Dd (10) wants to be a vegetarian

[Riverfront Headmistress]

The idea is kind of making me :confused: Is this going to make more work for me? Her idea of being a vegetarian is not eating meat. I've tried to explain the need for a balanced diet: protein, carbohydrates, vegetables/fruit, dairy, etc. Yesterday was her first day and her diet was not at all well-rounded. Maybe I should make some type of chart as a way to encourage that she is getting all she needs for each meal.

[JFSinIL]

Get her some tofu and calmly note that it is the accepted veggie meat replacement. She HAS to eat a large amount every day. Also beans in combo with rice or another grain to make a complete protein.

 

She probably won't stay a veggietarian for long. ;)

[dragons in the flower bed]

The idea is kind of making me :confused: Is this going to make more work for me? Her idea of being a vegetarian is not eating meat. I've tried to explain the need for a balanced diet: protein, carbohydrates, vegetables/fruit, dairy, etc. Yesterday was her first day and her diet was not at all well-rounded. Maybe I should make some type of chart as a way to encourage that she is getting all she needs for each meal.

 

You might ask your librarian to find some books for kids who want to become veggies. I know there have been a few, but I can't seem to find them with a quick Google.

 

You can print out the Vegetarian Food Pyramid and put it on your fridge, then get small magnets to use to cover the appropriate sections when she eats something from them, the goal being to cover the whole pyramid before the end of the day.

 

It probably will not make more work for you, just require some creative thinking. When I went veggie at age nine, my mom decided it was time for me to learn to cook, and bought me my first cookbook, a Linda McCartney one. Twenty years later, I can make the meals in there from memory, but it's still my favorite cookbook. Here's a veggie cookbook written just for kids.

 

You could encourage your daughter to cook a veggie casserole and freeze it in portions so that if you're making something that meat can't be left out of, she has a replacement meal on hand.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Get her some tofu and calmly note that it is the accepted veggie meat replacement. She HAS to eat a large amount every day. Also beans in combo with rice or another grain to make a complete protein.

 

She probably won't stay a veggietarian for long. ;)

 

That would be dishonest and manipulative, and would destroy an excellent opportunity to teach her to apply the essential practical skill of nutritional meal planning.

[Laura Corin]

Also beans in combo with rice or another grain to make a complete protein.

 

 

It has been discovered that the body is quite able to put together the two food forms when they are eaten at different times of day.

 

Laura

[Riverfront Headmistress]

You can print out the Vegetarian Food Pyramid and put it on your fridge, then get small magnets to use to cover the appropriate sections when she eats something from them, the goal being to cover the whole pyramid before the end of the day.

 

 

 

I like this idea!

[Quiver0f10]

Another good book is raising Vegetarian Children by Joanne Stepaniak, which deals with diet but also on how to deal when one person of the family is veg and the rest aren't and so on.

[Ashleen]

Get her some tofu and calmly note that it is the accepted veggie meat replacement. She HAS to eat a large amount every day. Also beans in combo with rice or another grain to make a complete protein.

 

She probably won't stay a veggietarian for long. ;)

 

Gag. I love vegetarian meals but dislike tofu and that is cruel unless someone in the family already knows how to make good dishes with tofu. On its own, it's a flavorless slab with the texture of cooked egg. That sounds like a disrespectful thing to do.

 

Also, it's untrue that anyone needs a "large amount" of protein each day; former studies on the benefits of protein compared children who had inadequate food (starvation) who did better with more protein. But now they're finding that too much protein is a huge problem in first world countries; many of our health problems are from overeating protein.

 

Good non-meat sources of protein are peanuts and other nuts, sunflower seeds and other seeds, beans (black beans are great and can go in many Mexican and South American dishes).

 

Is she willing to use milk or eggs? That can make things easier, but it's still doable without. My ten year old son is vegetarian and we often eat vegetarian meals, but we sometimes make meat dishes and it's no problem to give him some fruit, vegetables, bread, yogurt, etc.

 

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread with a glass of soy milk is not the most exciting meal in the world, but it's perfectly acceptable (especially if you buy natural fruit preserves, no high-fructose corn syrup).

[Country Mouse]

For a cookbook that includes quick, wholesome and easy recipes that you're whole family might just enjoy check out Better than Peanut Butter and Jelly by Wendy Muldawer & Marty Mattare. Many of the recipes are things she could make herself if she has some basic cooking skills.

