Have I a vegetarian 4 year old?

snuggles09

I've been mulling this over the last month or so

My daughter who has just turned 4 will not eat ANY meant at all..i'm talking sausages, burgers, stews, chicken...she wont eat any cheese (the bare bit of yoghurt) and refuses to drink milk

I'm at the end of my tether..the only things she will eat are

Bread (she will only have bread and butter going to school, no meat at all)
Potatoes (masked, roasted, croquets, chips)
Rice ( i make her a fried rice with soya sauce, garlic and some ginger and she loves this)
Pasta with a bolognese sauce but wont eat it if there is meat on it
Pan fried noodles
All vegetables except sweetcorn
Fruit of all descriptions

..and thats it!

I was looking in the fridge earlier and I realised that with all the meat I have in there, there isn't one dinner I could make that she will actually eat..she's been that way since she was a baby, her first foods rice and purified dinners that had meat in them but since she started on solids she won't eat anything..not even a fish finger or a chicken nugget

I'm worried she's not getting the nutrients and proteins that she needs though she is a fine buster and loves her food but nothing at all with meat in it

Anyone any idea how I either

a) try to get meat into her (but I don't want to force her either, her dad tried to get her to eat a stew not long ago and she sat at the table for an hour and barely picked at the potatoes, so in the end I gave her the rice)

b) introduce vegetarian options (I have no idea what I could make)

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm really at a loss

Thanks in advance:)

nesf

I wouldn't force meat on her, she might just (like me) really hate the texture and as a lifelong extremely fussy eater I've a lot of sympathy for kids like myself (I was cooking separate meals for myself from as soon as I was allowed so I could avoid my parents' food!). There are loads of easy options for getting protein into her diet. The simplest option is pulses. You can just cook up a portion of beans with every meal and have it as her protein source. Chickpeas, Red Kidney beans, the Bachelor's Mixed Beans cans and all those are good options and low in sugar, baked beans are fine in moderation but not all the time. Just serve with some steamed veg and you've a perfectly healthy meal that's simple and quick to make.

Other options are things like making up a big vegetarian lasagne or similar and freezing portions of it for future use. Ditto bean chilis, stews and so on. If you want recipes ask on the Vegetarian forum and people will be happy to help. There's loads of stuff you can do that is cheap and healthy.

snuggles09

thanks a million Nesf i'll go and have a look in the vegetarian forum now:)

Acoshla

She's not missing much by not eating nuggets and fish fingers anyway so that definitely wouldn't bother me. I ate pretty much everything I was given when I was small, mom made one dinner and if you didn't eat or aspects of it then that was your choice, and if you were hungry again later it was your own fault! So if she's avoiding meat and isn't hungry then she's probably doing fine, she might eat it when she's older, or if not there are tons of sources of nutrients out there.

nesf

snuggles09 wrote: »

thanks a million Nesf i'll go and have a look in the vegetarian forum now:)

Some recipes to get you started: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/vegetarian/


There's a thread full of food ideas on the forum. If she'll eat chilli (my two year old will but my five year old won't!) then a bean chilli is really easy to prepare and can last several days (3-4) in the fridge as well as freeze well. If she absolutely can't stand spice then you can make a stew with pretty much the same ingredients just leaving out the spices! Again this ages well in the fridge (i.e. tastes better after a day or two in the fridge) and freezes well.

nesf

Oh and more recipes: http://www.vegkitchen.com/kid-friendly-recipes/

snuggles09

nesf wrote: »

Oh and more recipes: http://www.vegkitchen.com/kid-friendly-recipes/

excellent i'll take time tomorrow to have a proper look at those..yes she does like spicey foods and loves curry with peppers and rice (again no meat in it has to be just the rice with peppers veg and curry sauce)

you've been a great help thanks again:)

nesf

snuggles09 wrote: »

excellent i'll take time tomorrow to have a proper look at those..yes she does like spicey foods and loves curry with peppers and rice (again no meat in it has to be just the rice with peppers veg and curry sauce)

you've been a great help thanks again:)

Toss some lentils into the curry and you have a protein rich meal for her! Cheaper than doing it with meat too.

theg81der

Snuggles my sister in law is mentally disabled and she eats no meat and I could literally count what she eats on one hand. We were all very concerned but she won`t go to dentist, doctor etc (if you can imagine trying to get a big strong child to go, not happening!) Anyway we eventually managed to get a blood test, she is 34, and her bloods were exactly perfect. We assumbed she had to be deficient in something but no she was better than ours.

