Vegetarian

E., my daughter was like this her whole life and I continued to give her the meatsshe would eat before changing to a vegetarian diet. She decided on her own about two years ago to go vegetarian completely due to a stepmother she had a lot of influence from. Now that she has gone vegetarian its actually harder to feed her with all the label reading and finding meals she will partake in anyways! Shes a very picky person period! So good luck to you in this challenging time!!

My little ones won't eat meat either so I asked the pediatrician about this and she told me that as long as they are eating plenty of veggies and fruits (especially green leafy veggies) and drinking milk, then they are just fine, but to continue to offer meat at meals and they may eventually decide that they do like it. I was also told not to make a big deal out of eating the meat to them because it could make them more susceptible to not want to try to eat it, the whole rebellion thing I think.

Why is it so important it be meat?

There are other ways to get good protein in their diets...???

Perhaps the pediatrician's office could suggest a vegitarian guidelines cookbook for children? You might try a Yahoo Groups search...I bet you anything there is a few hundred vegitarian groups out there and one of them is bound to specialize in feeding childre!

I am a vegetarian and so is my soon to be one year old son. My husband only eats meat outside of the house. It is very easy to get in enough protein in your kids diets. We eat A LOT of beans, peanut butter, nuts, and seeds. Introduce various types of beans at every meal. Examples are garbanzo, baked beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, navy beans, and lentils. Will your kids eat eggs? If so, make sure to buy organic to avoid all the added hormones. Oh yeah, we also drink almond and rice milk (they come in chocolate and vanilla) so they will definitely be a kid's favorite! I hope this helps. Meat is definitely not necessary in anyone's diet.

Hi E.,

There is a great little cookbook called "Honest Pretzels" by Mollie Katzen. It's really a cookbook for kids to get them in the kitchen which yours are way too small. But it is kid friendly vegetarian recipes. She also wrote a cookbook for preschoolers called "Pretend Soup" but I don't have that one. Mollie Katzen is a vegetarian chef and her recipes are wonderful!
And if I knew then what I know now, I would not entice them with chicken nuggets from any fast food place or even frozen commercially prepared. First of all most of the chicken nuggets from fast food places are so full of chemicals and usually made from chicken "parts." And if you're feeding them hotdogs, get the ones that say "nitrate free." Nitrates are preservatives used a lot in processed meats but also a known carcinagen.
I agree that it is probably a phase and a texture thing that will be outgrown.

In good health,

Lori K

I wouldn't worry about it. Meat is not necessary nutritionally. If the kids really don't like meat, buy a vegetarian cookbook, or check out vegetarian websites for good recipes. You do still need to make sure they are getting what they need nutritionally. For instance, you don't want them just eating breads and pastas. They need protein, but they can certainly get it from non-meat sources.

There is nothing wrong with your children not eating meat. Its actually a very healthy lifestyle and veg children tend to be much healthier than non veg kids. Veg lifestyle also makes a big impact on our enviornment, so kudos to your lil greenies! :)

There are many resources out there to help meal plan. vegkids.com vegetarian times....you can sign up for a daily recipe email. petakids.com

Good luck and applaud your children's social consciousness!!

I run childcare out of my home and have a child who is vegetarian, He seems to be perfectly healty. He even has a pace maker and is a totally normal, healthy kid. Depending on what grocery store you shop at, Hy Vee and Price Chopper have "Vegan" foods in the frozen section. Morning Star and Boca are the two brands that I am aware of - and I am sure there are more. They make all kinds of foods to look like regular foods, hotdogs, soy ckn nuggets, corn dogs, veggie, soy and bean burgers and lots of other foods as well. I would talk to the pediatrican before I did anything but I do know that it is ok not to eat meat as long as you are getting enough vitamins from the foods you do eat. Good luck to you! E.

I know that you have many responses... But I wanted to pass along what we do with our 3 year old that does not like much meat either. I learned this from a friend...

We tell him since he is three he needs to eat three bites of the main course. We do not cater anything to him, he gets put on his plate what we are eating and if he chooses to eat fine, but we always make sure he is eating at least three bites that are proper bite size for his little mouth. This way we know he is getting somethin on his tummy.... And most of the time, after three bites and we quit focusing on him, he will eat several more on his own.

He also knows that if he does not eat his minimum bites, that there is no snacking later on. After a few times of him not eating his three bites and not getting a treat later when his brother did, he has learned we just want him to eat a little.

Oh - And as they have birthday's you add a bite... So a five year old would need to eat five bites.

Good Luck!

