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!

My DD was similar. She’s still a vegetarian but likes a broader range of foods than she did. I ended up using quorn more than I would have liked but she ate it and that was the most important thing. She’d also eat mozzarella so I’d do a caprese with tomatoes and basil which she loved, and she’d eat lentil soups and bolognese/curry. Soups are good because you can blend in pulses and veg and they’re very filling with some bread and butter.

Green Kids Cook is a really good veggie book, aimed at children with stuff they can cook themselves (with help).

Lentils/beans hidden in sauces. Pancakes (can add protein powder or oats for more protein). Full fat cheese, milk, yogurt. Hummus wraps are a favourite with my two (much younger than yours though).100% peanut butter or nut butters as snacks - peanut butter and apple is my favourite snack. You can get protein bagels and bread now so could be worth a try.

I've been a veggie since the 1990s, there's loads of supermarket food available now, it's probably just a matter of trying lots of things.

If he will eat yogurt you can try the high protein ones.

Thank you 😊 hopefully his range of choices will improve over time!

He's 8. You only get one chance to grow. You need to find a way to provide the protein that makes up a balanced diet as well as all of the other nutrients a balanced diet provides.

I'd suggest paying for a session or two with a qualified dietitian/ nutritionist to discuss what he will and won't eat, what he requires now and in the future, nutrition wise, to be healthy and grow properly and then formulate an eating plan for a balanced diet.

Thanks, I'll take a look at that book 😀

Firstly stop with the snacks. One of my friend's kids is constantly described as a "fussy eater" and won't eat her dinners. However after spending a day with them it became apparent she was CONSTANTLY grazing through the day on absolute trash so by the time it got to a real meal time she of course wasn't going to eat any of it.
You also need to sit down and have a very serious conversation with him about how damaging a lack of protein can be on a growing child. I find it hard to believe he won't eat ANY fish or meat - there must be something he would like. Have you tried cooking with him to get him engaged with the food he's eating?

He needs protein op he's not getting enough of it. Have you tried the protein balls you can get? They do chocolate flavoured ones.

I dont understand why youre giving a vegetarian child ham.

Thanks for your positive post! I do need to research this diet more and discuss with him how he needs to balance his meals and snacks out. And I want to do it in a positive way!

He will either pick it out or not eat any of it.

I don't want to trick him into eating meat, want ideas on alternative forms of protein to fill him up.

@PageZero

Fry's have a vegetarian range in Iceland and they do pop corn chicken, stars and moon shapes, hot dog sausages, nuggets and they all taste better than the Quorn ones all dry food too l- have protein in them and hot dog sausages in bread will fill him up.

In regards to filling him up limit snacks to 2 a day and instead if hungry offer more food- I.e rice and veg, toast etc things he likes if he refuses them he's not hungry.

Is also speak to you local speech and language team- the wet food could be a sensory issue and they will have lots of tools to help you.

Thank you, I have joined the wait list for that now.

I'd try him on kids protein shakes. My 5yr old GS is the same, won't touch meat, fish, egg or cheese - he's very difficult to cater for.

Amazing, thanks for the suggestions!

Have you tried taking him to the supermarket with you to look at options? There are so many options now that are meat free so something should work for him but the flip side is that it's hard to try them all and work out what will be ok! Obviously he can't get the taste there but if part of the issue is whether things look like meat etc then he can look at the ranges and see choose things that he wants to try? Also bean or nut based options (burgers or roasts). That can also include looking at beans (fresh or canned), protein heavy yoghurts etc. Gives him all the options and paired with some education on needing protein etc might work.

If he is happy with pasta and sauce, cooking red lentils down into a tomato sauce is a great way to add protein (they break down so you hardly know they're there).

I have a 1970s recipe which is very similar to a lasagne but is layers on pancake, with mince (obviously you are not going to use that) chopped tomatoes and tomato puree then more pancakes and more 'ragu' then a cheese sauce on top - it probably has a week's worth of calories in it but would certainly fill him up.

To freeze pancakes make a stack, once cold wrap in foil and freeze, to heat just put the stack into the oven still in the foil.

