BLW and vegetarian -- protein ideas please!

[MegBusset]

I am gearing myself up for the start of BLW when DS is 6mo in three weeks. We are vegetarian (eat fish 'n' chips on occasion but never cook fish at home) but I want to make sure DS gets enough protein etc -- what BLW-friendly foods can I give him that will give what he needs?

Also how long would you just give fruit & veg for before introducting stuff like cheese, toast, pasta etc...?

Also want to add that I am veggie by habit rather than on moral grounds any more, so if DS really needs meat and fish in his diet I will prepare it for him, but in BLW style would rather not have to make separate meals for him!

you need aitch, but what do you eat? Idea is to give ds bits from your plate

As you are waiting until 6m you can go straight for cheese etc if you want, though your DS might prefer to try fruit and veg first. Mine didn't, he wanted cheese and toast asap.

We are vegetarian and DS has felafel, cheese in many forms (on toast, in pittas, pizza, polenta left to set, sandwiches), quorn sausages in strict moderation, lentils and coconut which you can spread on pittas or bread or let him dip steamed veg into, tofu cubes dipped in flour and fried.

What do you have for protein yourselves?

Cheese sandwiches are the main form of protein in this house -- but DS has bad eczema so I wondered if it might be wise to leave dairy til he's 9 months or so.

Falafel is a great idea. I've been racking my brains for what to do with tofu!

Mine like Quorn fillets too which cut into strips which are ideal for BLW. Scrambled egg gets shovelled in or you could boil an egg and chop it up.

Pasta in cheese sauce....cheese just chopped up....remember with BLW you can gve everything from the start (not nuts!!!) so give him what you're having.

Low salt/sugar Baked Beans etc.
humous, white bean and sun dried tomato dip and similar with toast
Rice mixed in with puy lentils and or beans. as dry DS can just pick them up with his hands
Quinoa is supposed to be the perfect protein but fk what you do with it to make it tasty

Tuna is a good compromise if prepared to eat fish but don't want to cook it. Mush it up with mayonaise and sweetcorn and spread it on toast

I found that with BLW I had to look at my own diet too, not just DS, which is no bad thing as we want our DC to eat the same as us eventually and I for one would like us all to eat healthily. So maybe you could think about improving your own protein intake too.

(BTW I am not preaching - I have to start thinking about how to reduce or hide my chocolate intake as DS is very interested and I definitely don't want him eating the same as me in that respect)

Was just trying to think what protein my girls got and remembered that they would happily live on baked beans. DD2 could pick up a bean by 7 months and can now spoon them in quicker than I though possible!

Chickpeas are good too in any form (humous but watch out first time for sesame reaction). Lentil dhal, use bread for dipping in etc.

We are veggie and found weaning dd easy enough - plenty of fruit and veg, cheese, quinoa is a v good source of protein (and all sorts of other good stuff), I used peanut butter on toast but that is because I have no asthma/ allergies in the family - so that is something you choose at your own risk iykwim, tahini is good too. Pasta with (homemade)tomato sauce and cheese grated on top - is a nice simple meal, also eggy bread. I have a top recipe book called Veggie food for kids' by Sara Lewis - lots of good nutriy=tion advice but not too preachy, simple recipe ideas.

The other thing to bear in mind is that milk (bm or formula) is still the most important food source till your dc is one. So take it easy and be guided by your lo's appetite and preferences...

Thanks all! Apologies if stupid question but how do your LOs eat their baked beans? Can I just put a small pile on his tray and let him get stuck in with his fingers, or is it better to give on a finger of toast? Or give him a spoon and let him try to feed himself??

You can tell I've never done this before, can't you?

DD2 just ate things with her hands by getting a fistful and emptying into her mouth. A bowl is better than a plate for fiddly things. You'll be amazed that they can easily eat rice etc. like this.

She does use a spoon now, I just had one there from about 8 months I guess and she got better at it as time went by. She is 17 months now and demands a fork and to lick the yogurt lid like her big sis - they soon let you know what they want!.

be amazed at what they can do with their hands. just put food on the tray and watch.

Btw Witchandchips I find quinoa is brilliant in a spicy tomatoey vegetable stew -- lighter than using barley or the like.

ds had tremendous appetite for yoghurt - we got the plain ones and added what we wanted. If excema problems, you could try goats milk products as they are meant to help sometimes. However we have ds currently on complete dairy exclusion for 1 month before introducing things back in one per 14 days (lactose intollerance runs in family - OK on cheese and yoghurt but not milk of any type).

You can get almond and cashew nut butters which avoids the peanut issue if you want to - and these are great on toast fingers.