As a mom I would say that you can't force them to eat stuff that they just don't like right now. They may develop a taste for it over time. I wouldn't cut it out completely. I have been a vegetarian for 13 years and there are things that you can fix that the entire family can eat, and I am not talking about tofu, that is just nasty. Try cheese lasagna. You can buy premade vegetarian food at most grocery stores. You can get veg. burgers, ribs, sausage, corndogs, hotdogs, bacon, ground "beef", chicken nuggets, and much more depending on your store. The "beef" you can use for just about anyghing. I use it to make taco salad, chilli, sloppy joes, ect. Keep using peanut butter and eggs. They can still eat really healthy without meat, but I would still keep it an option, one day they might like it. I wouldn't make a big deal out of it though. Good luck.

It's a whole lot harder to get all the nutrients growing children need if you feed them a vegetarian diet. Meat is harder to chew - that sounds like part of the problem since your daughter is OK hot dogs and pureed meat. Do they do better with dishes that are mostly something else with bits of meat in them like stew with lots of veggies and the meat shredded instead of in chunks? They really don't need to eat big servings of meat. There are food combinations that work together to give you complete proteins; like red beans with rice or corn taco shells with refried beans. Of course, eggs are a good source of protein and so is peanut butter. You also have to be very careful to include enough healthy oils in their diet. It just gets a lot tricker to make it work if you deliberately remove meat from the diet. Good luck in finding foods they will eat.

Hi, I was vegan (no meat, dairy, eggs, or any other animal product) for 12 years, then veg. w/eggs, now I eat plant-based foods, local free-range eggs, and fish once or twice a week. This is what my daughters eat, and they are both very healthy, rarely get sick, never had an ear infection, and tall for their ages. (4 and 16 mos) And developmentally on track. So, it is not hard to eat vegetarian at all! (I know dairy is not an issue for you, but just want to say we drink fortified soy milk, no cow milk.)

What proteins do they eat? Whole eggs, beans, cubed tofu (I usually steam it, I think it's more digestible that way.), nut butters (almond has lots more calcium than peanut). Our girls happen to prefer their food plain and bland, so we usually season our foods and leave a little plain for them. It's very easy. We do also use some "fake" meats, eg veggie dogs, burgers, fake coldcuts. But I don't like to make those foods a staple because they are highly processed.

Now this might take a little changing how you do things, but I would say it's worthwhile to choose whole grains over refined grains. Whole grains have more protein, minerals, and fiber.

Good luck. I'm sure you're doing fine.

My daughter wouldn't touch meat either until she was about 5 I think and then the light clicked on or whatever and now she loves, loves, loves it...hamburgers, steak, pork chops, chicken. Loves it all. I am thinking what helped her turn the corner was deli roast beef. If I remember correctly that was the first kind of meat she really liked. Couldn't go through the drive through when she was little (she's now 8) b/c she wouldn't touch hamburgers or chicken nuggets. I wouldn't really worry too much though there are plenty of other sources for protein. Good luck!

hey E., first i'll say my son had a hard time with meat too. we are NOT picky eaters in our family, and we are very much carnivores! but meats were one of the last solid foods for him to get a hold on, and he still will not eat pork chops or steak. he's perfectly capable at two (with all his teeth) he just doesn't like the texture. i have no problem with that. don't make a big deal of it, you're stressing yourself out and possibly making the problem worse than it needs to be. my son has a problem with fruit juice, he literally will drink one cup and then have diarrhea for two days, leading to diaper rash and a bleeding bottom...i cut it out completely and try to give him more real fruits and veggies, and my ped. told me to go ahead and start him on a multivitamin. you might look into that for your kiddos. also peanut butter is a good source of protein. look for better quality hotdogs and ground meat (we use ground turkey instead of beef but that's just our preference). there are lots of options and they'll be fine as long as you don't make a big fight about it. keep making your regular meals, don't force them to eat it but offer a bit each time (making sure the rest of your meals include veggies etc, a balanced diet), and make sure it's cut up small enough for them to chew easily. eventually they'll get used to the texture and realize that it tastes good, too! good luck!

I think meat is a texture issue for a lot of kids. It's tough for them to chew, and grainy. Marinating meat will help tenderize it, but even my kids are still picky about meat. Continue to offer them a few bites at meals, and eventually they will start to show a little interest--IF you don't make a big deal out of it.

