Protein ideas for vegan toddler

[daisydaredyou]

She isn't actually vegan, but vegetarian and doesn't like eggs, and we've recently realised too much dairy wasn't agreeing with her so cutting that down.

But now I'm worried about protein, and nutrition in general. She's a fussy eater anyway so sometimes feels like she lives on bread and fruit.

Anyone got any vegan protein recipes or ideas that are a hit?

is it all dairy. I would start a food diary and see if you can pinpoint what the issue is. Is cooked dairy okay for instance. I think pancakes are a good idea.

DD is coeliac and told even as a teenager to have 4 good portions of dairy a day (I wish! For her it’s to make sure she gets lots of calcium). I’d need a dietician to confirm but I think they are only concerned if they have milk in favour of other foods.

Having been vegetarian since 1993- and seen several decades of good, bad and indifferent veggie options- I feel qualified to answer- quorn is not a bad choice and if it's something your child (and you) will happily eat then enjoy it. It's perfectly fine incorporated as part of a healthy balanced diet. Some veg on the side and decent breakfasts and lunches help too (toast, fresh fruits, soups, crackers etc) Please don't be put off by the people who want you to believe quorn is the devil, you're fine.

You need to see a dietician not mumsnet to make sure you’re giving what she needs to grow into a healthy child. A vegan diet for children is not a joke and If her nutritional needs are not met, you will cause life long issues for her unintentionally.

OP isn’t looking for nutritional advice. She seems to have a pretty good idea of her child’s nutritional needs. She’s asking fellow parents for things that went down well with their children - ideas and recipes. Dieticians don’t give you recipes.

Hi OP! We are vegetarian too.

The first thing I'd say is do an entire week where you calculate your child's protein intake Vs the recommended guidelines. For some reason I got myself in a tizz about this a few months ago and found that without any effort on my part, my kids were already getting the recommended amount on average over the course of a week. I am almost certain yours will be too so I'd do that as a starting point. It will also help you identify patterns in days or meals where they're getting less protein. For us I noticed breakfast was the weak point so now I try to make more effort to get a good protein source in there too and I'm confident the kids get enough.

My youngest also won't usually eat egg so I feel your frustration on that score, but he will eat eggy bread now thankfully and he will also eat quiche (but then eldest has now stopped eating quiche...).

Some meals we do a lot that the kids like are:

• Mac and cheese
• Eggy bread
• Veggie sausage and chickpea stew
• Egg and vegetable fried rice (peas in this also a good protein source)
• They like edemame beans on the side of meals (buy frozen), and baked beans. Eldest also likes refried beans but youngest has now stopped eating those...
• Quorn nuggets or dinosaurs/unicorns
• Veggie sausage and mash, peas and gravy/toad in the hole etc
• Quorn roast dinner
• my youngest likes vegetable stir frys with noodles or rice, and tofu or Quorn chicken style pieces
• Fajitas or enchiladas with Quorn chicken style pieces
• Super mild curries with rice and/or naan bread, we use paneer, Quorn chicken style pieces or chickpeas as the protein
• Gnocchi or pasta bakes with lots of cheese
• Spag/pasta bol using Asda frozen vegan mince or Quorn mince and have grated cheese on top
• Cheese and crackers

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, but I'm not looking for general opinions on veganism, or nutrition.

My child isn't a vegan. She eats dairy, and eggs when disguised in other things.

What I asked for was nutritious vegan ideas and recipes so we can expand the range of non-dairy based proteins we offer. This doesn't mean I will be feeding her exclusively these things.

I have not read all the responses on this thread, but you could take a look at the First Steps Nutrition website, it is completely independant and has suggestions for needs of different age groups and recipe ideas

Excellent ideas! And similar to what we eat in my house too.