 

FYI I am veg and I rarely eat tofu unless at a restaurant prepared by an expert. :)

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Hello! I really want to comment on this issue and I will later but I have to go. I just want to quickly comment on Joan Stepaniak. She is ardently not pro-life. Please use caution when viewing her material. I personally wouldn't purchase her stuff but if you do or if you ck it out, please preview it to make sure she's only talking diet and her views on human life don't creep in . . .

 

if you are otherwise oriented on life issues, please dont' take offense. I do think this is very important to many and I (and they) would want to know.

 

btw, my daughter, age 9 and life long veg, says she would like to meet your daughter.;)

[Quiver0f10]

Hello! I really want to comment on this issue and I will later but I have to go. I just want to quickly comment on Joan Stepaniak. She is ardently not pro-life. Please use caution when viewing her material. I personally wouldn't purchase her stuff but if you do or if you ck it out, please preview it to make sure she's only talking diet and her views on human life don't creep in . . .

 

if you are otherwise oriented on life issues, please dont' take offense. I do think this is very important to many and I (and they) would want to know.

 

btw, my daughter, age 9 and life long veg, says she would like to meet your daughter.;)

 

I have read the book I suggested and didn't find references to not being pro-life :confused: and by my signature you can imagine I am very prolife. Maybe I need to reread it, I wasn't reading it TO my child so I might have just skimed those sections and don't remember them.

[Jenny in Florida]

Get her some tofu and calmly note that it is the accepted veggie meat replacement. She HAS to eat a large amount every day. Also beans in combo with rice or another grain to make a complete protein.

 

She probably won't stay a veggietarian for long. ;)

 

But that wouldn't be true.

 

I've been a vegetarian for more than 20 years now and have never been a tofu fan. My daughter (13) has been vegetarian her whole life and vegan since age 2. My son has been vegan since conception. Neither of them are tofu eaters, either.

 

Also, the idea that beans and rice must be consumed together has long been disproven. As long as one eats them in appropriate proportions over the course of even a few days, the body can synthesize the proteins it needs.

 

Not to mention that the average American consumes far more protein than is actually necessary. So, no child would need to eat a large quantity of tofu every day.

 

And, by the way, peanuts are legumes, too, which means a good, old fashioned peanut butter sandwich provides a perfectly healthy complete protein.

 

For what it's worth, I wanted to go veg more or less my whole life, and my parents manipulated and talked me out of it for years. So, as soon as I was in control of my own food preparation, the first thing I did was quit eating meat. I've always resented the fact that they were so insensitive about my feelings on the topic.

[Danestress]

It's not going to be that big of a deal if your daughter wants to be a vegetarian - particularly if her adversion is to flesh but she is still willing to eat dairy products and eggs. If she wants to be a vegan, I would actually be scared.

 

People tend to think that the body needs a ton of protein and that it has to be a "complete" protein at each meal. I would read up a bit on this, because my understanding is that this simply isn't true.

 

We were all vegetarians here for a number of years. We eat meat now (though not a lot of it). One son chose to not eat meat. It wasn't that hard to accomodate - partly because I cook a lot of vegetarian food anyway. I bought (but you could make and freeze) different kinds of vegetain entres - frozen Amy's burritos, for example, that he could eat if we were eating flesh.

 

Personally, I wouldn't fight this. I would teach her how to scramble eggs in a pinch and how to plan meals that are healthy and economical.

[Riverfront Headmistress]

Thanks for the information. Our family was vegetarians for about 5 years ago but thats been awhile - I actually did not know that it has been disproved that a grain and bean must be eaten at the same time to form a complex carb. Thats news to me. :)

[dragons in the flower bed]

I've been a vegetarian for more than 20 years now and have never been a tofu fan.

 

I was not a big tofu fan until I read This Can't Be Tofu! It explains the common mistakes Americans make when cooking with tofu, and provides sundry delicious (fantastic, amazing) recipes.

[Jenny in Florida]

What I did when my daughter was younger was to put a chart on the 'fridge that showed her required servings of various things for the day. After each meal, we'd just look at the chart and cross off what she'd eaten.

