9 year old vegetarian?!
9 year old vegetarian?
Any ideas are greatly appreciated! My 9 year old has just made the decision to be a vegetarian and I am looking for advice. The rest of us eat only chicken and fish so we are semi-vegetarians but she doesn't want to eat meat any longer. Please be nice.....I am only looking for a little help or maybe some websites that will be useful. ~Thanks~
Additional Details13 hours ago
To those who are just telling me to give her meat and tell her she's eating what's on the table then you aren't answering my question. She doesn't want to eat meat anymore and we respect her decision. Yes she is "only" 9 but she has a right to her own beliefs! Her aunt is a vegetarian so yes she does know what she's doing. She tried to become one about 2 years ago but didn't realize what she was getting into....this time she understands and has talked to her aunt about being one. I just don't have as much information as I'd like!
To those who have helped thanks so much.
Answers: 13 hours ago
To those who are just telling me to give her meat and tell her she's eating what's on the table then you aren't answering my question. She doesn't want to eat meat anymore and we respect her decision. Yes she is "only" 9 but she has a right to her own beliefs! Her aunt is a vegetarian so yes she does know what she's doing. She tried to become one about 2 years ago but didn't realize what she was getting into....this time she understands and has talked to her aunt about being one. I just don't have as much information as I'd like!
To those who have helped thanks so much. The one thing to remember is that she needs to replace the nutrients she is no longer getting from meat with other food. Major concerns for most people are protein, iron and b12(although they shouldn't be since they are easy to get).
Protein
The average person only needs about 50 grams of protein per day. Protein is in everything, just look at the side of boxes. In todays world it is very hard to be protein deficient if you are eating a wide variety.
High protein foods include:
soy milk, tofu, nuts(Almonds, Cashews, Filberts, Hemp Seeds, Peanuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds, Walnuts (black)), seeds, legumes(Garbanzo beans, Kidney beans, Lentils, Lima beans, Navy beans, Soybeans, Split peas), grains(Barley, Brown rice, Buckwheat, Millet, Oatmeal, Rye, Wheat germ, Wheat, hard red, Wild rice), vegetables(Artichokes, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Green peas, Green pepper, Kale, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard green, Onions, Potatoes, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnip greens, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini), fruits(Apple, Banana, Cantaloupe, Grape, Grapefruit, Honeydew melon, Orange, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, Strawberry)
Iron
Like vitamin B-12, iron is a crucial component of red blood cells. Dried beans and peas, lentils, enriched cereals, whole-grain products, dark, leafy green vegetables, and dried fruit are good sources of iron. To help your body absorb non-animal sources of iron, eat foods rich in vitamin C — such as strawberries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage and broccoli — at the same time you consume iron-containing foods.
B12
Vitamin B-12. Your body needs vitamin B-12 to produce red blood cells and prevent anemia. This vitamin is found almost exclusively in animal products, including milk, eggs and cheese. Vegans can get vitamin B-12 from some enriched cereals, fortified soy products or by taking a supplement that contains this vitamin.
Helpful websites:
http://www.vrg.org/index.htm
http://www.vegsoc.org/health/
http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info/...
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/... (great message board, has a lot of recipes) just make sure she get's her protein another way. like through beans and other items full of protein, also make sure she's getting a vitamin everyday. such as a flintstones. good luck type in vegetarian respies on google
hope i help The hard part of youngsters adopting vegetarianism is making sure they get enough protein. Will she eat cheese? Teach her about nuts and beans, especially lentils, and tofu. My daughter and son both became veggies at around nine, then vegans at about eighteen. I still enjoy a good thick steak, but we get on very well, it just adds diversity to the menus. Use the Internet. There are many good recipe collections for veggie kids. well maybe let her try it for a couple of days and see how she enjoys it. maybe its too hard for her to be that way or she might find that she likes her normal life. most the time when nine year olds make this kind of dicsion is because that don't like meat or they want to go on some sort of diet cuz they thik their fat. i wouldn't suggest that they consider them selves as a vegetarian at this age cuz they still need nutrients to help them grow. e-mail me back if you want urmyhomie55(e-mail) I went vegetarian when I was young. The best thing you can do is go to a bookstore with your daughter and pick out one or two vegetarian cooking books. Make sure you look through the recipes to be certain you want to make the recipes (sometimes they require hard to find ingredients) and she likes the sound of the recipes. You can also find a lot of good websites just by typing into any search engine: easy vegetarian. The first one below is very informative. And then just experiment with adding a vegetarian main dish that the rest of the family will eat as a side dish. I find soups are a great way to introduce balanced vegetarian dishes into a mixed eating household. Try the two links below. The second link has some good soups and a vegetable stock recipe. Tell her it's okay to eat fish, 'cause they don't have any feelings. Take Home Chef, a 'chef-show' on TLC, often makes vegetarian or non-meat recipes. Go to www.tlc.com and see his link there. I remember one time he made a dish taht could have meat in it, if one chose, but he made it both with and without for a vegan and her boyfriend who was a meat-eater. Also he made another dish of that type for a 12-year-old vegetarian.