Just wanted to tell you the above so you might not worry so much, her body obviously knows what she needs

nesf

snuggles09 wrote: »

excellent i'll take time tomorrow to have a proper look at those..yes she does like spicey foods and loves curry with peppers and rice (again no meat in it has to be just the rice with peppers veg and curry sauce)

you've been a great help thanks again:)

Oh, and I forgot to link you to this too: http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/birthtofive/Pages/Vegetarianandvegankids.aspx

ash23

My daughter was the same. Hated meat. I think it was the texture.
She was basically a veggie until she was about 4. She will now eat ham, bacon, a little bit of chicken (preferably in goujon form or a drumstick) and that's about it. No beef, mince, sausages etc. Although having said that she recently started eating minced beef in burger format (I make homemade ones and she eats a bit of those).

She does love fish though. Probably has fish 3 times a week at least.
And she would always eat cheese and yogurts but wouldn't drink milk. Even now she'll only have a very occasional glass of milk.

As far as I can tell she's never been deficient in anything. Her teeth are perfect, no cavities, she's never broken a bone, she's very very rarely sick.
Just go with the flow and try to get protein into her in other ways.

Zamboni

You have a four year old child addicted to sugar with a diet severely lacking in animal protein and healthy fats from fish.
You should not be encouraging a vegetarian diet. She needs protein and not just the protein that comes from plants, beans and pulses.
Find a way of getting animal/fish protein into her diet. Liquidise it, cover it, mix it, whatever it takes.
As it is she is set up to get diabetes. Fix this now whilst she is young.

greenbicycle

Hey, I want to just identify myself as someone who like nesf never ate meat, I just didn't like the taste and texture at all, you sound like my mom when I was four. I am 30 now and have been very healthy all my life, I would ignore posts that might worry you like the one above. I wish I did like meat so you should maybe still try with your daughter every now and again but not to the point of stressing you or her out. Eating meat will make her life easier in the future but she will cope like I did, I just cant make myself like it, never could and I couldn't have been healthier!

Does she eat eggs? That's another source of protein you could consider, I didn't like them but my mom got them into me by making French toast which I liked, just bread soaked in eggs and grilled, then buttered like toast.

Lots of children won't eat any vegetables at all so having a child who will eat all veg makes her miles ahead of lots of children who will only eat meat and chips and pizza etc. I think if I had to choose I would choose your daughters eating habits over a non veg eater!

Ultimately, don't worry, your daughter will be fine!

Moonbeam

Zamboni wrote: »

You have a four year old child addicted to sugar with a diet severely lacking in animal protein and healthy fats from fish.
You should not be encouraging a vegetarian diet. She needs protein and not just the protein that comes from plants, beans and pulses.
Find a way of getting animal/fish protein into her diet. Liquidise it, cover it, mix it, whatever it takes.
As it is she is set up to get diabetes. Fix this now whilst she is young.

*Mod Warning*
Please refrain from posting such ill-informed and scare mongering posts.

nesf

Zamboni wrote: »

You should not be encouraging a vegetarian diet. She needs protein and not just the protein that comes from plants, beans and pulses.

Evidence please. You can get complete proteins and omega oils from plant sources, so I'm failing to see your point here.

Orion

There are plenty of healthy vegetarian children. I'd like to see a source on your diabetes and sugar addiction claims.

nesf

Orion wrote: »

There are plenty of healthy vegetarian children. I'd like to see a source on your diabetes and sugar addiction claims.

I think his sugar addiction/diabetes claim comes from the amount of processed carbohydrate in the foods listed in the OP. But since we don't know what quantities the child is eating of each etc.

snuggles09

Zamboni wrote: »

You have a four year old child addicted to sugar with a diet severely lacking in animal protein and healthy fats from fish.
You should not be encouraging a vegetarian diet. She needs protein and not just the protein that comes from plants, beans and pulses.
Find a way of getting animal/fish protein into her diet. Liquidise it, cover it, mix it, whatever it takes.
As it is she is set up to get diabetes. Fix this now whilst she is young.

please explain?..i wasn't aware that rice, bread and potatoes contained excessive amounts of sugar and could encourage diabetes

thesimpsons

up to age of 8, my daughter never ate meat. She didn't like the texture of it at all. she ate loads of fruit, cheese, milk, veg, rice and pasta and was so healthy, never sick, never saw a doctor, so we weren't bothered too much. she now loves meat. IMO once she's healthy and getting plenty of good veg, protein, I wouldn't be very concerned.

krd

There's a trick that works really well, to get kids to eat stuff they don't like.