 

Our whole family is veg, but I have picky eaters all around. So, it is rare that the whole family actually eats the exact same meal. What I've found is most helpful is to work with what I refer to as "modular meals," things that allow me to prepare a set of ingredients that can be assembled to each person's specifications. Mexican-themed meals work well with this approach, for example: I put seasoned black beans, rice, tortillas, corn, salsa and other fixings on the table, and everyone fixes his or her own plate.

 

There are some meals that only three of the four of us will eat. In that case, the odd person out is responsible for either helping me figure out something quick and easy to provide as an alternative or for doing his/her own thing. Frequently, around here, that person ends up eating the bread or rice, a fruit or veggie of some sort, a handful of nuts and/or a glass of soy milk, in addition to whatever he/she wants to scavenge from the main meal.

 

No one has keeled over yet. In fact, I just took my kids for their annual check-ups and the doctor said they were among the healthiest kids she'd seen all year.

 

My suggestion would be to relax, do some research to find out how much of various nutrients your daughter actually needs, then identify some easy-to-prepare foods she likes that will fill those needs. Keep those on hand, and let her graze when the meal you plan for everyone else doesn't work for her.

 

Also, side dishes are a vegetarian's best friend. With very minor modifications and a little bit of thinking ahead, most of us can find at least one or two items on most dinner tables that will work for us in a pinch.

 

It doesn't have to be a big deal or a lot of work. I promise! And a child of that age who is serious about wanting to go down this road is certainly old enough to take on some of the responsibility.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

What I did when my daughter was younger was to put a chart on the 'fridge that showed her required servings of various things for the day. After each meal, we'd just look at the chart and cross off what she'd eaten.

 

 

 

Brilliant! I may just try that for healthy eating's sake!

[Mom to Aly]

That would be dishonest and manipulative, and would destroy an excellent opportunity to teach her to apply the essential practical skill of nutritional meal planning.

:iagree: Whatever her reason for becoming a vegetarian, I am sure it is a health one or a moral one, both very good. I was raised a vegetarian, and, except for closed minded people who can't seem to figure out what is mean and what isn't in restaurants, I've never had a prob. There are wonderful meat substitutes (Morningstar Farms, Boca & Amy's are some of the more popular brands), tofu is great and easy to cook with, and very healthy.

 

Being vegetarian is also much healthier--there are many cancers you cannot get if you have never eaten meat, including one of the main forms of breast cancer, some forms of heart disease and brain disease. The majority of cholesterol comes from meat, you are eliminating most hormones, etc. from your diet. THe blood, hormones and enzymes from animals are what often cause problems in people, and you do not get those when you are vegetarian (a small amount in milk, but the majority is from meat).

 

Your daughter is, at this point, probably just eating anything else she can find, looking for any easy out without meat. She does need to understand what healthy alternatives are. This does not mean she has to go vegan or eat a salad with tofu at every meal. There are so many alternatives in today's world. There are fake hamburgers and fake bacon and fake sausages, fake chicken nuggets, fake hot dogs, almost anything she would like! These products are often made of soy, and very healthy, most people tell me they taste almost like the real thing, but healthier--I know a # of people who eat the fake bacon, because it is healthier and they like the taste more!

 

She needs to experiment and see what suits her and doesn't. She may change her mind in a week (I wouldn't buy a ton of stuff until you see how she does with it), or you may have a child that is making a life decision, and will end up healthier in the long run, and stick to her morals throughout.

 

Either way, I truly salute you for allowing her to follow her convictions. I have seen many parents who wouldn't let their kids even try, no matter how strongly they believed.

[Brindee]

My kids have been vegetarians their whole lives, and they are very healthy! Before I had kids, one of my coworkers asked, "But if you don't eat meat, how will you get your protein?!" I agree with the others--most people get TOO MUCH protein. Eating natural foods, grains, and nuts will give you the protein you need!

 

We are a family that really likes tofu! I put it in soups and sitr fry. My dd even eats it plain sometimes, with a little salt. We use very little dairy products, once in awhile eggs, but our main problem with going vegan is cheese. All of us (except dh) love cheese! So, I try to limit the amount used. We use only soy milk.

**Before someone tells me how bad soy milk is for us, let me say that I can find websites that say how horrible raw milk, regular milk and rice milk are too! It's a matter of your own research and what you feel is best!** We've been this way for years and years, and we're all very healthy!

 

Some of the other ladies have given great advice! I agree not to try to force her NOT to be vegetarian! It's the natural way your body was made to eat! :001_smile: