2 Yr Old Won't Eat Meat

You may want to try peanut butter and maybe some nuts. Maybe he would eat the peanut butter with celery. It is a little bit of protein for him

We use Carnation Instant Breakfast in his milk in the morning!! The pediatrician said it was ok, and my little boy loves "chocolate" milk!!

My best friend is a vegitarian, because she just doesnt like the taste of meat. She never has. There are so many protien alternatives out there start introducing those. You might want to keep trying the meat. But dont be upset if he never takes to it.

My kids love frozen soybeans (edamame). You can get them in the shell which is a bit of a chore to deal with (but kids like popping them out), or you can get them already shelled. A little salt helps with certain brands but basically you just microwave them for a couple of minutes and that's it - they're a little sweet and delicious, and kids universally seem to love them.
INcorporate beans into pasta salads, regular salads, and start trying new vegetarian recipes. Eggs are good protein too, and if you don't want to give peanut butter, there are things like soy butter, cashew butter, almond butter, etc.

If you bake, you can do things like make pumpkin muffins and add sunflower seeds and walnuts (I add chocolate chips too and these disappear really fast in our household). I'm a big fan of putting nuts in all kinds of things.

He's probably going to be better off and healthier if he's not crazy about meat anyway, so as long as he's getting healthy food and enough protein elsewhere, don't worry! :)

You can always check online or ask friends for vegetarian recipes - allrecipes.com is one source but there are many.

my 4 year old is just 38 lbs and 39 inches...... :-)LOL - but that's an aside. How about adding tofu to sauces (blend it up so it's just part of the sauce). How about beans and other sources of protein -- nuts, peanut butter. Try preparing it in different ways. My son is not a big eater and doesn't eat a lot of meat either but he does eat soon. I wouldn't worry too much at this stage, he seems like he is growing but if you can add some other types of protein -- check out vegetarian options to add into his diet.

Hi, D.! Try tofu; both my kids love it. I either give it to them straight out of the container with some cinnamon sprinkled on it, or I bake it (cut it into small rectangles, dip it in milk, then in a mixture of breadcrumbs, wheat germ, flax seed, oregano, and parmesan cheese; bake at 350 for about 7 minutes per side). You can also try lentil soup, Clif bars, peanut butter, and all the great frozen vegetarian protien sources (veggie burgers, fake chicken nuggets and patties, soy meatballs in his pasta, veggie sausage--my daughter loves all these, too--although she also gobbles up bacon and chicken just as readily!). Good luck--stick with it! Happy holidays!
S.

I have had a similar problem with my son who is now 3. He is a lot better about eating meat now, but still picky at times. I just have to be creative about how he gets his daily protein. Most nutritionists say a child 1-3 years of age should get about 16 grams of protein daily. Good sources of protein outside of meat include milk,cheese,eggs,yogurt, and nuts.Here are some of the things my son likes to eat along with the protein content: 1 scrambled egg with 1/4 cup shredded cheese=12 grams; 1 container “Cottage Doubles” (cottage cheese and a fruit like pineapple, or strawberry mixed in)=11 grams; 1 container of Yoplait thick and creamy lowfat yogurt=5 grams; 1 cup Raisin Bran cereal with 1/2 cup milk=9 grams; 1 slice Sara Lee Soft and Smooth Whole Wheat bread with peanut butter=7-12 grams (depending on amount of peanut butter); Half grilled cheese sandwich using 1 slice of bread and 1 slice of cheese=about 7 grams; Quesadilla (tortilla folded over with shredded cheese and put in microwave for about 1 minute)=9-12 grams. Daily snacks may include 1/4 cup peanuts=8 grams; 1/4 cup almonds=7 grams; 1 Quaker chewy granola bar with protein=5 grams.For liquids, he drinks a lot of milk..1 cup of lowfat or skim milk=8 grams protein! I also found a protein water mix made by Special K called “K20”. You mix it with a bottle of water and it gives you 5 grams of protein. My son will drink a full bottle of this throughout the day, which helps supplement his protein. My son likes pasta as well, so I started earlier on making pasta dishes with vegetables and very finely chopped or even pureed chicken or hamburger meat in the pasta sauces so he couldnt really "see" the meat. After a few offerings of different pastas, sauces, and meat combinations he found a few dishes that he really liked and eventually found some meats that he likes as well. He eats sausage in his eggs now.. lean beef, and ham are also his favorites. It just took time and continued offerings for him to acquire a taste and/or find out what kinds of meats he enjoyed. Hope some of this helps and good luck to you!

My daughter was the exact same way at his age! Lasted a full year. Then at 3 the only meats were chicken nuggets and plain cheeseburgers either that I made or McD's. My Peditarician assured me just those two things were sufficient in giving her protein she needs with the right veggies and not to worry.