Don't get into a battle with them - it can turn into something worse. They can be very belligerent - and it can become a point of principle with them to refuse to eat properly.

Here's the trick.

Let them eat what they want to eat. But what you do at meal times, is you take a little plate, and make a tiny little piece of whatever it is they don't like - something really small, a really small sliver (like tomato, or a little piece of meat, or cabbage). Don't force them - just encourage them to try it - it will look so small so they won't be that put off - even make it so small it's just a teensy taste. Within a few weeks, they can develop a taste for things.

Kids can be put off by foods by the funniest things - they might not like the look of peas. Or meat looks weird to them - a head of cauliflower can give a child nightmares. They may have an aversion to onions, and cheese, but they'll happily munch their way through packets of cheese and onion flavoured crisps. You could even try confusing them - put a little crisp on a plate with a little onion, and maybe some cheese.


Avoid battles with small children - it's like going into Afghanistan; you'll be stuck there for years and you'll find you're not winning. Use cunning.

nesf

krd wrote: »

There's a trick that works really well, to get kids to eat stuff they don't like.

Don't get into a battle with them - it can turn into something worse. They can be very belligerent - and it can become a point of principle with them to refuse to eat properly.

Here's the trick.

Let them eat what they want to eat. But what you do at meal times, is you take a little plate, and make a tiny little piece of whatever it is they don't like - something really small, a really small sliver (like tomato, or a little piece of meat, or cabbage). Don't force them - just encourage them to try it - it will look so small so they won't be that put off - even make it so small it's just a teensy taste. Within a few weeks, they can develop a taste for things.

Kids can be put off by foods by the funniest things - they might not like the look of peas. Or meat looks weird to them - a head of cauliflower can give a child nightmares. They may have an aversion to onions, and cheese, but they'll happily munch their way through packets of cheese and onion flavoured crisps. You could even try confusing them - put a little crisp on a plate with a little onion, and maybe some cheese.


Avoid battles with small children - it's like going into Afghanistan; you'll be stuck there for years and you'll find you're not winning. Use cunning.

This works really well when a kid won't eat something because it's new or because of taste (we've been using it to great success with our 5 year old who is extremely suspicious about new foods). What it won't work with is problems with texture or smell. I can't eat even tiny amounts of cooked onion without feeling physically ill but I can eat raw onion no problem (one of my favourite things in a sandwich actually).

krd

nesf wrote: »

This works really well when a kid won't eat something because it's new or because of taste (we've been using it to great success with our 5 year old who is extremely suspicious about new foods).

It's an idea to start them on the weird stuff really early (and peas fall into "the weird stuff"). If you learn how to do it, you can make much better baby food than the supermarket processed stuff. Of course, and you shouldn't need to be told. Never, under any circumstances add salt to a baby's or toddlers food.

What it won't work with is problems with texture or smell.

I can't eat even tiny amounts of cooked onion without feeling physically ill but I can eat raw onion no problem (one of my favourite things in a sandwich actually).

There can be a good reason for that. Certain foods will not agree with some people. When I was a child, and this is the same now being an adult, milk and milk in things like cereal, would make me feel and get physically sick. My mother would make me eat cereal, and it would make me feel awful. And she tried to force me to drink milk and that would make me feel ill too. Milk is a really good source of protein and calcium. But some people lose the ability to digest it easily (lactose intolerance). If a child doesn't like drinking milk - it's not a good idea to force them. Yoghurt, cheeses and even tap water (hard) are a good source of calcium. The lactose in yoghurt and cheeses, has been processed by bacteria, so it's easier to digest.

For me, also, I don't like eating anything with much processed sugar in it. I've always liked chocolate - but sometimes even half a bar is enough to make me feel ill.

It's funny. I knew a woman, whose son was violently allergic to chocolate. And yet he'd still try to sneak it. And spend a whole night in torture and vomiting, all for a few moments pleasure.

nesf

krd wrote: »

It's an idea to start them on the weird stuff really early (and peas fall into "the weird stuff"). If you learn how to do it, you can make much better baby food than the supermarket processed stuff. Of course, and you shouldn't need to be told. Never, under any circumstances add salt to a baby's or toddlers food.