Hi E., personally I don't feel you should stress out too much about not eating a lot of meat. First of all, there are plenty of other ways to get protein. Hotdogs are not healthy anyway. My own daughter chose to hardly touch any eat meat until she was almost 8! She will eat steak, chicken and fish, but has NEVER had a hotdog, corndog or hamburger in her life...yet...and she is now 9 years old and a very healthy and watchful eater. Funny too, because I love a good corndog...ha! And that is just fine. Processed "meats" are loaded with preservatives and additives anyway. We eat tofu (miso soup is something that a lot of kids like and it's super simple to make) and chicken and ground sirloin in spaghetti, tacos, etc. Don't worry too much, kids will not starve themselves. Just offer some healthy options now and hope they keep the same habits as preteens, teenagers and eventually adults. :-)

Hi E.,
Before you force your children to eat meat, fish, eggs or dairy products, read this book:
BARNARD, NEAL D., MD; ”DR. NEAL BARNARD’S PROGRAM FOR REVERSING DIABETES”; (C) 2007, RODALE BOOKS, NY
One of the main theme's is the fat from all meat products prevents your cells from processing sugar and elevates your blood sugar. I have been on a veggan regiment for three weeks and am under 200 pounds for the first time in 30 years (17 pounds). I hoping it will also help reverse my type II diabetes.

will they eat chicken nuggets?? If not, try the ones with shapes like dinosaurs. Maybe try chicken helper too; its in there but chopped up more. worth a shot?? GOODLUCK

My kids went thru only wanting to eat hotdogs or chicken nuggets (we should have stock in Hotdogs). I wouldn't worry too much. We would buy the all beef hotdogs and let them eat. Find something that they like and let them have it. They need the protien. For your son, if he doesn't like any meats then find a vitamin that can suppliment for the protien. Or find a good protien drink for him, they come in all sorts of flavors. They need that protien for healthy muscles. Now my kids eat most anything. They still get in phases, like a year ago all they wanted for breakfast was frozen kind of french toast sticks. Now they can't stand them. These are phases and hopefully when they are older they'll eat better and with more variety. You may want to try not being so picky yourself and show you kiddos that trying new things is okay and if you don't like it then you don't have to eat it, but you do need to try it. Our kids have found that they sometimes like this new food they are trying. Good luck and God Bless.

I am a vegetarian and so is my son who is almost a year. I think that veggie dogs are a great option since you know they already like hot dogs. Morning Star brand are by far the best. They look and taste just like real hot dogs. They also count as a serving of veggies and protein. Anything by Morning Star has at least the same amount of protein as meat because they figure you aren't eating any meat. They even have Chik'n Nuggets. Also, you can buy Barilla Plus for spagetti, which is also higher in protein, and you didn't mention if they drink whole milk or not. Whole milk, yogurt and cheese help with Vitamin D and protein. I am getting ready to switch my LO to whole milk and then I will definitely use vitamin drops too. Please keep trying. This probably is just a phase, but if not, veggie lovers grow up to be just as big and strong as their meat eater pals. Best wishes!

I would not fret over it too much. I have 3 kids and none of them would eat meat when they were younger. They would eat hot dogs or fast food burgers but that was about it. My son who is now 9 is still limited to the meat he will eat. I just fix dinner as normal and if they choose not to eat the meat I do not force them to, they just eat everything else I make. Meat takes a lot of chewing to eat and I just think they don't want to do it when they are younger. My teenage girls eat meat now so I think they just grow out of it. They all love peanut butter and eat a lot of it so I do not worry too much.

Why put a "label" on your life???

If your children are balancing out their diet, then relax! Just try rotating meat & meatless meals which will easily ensure proper nutrition as long as you include protein of some form.

Try the "3 bites only" for each child...promoting the thought that Mom is in charge & is NOT a short-order cook! Good luck.

If you do this, make sure to realize how important protein is for the body. It helps to re-build and build cells (promotes cell growth). You can find a lot of protein in nuts, peanut butter, and beans. Just make sure to give them a lot of these things if you will be taking meat out of their diet.

Hi E....

You have a lot of responses here, so I'll (try to) be brief. I think you should feed them like vegetarians in the sense that you know they aren't choosing their meat so make sure they're getting protein in other ways (milk products, tofu, beans, etc.) But, I also don't see anything wrong with offering the meat you serve at dinner, but don't make a big deal about eating it. My daughter, although much younger than your children, is going through a 'meat strike' as well. Who knows...maybe she really doesn't like it and she may never eat it, but I offer it and go with the flow.

Don't stress, they'll eat what their body needs and it's too tiring for you to fight over it. Just make sure they are getting enough variety of fruits, veggies, and other proteins. Good luck!

Hi, E.. Coming from someone whose son is a picky eater, and from someone who has dealt with lots of picky eaters, I say don't stress. When your child is hungry for that particular food, they will eat it. continue to serve good choices, and let them eat what they want. When there is a power struggle during meal time, it ruins the good communication you can have at that time, and it just stresses everybody out. Giving your children vitamins is a good way to make sure they are getting the needed nutrients. Good Luck!

