11 year old vegan

[Anonymous]

I’d do a lot of grain bowls that the family could customize to add extra protein of their choice. We do a great one with peanut sauce and tempeh or salmon that is always a crowd pleaser.

Moosewood cookbook lentil walnut burgers are really good and freeze well so you can reheat individual servings. You could do those with other burger or grilled meat sandwiches for the rest of the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d do a lot of grain bowls that the family could customize to add extra protein of their choice. We do a great one with peanut sauce and tempeh or salmon that is always a crowd pleaser.

Moosewood cookbook lentil walnut burgers are really good and freeze well so you can reheat individual servings. You could do those with other burger or grilled meat sandwiches for the rest of the family.

Do you have a recipe for the grain bowl?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like you could find most of this info from a google search.
We are not vegan but eat a lot of vegan foods.
If youre making meatballs, I would just make the vegan ones and have everyone eat the same thing.
easy to use non dairy milk in place of cows milk. Almond milk has more calcium that cows milk.
Does she like nuts and nut butters?

I would not let an 11 year old dictate the food choices of the entire family. And they clearly are not making meatballs.

OP here,

Why couldn’t an 11 year old make meatballs?

The point is that it isn't meat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a vegan family of 8. No health issues at all. And yes, we are pro Vax.

+1 same. Family of 5. I also call it plant based, I have a degree in nutrition. It’s a very healthy way to eat.

How old is your degree? Do you acknowledge recent literature showing the downsides?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a vegan family of 8. No health issues at all. And yes, we are pro Vax.

+1 same. Family of 5. I also call it plant based, I have a degree in nutrition. It’s a very healthy way to eat.

How old is your degree? Do you acknowledge recent literature showing the downsides?

10 years old and there are so few downsides in recent literature, mostly “hard to eat out”, “lack of social acceptance”, “must supplement with B12” - easy enough to address. Benefits greatly outweigh risks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't let your child do this to her.

She is entering puberty and will be starting her period soon.

She needs a healthy diet with proper nutrients, including animal based foods. It would be irrespinsible for you to allow her to start a dangerous fad diet like veganism.

Get her off social media and make her eat properly.

For her age I would be focused on protein and calcium for strong bones. I would also want to teach her about complete nutrition and eat actual food, not just processed stuff labeled vegan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't let your child do this to her.

She is entering puberty and will be starting her period soon.

She needs a healthy diet with proper nutrients, including animal based foods. It would be irrespinsible for you to allow her to start a dangerous fad diet like veganism.

Get her off social media and make her eat properly.

Veganism is NOT a fad diet, many of us have been vegan or vegetarian for decades.

I will say it's a tough life. We have to center vacations and family/friend meals around what I can eat. It would be so much easier if I had a broader diet, but it's not a choice for me, I mentally cannot eat meat,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD has asked to go vegan. She's been vegetarian for a while, and this seems like the logical next step to her.

I know that going vegetarian or vegan can be an early sign of eating disorder in some kids, particularly girls this age, and we will watch carefully for that, but I'm not as worried as I might be because she's an active kid with a big appetite, who eats a wide variety, and because it's consistent with her love of animals, and her advocacy for the environment.

My questions are twofold.

1) What nutrients should I be most concerned about, and make a plan for? Protein, Iron, B12, what else?

2) It's important to me that we continue to eat mostly the same food, together as a family. I'd love suggestions for both easy vegan meals that the whole family might enjoy, or meals with a vegan and non vegan option (e.g. spaghetti with two types of meatballs has been a hit).

3) What other things should I be thinking about.

OP, I am a registered dietitian and this would concern me. Eleven years old is too young to be making this decision.

There are a lot of things that you/ she need to seriously consider for her long term health, if you allow her to go forward with this. She is at a critical growing age and missing important nutrients at this stage (e.g. calcium) can have life long- consequences.

If she were my daughter, I'd tell her that she can do this when she's 18 and in charge of her own life. But I would not aid and abet this now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like you could find most of this info from a google search.
We are not vegan but eat a lot of vegan foods.
If youre making meatballs, I would just make the vegan ones and have everyone eat the same thing.
easy to use non dairy milk in place of cows milk. Almond milk has more calcium that cows milk.
Does she like nuts and nut butters?

I would not let an 11 year old dictate the food choices of the entire family. And they clearly are not making meatballs.

