. Eggs also are good in protein. The vegetarian society recommends this diet for young veggies:

Vegetables 2 servings preferably including leafy dark green types

Fruit 1 - 3 servings with dried fruit every few days

Grains/cereals 4 - 5 servings inculding wholegrain bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, breakfast cereals

Nuts, pulses, mashed beans and seeds 1 - 2 servings including nut butters, lentils,

Dairy or soya 3 servings including milk, cheese, hard boiled, free-range eggs, yoghurt, fortified soya milk, tofu,

HTH