Peanut butter is good for protein if there is no allergy and so many protein foods out there I am sure you should worry more about iron levels. It is very important he gets iron from his foods too. Iron is the big factor with meats.

Don't worry, I just kept offering it a meals, didn't serve her anything else and stuck to my guns. Now she is a full fledged wide range meat eater, hee hee. She LOVES Salmon, fish of all kinds, turkey and chicken. We do not eat much red meat at all but she is liking meat and we do get a cheeseburger occassionally from Mcdonalds to ensure she is getting the iron/protein levels she needs. May sound awful but two differnt pediatricians have told me if that is how you can get her to eat meat, then so be it, it is the fries that are to be worried about which she doesn't even care for.

So try nuggets, dipped with ranch, try plain cheeseburgers from Mcdonalds or homeade. Don't allow him not to at least try a bite, do just cater to his favorites either if he refuses to try it. My rule has always been you will try two or three bites before you tell me you don't like it! :)
My son to this day is four and refuses fish of any kind but loves chicken, pork chops and turkey. So at least your son is eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies, focus more on the veggies with iron and look up on the internet for protein packed foods. Milk and dairy offers protein!

D.,
As a non-vegatarian: Honor your son's choice!
Apparently he is very clear that meat is not for him.
If you need some assistance introducing him to protein through something other than meat... I am sure there are plenty of vegatarians out there that can assist.
I believe it is a fallacy to believe that these young children don't know what is best for them. In fact, I believe there are many children being born right now that are more clear than many adults.
With my whole heart, C.

Ok, this isn't going to sound very positive, but my six year old still doesn't eat meat, except chicken nuggets. Believe me I have tried every idea out there to hide it, make it fun, you name it. He is just very strong willed and will not eat it. The more we push, the worse it has been. I have been able to get him to try more foods by reasoning with him and being very positive when he does try new things. I have been able to hide protein powder in yogurt and that worked pretty well. I also got a prescription for some multivitamins from his doctor and he does eat those. I have had three different doctors give me suggestions, one of which was to puree everything-yeah for a picky kid, forget it!. - and vitamins and protein powder worked best. Good luck and try to not stress about it. Oh, the doctor also said as long as he is drinking milk regularly, that is good too.

Hi D.,
It sounds like your son is really healthy, so keep trying but don't worry too much! I think it's a much bigger problem when your child refuses to eat anything except meat and Wonder Bread!

The Dept of Agriculture's kids food pyramid says that he should be getting 2 servings of meat per day, and that "Meat group servings include 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish, 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans. You can substitute 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or 1 egg for 1 ounce of meat. Your child should eat 2 servings from this group."

I read that at your son's weight (nearly 10 kilos) he should be getting a minimum of 10 grams of protein per day. A string cheese, by the way, has 6 grams of protein. A cup of milk has 8 grams and 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter has 8 grams.

It's also a good idea that, as you try to get him to develop a taste for meat, you might as well steer him towards chicken and fish since they're healthier. My kids really like fried rice which is nothing more than cooked rice, random vegetables or meat that you've got in your fridge, and a scrambled egg sauteed with a little soy sauce & sesame oil added at the end for flavor. If there's something I put in the fried rice that they don't like, they avoid can avoid it, but there's plenty in that they do like so they still get a good meal. If he likes a simple fried rice, you can always add really teeny chopped tofu, chicken or shrimp which just mixes with the rest.

Hi D.:

My 6 year old has never eaten a piece of meat. Ever. Some kids just hate it. So I feed him plenty of Cream of Wheat and pasta (so he gets iron) and he eats cheese, eggs, and Sunshine burgers, which are made with sunflower seeds and vegetables, and they are delicious. You could grind those up in a blender - add a little ketchup and yum.

Ryder is so incredibly healthy, never gets sick, etc.

Meat is way over-rated and actually not that good for us. There are plenty of alternatives. Do not fret. Your child's body knows something that most of don't.

Good luck!

pasta made from beans that is high protein
soft tofu in a yogurt smoothie
peanut butter, if possible (higher in protein than almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, etc)

Hi, Its not really a bad thing that your son wont eat meat. I have always raised my daughter as a vegetarian. There are some very good sites on the web that show you how to feed your child nutritionally with out meat. One good one is go to the VEGAN LUNCH BOX site. Also any time you mix beans and rice you get a whole protein without artery clogging cholesterol. I have raised my daughter as a vegetarian to protect her arteries... as plaqueing up the heart arteries starts in childhood. Also you may consider switching your son to whole grain pasta. At first I thought ewwww but now I can not taste the difference.

