NUTRITION! My son won't eat meat...

With the exception of bacon, one of my boys won't eat any meat or fish. I try to give him nutritious foods and luckily he really likes veggies. He eats: peanut butter, tofu (a bit), soy beans, green beans, peas, lima beans, carrots, raw red/green/yellow peppers, cucumber, a bit of pureed cauliflower hidden in mac and cheese, fruit of all kinds, whole grains, pasta, a bit of rice, lots of cheese, yogurt...I don't think there's enough protein/iron in there without meat.

Can you help me think of other foods to serve? He's kind of picky and we're well into the terrible twos here so mealtime can be a big struggle.

 

I'm thinking spinach...I will puree it and put it in everything...lasagna, pizza, whatever I can to get extra iron. Also a great source that I put into my waffles and pancakes everytime I fix them which will get lots of iron and omega 3 is flax seed and wheat germ..here's a link to a great recipe that I use every weekend for waffles (Whole grain waffles) just be sure to add a little extra brown sugar. You can also add flax seed and wheat germ to cereal, muffins, and even breakfast smoothies for added iron. And I was going to suggest beans, but looks like you got that covered!

Hopefully you will get lots of other great suggestions!

 

There are tons of non-meat protien souces, and the good news is it is easier for us to make use of that protien here are a couple of sites that have information advocating a vegan diet for kids

http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/...hy_weaning.html
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_die...r_children.html

Both have a lot of recipies too. You don't have to go vegan to use the recipies

As for dealing with pickiness, keep in mind it comes and goes. They might refuse something today they will accept tomorrow (or in 6 months) keep offering thing and sit down and eat with them and show how much you are enjoying your food.
I've found the very best way to get my girls to try something is to not offer it to them, but serve myself some and take it to the living room and sit down on the sofa with it--like it were a special snack. This especially worked around the age of your boys. I'd soon have two little munchikins wanting some of mommy's snack by my side.

 

There are a lot of iron rich and protein rich non-meat foods out there. You'd also be surprised by how little meat you actually need to get all your protein for the day. My son James is not a meat eater. He loves beans though with kidney beans being his favorite. Overall my whole family is on a "less meat" diet. I try to limit meat around here to a few times a week. Other than that we eat non-meat protein.

Here's some other linkies.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m081...16/ai_18094513/
http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/toddlercalcium.htm

 

Sarah does not eat meat at all -- her protein comes from scrambled eggs (2-3x a week for breakfast) and yogurt (for dinner 2-3x a week since she refuses to eat what we're serving). She won't eat cheese except in mac & cheese, which we don't have that often.

Those are pretty much her only protein sources (she also won't touch beans or any vegetable), but she's continuing to grow and seems to have plenty of energy, so the doctor told me not to worry.

 

Thank you for all of those suggestions. I do include flax seed meal in all of my baking and pancakes - that's a source I forgot about. Also, I forgot that he does egg some eggs from time to time - thanks for that reminder.

I'll check out all of those websites. We actually don't eat a tonne of meat - we're not the "meat and potatoes" type. But we do include meat in our stir fries, some of our pasta dishes, etc. and we eat fish twice a week. So Evan is difficult in that respect. I've never heard of a 2-year-old vegetarian within a family of non-vegetarians, but I just he's always been a kid who went against the grain, so to speak.

Glad to know I'm not alone and also glad to know there are non-meat options.

 

Jackson won't eat any meat so I try to give him lots of beans - black and pinto are his favorites. We also do vegetarian refried beans, which he enjoys.

 

we give jessy pedisure when she's not eat properly which is like half the time

 

We're vegetarian. Protein for us:

-legumes (beans & lentils)
-eggs (only DS eats)
-yogurt (only DD eats)
-whole grains
-soy milk
-cheese
-tofu
-veggie burgers, meatballs, etc
-hummus

Protein is so easy to come by that you really don't need to think about it. For iron, look to legumes, whole grains (or enriched grain products, like cereal), dark leafy greens, etc.

 

Sounds like you're getting lots of non-meat protein...you'd be surprised how much protein most North Americans eat over the recommended daily allowance. In addition to the other sources people have provided, do you have access to a nutritionist through your doctor or health clinic ? He/she could help check over his diet.

Another option is to keep a really accurate food diary of what he eats, say for 2 weeks, and add up the protein content. There are some on-line sources for info if it's not on the food label. Then, if he's not getting what is recommended for his age/weight, you'll know how much you need to add. When the vegetarian nutrition guides recommend combinations of foods to get the full protein source, remember it does not have to be in the same meal.

Another hint for iron absorption is to combine it with vitamin C....tomato sauce on whole wheat pasta, or fresh fruit with the yoghurt.

Good luck!

:hug: