vegetarian kid

[mooks]

My darling delight has decided she is now a vegetarian. Being 10yrs old though, she often refuses to eat certain vegetables. We've been eating a lot of fish recently since she is happy to pack away huge amounts of the poor critters, but I'm gatvol of fish now.

Any suggestions for child friendly vegetarian meals that aren't too heavy on carbs (she would live almost exclusively on potatoes or rice given the chance)?

Foods she won't eat:
Meat (red meat or chicken)
Tomatoes
Spinach
Asparagus
Sprouts
Eggplant
Avo
Peppers (red green yellow)
Peas
Mushrooms (can be snuck into dishes but never a stand alone item)
Cauliflower & broccoli (these can be negotiated in small servings that are directly proportional to the amount of cheese sauce available)

We don't get butternut or squash here and the pumpkins taste weird, so they're out too!

Inspire me! I'm so bored of my repertoire.

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Throw copious amounts of garlic and olive oil on everything and see if that helps

 

[Azbubu]

Speak some sense into her.

 

[D3nz]

Be aware there's an increased risk of anaemia when switching to vegetarian, especially if she refuses to eat certain vegetables. I was about 10 when I stopped eating meat so speaking from experience.

 

[shogun]

If she is going to go vegetarian (or vegan like me), then she really doesn't have a choice when it comes to some of those items:

These are items on that list that are non negotiable:
- spinach (iron)
- mushrooms (protein). Not strictly required, but it helps to mix it up a little on the protein side.

Who doesn't like avo?

You can try some soy products (burgers, sausages etc). You get some really excellent soy hotdog sausages. Try not overdo the soy tho, it can get a bit much. I know you also get really good veggie burgers at woolies that rather use lentils / chickpeas.

On that note, lentils and chickpeas are great if you want to put a bit more protein in her diet. You can do a million things with them (e.g. Humus [chickpeas] is awesome).

Like mentioned above... watch her iron levels. It might not be a bad idea to have it measured every 2-3 months, and get an supplement if necessary. It will take a long time to drop, but it likely will over time.

EDIT: Just take note that she will need to eat proper plants. I'm talking ones that contain iron and protein. Salads and stuff just won't cut it... there's little nutrition in the plant material that the typical meat eater consumes.

 

[ChilliGirl]

Does she eat other salad stuff, even though no tomatoes?

If yes, make a salad with various lettuces and sneak in some baby spinach(uncooked). Use a salad dressing with a nice flavour....
Permitting she does not see the name, she should be ok.

Does she eat coleslaw(if cabbage is available there)?

Stir fry, veg only?

Not low carb but... Cheese pasta?

 

[Re83L]

Gee haar pak.

 

[Necuno]

Best to go and see someone that can workout a proper eating plan with supplements if needed or else she might go defunct.

Red in the list imho is what you shouldn't be skipping out on, you have tried some salmon? Fish is the only meat I actively eat along with my other things... (Edit: you are still on fish, read fail)

My darling delight has decided she is now a vegetarian. Being 10yrs old though, she often refuses to eat certain vegetables. We've been eating a lot of fish recently since she is happy to pack away huge amounts of the poor critters, but I'm gatvol of fish now.

Any suggestions for child friendly vegetarian meals that aren't too heavy on carbs (she would live almost exclusively on potatoes or rice given the chance)?

Foods she won't eat:
Meat (red meat or chicken)
Tomatoes
Spinach
Asparagus
Sprouts
Eggplant
Avo
Peppers (red green yellow)
Peas
Mushrooms (can be snuck into dishes but never a stand alone item)
Cauliflower & broccoli (these can be negotiated in small servings that are directly proportional to the amount of cheese sauce available)

We don't get butternut or squash here and the pumpkins taste weird, so they're out too!

Inspire me! I'm so bored of my repertoire.

 

[Necuno]

If she is going to go vegetarian (or vegan like me), then she really doesn't have a choice when it comes to some of those items:

These are items on that list that are non negotiable:
- spinach (iron)
- mushrooms (protein). Not strictly required, but it helps to mix it up a little on the protein side.

Who doesn't like avo?

You can try some soy products (burgers, sausages etc). You get some really excellent soy hotdog sausages. Try not overdo the soy tho, it can get a bit much. I know you also get really good veggie burgers at woolies that rather use lentils / chickpeas.

On that note, lentils and chickpeas are great if you want to put a bit more protein in her diet. You can do a million things with them (e.g. Humus [chickpeas] is awesome).

Like mentioned above... watch her iron levels. It might not be a bad idea to have it measured every 2-3 months, and get an supplement if necessary. It will take a long time to drop, but it likely will over time.

EDIT: Just take note that she will need to eat proper plants. I'm talking ones that contain iron and protein. Salads and stuff just won't cut it... there's little nutrition in the plant material that the typical meat eater consumes.

I use Spatone to boost my iron.

AFAIK females require more iron after they started to have periods?

 

[blunomore]

I know you also get really good veggie burgers at woolies that rather use lentils / chickpeas.

Is there a Woolworths in the Netherlands ??

AFAIK females require more iron after they started to have periods?

She is 10 years old. A tad early still, I think.

 

[Hamster]

My darling delight has decided she is now a vegetarian. Being 10yrs old though, she often refuses to eat certain vegetables. We've been eating a lot of fish recently since she is happy to pack away huge amounts of the poor critters, but I'm gatvol of fish now.

Any suggestions for child friendly vegetarian meals that aren't too heavy on carbs (she would live almost exclusively on potatoes or rice given the chance)?

Foods she won't eat:
Meat (red meat or chicken)
Tomatoes
Spinach
Asparagus
Sprouts
Eggplant
Avo
Peppers (red green yellow)
Peas
Mushrooms (can be snuck into dishes but never a stand alone item)
Cauliflower & broccoli (these can be negotiated in small servings that are directly proportional to the amount of cheese sauce available)

We don't get butternut or squash here and the pumpkins taste weird, so they're out too!

Inspire me! I'm so bored of my repertoire.

Going to bed hungry two nights in a row will cure that.

 

[Pooky]

She has decided to become a vegetarian but she eats fish? Is she giving up the fish?

 

[shogun]

Is there a Woolworths in the Netherlands ??

Woops, didn't know the OP was in another country :/ I'm sure you can find similar there though. If we find it here, I'm pretty sure it's in europe in some form.

She has decided to become a vegetarian but she eats fish? Is she giving up the fish?

Didn't you know, fish don't have feelings?


@OP: To be honest, her dietary choice isn't a bad one (from a health point of view, not a "save the animal" one). I'm glad you are supporting it, but you need to lay down some rules that she if she's not eating meat, she can't be as picky on the plant side of things. Vegetarian and Vegan is great if done properly, but very bad if not. This will unfortunately require a lot of reading on your part to find plants with the right balance of nutrition. There are also a few enzymes that we need from meat (in small amounts, but still) that you find in only a few plant foods (soy lecithin contains some of these for example).

There is much research to be done if you want her to stay healthy on a vegatarian / vegan diet. The crux of it is to eat a wide variety of whole plant foods (legumes, dark green leafy plants, fruit and veg etc) to make sure she gets everything she needs.

 

[Captain Beer]

How about minestrone soup? I hate most of the ingredients, but once it's all cooked and mixed up it tastes great.

 

[HavocXphere]

Choose your battles. Force her to eat healthily (see shogun etc), but on you being bored....meh...you'll survive. Kids get crazy ideas...could be worse than vegetarian.

@shogun: Do you have any good resources on vegetarian dietary needs? Not exactly vegetarian, but 95%+ of of what I eat is either carbs, veg or eggs.

 

[mooks]

Thanks for all the input!

Mini mooks is very active (hockey 3per week, swimming 2 per week and tennis 1 per week) and rides her bike all over the show so I'm really conscious of her food intake. She is on a standard kiddy vitamin and I have negotiated at least 1 red meat portion per week but when I serve it she goes green around the gills and has to force it down. This all started after a trip to a petting farm where I think she made the first *real* connection between the leg of lamb we had for dinner and the little lamb in front of her. It's all gone downhill from there

Is it worth chatting to our GP about a more comprehensive vitamin routine? Will nutty snacks add any value? Can/should kids her age take supplements (iron, calcium etc)?

She is 100% healthy otherwise.

Edit : love the soup idea! I can hide all manner of veggies in a soup.

 

[HavocXphere]

Well iron is where the sht hits the fan first, so definitely supplement that. That plus a high quality multivitamin. Calcium...sure can't hurt - would depend on her diary intake, but if money isn't a major issue then do it anyway.

If you need to conceal something, go with a curry. Hot curry + hint of sugar/honey + coconut powder on the side can camouflage any taste. I'd go for chicken curry. If that flies, try lamb.

GP...meh would rather go for dietitian. GPs are good with sickness, less so with broccoli advice. NB dietitians can be expensive.

Nuts...yes. Make it proper nuts though, like walnut. NB peanut is not a nut...its a legume. Pushing Avocado would also be good.

Lose the Asparagus & eggplant idea...eggplant is just plain horrible & asparagus is only nice if its top of the range quality. So on those two the kid kinda has a point.

Its good that she is female though - I remember there was an issue with some component of soy products being similar to estrogen. Meaning the body reacts to it as if it were estrogen. Bit of an issue for vegetarian guys who live of soy based substitutes - less so for women.