Book:

Carol Timperley: Baby and Child Vegetarian Recipes: Over 150 Healthy and Delicious Dishes for Your Young Family

was very good. Delicious lentil and coconut with steamed vegetables that I was happy to finish up when ds didn't eat it all!

at 6 months he probably won't manage to pick up a baked bean, it's usually around 8 or 9 months when they get the pincer grip. before that they would maybe choke on something so small so their body doesn't let them pick it up. clever eh?! soooo, you can squish the beans up a bit and plaster them to toast if you like. or, you can squish them up a bit by mixing them in with mashed potato. no need for a spoon, let him make a lovely mess.

also, try different beans. most supermarkets do all kinds of tinned plain beans, no sauce so you can make your own or just add beans to ther things. do you make things like veggie cottage pie? well add a handful of beans/lentils and there you go.

also, for iron, give him dried apricots, they're nice and sweet. crazy jack does some 'soft' dried apricots, they're organic and easy to chew.

nearly forgot... jenny maizels 'finger food for babies and toddlers' is veggie based, but has meat alternatives (rather than the other way round). she has all kinds of ideas like lentil croquettes which are dead easy.

and there are an embarrassment of pulse-based finger food recipes on the blog at babyledweaning.com
dunno why, really, cos most of the people who wrote them aren't veggies. i think it's probably because it's easier to give veggies/pulses at lunch whereas meat's a messier feast.
send any quinoa recipes my way, though. i don't really know what to do with it, tbh. oh, and dd eats tofu as well. the things we do for our children...

Mistlethrush I have that book too and agree totally with the lentil/coconut dish. It is delicious and I quite often nick half of DS portion I got the book for about £3 from tesco.com.

I have that book too, it's my favourite veggie cookbook, fab for basic family friendly meals.

OK here's my spicy quinoa stew recipe... you can use whatever veg you like though. It is a bit of an epic (lots of veg chopping, and takes a while to cook) so maybe best for Sunday afternoons. It is bloody good though.

You need:
1/2 mug quinoa
12 small new potatoes, or 6 big ones chopped in half
2 carrots, chopped into big chunks
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
A bowlful of chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower
1 chopped red or green pepper
3 tomatoes chopped into 4
1 leek, chopped
Half a mug of frozen peas
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Tomato puree
Olive oil
Crushed chillies
1tsp cumin
Chilli powder and/or cayenne pepper to taste

Rinse the quinoa and simmer in a pan with one mugful of water for 20 mins, then turn off heat and leave to stand.

Meanwhile, steam the new potatoes for 15 minutes, chucking in the carrot chunks for the last five minutes.

Now take the biggest stock pot you have and saute on medium heat (with the lid on) the onion, garlic and a good sprinkle of crushed chillies in 2 tablespoons olive oil for 5 minutes, stirring well.

Add the steamed pots and carrots, stir well then cover and saute for another 5 minutes. After that add the broccoli, then 5 minutes later add the fresh tomatoes, leek and pepper. Keep stirring all the while.

Now add the tin of chopped tomatoes, one-third-fill the empty can with water and slowly stir this in too. Add a generous lot of tomato puree (I tend to throw in half a tube but it's up to you). Finally throw in half a mugfull of peas (I tend to defrost them first by pouring boiling water on them and leaving for two minutes, but I'm sure you could just chuck them in frozen).

Now you have a lovely stew that you can cover and let simmer for 15 mins. Don't worry if it doesn't look 'wet' enough to start with, you should find the juice comes out of all the veg as it simmers, but top up with water if you need to. After 15 mins stir in the quinoa and serve in a big bowl with grated cheese on top and a crusty roll on the side.

DH and I have been known to polish off most of this meal between us by going back for seconds but I'm sure it would feed a family of four well enough!

Oops forgot to say about the cumin and chilli powder ... stir them in after the tomato puree

oooh isn't that interesting? i've been thinking of quinoa as a side dish, you know, like potatoes or rice. is that not the case?

to echo aitch, oooh this is very interesting as I was going to post a question tonight asking about when I can give Quorn to dd, anybody know?

Megbusset - the quinoa recipe looks lovely, will have to try it out (have never used quinoa before though)

sorry for the hijack

ooh - great thread . I am just starting DS3 with this and we are veggie. He's just had some fruit, veg and bread so far though but he's not quite 26 weeks so I'm just giving im a couple of bits so he can join in at lunchtme

I think Quorn is a bit salty for straightaway isn't it? Not sure. I think I gave it to DS1 a bit later IIRC.

I'm a veggie and lo is at the moment. Here's my simple lentil hash dish as I'm a rubbish cook and I can't do anything too complicated...

Rinse some red lentils (about half a mug)and put them in a saucepan with a large chopped potato and half a teaspoon of cumin. Put enough water in and let it boil for 20 mins (I never know how much water to put in so I only put enough to cover the lentils and potato then add some more if it looks like it's going dry)

Mash it with a potato masher, lay it on an overproof dish , add lots of grated cheese to the top and chuck under the grill.

You can also add some veggies to it ie. broccalli/ leek etc although i tend to serve them seperately. LO loves this dish and puts an amazing amount of it away. She usually eats what we do so this is reserved for when we have a takeaway....