My 9 year old wants to be a vegetarian

She already eats very minimal meat, but she has been talking a lot about becoming a vegetarian. I know that this will not be a family choice (my husband would never give up meat). I guess I am wondering what are the best food choices I can offer her to help her with being a vegetarian. She tends to be on the picky side of eating, So I am concerned that she will not get all her nutrition. Does anyone have any "kid friendly" ideas to help her out. I am so proud of her for making this decision completely on her own and I want to help her anyway I can. Thanks

 

spaghetti and tomato sauce

 

oh and vegatable stir-fri with all her fav. vegitables

 

peanuts um...ten characters

 

You could try veggie burgers, beans on toast, peanut butter sandwiches, cheese and tomato pizza.. most of these are nutritionally balanced if your daughter includes some fruit and veg, plus milk or soya.. good luck

 

I don't think she'll be used to beans on toast, since their in denver. but theirs lots of choices, what does she like? what doesn't she?

 

She is not the most adventerous eater. she doesn't like beans at all. I think she is willing to try a lot of foods as long as I can make them kid friendly, like broccoli with cheese, or celery with peanut butter, you know what I mean.
Is it a good idea to make her take a multivitamin every day to make sure she is still getting all her nutrients until she gets adjusted to her new diet?

 

muti vitamins are fine, unless someone here has a reason i'm wrong...i'm not too sure. she doesn't like beans!? that is hard for me to understand Lol, i'm hispanic so I have to like beans, byt theirs lots of things has she tried fake meats?

 

first off let me say congratulations on being so supportive and open to her decision! there are lots of vegeterian choices that are still good, such as..
fruits (bananas and peanut butter on toast, apples and peanut butter with cinnamon sprinkled on top, and oranges!)
the vegetables can be something such as carrot sticks and ranch dressing, salads, celery with peanut butter down the middle and chocolate chips in the middle (or a pretzel stick!)
vegetable alphabet soup (cambells) oriental top ramen soup (although it does have a beef extract, anybody care to help me out?)
if she's still eating dairy, you can always make macaroni and cheese, quesadillas with salsa, you can put tortilla chips in a shallow small pan, dot it with refried beans (straight from the can) and sprinkle cheese and salsa on top, then stick it in a 375 oven until the cheese melts (usually about 5 minutes) this is one of my favorites, i had it today and its very easy and yummy!
hm... would you like more? i have plenty!

 

I must comend you for being so suppourtive.

www.vegweb.com/food has a section of kid friendly recipes.

Other good general resources:
http://vrg.org/family/kidsindex.htm

www.vegsource.com has a section for veggie parenting and a specific messageboard.

PETA (www.peta.org) has some great resources. Their vegetarian starter kit has an article on vegetarian children.
www.vegkids.com has lots of animal rights rescoures aimed at children. It might appeal to your daughter.

Authours to check out: Michael Klaper M.D, Charles Atwood M.D, Sharon Yntema

TTFN
Sage

 

Not a good idea at all! Don't encourage it.

 

If you have nothing helpful and/or appropriate to say then don't post here.

Children can survive on a balanced veggie diet, even thrive.

TTFN
Sage

 

Medical journals, doctors and the majority of medical professionals say that it's not a good idea! If you don't want to hear the flip side then YOU don't post hear. Don't post just for the sake of rallying support.

 

Actually, research done by nutritional scientists has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that the vegetarian and yes even the vegan diet is fine for every age and stage of life.

If you want actual scientific facts, go to the American Dietetic Association website and type "vegetarian" in the search box. Read their paper (actually a summary of 44 studies) on vegetarianism. Also, the FDA supports it and the USDA now has the WIC program offering veg alternatives because they realize how healthy it is. These are scientists...not activists...they are simply presenting the facts. They never say that one diet is better than the other. I must also point out that there is a HUGE difference between a nutritionist and a doctor. Doctors don't know much about nutrition, which is why they send us to nutritionists!

I know people who've been vegan their whole lives. I've been vegan since I was 14 and will be forever, and my fiance and I are going to raise our kids vegan. I didn't do any of this though until I knew all the facts. I'm one of those people who can't do anything unless I know the facts of it inside and out. I'm neurotic that way.

 

someonw said something about boca bratwurst, they make those? seriously?? I love bratwurst!! I hadn't thought about it but now I have a craving, I need to find the boca bratwursts...

 

Vegetable soup
Tomato soup with crackers
Veggie burgers (Gardenburgers and Boca burgers are the most popular)
Veggie dogs (Yves brand)
Fruit salad
Ichiban noodles

I dunno, I'm sorta uncreative, normally I have stirfry and stuff like that, but kids tend not to like what I eat Anyway, congratualtions on your kid, and thank you for being open-minded of this idea, and not saying "No. You'll never get enough protein" or something stupid like that. Thank you, good job, and good luck!
Also, http://vegweb.com/food/kids/ will probably help if you don't mind cooking, there's a lot of recipes. Oh yeah, btw, there are vegetarian alternatives for everything from steak to turkey/ham/bolona sandwich meat to burgers to chicken nuggets. It's incredibel :O

 

You all have been more than helpful...thank you so much. My daughter is very thin and just recently read articles about Mary Kate Olsen...she loves those twins...anyway the thought of one of her idols having anorexia has really opened her eyes to eating healthy, she has made a goal to try more new foods and continue her plans on becoming vegetarian...I LOVE HER SO MUCH. You all have been awesome with your suggestions and she has been here to read them...Thanks again

 

Aww you're welcome

Any further questions, feel free to ask.

TTFN
Sage

 

And you are also welcome.