Hi E., Lots of kid go through this. My little one (she's 5) did the same thing and still is not a meat eater. First - I'd make lots of fruits and veggies available. I usually try to have to veggie choices at dinner. We also went through lots of Peanut butter and cheese. And look for other non meat things that your whole family can eat (like kidney beans or navy beans) and try to have that once a week. Second - talk to your doctor. When I talked to mine I found out that kids don't need as much protein as I thought and can get it from other places like milk, cheese, beans, eggs and some cereals. I think that it is a texture thing that make the kids not like it and they come around. But like I said my 5 year old is still not a big meat eater. If we have steak and baked potatoes for dinner she eats a potatoe and salad. And think positive about it - YOUR KIDS LIKE VEGGIES!! How awsome is that hand how many people can really say their kids like veggies. So I wouldn't try to change your family way of eating but make things available to them and you may try a few vegatarian things that fit with your family. There are lots of pasta dishes and soups that would fit right in with the whole family. Good luck!

My kids are 5 and 3 and they too are very picky eaters I have to say that it is probably just a phase because my girls have liked and disliked things off and on and meat is one they hardly eat. They do love steak of course too expensive to have too often and chicken occationally depending on how I season and cook it. Don't give up their taste buds do change and they say it takes a few times for them to actually eat and like something. Good Luck

Good Morning E., No don't feed them like vegetarians. This is pretty normal in a lot of kid-o's. Even if the chew it a little and spit it out they still receive the protein.
The only meat one of our gr son's will eat is chicken nuggets from Mic Dee's or Burger King. They are more ground up and stuck together. lol Our Dr. long ago told me not to worry about them not eating meat, they get the things they need from other foods. They usually start eating it or liking some over others by age 5-6. At least he was correct with our 2 son's. Seems to be right on with our gr kids too.

Meats are grainy, tough to chew, the texture just isn't agreeable to some kids. I fixed popcorn nuggets last night for gr son, not Mickey'ds or Burger king, these were chunks of chicken. Corbin couldn't chew them as easily and lost interest in trying. Even with his Ketchup and Ranch Dressing all over.

If your little folks are eating veg's, fruits, cheese, drinking milk, yogurts, I wouldn't be to concerned. Fix instant oatmeal flavored fruity type for breakfast. Use a tortilla spread with butter & peanut butter roll it up, my gr kids love those.

Best of Luck to you.
K. Nana of 5
PS Our eldest son and Daughter in law are picky eaters also, it makes it HARD to Feed them too...lol

Hello E.,

I am not a vegetarian, but my husband and 2 year old son both are. One of the quickest ways you can get some food ideas is to go to any recipe site on the internet and type in vegetarian into the search box. Or just type in vegetarian recipes into www.google.com. You will be amazed at the wealth of recipes out there, and most are easily adaptable if you want to sneak some meat in there or provide meat on the side. For my kiddo, one of the best books we ever bought was “Better Than Beyond Peanut Butter and Jelly.” You can get it on Amazon, and I am pretty sure you can also find it at a Barnes and Noble or Borders. It is kid-driven recipes, easy to make stuff, and both healthy and delicious. It actually isn’t that hard to accommodate a meatless diet, you just have to be willing to think and meal plan a little differently before. The good news is that there are lots of ways to feed your kids healthy, protein-rich food without giving them meat - take it from me, my kid has never had meat and he is the biggest, strongest kid we know! Just with any diet, if you pick the right ingredients and recipes, you can be sure they are getting everything they need.

Good luck, and please feel free to email me if you have any questions.
D.

E.:
I am a vegetarian, but my husband is not, and my son does eat meat. However, one thing that he loves to eat is tofu, which is surprising because I myself do not like it.

We just buy him the extra firm block from Trader Joe's, which is only like $2.00 and it last through several meals. We just cube and he eats it. He is almost 2.

Another thing is likes is black beans and refried beans. Both great sources of protein.

Good luck.

I am not a vegetarian either, but I have no real problems with a vegetarian diet. If the only meats your kids are eating are hot dogs and processed ground beef, they are better off not eating meat at all.

For the time being, you may want to look through the vegetarian websites, someone on this site will probably have some good specific sites to recommend.

Keep in mind that you may have to let go of some notions about meals. It was not uncommon for me to feed my kids scrambled eggs and pancakes for dinner. Why not?

There are many ways to get protein in your diet that doesn't mean meat. HOWEVER, if your children are not eating any animal based foods (cheese, eggs) you need to give them Vitamin B, especially B-12. That is only available in the diet through animal based foods. We often think of B as an energy vitamin, but what it really does is fuel the neurological system.

As you feel your kids and family are ready, you need to work on expanding your diets. Let the kids plan, shop, and prepare the meals (with as little adult help as possible) Make requirements that the meal include protein, veggies, carbs.

With all the diets available on line, one of the best, free, balanced ones I know is www.mypyramid.gov. It has great resources for adults and kids.

Good luck!

Hi, I try what my son loves. For example, what ever his favorite dinosour is I will say, T rex eats this. Or this is a scooby snack.