Vegetarian Babe

M.,

I don't have firsthand experience raising a vegetarian child, but my good friend does. She finds a lot of support from their pediatrician, who is vegan. His name is Dr. Jay Gordon, and he has a lot of useful information on his Web site, including nutrition advice: http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/index.asp

Hope you get the info you need.

I just got the veggie cookbook, "From Animal Crackers to WIld West Beans". They have it on Amazon.
It seems good and well written. Have fun!

I don't have any good references, but the best advice I ever received was to have the children eat what you eat. Don't avoid Indian or Mexican food because of the spices (after all what do Indian and Mexican babies eat?). Many of the international foods have the proteins that we as vegetarians need and will be good for your child too. Also, all the Morning Star Farms, Boca and Quorn products are great for kids and they love them. When my two year old was 8 months he loved the Boca Italian sausages and he would just hold them and gnaw on them. We have two kids, 7 and 2, and they are both vegetarians and just by following that advice have been healthy, growing boys (both on the slender side, but our doctors are frankly thrilled with that). Good luck!

Kris

hello, for sure nursing as long as possible is the best option for healthy kids, vegetarian or not. Even though we are told by the media to eat less meat and fat, and that vegetables and low-fat diets are healthier, it is difficult to get adequate nutrition from a vegetarian diet, according to the reading I have done. If you are not vegan, using raw dairy products and good-quality eggs can provide these nutrients, especially for babes. I made sure to feed my kids plenty of egg yolks (they say no eggs before age 1 but it is only the egg white that is the allergen, the egg yolk is very important for brain development) and then raw milk once I stopped nursing. If you are interested in learning more about this kind of diet, you can visit the site http://www.westonaprice.org - it is not a vegetarian site in the least but might have some interesting info for you. Enjoy!

There are MANY books to checkout from your library or any good health food store or even google search info on-line.
I raised my daughter vegetarian and allowed some dairy and some fish and even chicken until as a teen 'she' decided agains chicken. She is a top student now at UCSD her brain is well developed. She was tested as 'gifted' by 2nd grade.
I made sure, first. "I" ate right during preganancy (eventhough I was a single mom and on welfare), then nursed 2 yrs. Her first food was zucchini bites(ie:peeled diced and microaved 1 minute, some say no micro wave, whatever..read up and you decide. use glass to microwave is suggested)) at 8 months (she loved it for over a year instead of cherios) I never gave her cereals, she didn't like them. Today at 18 SHE basically follows the same basically veggie diet but does taste a burger every blue moon but loves Taco Bell, haha but tru.
jmama
PS she was always lean but not skinny and grew to be a tall not overweight young lady and no acne.

I am not a vegetarian, but my family eats "veggie" about half the time. My son often prefers to not eat meat, although as a toddler (he is 2 1/2) we often measure his diet as "balanced" only if we look at a week's worth of foods...sometimes he likes mostly fruit, other times (like last night) he only likes veggies, and still other times only meat or protein (non-meat). We give him what we eat, when we eat it, and supplement with healthy snacks, as well as treats on special occasions (holiday goodies!).

Have you looked up naturopathic sources to get info on nutrition for your babe? One I use all the time, even tho I am not a vegetarian, is "Healthy Healing" by Linda Page, ND. It is revised every year or two, & has great info for both adults & kids. The author is vegetarian, & she also has a great website that might lead you to more info that could be helpful... www.healthyhealing.com

Another good baby food book I tried is "homemade baby food", it includes some meat recipies but has some great non-meat meals as well!

One thing my son loves is fresh juice, made in the vegetable juicer. We dilute it by 1/2 (& usually he likes it better when the weather is warmer, since juices are a cooling food), but juicing up apples & carrots as the base, & then adding just a *hint* of other veggies (like broccoli, beet, celery, spinach, that sort of thing--consult a juicing book for good recipies w/nutritional content) is a yummy & healthy treat.

Juices won't give him a complete protein, but thru beans & brown rice, other complete protein meals, a varied diet, &/or some of the other great veggie products out there these days (we love "Quorn", which is made of mycoprotein--mushrooms), you can easily give him the nutrition a growing boy needs.

You might check into bee pollen, as a yummy protein supplement, once your son is over the age of 1, & you know he isn't allergic to bees.

We also like a liquid kid's multi-vite that has green superfoods in it (by Natrol).

Hope this helps...

I don't think you should automatically make your son a vegetarian. You should wait until he makes his own decisions, and it wouldn't be good to force this on him. If you do force it on him, I'd recommend a lot of protein, especially as he gets older.

M.,

That is fantastic that you are still nursing, it provides perfect nutrition. I found this book very helpful: "The Vegetarian Mother and Baby Book" by Rose Elliot. It has helpful nutrition information and great recipes. Also, if you have the time, I'd recommend making your own baby food instead of buying jarred food, especially if you can purchase locally grown, organic produce in season. Farmers markets have a great variety. Best of luck to you!

K. Lee
http://www.aromatherapist.mionegroup.com

Unfortunately I don't have a good book recommendation or resource recommendation at the ready, but I wanted to weigh in with my opinion that if you are eating well yourselves, your child will be fine. I have a deep faith in our bodies' ability to get what they need from good whole foods.