We did that, he was eating all kinds of weird and wacky stuff as a toddler, all kinds of different flavours and textures, he never saw a jar of baby food. It doesn't necessarily last though and they can start rejecting foods as later toddlers and preschoolers and then (hopefully) grow out of this again in primary school.

Orion

krd wrote: »

When I was a child, and this is the same now being an adult, milk and milk in things like cereal, would make me feel and get physically sick. My mother would make me eat cereal, and it would make me feel awful. And she tried to force me to drink milk and that would make me feel ill too. Milk is a really good source of protein and calcium. But some people lose the ability to digest it easily (lactose intolerance). If a child doesn't like drinking milk - it's not a good idea to force them. Yoghurt, cheeses and even tap water (hard) are a good source of calcium. The lactose in yoghurt and cheeses, has been processed by bacteria, so it's easier to digest.

The bacteria you mention is called Lactobacilli which is destroyed by the pasteurisation process. Lactose intolerance is the inability to create the lactase enzyme. But if lactobacilli is already present it's not needed. Nestle make a big deal of their L Casei Immunitas. It's just a naturally occurring bacteria in milk. Which is why you can drink yoghurt but not milk.

Have you considered raw milk at all? It's unpasteurised, unhomogenised milk. There are some farms around the country selling it directly to the public.

blatantrereg

Zamboni wrote: »

You have a four year old child addicted to sugar with a diet severely lacking in animal protein and healthy fats from fish.
You should not be encouraging a vegetarian diet. She needs protein and not just the protein that comes from plants, beans and pulses.
Find a way of getting animal/fish protein into her diet. Liquidise it, cover it, mix it, whatever it takes.
As it is she is set up to get diabetes. Fix this now whilst she is young.

snuggles09 wrote: »

please explain?..i wasn't aware that rice, bread and potatoes contained excessive amounts of sugar and could encourage diabetes

This:

nesf wrote: »

I think his sugar addiction/diabetes claim comes from the amount of processed carbohydrate in the foods listed in the OP. But since we don't know what quantities the child is eating of each etc.

Yes that's where the sugar thing is from. Processed carbs like white bread aren't optimal. They aren't high in sugar, but they are metabolised pretty fast. The rest of Zamboni's post is nonsense tbh. He's been listening to people banging on about certain en vogue fad diets.

Animal protein has no benefit whatsoever over vegetable protein. It is easy to get a full spectrum of amino acids from vegetable sources - and the food that provides them is going to be a lot more nutritious in general. There was a recent thread on the vegetarian forum about vegetarian protein sources.

Make sure she gets enough iron. Like protein, it's easy to get plenty of iron in a vegetarian diet. And again the sources are generally going to be a lot healthier in other ways. Some good sources include lentils, chick peas, quinoa, dark green veg, tofu. Consuming vitamin c at the same time helps absorb iron from vegetable sources.

campo

My sister was the very same literally from when she was old enough to eat solids she would not eat meat and she is 23 now still has not eat any meat ( carefull now ) and she is perfectly healty if anything I would encourage a veggie diet

marley123

My youngest boy has gone from being a complete carnivor to only eating the odd bit of meet.. BUT tbh he adores fish so we have adapted some of his meals, fish pie, steamed monkfish, veggie lasagne, veggie stew with potatos, also the likes of stirfry & rice with veggies.
He also adores fruit & yogurts. He is a very healthy little guy so not going to force meat on him if he doesn't like it.

Demonique

Zamboni wrote: »

You have a four year old child addicted to sugar with a diet severely lacking in animal protein and healthy fats from fish.
You should not be encouraging a vegetarian diet. She needs protein and not just the protein that comes from plants, beans and pulses.
Find a way of getting animal/fish protein into her diet. Liquidise it, cover it, mix it, whatever it takes.
As it is she is set up to get diabetes. Fix this now whilst she is young.

So, your solution would be OP forcing food their daughter hates on her?

That can cause problems as well. I was forced to eat food I hated (stew where the fat was still left on the meat, ugh the texture and taste of the fat is disgusting, etc) and as a result I now have food issues. I also had undiagnosed high-functioning autism.