 

[Hosehead]

my kid's the same. But if you are clever you can smuggle in chicken and meat to various baked and fried items.
Since you are northern Hemisphere, look at smmoothie recipes for veg smoothies (with apples for sweetening) Thats when you get the spinach and kale in and make it disappear.
Vegetable sushi is a big hit and a weekly item- juillened Peppers, cucumber, cream cheese, spring onion, japanese rolled sweet omlette all made into california rolls, inside out rolls, cones, etc.
It has been recommended that fish consumption be no more than 1x week due to high mercury levels found in most fish.
Look at egg products- look Spanish- they love mini Fritatta fried in mini pans, try paella but sneak in chicken with shellfish
look at aubergines - make a gratin use potatoes. vary the starches . You have great dairy- use more cheeses, Trawl the internet for recipes but again whatever is local and seasonal is lekker. The key I found to feeding 7-10 's is to disguise food. Ie. when you make soups or gravy, Califlower is a great thickner. Go mexican and make quesedillas with melted cheeses covering the juillened veggies she doesn't like - Sneak in Avo's and tomatoes. Or make Burritos with Kidney and refried beans, and melted cheese and add a bed of salads before you roll them. The trick is to also divert as well as disguise. With veggi sushi roll the rice logs in cooked sesame ad Poppy seeds add the Japanes mayo and sprinkle orange and black seaweed "fish eggs" - its a feast for the eyes, and have dipping soya sauce. For quesdillas and burritos have a range of dipping sauces. The more they have to "choose"from the more fun they will have eating and loving most of the foods they hate without even knowing it. Mushrooms are the trickiest as kids don't taste them as much as feel the slimy texture or spot them in something. Slice and cook them drier and blend them into say a creamy Rissotto with peas and- they shouldn't notice. There will be times you will be caught out but quickly divert and say they are something else. Plenty of Italian options to mix in the liguine, spaggetti and Lasagna and ravoli. Only imagination, budget and time are constraints.

 

[shogun]

Just a few notes:

Well iron is where the sht hits the fan first, so definitely supplement that. That plus a high quality multivitamin. Calcium...sure can't hurt - would depend on her diary intake, but if money isn't a major issue then do it anyway.

Agree with the comment on iron. Absolutely something to think about. Calcium? Not so much. There is more than enough in high calcium foods like broccoli for example. So you don't need to supplement if you have the right veggies. Also, just a note on milk and calcium... milk actually does the opposite of what you think it does. Is is high in calcium? Yes. Does that translate to a net gain in calcium in the body? Not so much. The way milk is processed in the body actually turns your PH slightly acidic. What this does is leach calcium out of your bones to counteract this acidity. In essence, milk actually reduces the amount of calcium in your bones. Plants like broccoli however are high in calcium, without making your body acidic. This is one of the many reasons I've switched to soy milk rather.

GP...meh would rather go for dietitian. GPs are good with sickness, less so with broccoli advice. NB dietitians can be expensive.

^ This, but I would just read up on the net. No need for a dietician if you use a bit of common sense, and know how to weed out the stupid websites that just want to peddle their "miracle foods". Stick to well respected factual sites, and cross reference your sources and you'll be fine.

Nuts...yes. Make it proper nuts though, like walnut. NB peanut is not a nut...its a legume. Pushing Avocado would also be good.

^ Agree

Lose the Asparagus & eggplant idea...eggplant is just plain horrible & asparagus is only nice if its top of the range quality. So on those two the kid kinda has a point.

Nooooo... disagree for no other reason than they're tasty to me

Its good that she is female though - I remember there was an issue with some component of soy products being similar to estrogen. Meaning the body reacts to it as if it were estrogen. Bit of an issue for vegetarian guys who live of soy based substitutes - less so for women.

No, that was a bit of misinformation. The "estrogen" in soy is a phytoestrogen that acts in a completely different way on the body as it has a different chemical structure. Totally safe and nothing to worry about. If you read up on it, it seems that slowly this information is becoming more well known, but the perception will take a while to fend off. There has been quite a bit of research on this. I wouldn't worry about soy and soy milk from that perspective.

I don't have time to find white papers now, but here's an except from a website that explains it better than I can right now:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/soy-milk-estrogen.html

Estrogen in Soy Milk

The estrogen present in soy milk comes under the category of isoflavones. The different members of the class, isoflavones are daidzein, genistein, glycitein and equol. Since these chemicals are plant-based they are also referred to as phytoestrogens. Equol is considered more estrogenic than genistein and daidzein. The level of estrogen in soy milk has been a matter of concern for many who consume it regularly. The isoflavones (phytoestrogens) present in soy milk and the hormone estrogen have a similar chemical composition. However, they are not the same. Since isoflavones and the hormone estrogen do not have the same chemical structure, they don't have the same effect on our body. Phytoestrogens or (plant estrogens) isoflavones are the beneficial elements present in soy products.

 

[shogun]

Choose your battles. Force her to eat healthily (see shogun etc), but on you being bored....meh...you'll survive. Kids get crazy ideas...could be worse than vegetarian.

@shogun: Do you have any good resources on vegetarian dietary needs? Not exactly vegetarian, but 95%+ of of what I eat is either carbs, veg or eggs.

Um, not any that stick out in my mind hey. I generally start reading one article... and start looking for others that substantiate or refute it. More likely than not, that article will mention something else of interest, and the cycle starts all over. Once you start, it never ends.

The one thing I've realised is that you can always find something to support your preferred view. If you want to say X is very bad for you, you'll find it. If you want to say it's actually good for you, you'll find articles to mention that as well. You generally have to fact check a whole bunch to get closer to the truth, and the answer is almost never "This is the perfect answer". Most foods have good and bad properties. The trick is not to ask "is this good for you", but to ask, "what are the pros and cons".

For recipes, yeesh... um, google is your friend