Vegetatian trying to introduce meat to my baby and don't know where to start

[Lirogiro]

Hi,
I'm vegetarian although dh is a a meat eater. I want to start giving my baby some meat as a good source of protein but don't know how to start? Do you have any good ideas of what i could give my baby?

Chicken is good. It's not tough to eat (unless it's cremated in the oven), not salty and you can do a lot of things with it. Mince is also good (cottage pie). I'd avoid anything salty, like bacon.

Chicken. Buy chicken breasts (skinned and boned but need cutting up) or breast pieces (you just need to cook!). Cook until white all the way through.

Fish is good and easy. Buy it from a good fish counter, skinned and boned. Any white fish. Cook in milk until it is white and has crumbled apart. Really good as you can easily make fish pie, put it with rice etc. When they are bigger you can use tined fish and mix it with yoghurt and tomato and put on toast, but it isn't guaranteed bone free (need to mash up just in case) and has a bit of added salt.

Mince is good, as has been mentioned but really stinks when you cook it, so I get DH who is a meat eater to batch cook up some mince in tomato sauce, then I just defrost and reheat when needed.

I also tried pork pieces, but wouldn't recommend it as it is a bit tough if they don't have teeth yet! If you are at a family meal then any kind of roast like pork or turkey or beef are good but they might just be sucked unless you cut into very small pieces.

Sorry if this is too basic, I was in the same situation nearly a year ago and had really never cooked meat and had no clue at all.

Do you cook curries or bean stews? You can use the same recipes but add a bit of meat in it. Either, perpare the way vj32 described, and add to it when serving. Or cook the meat inside the stew/curry. (The former is probably easier if you want to stare and poke to make sure the meat is cooked through).

If you are making pasta, then you can always add a bit of mince or flaked tuna or salmon inside. (Cook fish first, then use a fork to flake).

Chillis can become chilli con carne with addition of mince. You usually add the mince at the onion stage. It's impossible to overcook mince.

And yes like vj32 says, steaks are a lot harder to not overcook. If you do, they'll taste like a brick!

why are you giving him meat if you're veggie?

you can find other protein, as you know.

i do equate giving your child meat to eating it yourself.

nickel I knew someone would say that, they always do.

In my situation, DH is a meat eater, although he doesn't eat much and is very considerate about it. I feel very strongly that DS should be brought up in the way that is culturally 'normal' and then make a choice if he wants to do what Mummy does, or not. I also think that if I brought him up veggie, at some point I would have to explain why I am veggie and Daddy is not, and I don't know how I could possibly do that without upsetting him and painting DH as a bad guy. And while there are people who can have a completely balanced diet as a veggie, I am not a great cook, so I rely on processed protein like quorn etc which I personally don't think is great for a small child.

I struggle far more with the ethical issues of the dairy industry and the fact that I have milk and cheese than I do about raising DS a meat eater, because I know this is right for my family.

Thanks for the tips, that's really helpful.

vJ, my reasons for giving my baby meat and fish echo yours completely. Thanks for making the argument so eloquently :-)

it is a very good argument, and I understand it.

I wondered whether the OP felt pressured into it by her DH. that's why I asked :)

I am a veggie too and my DH is a meat eater. When I was pregnant we decided that we would raise our kids to eat both veggie meals and meat and let them choose when they are old enough. My proviso was that our kids would be allowed to give up meat as soon as they wanted, and I could be honest about why I don't eat meat. I knew I didn't want to eat meat at 8, but it was forced upon me until my mum finally accepted I wouldn't eat meat at 13.
Anyway, I tend to give my dd things like ham on her sandwiches, chicken, fish fingers, tuna, proper meat sausages etc. Anything that is easy to cook and easy to see is cooked! x

I'm vegetarian and have been for more than 20 years, but I sometimes give my DS meat. It's always sustainably sourced, dolphin friendly and preferably local if fish and if meat it's from the local butchers or british meat that has a good ethical stamp.

My perspective is that I don't find meat-eating abhorrent, but I am totally opposed to the current mass-production methods for rearing livestock on the grounds of animal cruelty and the un-healthy crap it produces.

I want my DS to understand where food comes from and enable him to make a choice about what he puts into his body in the future, and i don't want having/not having meat to be the issue. I'd rather he understood quality produce and production ethics, so that's why I feed him meat every now and again.

DD's current favourite meal is chicken cooked in baby stock with dried apricots, carrots and potatoes, then pureed. Very good source of iron which can be lacking in a vegetarian diet. Just bung it all in a casserole or slow cooker until chicken cooked and veg is tender.

How do you feel about handling meat yourself OP?

Assuming your DH isn't going to cook the meat meals on your behalf, one option if you aren't that keen is to batch cook some casseroles - chicken, or very slow cooked beef (you could even get your DH to cut it up for you and brown it off). Those can be frozen in small portions and then reheated. You can puree them up in the early stages if you aren't BLW too.

I would also agree fish is good. If you go to a fish counter and ask for the very tail of a piece of salmon there should be very few bones and it easy to see it is cooked through.

Minced chicken stinks less than minced beef IMO too.

I am a veggie and my kids do eat meat, however apart from the odd (free range) ham sandwich or fishfingers the only time they get meat is when DH cooks it. I always make sure it is good quality ethically reared meat. In practice this means they have meat only once or twice a week.

Neither had meat until the age of 1 , mainly because I prepared all their food! There are plenty of good veggie protein sources- eggs, cheese, lentils, beans etc.

I'm just trying to say don't feel you HAVE to cook meat for your baby.

I'm veggie - although I started eating fish when we weaned dd.

I have to confess that dh (omnivore) did most of the cooking but when her meals were left up to me and I wanted her to have meat I used bought baby food since I'm not happy cooking meat .

Interestingly for the first couple of years she didn't eat much meat at home at all even though it was offered although she'd happily eat fish and apparently are meat happily at nursery.

She still eats green veg, followed by carbs (potatoes, rice, pasta whatever) and then finally meat.