Protein for a Two Year Old Who Won't Eat Meat.

Bethany,
The Shaklee meal shakes are great. But if she won't drink a shake, you can get the unflavored soy protein and use it things you cook. Another option is protein power bars made from the soy protein. Let me know if you would like the recipe.
http://www.shaklee.net/healthforlife
Good luck. And remember it's probably a phase she will grow out of.
Victoria

Shaklee protein shakes saved the day at my house.

My son was the same way. When I was pregnant with him, I couldn't get enough meat. But now he wouldn't even touch it. I went through all of those kid drinks that give them vitamins and proteins. Spent hundreds of $$$. One day, I was at Target, and they had those drinks with DHA and Protein on clearance. So I bought them. What could it hurt they were $2.12. He loved them. He would drink three a day. i noticed a huge change in his completion, energy and stamina. I buy them all the time now. They are $5.99 regular price for 6. But they are worth it!

Lots of veggies are high protein, like spinach and potatoes. A baked potato makes a great veggie entree. I'd read a book about vegetarianism.

Cheese, milk, yogurt, edamame(soybeans), avocado & I used to grind chicken up in a food processor & put just a tiny bit in my daughters spaghetti & rice, but it has to be ground very small so it is hidden well.

My kids will eat meat, but reluctantly and it is often a struggle. I think for my kids it's a texture thing. Most beans(black, pinto,lentils), nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds and pumpkins seeds) have protein. Sprouts sells their seeds in an unshelled variety, so I buy them there for my kids. Split peas have it too - occasionally I cook split pea soup in the winter (but admittedly it isn't the prettiest soup and I have to "sell" it before my son will eat it...once he starts he likes it). Tofu is really high in protein and it's softer in texture. Dairy has protein - milk, yogurt and cheeses. Eggs too. Eggs can easily be added to soups if she isn't a fan. We make a lot of egg in the baskets in the morning...something about that version is more appetizing to the kids.

I did the pediasure type drinks when my son first decided he hated meat, and I called them "chocolate milk". He now eats yogurt with some dry cheerios or granola 3 days/week for breakfast, and on alternating days I'll give him gogurts that I keep in the FREEZER (less messy) for snacks. Yeah, peanut butter is great for crackers, celery, pbj, and pb/banana sandwiches. My son loves cashews and calls them candy. For some strange reason he loves gyro meat (think the texture is totally different) so I'll get that when they have it at Sprouts and make a "baby gyro" with some salad, a little meat, a little feta, the tzazkiki sauce, and of course hummous. I've found that making your own tastes better than the premade stuff (Sprouts has some in the deli by salads that would be decent though; otherwise, premade stuff is YUCK). The chickpeas that you make it with are great for you though, so a good treat to have. I'll use the leftover hummus and serve it with warm flatbread or pita and some celery or carrot sticks, and he likes that. Pinto or Red Beans and rice are good SOMETIMES (depends on his mood?), though I have to pick the sausage out of his if he's going to eat it. He LOVES refried beans though so I'll make bean/cheese burritos or if he's particularly gripey that day perhaps some bean/cheese nachos just to get the beans down him. The best thing I've encountered though is my pressure cooker: makes the meat easier to shred and is a miracle worker for casseroles and stuff. If I slice or cube chicken, it doesn't work at all, but if I shred it up and serve it as king ranch casserole or a little bit in a cheese/spinach enchilada, or SHREDDED in a pot pie (cubed doesn't work, he sucks the broth off and has a little pile of chicken chunks in his otherwise empty bowl when finished) it rocks his world. There's hope though----my child has FLAT refused meat (except chicken nuggets or those stupid Walmart frozen fish, even though I actually MAKE the best fish ever, he won't touch anything but that frozen stuff)...but he is turning 3 in a few weeks and he's eaten my meatballs that I smashed with a fork in spaghetti 2 weeks in a row now, and ate his first hot dog recently. He took a bite of hamburger but no more. He also will eat scrambled eggs with cheese and veggies wrapped up in a tortilla, if I give him some salsa to dip it in. Good luck---It does get better, but it's a process. Try to be creative and try a wide variety of things (DIFFERENT cheeses with things: mozzarella, parmesan, feta, cheddar, ricotta, OH and possibly some strawberry cream cheese on raisin toast or something, and you'll have more options to try). In the meantime, the alternatives like slipping spinach in, beans, dairy, egg, nuts help. Baked potatoes ARE good: we mash it up well and put in a little butter/sour cream, cheese, and from there you could start testing different veggies to add to the potato OR crumbled bacon bits. Good luck!

beans and nuts? That's tough. Hopefully she'll grow out of it. :)

Bethany,

Try making her Tuna Puffs. Here's how we make them:
since I don't use a recipe, I'm estimating here...

1 large can Tuna
1 cup Flour
.5 cup Cornmeal
1tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
a splash milk to make a SLIGHTLY soupy batter. It's not as loose as cake or pancake batter... looks like hushpuppy batter. Thick, but spoonable.

Drop by tablespoons in hot oil. Fry on one side 'til they float, flip and fry til golden brown. They don't feel like meat in your mouth, but feel more like hushpuppies. The tuna is high in protien.

And... don't knock it 'til you try it... but we dip them in pancake syrup. I KNOW... YUCK!!! but it's GOOOOOD.

cheese, beans, nut speads (other than peanut butter), yogurt, soybeans, what about homemade chicken nuggets?? BAKED not fried - you can make them healthy. Be patient and realize most kids this age get what they need nutritionally over the course of several days or a week and not necessarily day to day. 2 year olds are NOT in a period of rapid growth and they are learning independence - so realize that this is typically short lived and VERY NORMAL for 2 year olds... my kids all went through the no meat phase and now they are little carnivores!!

I am an independent shaklee distributor and we drink lots of protein shakes at my house. there are also meal shakes packed with vitamins.
meal shakes: http://www.shaklee.net/healinghappens/product/20322
protein shakes: http://www.shaklee.net/healinghappens/product/20670
We love vanilla, but we like chocolate too. These are extremely healthy.
fyi: my son throws in a lump of peanut butter when making his in the blender.