6 year old vegetarian??

[Helloyou111]

My daughter is only 6 years old but she decided to become a vegetarian last Xmas time . No idea the reason but I’ve supported her fully with her choice . However I’m really struggling with meals for her ! I also have three others to feed and work around so dinner time is exhausting when everyone likes / dislikes different things (not to mention a toddler !) anyway so far she only really likes boiled eggs and pasta and salad , fish fingers are fine too but other than that she’s a terrible eater and just wants chocolate spread toast 😭 I’m worried she isn’t getting enough vitamins etc as she’s teeny tiny ! she would just live on rubbish is she had her way . Any ideas or any nice veggie things to try for fussy kids that’s worked ?

Honestly I wouldn't allow a 6 year old to be vegetarian unless they are willing to eat a variety of healthy food, I'd be very worried if she's underweight/thin. It won't be that many years til she starts her periods, and you have to be very careful of iron deficiency then.

As above ‘it’s fine if you want to eat vegetarian DD but, if you aren’t going to eat X (lasagna/bol/chickpeas/lentil stew or whatever) then you have to eat the same as the rest of us’.

Fishfingers aren’t vegetarian btw, she’s pescatarian if she eats fish.

As food goes she could do a hell of a lot worse than boiled eggs, fish fingers, pasta and salad. It might seem weird to you but if that’s what she’ll eat, that’s what I’d give her. If she’s getting some pasta, some protein (egg or fish) and some salad at every meal she’s doing ok. It’s better than making dinner time a battle and causing you and her a lot of stress only to get two forkfuls of something else into her.

www.taste.com.au/quick-easy/galleries/vegetarian-meals-kids/jkd13e5y

I worked in a slaughter house and the amount of shit crap that flows through that industry is would turn your stomach.

Fair play to your daughter, hope the recipes above offer some inspiration. It's hard feeding children at the best of times regardless.

It sounds like being ‘vegetarian’ in this case is more about texture and taste than anything else.

I wouldn't allow it either.

Growing children need good quality bioavailable protein from animal sources. You can't get that from beans and lentils.

If you aren't going to challenge her, make sure she eats at least 2 eggs a day so she gets the right essential amino acids.

I’m became a vegetarian when my daughter was 3. She chooses to mainly eat a vegetarian diet, but I have always been clear that she needs to replace meat with other protein and sources of iron, etc, not just cut it out. We got a beginners cookbook (usborne one) and she chooses recipes to make with me from that. We’ve also made a book out of paper plates with ideas for meals that are well balanced (and sensible portion sizes) for her to take to her dads. Googled healthy eating plate pictures to help her with ideas for that.

She did have a long picky phase where we ate a lot of the same meals repeatedly. I started making separate things for me and she would ask to try stuff from my plate which helped. Although tbh me getting really grumpy one day about having the same meal every Saturday and wanting more variety really seemed to turn things around.😊

Make sure she takes a multivitamin, I think you can get gummy bears, as she won't be getting any vit b12 for a start.

Lentils are great. I've been a vegetarian for decades and eat a lot of chickpeas, beans and lentils.

Shepherds pie, bolognaise, vegetable stew, vegetable pasta, vegetable stir fry with tofu, vegetable soup, lentil soup, roasted chickpeas, hummus and vegetables, mixed bean chilli and rice. (without the chilli if it's too hot). Vegetable wraps, vegetable tortillas.

You can also use Quorn products with vegetables. Quiche and salad, baked potato, omelette, scrambled eggs, egg salad.

There are plenty of vegetarian cookbooks or online recipes.

Agree with you. You are the adult, you decide what she eats. When she is buying her own food she can eat what she wants.

I always wonder how exactly you 'don't allow' children to not eat what they don't want to eat. I have 1 vegetarian dc and one very picky eater who is mostly vegetarian except the worst processed meat which he will eat if he can get his hands on it (I won't buy it) and there has never been anything I can do about it. If I just cook 'regular family meals' they go hungry. I've tried it extensively and no good came of it! Ditto years of school lunches that never got eaten.

Good for her. My ds turned veggie aged 5 and is still going aged nearly 11. However a bit different in our case because dh is vegetarian too, his dad discussed his reasons with him and he decided he wanted to try, I thought it would last six days but in fact it’s now six years.
unless she is very certain in your convictions though I think it’s fair for parents to say no you need protein at your age. Also it’s more work for parents. If she resolutely insists however I think it’s difficult to say no.