Vegan meat is very unhealthy, overprocessed and full of artificial flavors.

You might as well eat genetically modified chicken or beef that was injected with a bunch of hormones.

Don't be the irresponsible parent that feeds their developing kids vegan fake "meat"

You can make meatballs from lentils, peas, etc. no need for fake meat.

Those are not meatballs.

Those are legumeballs or beanballs.

Call them what they are which are not meatballs since they are completely lacking in the one item that makes meatballs meatballs, meat.

This is silly because meat has more than one meaning. Think mincemeat or when referring to the "meat" of a coconut.

People who get upset over thinks like meat or milk being used for plant based things just tells me they haven'tpad attention to the etymology. The oldest English language cookbook we have (The Forme of Curry from the 1300s) has recipes for almond milk.

Traditional mincemeat was minced meat.

Actually it covered both. Old recipes have both.

Medieval cooking had a ton of "meat" recipes because of the strict religious calendar you had tons of fasting days, particularly in Lent, where meat wasn't allowed. Now there were some funky definitions of what "meat" actually was back then but also a lot of imitation meat recipes.

Using "meat" and "milk" on alternatives goes well back to the medieval period and people getting ruffled over it look silly.

https://www.foodunfolded.com/article/the-origin-of-meat-alternatives

The interior of a nut was called the "meat" of the nut, so mincemeat could be chopped nuts (mixed with dried fruit typically).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's pretty easy to find the recommended protein amounts online. And it's easy to track that. It's hard to get it through non-animal sources, but if she's committed to trying, then that will work. One issue is finding a tracking app that won't also track calories (which might tip into an ED at that age).

Iron is easy to supplement.

But I would worry about fats -- the brain is still growing at that age and needs a lot of fat. Avocado and olive oil only gets you so far. It would really help if you could get her to ask fish once or twice a week if she won't do eggs and yogurt.

It’s everywhere - nuts, soybeans, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, other whole grains, plenty of healthy fats and protein.

Yes, those things all have protein, but most of them don't have healthy fats. Nuts do (walnuts are high in omegas, which is good). This is why I said I would worry about fats, and would be very deliberate about making sure she's getting enough of those. Like saute stuff in olive oil instead of just eating it raw or baking it. Add walnuts and certain seeds to food regularly.
I would also be a little conscious about overdoing soy. Soy is an estrogen imitator. If you're eating it in normal whole food quantities, like edamame, it's not going to be a problem. But if you're eating a lot of soy-based products to hit your protein targets, like soy milk and supplements or protein bars or whatever, it might be an issue -- particularly for a girl.

I would also revisit the idea about eggs from ethical farms or neighbors. I bet you can find someone that doesn't cull the male chicks. My niece has a "farm" like that, but she's not local. Some vegans will also make an exception for bi-vavles like oysters -- they are really really beneficial to the environment, and they don't have a central nervous system. To me, they don't seem that different than eating a carrot, really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's pretty easy to find the recommended protein amounts online. And it's easy to track that. It's hard to get it through non-animal sources, but if she's committed to trying, then that will work. One issue is finding a tracking app that won't also track calories (which might tip into an ED at that age).

Iron is easy to supplement.

But I would worry about fats -- the brain is still growing at that age and needs a lot of fat. Avocado and olive oil only gets you so far. It would really help if you could get her to ask fish once or twice a week if she won't do eggs and yogurt.

It’s everywhere - nuts, soybeans, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, other whole grains, plenty of healthy fats and protein.

Yes, those things all have protein, but most of them don't have healthy fats. Nuts do (walnuts are high in omegas, which is good). This is why I said I would worry about fats, and would be very deliberate about making sure she's getting enough of those. Like saute stuff in olive oil instead of just eating it raw or baking it. Add walnuts and certain seeds to food regularly.
I would also be a little conscious about overdoing soy. Soy is an estrogen imitator. If you're eating it in normal whole food quantities, like edamame, it's not going to be a problem. But if you're eating a lot of soy-based products to hit your protein targets, like soy milk and supplements or protein bars or whatever, it might be an issue -- particularly for a girl.

I would also revisit the idea about eggs from ethical farms or neighbors. I bet you can find someone that doesn't cull the male chicks. My niece has a "farm" like that, but she's not local. Some vegans will also make an exception for bi-vavles like oysters -- they are really really beneficial to the environment, and they don't have a central nervous system. To me, they don't seem that different than eating a carrot, really.

