[Mung bean]

I am on the tip of the ice berg, going vego.

I have been eating plant based meals for months now with some meat, mostly 'clean eating'.

I am curious to those who have raised a vegetarian family, what food did you mostly replace meat with, as in for the right nutrients?

TIA

This post has been edited by Mung bean: 19/02/2013, 07:12 PM

[CottageWitch]

Flame me peeps but I really believe that we should not remove foods such as meat from a toddlers diet because its right for 'us' but let them decide for themselves when old enough. Your toddler would be missing out on vital nutrients while growing.

Flame away!

[bikingbubs]

We arent strictly vego, we simply dont eat much meat (maybe once a month if that) we eat fish once a week though. We have lots of chick peas/lentils/beans etc - its essentially what we used to eat but replace whatever meat the recipe calls for with something else.
I dont really think of it as 'removing' something from his diet, as he still eats meat just not very often. He might be an odd kid though who asks for chick peas for lunch when given the choice

[Mung bean]

Flame me peeps but I really believe that we should not remove foods such as meat from a toddlers diet because its right for 'us' but let them decide for themselves when old enough. Your toddler would be missing out on vital nutrients while growing.

Flame away!

I know what your saying and I'm sure if I go vegetarian there will be a million people telling me this but to my knowledge there are other foods that contain the same, if not more nutrients... Hence my post, I am curious to know which foods are rich in the essential proteins.

[amabanana]

When I was a vegetarian I didn't replace meat but cooked differently so that I ate many kinds of grains and legumes and a greater variety of foods. I don't think you were suggesting this, but I think fake meat is processed and gross so wouldn't eat it.

Protein doesn't just come from animal products, you just have to make sure you eat a good variety of fruit/veg/grains etc. If you are worried about making sure your toddler gets enough of what they need you could visit a nutritionist for some advice.

[amabanana]

Flame me peeps but I really believe that we should not remove foods such as meat from a toddlers diet because its right for 'us' but let them decide for themselves when old enough. Your toddler would be missing out on vital nutrients while growing.

Flame away!

Sure, if you just remove meat from the standard 'meat and three veg' style of eating then you would have that problem. While I am not a vegetarian myself, I know plenty of vegetarians (including children) who are extremely healthy and not lacking in nutrition. But, they do think a lot about what goes into their bodies and eat a wide variety of unprocessed foods. Meat is not the be all and end all of vitamins and minerals.

[Pompol]

Flame me peeps but I really believe that we should not remove foods such as meat from a toddlers diet because its right for 'us' but let them decide for themselves when old enough. Your toddler would be missing out on vital nutrients while growing.

Flame away!

Vegetarianism is hardly a controversial dietary choice these days, even for children.

OP, I am primarily plant based. I eat animal products including meat, but not day to day - it's a "sometimes food" for me on birthdays/holidays/etc . For my kids, I've chosen to include meat/dairy etc in their diets a few times a week, but as a side to the vegetable based mains I cook myself. So, for example, they might have falafel wraps with some chicken too. DH loves meat and isn't plant based so we are cooking both options anyway, I am keen to expose them to a wide variety of foods and have no ethical issues with meat so this works for us.

I tend to eat tofu once or twice a week, legumes and/or mushrooms most nights and occasionally a soy based meat substitute - tonight I'm chowing down on a delicious Frys schnitzel as I type this. I keep those to a minimum though as they are obviously highly processed and quite salty.

Have you heard of happy herbivore? Awesome meal ideas there although I have found some of the ingredients hard or impossible to get where I live (rurally).

Good luck

This post has been edited by Pompol: 19/02/2013, 07:24 PM

[Bek+3]

Flame me peeps but I really believe that we should not remove foods such as meat from a toddlers diet because its right for 'us' but let them decide for themselves when old enough. Your toddler would be missing out on vital nutrients while growing.

Flame away!

There's always one OP.

We raised DS1 completely vegetarian until he was 4. For various reasons we introduced free range organic chicken into our diets and now eat that about 3 times a week.

Entire cultures are vegetarian. CW's post is bizarre!! We do agree on one thing though, I will let my kids decide for themselves when they're older.

[Silver Girl]

We are vegetarian and so is DS (3). We visited a paediatric dietitian whose children are vegetarian for cultural reasons.

She advised:
Formula until age 2 instead of cow's milk;
Include eggs in diet
Daily Pentavite
Vegemite
Legumes (chick peas, lentils etc)
Iron fortified Weetbix
Wholegrains
Quinoa
Lots of fruit and vegetables

DS is on the 80th percentile for height and weight and is thriving. His blood tests show his iron and other nutrient levels are fine.

We don't eat much fake meat. We will add a can of chick peas to a pasta sauce or frittata, or make tacos with red kidney beans for example.

[librablonde]

I've raised all my kids as veggo's and they're so healthy. They're not vegan so do eat eggs/honey/dairy and I also gave them nuts, seeds and soy products such as tofu and tempeh and all manner of beans and legumes. My kids are rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed and are rarely sick. They eat a heap of fresh fruit and veggies. They enjoy dips and veggie sticks or crackers, boiled eggs, veggie fritters, curries, pastas and quiches. They also love falafel balls for dipping in homemade satay sauce, marinated tofu and roast veggies. They have flaxseed oil for their omega's and I've been adding nutritional yeast flakes for B12. Every once in a while I give them a chewable multi-vitamin.

I don't understand why PP's say toddlers are missing out on vital nutrients by not eating meat: anyone on a crap diet (omivore or vegetarian) can miss out on nutrients if the diet is poor. And I don't spend my night laying awake worrying that my kids are having a balanced diet either: meal planning and understanding good nutrition is second nature to me now and requires no extra "effort" on my part.

As for PP's saying the child isn't choosing to be a vegetarian: well, they're not choosing your religion or political/social views either but they can make their own decisions when they're older, that's fine. If my kids choose to meat when they are older then that's fine, but I'm raising them healthily and happily with a deep compassion for animals right now so what is the problem with them being vegetarian?????