Vegetarian child - always hungry

[PageZero]

Hi all,

My youngest is 8 and I'm having difficulty with his food.

He refuses to eat any meat or fish, which is fine, but at dinner he eats some veg and the carbs (rice, pasta, potato etc) but becomes hungry quickly afterwards and wants to snack.

He will eat quorn nuggets but after trying many other vegetarian substitutes won't eat anything else to replace the lack of meat/protein.

He won't eat eggs, cheese, anything in a sauce or food that is mixed up. No beans either anymore... gone are the days when he would eat spag bol or fish pie :(

How do I fill this boy up?

He wants to snack constantly, apple slices, crisps, peanut butter sandwiches, crackers. I doubt he is actually hungry everytime he snacks but just eats this stuff for the enjoyment of eating.

So my question is two part; how to I feed a vegetarian child who eats a few veg and hardly any veg substitutes?

And how do I get him back intouch with his hunger feelings. So he only eats when he is physically hungry.

And how do I do all of that without fat shaming the poor lad who is just a young boy simply living his best little life!

Keep him busy so he doesn’t have time to snack.
Will he eat full fat yogurt ?

He needs protein. Lots of peanut butter and other nuts if that is the only protein he will eat

What about nuts? Without sufficient protein, he will be hungry.

Eggs
greek yogurt
houmous
roast chickpeas
falafels

Lentils and other beans

If he doesn't eat sauces ( or sounds like ' wet ' food ) I'm assuming he doesn't eat soup ? If I'm wrong , a portion of homemade vegetable soup would fill him.
How about homemade hummus and breadsticks / veg ?
Roast vegetables in pitta pockets .
Have you tried the vegetarian Richmond sausages ? Or Moving Mountains ( we get them from Sainsbury's ) veggie burgers ? Both of those are lush.

I agree he needs protein. At 8 he is definitely old enough to sit down with your and look at the healthy eating circle and talk about the importance of various food groups.

Tofu and veg stir fry?
Lentils, pulses, beans and chickpeas are a good source of protein.

Does he eat spicey foods? Indian foods have a good range of vegetarian dishes and you can tone down the spice.
I make this and my extremely fussy eater with sensory issues loves it:

1 can each of chickpeas, green lentils (can use dried but cook before hand) coconut milk & a tin of tomatoes & a spice base (fresh or ready made) small bag of fresh spinach or a handful of frozen. Green beans will do if you don't like spinach.

• Heat your spice base in a tiny drop of oil to loosen it
• Rinse the chickpeas and green lentils & cook in spice base for 5 mins.
• Add tinned Tom's and cook for another 10 mins
• Then slowly stir in coconut milk & gently warm through for 5 mins and add spinach/green beans.
• When veg is cooked, take off the heat & serve with rice as an accompaniment or as a main.

We try to! He eats yoghurt yes. Could give that as pudding I suppose. Might fill him up!

Does he have SEN?

If not you start being tough, he doesn't have to eat the protein on his plate but if he doesn't there are no snacks.

Sounds like he needs more protein. Peanuts and oranges together are great for satiety.

No, he doesn't.
I feel like this would do more harm than good. He doesn't like meat or fish, I don't want to punish him for his choice but am looking for suggestions on what to offer as an alternative.

He does love peanuts, I worry about how fatty they are though.

Thanks for the reply, sounds lovely. He won't eat that but I would!

Maybe that's it, I'll just offer peanut butter on crackers with his dinner rather than struggling to find meat alternatives he likes. At least for now.

You are right, no wet food which is ashame.

He won't eat the veg sausages because they look like sausages 🤪

We don't really eat burgers so haven't tried vegetarian burgers but will do. Thanks for the tip.

You are right, he is. But I can't force him to eat food he doesn't like. He gags at the sight of meat, eggs and cheese.

What's his weight and energy levels like?

If they are about right - do you need to worry ?

Sone people don't suit a 3 meals a day approach to food

Nut butters
Full fat Greek yoghurt?
Chickpeas

You can get almond, cashew, hazelnut butters and get the healthier peanut butter without salt.

He's 8. You need to sit him down and explain how many grams of protein his body needs in a day and ask him what foods he is going to eat to get that. Provide him him with a list of protein containing foods. And defo no snacks if he's being fussy about his meals. He can afford to be picky if he knows he can fill up on snacks.

I agree, regards my pp, I would never force a child to eat anything but he has to eat protein other than peanut butter. Of course he won't eat anything if he gets snacks all the time.

He may want his 'best little life' but it is your job to parent.

I’d recommended finding Kids Eat In Color (she had a website and is on Instagram) and doing her Better Bites course for picky eaters. You need strategies to expand his range of trying, not meal ideas

Honestly I'd be worried about him developing diabetes one day if he's only eating carbs

He is likely genuinely very hungry due to the lack of protein. A family member spent a year many many years ago living abroad where they made no allowance for her being vegetarian. I think she got an occasional egg and some cheese (but that was also rationed). She reports being ravenous all the time, filling up on bread, being very fat (for her).

Check protein deficiency symptoms and make sure he doesn’t have any others.

No advice on what he might like, it sounds very tough and restrictive. But when you do find some tolerable proteins he will need to eat them. I’d be concerned too if he adds new no-go foods to the list.