Can you not see the harm in an 11 YO going down a rabbit hole with all of this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"veganism has been associated with adverse health outcomes, namely, nervous, skeletal, and immune system impairments, hematological disorders, as well as mental health problems due to the potential for micro and macronutrient deficits. The goal of this review article is to discuss the current literature on the impact and long-term consequences of veganism on vulnerable populations, including children, adolescents, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and fetal outcomes in strict vegan mothers. It also focuses on the many deficiencies of the vegan diet, especially vitamin B12, and the related increased risk of malignancies."

"Additionally, vegans have a greater prevalence of mental health problems"

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10027313/

You can absolutely cherry pick anything.

Twin research indicates that a vegan diet improves cardiovascular health
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2023/11/twin-diet-vegan-cardiovascular.html

There were 758 articles identified in the databases’ search and 21 SRs met inclusion criteria. SRs targeting the general population had primarily observational evidence. Vegetarian, including vegan, dietary patterns were associated with reduced risk for CVD incidence.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666667724002368?via%3Dihub

Diets Without Meat Outperform Omnivorous Diet on Multiple Mental Health Scores
https://www.pcrm.org/news/health-nutrition/diets-without-meat-outperform-omnivorous-diet-multiple-mental-health-scores#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20study%2C%20people%20who%20eat,and%20uncontrolled%20eating%20*%20Disordered%20eating%20behaviors

Predominantly plant-based or vegetarian diet linked to 39% lower odds of covid-19
https://bmjgroup.com/predominantly-plant-based-or-vegetarian-diet-linked-to-39-lower-odds-of-covid-19/#:~:text=After%20accounting%20for%20potentially%20influential,which%20are%20prone%20to%20error.

There is evidence indicating that a vegan diet could be beneficial in the prevention of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9738978/

--Mostly vegan but occasionally eat meat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d do a lot of grain bowls that the family could customize to add extra protein of their choice. We do a great one with peanut sauce and tempeh or salmon that is always a crowd pleaser.

Moosewood cookbook lentil walnut burgers are really good and freeze well so you can reheat individual servings. You could do those with other burger or grilled meat sandwiches for the rest of the family.

Do you have a recipe for the grain bowl?

DP. Very easy.
--Base is quinoa, wild rice, brown rice, etc.
--Add cooked vegetable. (Easy to do this 1-2/week and refrigerate.) You can also add fresh vegetables/fruits like cucumbers in a bit of dressing, shaved carrots, tomatoes, olives.
--Add in greens and microgreens.
--Add in beans, nuts, and seeds.
--Add in any dressings, hummus, pesto.
--Add in an avocado for a healthy fat.
--If eating meat, add in shredded chicken, egg, or cheese.

Think CAVA bowl.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone, I wanted to come back to a few things.

One is that I read here people saying that fat and protein are issues, but when I put the data for what she eats into the cronometer app, it comes back at high levels for those two nutrients.

The place where I had more the most trouble getting enough in were iron, calcium, and vitamin D (although my kids are already on vitamin D supplements on the advice of the Dr.). I could get those two in, but I had to move things around, and I feel like when I tried to follow the recommendation to serve iron rich foods at meals with no dairy substitutes, I had more of an issue.

Any suggestions on those two nutrients?

Also, someone mentioned concerns with soy. Can you elaborate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d do a lot of grain bowls that the family could customize to add extra protein of their choice. We do a great one with peanut sauce and tempeh or salmon that is always a crowd pleaser.

Moosewood cookbook lentil walnut burgers are really good and freeze well so you can reheat individual servings. You could do those with other burger or grilled meat sandwiches for the rest of the family.

Do you have a recipe for the grain bowl?

DP. Very easy.
--Base is quinoa, wild rice, brown rice, etc.
--Add cooked vegetable. (Easy to do this 1-2/week and refrigerate.) You can also add fresh vegetables/fruits like cucumbers in a bit of dressing, shaved carrots, tomatoes, olives.
--Add in greens and microgreens.
--Add in beans, nuts, and seeds.
--Add in any dressings, hummus, pesto.
--Add in an avocado for a healthy fat.
--If eating meat, add in shredded chicken, egg, or cheese.

Think CAVA bowl.

I was hoping for the specific recipe with the peanut sauce and tempeh.