Im not sure to be honest as she used to love ham , bolognaise, chicken etc . I think it’s more because she may has seen someone on YouTube she liked that was a veggie and it went from there . She is very stubborn and strong willed so I just need to go with it best I can

ps you write “no idea the reason” which makes me think it’s not an ethical conviction. My ds would have given a very strong argument aged 5 as to why he no longer wanted to eat meat which was difficult to say no to.

This is all rubbish, my children have been vegetarian since birth and all are extremely healthy!! Good for her.

Thanks all . I can’t force her to eat meat , she is very stubborn and strong willed . Yes I’m the parent I know but I also respect my daughter for her own choices end of the day . I’m just looking for ideas on how to make sure she is healthy and getting what she needs . there is no way she will touch meat so no point me bashing her about it . I think the idea of a cook book and getting her involved in cooking is fab and she may take more interest in trying different things .

Thank you !! Like I just said I respect her choice and I’m just looking for ideas to get her interested in more foods

Ah. Is there any chance someone she likes more on YouTube eats meat?

If she likes spag bol then I’d try a veggie version with whatever meat alternative you’re happy to use. I’m not a huge fan of fake meat but it works better in that kind of sauce than as eg fake ham in a sandwich.

Does it have to be an ethical reason ? Doesn’t matter the reason really as I can’t force feed her . I just have to make the situation as best as I can . She’s not a baby I can spoon feed

She’s not vegetarian if she eats fishfingers - I’ve no issue with that, was pescatarian myself for years, but just pointing it out as, if she’ll eat fish that actually opens a lot of other options up to you!

We eat a lot of vegetarian meals at home still, some pescatarian, and now occasionally meat.

I’m making these for dinner tonight - my DD loves them - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cheesy-black-bean-quesadillas You could also do this kind of thing with tuna, cheese and avocado.

Also fajitas are good and easy enough to do a meat version for those who want it, then just the veggies with maybe a tin of mixed beans in as a vegetarian option.

Lentil cottage pie is another favourite - https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/vegetable-and-lentil-cottage-pie/

We eat lots of pasta here - I make sauce with extra vegetables, can add beans, lentils, chickpeas etc to sauces if you want for protein, add grated cheese, nutritional yeast also a good source of protein.

Nut butter also another good source of protein - add to porridge or cereal, have it on toast or pancakes, stir it into yoghurt etc.

If you're worried about her not meeting daily requirements then I'd add a decent vitamin daily.

We are a veggie family, so all eat together. I look at meat recipes online and just swap the meat for a veggie alternative! Works pretty much all the time.

Are go to's might be wraps, lasagne, toad in the hole, pasta with a load of different sauces homemade (great to add veggies in) couscous, pesto, homemade pizzas.

I know that the ship has sailed so this isn't helpful but... I don't think you should let your 6yo choose whatever she wants to watch on YouTube (even kids youtube).

I think things like kids netflix or kids disney plus are less likely to be political.

6yo is so young to be watching people who have political agendas like promoting vegetarianism

I would ask her to explain why she wants to be a vegetarian. I am vegetarian and wouldn't ever make a child eat meat who didn't want to. When I was young I did eat meat, but many types of meat I found disgusting and refused them. My children ate mostly vegetarian meals at home when young - I made a lot of pasta sauces where you can hide veg and lentils, chilli with plant mince where you can hide the beans if necessary etc.

Fab thank you so much !! I’ll have a look at these tonight with her x

While I agree you can’t force feed them you can just ignore and carry on best you can eg my other son is extremely fussy and until recently wouldn’t eat pasta which is an important part of everyone else in our family’s diet. I haven’t made a big deal of it just put a bit on his plate every meal with other stuff. It took a while but he eats it now very happily. I’m not saying you do but it just isn’t practical to pander to kids’ fussiness unless there is a serious reason to.

All the parents force feeding their kids because children aren’t allowed opinions? Couldn’t be me!

Op dd is 7 and pescatarian (and fussy!) because after going to a farm to feed baby animals she asked what they were used for. I explained in a child friendly way that ham, chicken nuggets etc all come from animals and we have to kill them to eat them. She didn’t want to eat any after that.

I give her a good multi bit and prebiotics every day, and make sure her diet is as varied as possible. Never had any issues.