speaking of veggies... vegetarians out there-- how did you raise your kid vegetarian?

[Anonymous]

DH and I are both vegetarian. DS is six months old, so it's not an issue now. but, family members have questioned our wish to raise our DS vegetarian. ped has been very supportive, saying that as long as we give him enough protein, he should be fine.

I'm not as concerned with what our families think as I am about making sure he gets the nutrients he needs. also -- I worry about when he gets older and he sees his friends with big macs and whatnot.

any advice?

[Anonymous]

I"m a vegetarian, but DH is not and our meals are often, but not always vegetarian. I think if you're ovo-lacto and therefore feeding your DS whole milk products and eggs, you will have no problems whatsoever. We are lucky that we have no food allergies to contend with. If you discover any allergies, I think the vegetarian option becomes more difficult, but not impossible.

We use a lot of fake-meat products in our house, like Quorn and soy stuff. Our 3 yo loves them and does not know they aren't real chicken, beef, etc. I have not yet given any of these to my 9 mo because they are a bit more likely to trigger reactions. I think I'll wait until 1 year for quorn because it has so many ingredients.

However, my DH's (3 yo) favorite foods include rice and beans, any chickpea dish (hummus or whole chickpeas in curry), pasta, grilled cheese, in addition to a wide array of veggies. In short, probably not much different than any other 3 year old, perhaps healthier. If you and DH eat healthy, balanced meals, your child will too. Just make sure to get lots of high-fat dairy into him until he's 2, and balanced proteins throughout the day.

Along the same vein, if you both eat healthy and cook good meals, there is not reason anyone will question you. And kids are really good at understanding what they eat vs what others eat. Nowadays with so many kids on special diets due to allergies, I don't think it's considered at all odd for one child to eat things differently than others and by 3 can self-police themselves very well.

[Anonymous]

We're a veggie house too (though DH does eat meat - but not in the house, only if we go out to eat).

We do drink milk, eat yogurt/cheese.

It's incredibly easy to raise a veggie child. Instead of chicken, add tofu. Some will warn about too much soy, but it's a non issue and very healthy as long as you're not drinking soy milk, eating soy cheese and also consuming tofu everyday. We do all whole grains and stay as natural as possible. The only processed food in our house are veggie dogs, which my daughter LOVES.

Breakfast:

Yogurt
Fresh fruit
graham crackers
toast
cereals
pancakes
waffles
oatmeal

Lunch:
Peanut butter (or soynut or sunflower for allergies and young kids) and jelly/honey and banana
hummus pita w/ veggies
veggies (peas, sweet potatoes and broccoli are our faves)and rice w/ tofu
veggie dogs
couscous
leftover dinner:

Dinner:
pasta and veggies
tofu and rice or couscous, veggies
pizza (we make at home w/ whole wheat dough and fresh mozz)
falafel
veggie (soy) crumbles, with which you can make tacos or sloppy joes or "meat" spaghetti sauce
veggie soup
spinach souffle
Lentil burgers (veggie burgers homemade)
black beans w/ rice
veggie dumplings

Snacks:
Edamame
fruit leather
cranberries or raisins (for older kids)
fruit

When our dd was a baby, we just fed her everything other babies ate, just subbed tofu for meat. She still loves uncooked tofu in chunks, go figure.

If your inlaws or parents have concerns, just let your baby's great health answer them for you. Your child will be fine (veggie or meat eater). there are so many options now! I can finally wat at some of the best restaurants in the area and they always accomodate veggies. It's very important to me that my daughter is raised meat free - I think they should understand if you make that choice.

[Anonymous]

I plan to raise my as yet unborn child vegetarian. Two of my good friends and my SIL are also vegetarian and have raised their kids vegetarian (a total of 4 kids raised vegetarian from birth), and they are having no problems related to their diet. The oldest is now 5, the youngest 2. I have noticed that others in my extended family will occasionally slip up & give my niece some real chicken nuggets without thinking about it, but on the whole, they've been supportive of the vegetarians in our family. SIL takes this in stride and doesn't seem to make a big fuss about it (although she will issue gentle reminders now and then).

If you are worried about nutrients and such, try a google search on "raising kids vegetarian". I saw a lot of recipes and forums when I did this.

As far as fast food goes (which is generally something I try to avoid but seems to be really hard to avoid if you have kids, esp. on road trips) if you can get your kids to prefer Subway or Burger King or even pizza, they will have veggie options. And I like the McDonald's fruit and walnut salad (although it's small). I'm encouraged that I can find veggie options at fast food places now -- that was hard when I became a vegetarian nearly 20 years ago.