Anecdotally: My own son nursed until he was well into preschool and consistently rejects meat. I rarely (almost never) eat meat, whilst his father does. Our son has tasted (out of curiousity, on his own initiative) salami, turkey, and chicken and dislikes them all. However, he tasted mortadella (Italian bologna) and he loved that. For about a year he would eat mortadella if it were an option (at his school or at a friend's house), but now that he's in kindergarten he has decided that he doesn't want to eat it because it is made of pigs. Note that I am not evangelical about vegetarianism, and we haven't ever made a big deal about it. I personally think that because he was breastfed and then continued nursing for a long time that helped meet some of his important early nutritional needs. I was and still am conscientious about offering him wholesome whole foods and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. We consume gallons upon gallons of whole milk (both of us love it), and he loves flax-seed granola. I put flax seeds (ground or whole) in a lot of things we eat on the belief that the omega-3 oils in them are good for him. I don't actively push vitamins (iron) on him, but he occasionally takes them. He's strong and growing well, and he eats lots of foods willingly, so I don't lose sleep wondering what I don't know about vegetarian boys.

I'll be interested to see what other moms have found on this subject.

Hello,
Your son is a baby, he needs protein in his diet as well as all kind of different nutritions. You may want to hold off on vegetarian diet till at least his 18 years old, and that is when our body is fully developed and you can go from there. Being vegetarian is a choice you have made, but you shouldn't force it on your children. I have family members who are vegetarians and tried to do the same thing,but their two kids gained a lot of weight and were sick all the time because of the poor diet, now they added fish and chicken to their diet and they start feeling better. You may want to consult your son's pediatrician.
Best wishes

"Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. Great book. Lots of good info and recipes.

Ditto for Super Baby Food.

I have two little vegetarians (ages 2 and 5) in our vegetarian household who are wonderfully healthy, active, energetic and delightful beings. I nursed for a long time (my oldest just weaned recently and my youngest still nurses). When they were young, I made sure that they got a lot of good brain food (avocado ranks high up there). I have to admit that I do give my little guy fish oil (guess he's not completely vegetarian!!) for his growing brain as well.

Best of luck!!

Hi M.,
Good for you! Be sure your some gets plenty of protein; the brain is in heavy growth during the first 5 years of life, then there is another short spurt at the onset of puberty, then the final one between 18 and 20 or so years old.

An old standby I use is "Laurel's Kitchen." Also, any of the cookbooks by Mollie Katzen are wonderful, such as "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest." These books have been around for a long time, but they have tried and true recipes and rational health information for veggie families.

Enjoy!

You might ask a health food store for books. The Internet might have books also on vegitarian diets.
D. N.

Hi M.,

I have a 13 month old and I am raising him veggie as well. What are you feeding your little one now? I tend to give my Son steamed veggies, beans or I make lentil soup with veggies. Of course there is fruit as well. I try not to give him to much soy. As soy can be to harsh on a Babies system if they eat to much of it. I am still nursing too. I agree there really isn't much lit out there for raising babies veggie. But if I come across any I will let you know. Good luck and "Power to the Veggies"!!!

OMG do it now! I am vegetarian for the past year and my family is NOT! I still have to cook meals for them that go against everything I believe. I gag and feel guilty every night. I am not sure how much more I can take. I was raised vegan--no cheese or dairy or fish. My hubby, raised on a cattle ranch was polar opposite. I have gone back and forth for years. I feel healthiest and happiest as my true vegan self. My kids would die of shock if I tried to change their diet now. I REGRET not being true to myself and them from the start. More power to you.

We raised our daughter (and now our 4 month old)veggie from the start. Our pediatrician told us to give her a vitamin supplement with iron, which we did, but we weren't strict with it. Our daughter is almost 3 now, very strong, over 30 pounds. My advice is to give your son a variety of all types of food. We aren't vegan so our daughter did eat yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese and eggs. When she turned one we introduced whole milk, soy milk and rice milk. I also nursed her until she was 14 months. Unless there is a reason to be concerned (low weight gain, chronic illnesses, etc.), I wouldn't worry about it. Do what feels right. Good luck.

i'd recommend the Super Baby Food book by Ruth Yaron as well. lots of good info.

I had this great book when my first son was little: The Super Baby Food Book. It's purple & very thick. Not strictly for vegetarians but it has a wealth of nutrional information as well as snack ideas, recipes to make baby food, recipes to make home-made, non-toxic cleaning supplies, arts & crafts idea, even what season foods are best eaten during. It was a wondfully helpful book!

Hi M.

I'm not a vegetarian but I know quite a few people who are and as long as their getting protein from some food other than meat then the fruit and vegetables should give him all the nourishment he needs. Maybe more of us should be vegetarins we would probably be healthier.I'm sure there is something on the internet which can help with what you need to know about the food.

Anna

You'll probably get this response a ton, but the best resource I've found for feeding babies is "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. Great nutritional information, what to feed baby when, and it's all vegetarian. I've seen the book at Elephant Pharmacy. Likewise, a Whole Foods might have it. Or you can always find it on Amazon.
Good luck!
J..