High protein kids meals and snacks

[WeightoftheWorld]

So we are actually veggie not vegan but I thought I might get more responses here.

I have two littles, eldest is 5 and very fussy, fairly short stature and slim. Youngest is 21 months a generally better eater but point blank won't eat eggs of any sort anymore and also isn't that bothered about cows milk and doesn't drink as much of that as DD did at that age. Youngest was average sized but we've just discovered his height growth has massively faltered and he's now very short for his age (neither me nor DH are short). He's been referred to paediatrics but I'm told there's a ten month wait.

I'm pretty confident his growth isn't diet related, because he's quite a good eater, eats large volumes compared to DD at that age and is putting on weight nicely.

But nonetheless would be great to get recommendations of high protein meals he and DD might eat.

And any advice on quantity that a 21 month old would need protein wise would be great too. E.g. if I make him a tofu based dish how many grams of protein would he need to eat? As I understand plant based proteins they need to eat a bigger volume vs meat right?

Recommended daily amounts by age for protein: a child 1-3yo needs 13-14.5 grams, and 4-8yo needs about 19 grams per day.

This tool lets you search foods by serving amount and tells you its nutritional breakdown. So for example, 1 cup of tofu cubes generally provides 17.78 grams of protein:

reedir.arsnet.usda.gov/codesearchwebapp/(S(xsdwuozhh5xnke5gj1x4kh0c))/CodeSearch.aspx

Good protein sources for kids are tofu, baked beans, hummus, falafel, veggie burgers, veggie sausages, veggie sandwich slices. Check labels for protein amounts.

Also, obviously depends on what your children like, but possibly: mildly spiced dahl; mildly spiced chickpea curry; pasta bolognese made using veggie mince; veggie chicken-style grills; veggie chicken-style nuggets. Browse around the supermarket, there are so many options

Nut butters on rice cakes/crackers/apple slices etc as a snack or added into morning porridge

high protein yogurts, cottage cheese, kefir. I would stay away from all the fake veggies “chicken” nuggets, it’s all highly processed and full of inflammatory oils.

They need to be eating more veggie protein, in order to get their required essential amino acids every day. You’ll also need to make sure they’re getting enough iron, b12, and EFAs, if they’re not eating fish and eggs.

Nuts are not protein, they are sources of fat. The amount of nuts/nut butter they would have to eat for an adequate amount of protein is huge .

https://www.nutrition.org.uk/media/oufg1pbd/5532-booklet-sept21.pdf
British Nutrition Foundation booklet on food and portions for 1-4 year olds. A vegetarian child needs 3 portions of protein a day e.g. A slice of toast and peanut butter then 2-4 tablespoons of baked beans and 2-4 tbsp of lentil dal (page 13) during the course of a day.

@Hermione101 I don't trust your nutritional advice - nut & seed butters are EXCELLENT sources of protein! Cant believe i forgot to mention them! And occasional veggie nuggets is absolutely fine.

I'd not give them ultra-processed meat substitutes very often, even if high in protein, as we know they're awful healthwise.

Try soy, tofu, nuts and Greek yoghurt. All good sources of protein. And make sure they get enough iron and B12, which can quite tricky to do unless you plan their diets carefully.

My veggie child at that age got given a lot of foods with extra protein “boosts”, such as porridge with ground nuts and seeds stirred through it, or pasta with pesto plus ricotta plus peas. Snacks were apples or little gem lettuce and scoops of peanut butter, apples or grapes with cubes of cheese.

We also did the usual
falafel and hummus,
lentil kofte, sometimes with feta in the middle
dhal and rice with chopped tomato salad.
savoury French toast (cheese sandwich dipped in egg and fried),
loads of puréed soups - one with dried peas and any green veg I could find plus a spoonful of pesto at the end we called crocodile soup.
lentil minestrone soup with pasta or rice (those were eaten unblended)
risotto rice cooked in milk with a ton of cheese stirred through (risolatte). It‘a like a savoury version of rice pudding
soufflés -you might be able to get sweet ones past your youngest

veg sometimes had a handful of nuts or seeds added (eg. Courgettes with pine nuts, broccoli with sesame seeds, Brussels sprouts with cashews and sesame oil etc.)

we never did fake meats plus most have very little nutritional value anyway!

in my DC’s case it was to put weight on as she was on a low centile, so we added in lots of olive oil and butter, but I also wanted to ensure she got enough protein overall, especially as she got older and started doing a lot of sports.

