Starting solids - vegetarian?

[Anonymous]

I have a 6-month old and we've started introducing him to solids. One of the parents in the household is a vegetarian and one is not (but eats meat only occasionally / away from home). What should we take into consideration when thinking about a vegetarian diet during baby and toddler-hood vs. introducing meat? In particular I'm wondering about making sure iron intake is sufficient. We do plan to introduce seafood/shellfish since it's an allergen, but it probably won't be a regular part of his diet.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a pediatrician or nutritionist question.

[Anonymous]

We eat primarily vegetarian and my DD has never liked meat and always has very good iron levels. She eats a lot of beans, tofu, nut butter, eggs, cheese/yogurt, and whole grains like quinoa and brown rice. She's also a good veggie eater, including leafy greens like spinach. Those are all things you can feed a 6-12 month old. You can also offer a fortified baby cereal along with other foods.

The key with vegetarian kids is to offer (and insist on) variety. Mine was a very picky toddler, but we kept pushing and now eats a healthier diet than 99% of us. You can google tips for iron absorption like offering vitamin c along with iron rich foods and not offering milk at the same time, but if your child is eating a good variety and not a total milk fiend, I don't think it matters too much.

[Anonymous]

Vegetarian is fine as long as it's not vegan. The vegan diet can easily lead to nutrient deficiencies in babies but as long as eggs and dairy are in the diet, they usually get what they need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We eat primarily vegetarian and my DD has never liked meat and always has very good iron levels. She eats a lot of beans, tofu, nut butter, eggs, cheese/yogurt, and whole grains like quinoa and brown rice. She's also a good veggie eater, including leafy greens like spinach. Those are all things you can feed a 6-12 month old. You can also offer a fortified baby cereal along with other foods.

The key with vegetarian kids is to offer (and insist on) variety. Mine was a very picky toddler, but we kept pushing and now eats a healthier diet than 99% of us. You can google tips for iron absorption like offering vitamin c along with iron rich foods and not offering milk at the same time, but if your child is eating a good variety and not a total milk fiend, I don't think it matters too much.

The above is the correct answer. Other high-iron foods include lentils and cream of wheat. You can also cook in cast iron pans to enhance iron content.

[Anonymous]

Original PP with the vegetarian DD again. Also consider starting your baby on whole grain and lentil/bean/edamame pastas, instead of white pasta. If they get used to the flavor of those in infancy, it gives you a bit of leeway when they turn into picky carb fanatic toddlers. Lord knows it doesn't taste the same as white pasta, but they won't know any better!

[Anonymous]

My DS has never liked meat, from about 6 months. He eats a lot of beans and eggs. Pediatrician said it’s totally fine.

[Anonymous]

My child has always been a vegetarian. Vitamin B and D are the big ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS has never liked meat, from about 6 months. He eats a lot of beans and eggs. Pediatrician said it’s totally fine.

+1 For very early foods, both my kids were big fans of silky tofu -- it's already baby safe and full of protein! Avocado was hit or miss for us (one adores it the other hates it), both like beans and eggs. Neither (only 2 and 4 so far) eat meat although I serve it occasionally since I eat it.

[Anonymous]

With zero comment on the vegetarianism (I’m totally on board either way), if you DO want meat in your child’s diet I’d recommend the meat parent cook a bunch of meatballs (easy to do with ground chicken as well as beef or lamb) and freeze them on a baking sheet. Then you can dump the frozen meatballs into a ziploc and defrost one or two as needed. The microwave works fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We eat primarily vegetarian and my DD has never liked meat and always has very good iron levels. She eats a lot of beans, tofu, nut butter, eggs, cheese/yogurt, and whole grains like quinoa and brown rice. She's also a good veggie eater, including leafy greens like spinach. Those are all things you can feed a 6-12 month old. You can also offer a fortified baby cereal along with other foods.

The key with vegetarian kids is to offer (and insist on) variety. Mine was a very picky toddler, but we kept pushing and now eats a healthier diet than 99% of us. You can google tips for iron absorption like offering vitamin c along with iron rich foods and not offering milk at the same time, but if your child is eating a good variety and not a total milk fiend, I don't think it matters too much.

The above is the correct answer. Other high-iron foods include lentils and cream of wheat. You can also cook in cast iron pans to enhance iron content.

Agreed, except PP lists yogurt and cheese as if they add to iron levels. In general, animal dairy products block the absorption of iron (by casein and calcium).

That doesn't mean they aren't good foods or have a role to play in the diet. Just don't rely on them as iron sources.

[Anonymous]

What you should keep in mind is that a small child should not be vegetarian.

[Anonymous]

I very highly recommend this book for more information on vegan/vegetarian nutrition for babies and toddlers: https://www.amazon.com/Plant-Based-Baby-Toddler-Complete-Feeding/dp/0593192117. There’s a lot of good information on supplements for fully plant-based diets, and healthy kid-friendly recipes as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What you should keep in mind is that a small child should not be vegetarian.

My pediatrician disagrees, FYI. I’m not actually vegetarian but both my kids have spit out anything with meat in it since we tried our first purée. Pediatrician says their growth and bloodwork are perfectly fine and plant based diets are healthier anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you should keep in mind is that a small child should not be vegetarian.

My pediatrician disagrees, FYI. I’m not actually vegetarian but both my kids have spit out anything with meat in it since we tried our first purée. Pediatrician says their growth and bloodwork are perfectly fine and plant based diets are healthier anyway.

That’s exactly what my pediatrician said too. Particularly if your child eats whole, mostly plant based foods (not fake nuggets and mac and cheese), it’s hard to imagine a much healthier diet for anyone, kids included. I could argue for adding salmon for the omega 3s, but that’s easy enough to supplement. I think folks that make these claims assume all kids eat junky kid food or eat a ton of red meat themselves.