I'm not a vegetarian, but my daughter only wants to eat vegetarian food, can someone help?!

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That actually sounds like a pretty healthy diet! Don't worry about her diet, she's fine. The doctor already said so! I've been vegan for six years myself, and I actually have a similar diet. I do eat tofu and other meaty substances for protein as well, but generally beans and nuts will give you enough protein. Spinach and other greens can help you with the iron, even though I've never had a problem with it personally. A lot of people think it sounds weird but when I was a kid I LOVED spinach with vinegar, the kind that comes from the freezer or a can. I eat fresh spinach now, but the canned stuff is great if you ask me!
If you're really worried about her eating meat, which I don't think you need to be, my Mom used to coerce me and make me eat liver before I was allowed to eat my spinach. You could try something like that.

Vegan life experience

this is amazing!
i love this!
:)
search some vegetarian recipes or buy a good vege cook book it sounds like she is eating even better than i do!!

28 months old? See a pediatrician. Don't listen to these dopes!

Add baked white fish to her diet, as well as loads of iron like spinach, maybe with the humus sammies, as a lettuce? Or as a dip with pita chips? Tuna may help, put tomatoes in her lentils as well as a puree of hidden veggies mixed in with the lentils as a sauce. Mash up fresh kale in a pesto sauce with pasta, put on a good movie based around pasta, ie.(Lady and the Tramp), and make it an event with her. Make trying new foods, a special event and she may have a better time with it.:)

My sweet Mom

It is totally typical for toddlers to be extremely picky eaters. Rest assured of this. She is normal. Their pickiness runs in different directions (some kids eat no meat while others eat only meat, etc) but this is one way for the kids to assert their new-found and growing independence.

How are her teeth? Can she eat celery yet? If so, cut a small piece of celery stalk and put a little peanut butter in the center groove. Dot with raisins. Most kids love these. It's a simple snack that's fairly healthy.

I also suggest you post a question about "getting toddlers to eat different foods" in the Pregnancy & Parenting section in the toddler or pre-schooler category. The other parents in that section may well have some ideas you've not yet heard. It's worth a shot. All it costs is 5 points, after all.

That sounds a lot like me when I was a kid. My favorite food was an artichoke and I would only eat pesto pizza.
I am a vegetarian now and have never had a taste for meat and when I was younger my mom would try to sneak meat into my diet in all kinds of hidden dishes.

I wouldn't make this a big deal. As long as you're feeding her food with plenty of nutrition, she'll be fine. Never force feed a child something they don't want to eat. If you didn't want to eat something, you wouldn't want someone to force feed you something. I understand you want your daughter to get nutrition, but you can get the nutrition from other sources. Plus, she's really young so she's going to be picky. Give her some time and she'll probably start eating different foods.

Let's just say, I'm the only vegetarian in my family. Nobody else in my family is a vegetarian, but that isn't an excuse for me to not be a vegetarian.

I think it's going to be alright. My entire family eat meat (and vegetables). But growing up, I simply refused to do so, even if it's mixed with the vegetables. When I was young, I deliberately set aside the meat on my plate and eat everything else. I remember my mom being angry when I was young because I didn't touch the meat she was trying to feed me.

Although my entire family eat meat, we even eat in steak houses and mcdonalds, I was always provided options, so I'm not much of a hassle to my omnivorous family.

Plus, reading her eating habits, I think it's excellent. I hope that she discovers to eat other varieties of vegetables and fruits but generally, she's eating healthily.

personal experience growing up in a meat eating environment

no worries, "The American Dietetic Association and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agree: Well-planned vegetarian and vegan eating patterns are healthy for infants and toddlers."
http://wayfaringvegans.weebly.com/infant…
(theres a link to the original article at the bottom of that webpage, it has resources (in addition to the info given in the article) for parents raising vegan infants/toddlers)

I believe beans are some of the healthiest foods you can eat. From your description, it doesn't sound to me like your daughter has an unhealthy diet at all. In fact, most Americans could probably improve their eating habits by forgoing meat. I'm not saying you should do so (I eat meat), but not eating meat is not inherently unhealthy.

It sounds like she is eating for consistency more than taste. This can be related to brain disorders like autism spectrum, so get that checked if you haven't already. My friend who has an autistic son says he will only eat crunchy food, the reason is that autism affects the sensory system and he can't taste anything. Your little one is a lot less restrictive than that, so perhaps is not the explanation, but I would get it looked at if you haven't because the outcome for autistic spectrum is much better if intervention begins earlier.

Anyway she is at the age where it is safe to eat completely vegan foods provided you give her proper nutrition. I get why this would be daunting for you given that you are not an ethical consumer yourself, but just so you know she can be totally healthy eating this way if you put in a bit of effort.

Try these resources for some useful information:
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/t…
http://veganjoy.blogspot.com/2009/11/rai…

It can actually takes up to 15 times of seeing, touching, or tasting a food for a child to "accept" it. So continue trying, especially with the vegetables! bottom line - if she gets hungry enough, she will eat almost anything you give her, and i guarantee she will eat before there are any adverse side effects from not eating.

beans are a highly nutritious food. she will get enough protein - a vegetarian or vegan diet is NOT usually protein deficient - your biggest nutrient concerns here are iron and vitamin b12. make sure you get regular blood tests from the doctor if she continues to refuse both meat and eggs - ask for a CBC (complete blood count - this will test for iron and b12 deficiency) and ask to see the resultant lab values as there are different stages of iron deficiency. if you follow the Food Pyramid or Food Guide for a child her age, she will be fine.

I am a student RD :)

make her try little pieces of meat or you can find other foods that have the same proteins she needs. you can probably find something.

put some meat in the food she likes and see if she likes that

eat meat when your daughter are not with you......