Not sure of the age of the toddler and how you feel about nuts . I do a lot of nut roasts which are based on chopped nuts with grated carrot , eggs to bind , onion and rice or bulgur to bulk out , possibly with a tin of lentils as well . I would try a mild lentil Dahl -easy to make and my fussy eater eats it . Tofu is useful - I use Tofoo brand in stir fries but also use it to make a curried pastry . Also I use Tofu in curries and fajitas in place of quorn / chicken . Silken tofu is also easy to make into a mousse and high protein . Peanut or nut butter and humous we eat a lot . I’m trying to cut out some of my dairy from a vege diet due to cholesterol

Another idea - I add milled seeds to my porridge in the morning and to any baking I do - flapjacks , oat cookies etc

My child likes protein bagels, protein pasta and protein noodles. M&S do a chocolate protein cereal.
-Apologies. Just realised that not all of these ideas may be suitable. Hope it might be a tiny bit helpful though.

@ProvincialLady1

the VEGAN board is for people who are interested in VEGANism. Youre clearly not

a VEGAN diet is perfectly healthy for ALL ages.

That's nice.

@FabFebHalfTerm just ignore her, there's always one! They can't help themselves.

Ooo falafels,mines sitting eating one just now so had to add it.

Another vote for Quorn, it's so versatile and easy. The WHO recently published the results of a massive study that showed meat substitutes are often healthier than meat. There's a reason why something like 85% of people who try Quorn go on to eat it as a regular part of their diet.

If you mix some breadcrumbs, finely chopped onion, flour, and a bit of water/milk/egg with cooked lentils then you can fry them up as burgers/patties to have in a bun or with chips and peas. As an adult who’s a lazy cook I also have a massive bag of nutritional yeast to add a bit of easy protein to whatever I’m eating. Frozen spinach too, but that might be harder to get a child to eat.

Not vegan as they include cheese but these were a favourite when mine were picky toddlers

I used to make them as fingers or nuggets

www.myfussyeater.com/lentil-veggie-nuggets-recipe-kids/

We’ve been eating quorn for years as it’s something that kids will eat . Recently though I’ve become interested in the movement away from Ultra Processed Food . Quorn is heavily processed . I now swap tofu for quorn or in a lasagne make it half quorn half lentils . Kids are fooled

You could try French style. Lentils with little cubes of carrots and potatoes, maybe with some onion for flavour sautéed together until the lentils are really soft.

My dd loved tofu cubes. Adults often complain that it's bland but that actually makes it perfect for babies / toddlers.

If you can get lo to switch to brown rice and brown pasta (or even better lentil pasta) that is a great way to boost protein too.

totally this.

You can make dips with pretty much any beans and load it with olive oil (don’t forget that fat is really important for kids).

Pestos with seeds. My daughter loves sun dried tomato and pumpkin seed pesto.

Whole grain noodles with Asian style peanut sauce.

You can get alternative flour, such as chickpea flour and use it in baking for extra protein.

In Eastern Europe buckwheat is very popular and used the same way you would rice. Just boiled buckwheat with a spoon of full fat cream is common for fussy kids. It’s not really for protein but it does have other nutritional benefits and could help you change things up.

I’ve been vegetarian for 27 years and was vegan for 6 of those. My son eats good quality meats from local farm and butcher and also lots of vegetarian meals. I would not be feeding him processed food like quorn, fake meat, fake cheese, fake milk etc. There is a lot of research online about the importance of quality animal products for children for growth and neurological development. Understandably there are children out there who are lactose intolerant and don’t have a choice. He loves both meat and vegetables, once he’s old enough he can choose what he wants to eat - I’m hoping it will be a balanced diet. Why not try whizzing up lentils and mix them with some chopped vegetables, put them in the oven and they’re a less processed version of the IKEA veggie balls, I understand you want to keep it vegan but maybe add an egg in there for extra protein and to help it stick? Maybe an onion, carrot, celery, lentil and mushroom lasagne with vegan bechamel? Plenty of options out there online suitable for little ones. Also you can hide eggs in things like mashed potato pancakes, white sauce, vegetable egg muffins.

Lentil soup! Bag of carrots, 1 onion, a cup of lentils, 2x oxo vegetable stock cubes and water. Simmer on low for an hour. We aren't vegan/vegetarian, but our children will always eat this with some dipping bread. It is healthy, filling and has protein.