Or you can do individual pancakes and put a filling in, fold in half and wrap in foil.

If he likes pancakes then Yorkshire pudding batter is exactly the same, you could perhaps sneak in an extra egg or two in and you could make a sort of toad in the hole with onions and peppers.

How does he get on with courgettes and aubergines? Both can be stuffed to make a filling 'main' part of a meal.

Baba ghanoush is made with eggs but as an alternative you can make it with mayonnaise (ie disguise the egg) cut an aubergine in half, make criss cross cuts and put slivers of garlic in the lots, pour some olive oil over and bake for 20 mins - the aubergine needs to be mushy.

One cooked put in a colander / sieve over a bowl, liquid will come out, don't skip this stage.

Once cool use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a dish, add a good couple of dollops of mayo, stir and serve as a dip.

You can get flour made out of peas and chick peas - check your local Asian grocer look for 'besan' and 'gram' flour.

I will admit I've only used these in Asian recipes but I don't see why they wouldn't work to make a batter so you can make vegi fritters.

Protein shakes are good. One scoop of protein powder is 20-25g of protein depending on the brand. That’s the same as one chicken breast.

a scoop of powder in milk or water would be great. You get lord of flavours, chocolate or vanilla etc.

Try replacing regular pasta with lentil or chickpea pasta for protein? Mix green lentils with rice?

I'm with him on most meat substitutes.
Spaghetti sauce with lentils, if he's funny about them you could blitz them up.
My DD6 loves dhal (especially when she can have naan with it)
Lentil Sheppard's pie

I'm veggie - it can be a bit trickier to get enough protein and protein is the key to feeling satisfied (and a bit of fat).

There's some 'tricks' to up intake of protein I use - added protein stuff is everywhere these days. You can get protein weetabix, protein porridge, protein milk, protein yoghurt etc. I use the protein weetabix (with a bit more protein than normal weetabix) with a carton of protein chocolate milk on top, maybe some fruit and almonds if he likes them. Alpro do a lovely protein choc milk, or aldi do one called pro milk in chocolate, strawberry and banana. A protein yoghurt for desert - arla do a good yoghurt with 20g protein in, or total yoghurt is also high in protein. I like that one and jazz it up with fruit and honey. Does he eat baked beans? They're great for protein, but you said he's not a big fan of sauces. What about humous? Good for protein and fats.

I'm not a huge fan of all the meat replacements but there are some I like. I like the quorn fillets which don't look (or taste) like meat, but seem to go well as a chicken replacement in any meal with added flavour. Like chicken fajitas, where you're adding a strong flavour on top (because they're essential a bit tasteless). There's so many vegetarian burgers around now, which are good for protein, it's worth trying out a few to see if you can find one he likes.

Ooo pancakes - just seen your post about him liking pancakes. Add a scoop or two of protein powder (come in so many flavours, I've got a chocolate one at the moment, but I prefer the good hemp one) to pancake mix. I make a pancake with 1 mashed banana, protein powder scoop, 2 eggs, sometimes some oats. Top with total yoghurt and sprinkle cinnamon and some raspberries 😋

I wouldn't restrict snacks either but work with him to broaden the range of foods he likes.
My DD also likes dry, simple food but has got easier as she's got older. She likes spicy food though, and has started eating meat recently.
Will he eat fish?
I wouldn't worry about repetition or boredom. Kids with restricted diets actually quite like familiarity.
My DD likes pasta but will only have it with smooth tomato sauce or parmesan!
Finding ways to add protein are key for this boy I think. Worry less about fat if he's otherwise a good weight and active.

I have a similar 8 year old here! It's tough!! She also won't eat a long list of vegetarian things (including peanut butter 🙈)

My go to proteins are: quorn sausage rolls (these are in pastry so might appeal more?)
Pancakes made with wholemeal flour and eggs
Omelettes with veggies
Whole Pasta with sausages (sliced/diced)
Chickpea curry
Hummous

I keep rotating these, there are good and bad days. I'm at my wits end to be honest!!

Why would it do more harm than good to ensure he eats his protein before snacks? That's how people have done it for years