Good LucK and this maybe a blessing

i had a major aversion to all meats during my last pregnancy and i did get sick from not enough protein. i couldn't even stomach peanut butter or eggs, but thankfully my kids could because i didn't even want to look at meat, so i wasn't cooking it. we do eggs hard boiled, scrambled, in quiche, fritatas, and crepes. we do peanut butter on apples and celery. i ate nuts every day during my meat aversion time. they are expensive, but so is meat, and it was important enough to keep me from getting sick, so it was worth the price. good luck!

eggs, yogurt, milk, cheese, beans, tofu - to name a few

Hi ! I just want you to know I have lived almost my entire life without meat ! I just do not like it . And I am very healthy and feel soooo good! There are just so many other ways of getting that protein in . I have eaten a burger or hot dog on occasion ..... but I am a great grammy and proof a human does not need to eat meat!

Here are a couple of links you should look at.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/190244/5_ways_to...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2008080802501...

D.,

Don't worry about him not getting protein. Everything that was once living, that we consume, is made of protein, including plant based foods. It sounds like he is getting a small variety of fruits and vegetables and that will give him all the protein he needs. Even if all you ever eat is local produce you will consume all the protein your body needs in order to be healthy. In fact, plant protein is easier for your body to digest because it is a simpler protein. There are fewer amino acids in it, which is why it's called simple protein, and that makes it easier for the body to break down. Our bodies don't just take protein and use it; it must be broken down into the amino acids. As long as you keep giving your son a small variety of fruits, vegetables and legumes he will be strong and healthy without the meat in his diet as well as without unnatural drinks and other products. Don't worry about pushing the meat on him, give him time to grow so his body can develop the strength to digest meat.

Funny, my 4-yr. old daughter was the same way from almost the time she was 2. She liked peanut butter so I gave her spoonfuls of straight peanut butter to try to get some protein into her. Then all of a sudden around Halloween she started pretending to be a tiger. She knows tigers eat meat so now she wants meat - all kinds - CONSTANTLY - 3 meals a day!! Kids!! They make you nuts! You might also try buying some protein powder and throwing it into fruit smoothies - also a great way to hide everything!!! I used to throw carrots into her strawberry smoothies and she was never the wiser!! :) Good luck!

it sounds like he is doing great and so are you. keep introducing it to him and eventua,lly he will catch on. for the mean time hard boiled eggs are a great source of protien and so is cottage cheese, tofu is good too , peanut buter , peanuts, soy nuts, all great sourses of protien. good luck and god bless

Cottage Cheese, Yogurt (good kind), cheese, peanut butter (small amount but still has protein), edamame, beans.

My son didn't eat meat till about 4.5! In fact he hardly ate anything at all. I started spreading eggs on bagels and gradually got him to eat scrambled eggs. Maybe try hummus and beans. Give him a vitamin with iron. My son finally tried mcnuggets because the whole culture of mcdonald's was inviting to him. I never thought I'd be glad my kid liked McDonald's but I was so relieved he was eating meat I didn't care. Then he finally tried a Burger when they were marketing Indiana Jones at Burger King.
Some kids are sensitive to eating animals so you may want to de-emphasize the fact that he's eating a cute little cow, chicken or pig. Good luck and don't worry too much there really isn't alot you can do to get a kid to eat.

Kids go through phases. When he wants meat again he will surprise and start eating it again. My 21 yo went through the no meat phase about the same time for about 6 months. He is now 21 years old, 6'3" and weighs about 185 pounds. He is very healthy and happy.

My son is almost 4 and he still only eats beans, tofu etc. He will not eat meat with my husband at all-he doesn't seem to care for the taste. I have never cared for the taste of meat so I eat a lot of vegetarian type dishes. My son is very healthy. We still get protein, but from other sources.
Peace, T.

mine either try peanut butter cheese and cheerios those seem to work for us good luck

My daughter is 2.5, and eats meat, but has issues with some textures. She likes chopped/ground meat, but not whole meat. You might try more things like that. I will often take leftover meat and put it in our food processor to chop, and then make a sandwich spread with that that my daughter loves. I just take the meat and add some mayo and pickle relish, and she loves it on crackers or tortilla or bread. I would keep introducing the meat, but be comfortable that he is getting protein from eggs, cheese, beans and grains.

I often eat yogurt with fresh fruit in it for breakfast and my 2.5 yo loves it. I buy a quart of plain yogurt, add fresh or (thawed) frozen fruit and a little honey, and it is a yummy breakfast. It is low in sugar and healthy. I still do whole milk yogurt for my little one, cause she is still tiny (24 lbs--almost!), and seems to need a bit more dietary fat. Anyway--it is great protein and if you are concerned, you can mix in some protein powder with the yogurt. Also, a quick and easy addition to plain yogurt is unsweetened applesauce. Kiddos like it and it makes it a little sweeter without a lot of sugar.

Good luck!

Hello,

My nephew was the same way. Peanut butter, eggs, even Nutella. There are a lot of different sources of protein out there. Even cheese. You could even try something like Kashi granola bars. My nephew is now 14 and will eat chicken and fish but never did gain a taste for red meat, and he's just fine. Good luck.