In the end DC grew to tower over me, still slim and sporty. It’s nothing to do with not eating meat as DC has a step sibling who grew up eating mainly meat and was similarly vertically challenged until well into their teens.

I highly recommend the Facebook group "Vegan baby lead weaning".

From reading that a lot, my main takeaway is that toddlers don't actually need much protein: fat and iron is much more important.

I think I'm still struggling with this because I struggle with numbers. I noted PP saying how many grams of protein they should have in a day, after trying to do a calculation of today I'm not confident they're meeting those requirements. But Im struggling to work it out to meal plan.

Does anyone have a little one aged between say 1 and 6 that they could give me a real breakdown of one days worth of their meals including portion sizes? That illustrates them meeting their daily protein requirements?

Do your children have iron supplements? If not, it’s worth getting their iron levels checked. Same for B vitamins. Many of the protein sources mentioned here won’t help much with iron.

I'd book to see a dietician who can give you proper advice on what your kids should be eating to get enough protein, plus ensuring other nutrients like calcium and iron are met.

I'd love that but don't think budget would stretch, I will enquire though. I asked the GP a year ago if we could get an NHS referral for my eldest as she's not a good eater and is small but they said her growth was within acceptable limits so they wouldn't.

They both have a multivitamin daily with both those in. Although youngest is mixed with his bedtime milk and he often doesn't drink that so isn't getting a full dose often. Eldest had blood tests a few years ago as a toddler and iron was checked then and was fine but that was ages ago like. But I think her eating is probably marginally better now than then so can't imagine she'd be deficient now if she wasn't then.

This will give you meal plans: https://www.firststepsnutrition.org/vegan-infants

DD is 20 months and quite fussy so we just do whatever we can to ensure she gets some protein and at least 5 fruit and veg a day, that means some processed foods. She’ll eat fruit and blended nut bars as a snack which are high sugar from the fruit but 3.5g protein, she’ll generally eat beans on toast, veggie mince/tvp with vegetables and potatoes, marinated tofu pieces with noodles and veg, veggie sausages, veggie burgers, hummus, falafel, soya yoghurt, peas, sometimes risotto that I blend butterbeans into, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, scrambled tofu, seeded protein bagels, I try to sprinkle ground flax seeds on her cereal/ yoghurt. She drinks soya milk sometimes but prefers oat. I need to try making something with lentils, she very much rejected the black bean burgers I made and she used to eat bean chilli and mild chickpea curry but won’t now although I will try again.

Right, I had a chat with DH last night as he's good with numbers and we tried to do some estimates of the last few days and the type of meals they tend to eat etc. After that I'm pretty confident my 5 year old is routinely getting roughly the protein she needs so that's reassuring. She's growing well as I said and she's been seen by GP/HV/paed in the last year when we were worried and they all thought she was growing fine anyway. Youngest I think can be a bit more hit and miss. Some days he definitely gets more than the required protein and other days like yesterday he won't have had enough. But I'm hoping it probably averages out over the course of each week iyswim. But I'm going to keep a more detailed record for say a week and try to be especially mindful of opportunities to get extra protein in. I think breakfast is a bit of a weak spot in our day as they often just have cereal and fruit so adding in yoghurt or peanut butter or something would help there.

DS also just decided yesterday at tea time he won't eat peas anymore too that's helpful...he's just starting to go through that phase of getting fussier and fussier which is making things harder. No doubt partly inspired by his fussy big sister. But she loves eggs which is handy but DS won't eat eggs except in pancakes or quiche.

Happy that's back to front

You can allow them to make their own choice to become a meat eater when they are older

Are you flexible to try fish? Or is that not viable?

Agreed, and I posted in the vegan section for a reason!

Exactly, wouldn’t expect to see comments like this on the vegan message board.

We aren’t vegan but mine both like quesadillas or burritos with refried beans (homemade - the pre-made ones are rejected), rice and veggies. We add cheese but you don’t need to.

The littlest also likes beans mashed with garlic, baked beans, bean salads and pulse based curries - but alas the bigger one has entered a fussy phase and won’t touch any of that anymore.

For on the go snacks, graze and deliciously Ella have plenty of options - graze can be a bit cheaper.

I know it’s a bit desperate but have you tried disguising eggs in something else? We made the good food chocolate mousse yesterday and that needs 6 egg whites for 4 portions.

Have a look at Priya Tew dietitian on IG or Facebook she did a recent post on high protein vegan snacks. With vegan children it’s important they have a good source of Iron and Vitamin B12 for good growth and development