A good recipe that we have that can be adapted for vegetarians or vegans is homemade nachos - while we make it by starting with refried beans and seasoned ground beef and layering with sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, and sour cream, the beef could easily be omitted adn the refried beans bought in the vegetarian style or made at home. Also Spanish Rice is good if you make it with vegetable stock and not beef or chicken stock.
I agree with some others - just make sure she gets her protein! A very helpful site is www.peta2.com
They have very good information and recipes.
They helped me alot.
Good Luck with your daughter. After a week of starving, that chicken and fish will look mighty tasty to her. Instead of spending all your money and time to come up with a fish friendly diet, tell her that she'll either eat what you put on the table or starve. Make certain she gets plenty of B12 and other B vitamins.
B12 is not present in a no-animal-product diet.
Beans and rice or tofu are great for protein. Cheese, if she's doing dairy. Eggs.
Make sure to feed her plenty of WHOLE grains and all the fresh fruits and veggies she wants. There are quiet a few good books on veg recepees. But I would recomend books published by ISKON. more commonly known as Hare Krishna folks.
THe receppes given in their books are based on religious background of prurity and purification of soul.
Very simply described and quiet tasty if I say so myself. I have tried a few and it is good.
As for protine, some of the richest sources of protine comes from vegetables / legumes.
P.S. there is no such thing as Semi-Veg (:-0) I was young when I made my decision to be a vegetarian so I can say from experienct to give her vitamins, beans, tofu, vegetables, pasta, fruits, nuts, granolas, healthy snacks, V8 Fusion juice (it comes in 3 yummy flavors and has vitamins, calcuim and a full serving of vegetable and fruit but i personally like the strawberry banana) (haha i'm drinking it right now) and don't give her sugary things. Make the food fun for her. Give her nutricious salads topped with cheddar goldfish, veggie quesidillas, fresh smoothies, and try typing 'fun vegetarian recipes for kids' on google. I Hope that helps Teach her to LOVE tofu...it's amazing, and there is a LOT you can do with it! Also, a lot of meat-alternative products such as Morningstar or Boca are really good (although pretty expensive). Their soy products are packed with soy protein, and there are all kinds of delicious treats to choose from. The spicey chick'n patties and buffalo strips are really good, AND they have a lot of protein in them.
Also, keep in mind that iIt is probably healthier for her to be vegetarian, keep that in mind. Most meat sold in the US comes from animals that have been pumped full of possibly dangerous hormones and antibiotics. Bovine growth hormone has been linked to early puberty and possibly to cancer, and has been banned in most Western European countries--but is still widely used in the US. Dr, John McDougall has a newsletter that I find very infomative. It's free.
Here is a great article on getting protien as a Vegan
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/a... Don't sweat it! It's not a problem at all and it's ridiculously easy to find information nowadays! Just do a web search on "vegetarian children" and you'll find lots of good links and information. You can search your local library or bookstore if you prefer hardcopy. Amazon and Abebooks both have books you can order also.
The most important thing you can do is be supportive and DO NOT try to sneak animal stuff into their food! Those two suggestions are the best tips I could possibly give you. That 'wisdom' comes from someone who half a century ago decided to go veggie (and at a year younger than your child).
As long as the kid gets enough calories from varied foods there's NO need to worry about any kind of nutritional deficiency. If you're paranoid about that your pediatrician can run annual blood tests to insure that things are ok. But I would recommend that the child and yourself both start learning nutrition (actually, I advise ALL people study it!).
BTW; all the people that used to tell me I'd die or go insane are all dead now and I'm still here<VBG>.
One last thing...please don't use terms like semi-vegetarian, that only confuses people into believing that animal products are part of a veggie diet. It' become enough of a problem that I changed the way I end all my answers<sigh>. If she still eats eggs and dairy she doesn't really have to worry about nutrients. It doesn't seem like it would be too hard to accomadate her considering your family already limits their meat intake. Just make her an omelet, tofu, peanut butter sandwich, etc as a main course at times when meat is the desired main course for the rest of the family. Look to try new foods, especially ethnic cuisine if she is not too picky. Mexican food is easy to make vegetarian, just use rice and/or beans instead of meat. Try out some of the products from Amy's Kitchen, they are all vegetarian friendly (they don't even contain eggs and they use organic dairy) and are very easy to pop in the oven or the microwave.
As long as your daughter gets the reccomended servings from the four food groups (remember that nuts, beans, legumes and eggs are also in the protein group right along with meat, so no, meat does not have anything to offer that these other foods cannot offer) she will have adequate nutrition. If you're worried about it, you can get her a B12 supplement, which is cheap and not an overdose danger.
Protein is not a concern either as long as she is getting enough calories. Every food contains protein. Cheese even has as much as or more protein than most meats. Peanut butter is a great source of protein too, especially the all natural kind. And even vegetables have a few grams.