Vegan child diet worries

[Glitchymn1]

Posting on the vegan board.

DD 8 has been slowly cutting out meat and fish from her diet. (I’m vegan, DH eats anything that moves).
There’s a choice of foods available to her daily, along with plenty of fruit and veg but she is very picky. She won’t eat any pulses/beans/nuts/ seeds/ salads etc so we are worried she isn’t getting the right vitamins/ minerals.

She’s a healthy weight, active, never sick.

Does she need a supplement? TIA

It doesn't hurt to give a daily vitamin gummy.
Does she eat much dairy?

She needs to be getting a balance. Where do s she getting her protein from if no meat, fish or pulses? Will she have dairy still?
supplements literally supplement but don’t replace healthy balanced diets.

What does she eat?

Does she eat dairy and eggs? If so I wouldn’t worry massively although would try and keep the fish in for the benefits to the brain. If she doesn’t eat dairy and eggs then I think she can’t cut out meat/fish as she is refusing key sources of vegan protein.

My biggest concern would be protein deficiency. I got it when I first went vegan without thinking it through and planning my meals properly at uni. You can't supplement to make up for the missing amino acids that form proteins. She needs to get some proteins into her from somewhere and if she won't take them in a vegan source she needs to have them from a non-vegan source. They are vital. Would she take protein shakes? There are vegan ones available, you could make them up with Alpro Growing Up Milk to pack in some calories and vitamins (and extra protein). They're not a perfect solution but might at least help.

What about Quorn nuggets or similar? It's not a great health food but it sounds like she really needs something protein-rich.

Thanks all, to answer a few questions. This isn’t something we’ve pushed onto her by any means (seems to stem from school). Before this she was eating rare steak, sea bass and salmon with lots of veggies but those days have gone.

She will still drink cow milk with cereal like weetabix.
She will eat cheese, but only the white of an egg, she will not eat quorn (aside from greggs vegan sausage rolls). She loves sandwiches so will have a cheese sandwich or cheese /baked bean Jacket pot. She can be a bit funny with baked beans.
She will eat pasta, spaghetti, chips, mashed potato, pizza, broccoli, carrots, gravy, baked beans, lots of fruit and at a push the occasional real sausage. I think that’s it.

Could try quorn nuggets-but think of it is as a bit of a junk food really.
She only drinks water- again her choice.
She does take a vitamin gummy.

It sounds like we may have to be firmer then in terms of dinners, not sure how that’s going to go down. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but something will need to change.

Just a quick edit to say I eat all vegan food groups, make healthy dinners but she won’t touch them. I’ve purchased her vegan ready made meals and she doesn’t like those either.

Could there be something else going on? Actually reading back what she eats and it’s very limited.

She'll definitely need a B12 supplement. You can get very effective vegan vitamin sprays that will contain all she needs.

I say this as a committed vegan of 25 years (I boy do I feel old now) but if she is so picky and she won't eat seeds and pulses, it's going to be rough. The vegan fake foods really aren't very good for you (not to mention pretty horrible for the most part), for starters.

I got quite fat when I first went vegan at 13 because I was picky and I was living on bread and potatoes, and fake bacon. I had to get over that pretty sharpish and start expanding my pallete.

The amount of protein we actually need in our diets is massively overstated. Only needs to be c5-10% of calories but western diets routinely exceed this, and routinely exceed recommended fat consumption (often at 40-50% of calories rather than c10%). Like any child, vegan or not, she needs a good quality non-processed food. Honestly more parents should be generally worried about this. You don't eat meat and suddenly not have problems - there are still mental, physical, hormonal illnesses all caused by inadequate or low quality nutrition.

Can you buy her a book, put her onto a podcast or instagram site, where they discuss healthy choices that reflect her vegan philosophy? (Dr Alan Desmond, The Happy Pear, The Rebel Vegan, SophsPlantKitchen - this focuses specifically on high protein plant options)

By and large her decision to become vegan is a great one - planet saving and health promoting. Good on her.

Yes she needs a vitamin- these are specifically for vegans and taste ok https://www.vegansociety.com/shop/veg-1-supplements?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAoPH0Dm_cJexuRBDYNU-jBhgrtCuU&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkJO8BhCGARIsAMkswyi931Hpb0P3YyozqK-zGPCzSwE5bMSu3gHAobE6pryD22uVyBVQHHEaAkEoEALw_wcB

I was raised veggie and was a really fussy child. I ate peas, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, baked beans, pizza, bread, chips, crisps, peanut butter, fake meat slices, quorn fake meat stuff, soya mince, some fruit, plus eggs and cheese.

