Going vegetarian at almost 5 y. o.?

[katyusha]

Dear All, i was just wondering if anyone had some vegetarian food resources for young children. I can cook a meal but am worried that it is not a balanced enough diet for a child. DD has discovered how meat gets to the table and now won't eat it. I could try and convince her but I think it will turn into some battle of ideas/ wills and i am not sure i would convince her as i usually avoid meat myself if i eat by myself  but cook for the family (and then eat it with them). I have heard that one can go veggie as a kid but have not seen any cookbooks or meal plans..
Any ideas?

[Lemonthyme]

I've not seen one either but here are a couple of food ideas.  The key thing will be to make sure that there is plenty of protein still in the diet.  That might mean using some of the fake meat options at her age but also cheese, pulses etc.

Here's a lasagne recipe with lentils in it (so cheese and pulses): http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/vegetarian-lasagne-for-whole-family.html
Mutter Paneer (my 2 year old eats this but be guided by your LO): http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/mutter-paneer-for-whole-family.html

[deb]

Will she do eggs and/or yogurt/dairy? Any kind of animal protein will work to get complete protein, and you really don't need a lot.

[Lemonthyme]

Oh yes, eggs would be a really great idea. Good thinking.

[michaeljacknnugg]

Does hummous (is that how you spell it?) work in your house? I am veggie but DS and DH eat meat - but if we have a meat free meal then it is generally somewhere on the menu.

What about tofu? Fish?

[zeri]

My DS hates meat and won't eat it unless it is very over-processed, and we normally won't feed him that junk, so he gets a lot of eggs, cheese, quinoa, & edamame beans. Quinoa is great as it can be made into flour, pasta, used intead of rice, etc.

[Lemonthyme]

Quinoa is a pretty good source of protein from memory.  Check with local health advice but things like ground nuts and nut butters are now seen as ok for young kids in most country advice.

[katyusha]

Dear All, thanks a lot!
Yes, Dd eats eggs and dairy and pulses. I have to cook separately for her in that case as DS is allergic to egg, soya, dairy, nuts and chickpeas and they said possibly quinoa. This really only leaves veges and beans in common, as well as carbs. But DD does also like avicados and dry fruit do that is good and things like egg and dairy are easy to add. I guess I was worried about the whole complex of vitamins and iron... I may try searching some more. Thing is she loves the taste of meat, so it is a shame. (Plus she is not tall, but she wants to be and with being born on nearly the bottom centile that is going to be almost impossible.)

[CCCmom27]

I guess I was worried about the whole complex of vitamins and iron

I think iron would be the thing to worry about (not that you have to) as most people get it from meat.  FWIW I was veggie as a child with no problems.  C isn't fond of meat but eats some.  I consider most of his protein to come from dairy, eggs, and beans.

[Lemonthyme]

I've just thought.  Have you talked to her about it?  Is it the fluffy animal thing, the conditions or what?  If you can understand her objections you might find there is some compromise.  For example, loads of people won't eat game but in lots of ways wild game has led the best life.  Possibly that's a conversation for when she's older.

[creations]

There are some veggie cook books aimed at kids meals on amazon. I have one I was given, we aren't veggie though, and tbh many of the recipes are a bit too kid like for my kind of cooking (made into shapes and child portions etc). But for example if you were making a shepherds pie you could reduce the amount of double meal cooking by having 2 pans going at the same time and use all the same veg, herbs spices etc in each but one you add the meat mince and the other you add a can of lentils.  Pattern the mash potato on the veggie version before it goes into the oven (or add a slice of tomato etc) to mark out which is which.

[katyusha]

Creations love the idea of 2 sheperd's pies and also can I ask the name of the book?
Mamacook (lemon thyme) thanks a lot, I'll check the link now. You  are right it is the animal having to die that is upsetting her. She was ok while she thought the animals were old and died naturally, but not once she found out about the farmer's and butcher's role in all of this. Being a semi vegetarian myself I find it hard to really convince her. So for now she is persevering at home and I asked the teachers to keep an eye on her and maybe will have to let them know if she does not eat meat there. A for the plans, I asked because I was reading the mag about foods to eat and for calcium for example edam cheese was very good, much better than say, mozzarella. This surprised me as I thought all dairy was the same. So i thought that maybe I am not cooking the right things for her.

[creations]

It's this one
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veggie-Food-Kids-Sara-Lewis/dp/0600608875/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366097286&sr=8-2-fkmr2&keywords=veggie+meals+for+kids
If you do a 'veggie kids' search on amazon (in books department) a few others come up too.
The one I have can be bought used for less than £3 including p&p, tbh I wouldn't pay more than that for it.
I might not have been clear with my previous post though, looking back at it now it looks like this book explains how to make both meat and veggie meals at the same time, it doesn't, that was just a suggestion of mine to reduce the cooking and prep time and offer similar meals to the whole family.  you can do it with lots of one-pot meals, curry, stew etc.

I briefly tried a change in cheese for DS (to Gruyère because it is higher calcium) when he wasn't taking milk, he refused it so it ended up even less calcium. He likes strong extra mature cheddar and those mild 'plasticy' cheeses just don't appeal to him.  I add a couple of spoons of milk powder (which has added vits) where I can now, eg in pancake batter, in his drink of milk, or other recipes where I can chuck a bit in.

[mimi1017]

I'm not veggie but we don't consume beef or pork, and eat limited chicken and turkey....just as everyone mentioned, quinoa, avocado, beans, and legumes are packed with protein. Dark leafy greens and broccoli contain iron so wouldn't worry about meat being the only source of iron. If she likes fish, even better than meat honestly, it's packed with good omegas.  I make a shake for us every morning with kale, avocados, coconut milk and any fruits in there...that alone is high in calcium, protein, and some iron.

[katyusha]

Thank you all! I did get the book creations have mentioned and it has some good ideas. Luckily she eats eggs and for now she only does not eat meat or fish at home but eats at school, or so I am told. So I substituted for eggs, dairy, avocado, beans, mushrooms and veggies. It has not been too bad so far. However she is tiny. She weighs only about 15 kg at 5 y.o. and is only 98 cm high, so that's 2nd centile, I think. It is in line with what she was born at, but previously she was on the 9th and I was hoping she would grow a bit more before all of this. But never mind, she very active and well so I guess I should not worry.

[creations]

Good to hear you have found some substitutes.
Don't know if it was mentioned already but milk powder can be added to various recipes to increase protein, calcium and vits, it's a tip I picked up from others when my toddler dropped his milk intake too low.  I add it to muesli, milk, pancakes, but there are loads of dishes you can add some to for an additional boost.