To me, the most annoying thing about being vegetarian is all the unsolicited and often uninformed advice I get from well meaning people. Once I tell them I've been veggie for as long as I have and they see that I have not died from a lack of protein, they tend to move on to other topics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We use a lot of fake-meat products in our house, like Quorn and soy stuff.

I suggest doing some research on Quorn before you start eating it or feeding it to your child. I have been a vegetarian for 20 years and ate it for a while - I thought it tasted really good, but when I discovered how unnatural it was, I cut it out completely. The fake meat/soy products are also heavily processed and many are not as healthy as their packaging would have you think.

[Anonymous]

Have you seen this blog?
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

[Anonymous]

Actually, if you do some research on Quorn I think you'll be comfortable eating it. It's made of a mycoprotein. So if the thought of a mold freaks you out, then it's not for you. But blue cheese has mold, and so is your penicillin.

most of the backlash was started by Gardenburger, under the auspices of a consumer safety group, claiming that it could be a potential allergen. It does have egg white as a binder, so if you're allergic to eggs, you shouldn't eat it.

That's not to say it should be the mainstay of anyone's diet. I prefer to make my meals from scratch. But as a way to make chicken paprikash now and then or a filler in your burrito - it's safe, it's high protein, it's not genetically modified, and I believe the naysayers are mainly alarmists.

[Anonymous]

Hi, I have been vegetarian for 12 years. As I got older I started having big troubles with my joints. I could not ski, hike, do stuff I love. My old-school doctor told me to try meat. I did, and my joints improved dramatically. Now I do everything I want to. I went back to meat, even though I grossed me out first. So, now I cook meat for my kids. In the beginning, DH had to cut it cause I could not bring myself to touch it, now I do it all myself. I want them to have a completely healthy start of their life, and then they can make a choice of going vegetarian when they are adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I have been vegetarian for 12 years. As I got older I started having big troubles with my joints. I could not ski, hike, do stuff I love. My old-school doctor told me to try meat. I did, and my joints improved dramatically. Now I do everything I want to. I went back to meat, even though I grossed me out first. So, now I cook meat for my kids. In the beginning, DH had to cut it cause I could not bring myself to touch it, now I do it all myself. I want them to have a completely healthy start of their life, and then they can make a choice of going vegetarian when they are adult.

You've got to be kidding me. So, giving your kids cancer and heart attacks is any better? There are risks associated with everything in life - including eating meat. The vast majority of nutritionists would recommend replacing most meat-based meals with vegetarian options anyway. If you do it RIGHT then vegetarian is a healthier lifestyle than eating meat. But, you can't just replace meals with bread or junk food or pasta, which is probably what you did.
DO some reserach before you scare people into thinking they'llhave joint problems and won't be able to walk. I've been a veggie for my entire life and I've somehow made it to 30 yrs old with never getting the flu and using 1 sick day my entire working life. My kids have been sick once each - and they're in daycare. And we can all walk just fine, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Did old-school doctor actually give you an indication about what might be missing in your vegetarian diet and, therefore, "causing" your joint issues? Did he offer what meat can provide that other animal products--ie dairy--cannot? Just curious about his diagnosis.

Our ped has no issues with our raising our DS vegetarian, provided DS is getting enough iron, protein, B vitamins, etc. She said veg families are often more conscious of offering children a balanced diet bc they cannot rely on meat for these things. To each her own.

[Anonymous]

Not everyone thrives on a vegetarian diet---based on their metabolism, blood type, etc. they could eat a very healthy veg diet and not thrive.

I personally think it's great that you are raising your kids healthfully, and I do hope being veg suits them, but our bodies know what's best and we have to learn how to listen to it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I have been vegetarian for 12 years. As I got older I started having big troubles with my joints. I could not ski, hike, do stuff I love. My old-school doctor told me to try meat. I did, and my joints improved dramatically. Now I do everything I want to. I went back to meat, even though I grossed me out first. So, now I cook meat for my kids. In the beginning, DH had to cut it cause I could not bring myself to touch it, now I do it all myself. I want them to have a completely healthy start of their life, and then they can make a choice of going vegetarian when they are adult.

This is kind of crazy. My relatives come from India where much of the population is vegetarian for religious reasons. I really do not see them having any troubles with their joints?! Anyway, I feel stronger since I became a vegetarian five years ago. My children have a wonderful diet. I do not have to worry about them eating hormones from meat. Moreover, I do not feel that they are missing a "completely healthy start" to their life.

[Anonymous]

OP here... sorry I've been so slow to answer to all these great comments. thanks so much! it helps to know that others are making this happen successfully.