DD is quite similar but obviously we don’t do eggs or cheese here so I try to replace with things like high protein soya milk in mashed potatoes, tofu scramble instead of eggs, houmus, falafels, extra peanut butter etc. I’ve calculated it out and she gets plenty of protein (she LOVES baked beans though). But I see your DD is vegetarian not vegan so she’ll probably be much like me as a child and I turned out ok.

Things like vegan sausages, quorn nuggets etc are a bit junky but they do provide protein and IMO are fine as part of a balanced diet. Would she eat soya mince as that’s a great source? What about peanut butter or wow butter?

Actually I'm not worried about protein from what you've said. She's eating lots of cheese which is about 25-30g of protein per 100g (as long as it's real cheese, the DF stuff doesn't have much protein). She is also drinking milk which has lots of good stuff. She's eating some vegetables (more than my DS) and a few different food options. It's a bit limited, but I don't think it's anything to worry about yet.

When I was eight I just had to eat what I was given, as did my son. It's called parenting, making sure they have a healthy diet

She really needs to get over being picky if she wants to be veggie / vegan.
Im vegan and I'm raising my child as veggie but I ended up introducing fish to him as he wasn't too keen on eggs or dairy.
Find a child's multivitamin that has b12 in. She may be too young for adult ones.
You may have to take her for blood tests see how her energy levels are?

Wow thanks all. Very useful.

@Wavescrashingonthebeach Energy levels are fine- she doesn’t stop. But we’ll see, if there are changes then I’ll take her.
@ByQuaintAzureWasp Thank you- yes it is real cheese. She doesn’t like the violife.
@curious79 A book is a good shout, thanks.
She likes peanut butter, problem is she likes taking a spoonful rather than having it on toast. But perhaps I could try a warm pancake instead. Yes she’s very much in to saving the planet, recycling etc which I encourage.
@kikisparks Thank you for the link. She won’t eat quorn aside form the Greggs sausage roll. I could try a quorn spaghetti Bol I guess, she used to love it. If we all have it then I guess there’ll be no choice. But she will go hungry rather than eat something she doesn’t like.
DM is the same, fussy! She’s gotten to 82 on toast, mashed potato, greens and gravy.
I suppose I am a bit fussy too, I was vegetarian then eventually vegan. Again didn’t eat much, I was very underweight for years but loads of energy.
@WongKarWhy I love the vegan bacon etc I know it’s not great but I can’t help it- love the stuff. Cutting back on it though as trying to lose a few pounds.

Ok I don’t feel as bad about the diet now, will try the ideas given and push the health side. Will introduce some new meals too and see how it goes.

Nothing wrong with her eating peanut butter by the spoonful if she's a normal weight 😊 if her energy levels are fine then I wouldn't bother with blood tests, but I'd deffo include an appropriate multivit x

I don't approve of vegan diets for children.

My daughter doesn't eat great deal of meat so I worry about protein intake (she loves cheese and yoghurt though). I've been getting branded pasta (d'ecco, naplolina) as the protein is far higher than in cheaper own brands

Okay, and? Nobody asked if you approved 🤔

I’d second the poster re b12. You can’t get it from plant based sources. It’s in meat and to a lesser extent dairy/eggs.

Having had to read up a on it recently, lots of the info says that it’s common in vegans and veggies due to their diet. It has some nasty side effects if you become deficient.

Its supplemented in so many foods.
Marmite is the famous good example but even rice krispies have it in.
However it's worth supplementing via a vit as its water soluble so any excess is wee'd out.

Nutritional yeast is a really good source of vegan B12 and it has a lovey cheesy, nutty flavour, so you can sprinkle it on things like pasta or popcorn.

It is very tasty! So high in vitamins I ate too much once and was sick! (Anyone ever been sick after having vitamins or medicine on an empty stomach!? Was like that!!) So only use a tiny bit to begin with

Does she eat soup?
You can do amazing things with a stick blender to disguise beans and lentils.
Let her choose a colour and make the soup.

Nothing wrong with a spoon of peanut butter. Or spicy peanut butter sauce is tasty.

Hummus, shop bought or home-made is a way to get beans and seeds in her.

@curious79

Could you give an example of what a vegan could eat to get enough protein a day? You know a lot more than me so I'd be grateful.

A lot of people are suggesting vegan sausages and burgers but these seem to be more carbs than protein rich.

Tofu, lentils and pulses, nuts and seeds, things like quinoa and buckwheat. You can also make complete proteins by combining whole grains like brown rice with beans and pulses. Oats, fruit and veg. Takes slightly more effort to plan your meals but totally possible.