How Do I Get My Child To Eat A Vegetarian Diet?
There are many taboos and preconceptions in relation to vegetarian food in adults, but especially in children. If you don’t eat meat and fish and you want your child to don’t either! You may be wondering: how do I get my child to eat a vegetarian diet? In this article we will tell you more.
Can children be vegetarian?
This is the first question that arises among parents who do not consume meat and fish and want to transmit this type of diet and philosophy of life to their children. Some pediatricians are against young children being vegetarians, claiming that they do not receive all the nutrients they need during this important stage.
However, other doctors indicate that as long as the diet is varied and balanced there should be no problems at the nutritional or growth level. The impediment is in those diets that are too restrictive, such as the frugivorous (only fruit-based), raw (all raw foods) or even vegan.
If the child receives iron, vitamin D and vitamin B12 daily through their food, they can be a vegetarian without putting their health or development at risk.
The vegetarian diet is composed of all kinds of foods of plant origin, that is, it includes vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, oilseeds, cereals, dairy and eggs. When the diet is based on the last two, the diet is called ovo-lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian or lacto-vegetarian. No animals are consumed, so no red, white, or fat or organ meats are eaten.
Questions about vegetarian children
Although of course there will be many more, we will answer the most common:
1. Is it good for your health?
The answer is yes, but it is essential that they are varied and healthy. This means that a diet based on chips and salad, or pasta and vegetables daily, would not be good. Planning helps you offer your children all the nutrients they need. In addition, it is convenient that the recipes are homemade, as in any type of food, and that the menu is changing.
2. How do you get protein?
It is often believed that the only source of protein is meat, so it is not strange to think that if you eat a vegetarian diet you will be lacking in this nutrient. Nothing is further from reality. Many ingredients of vegetable origin are highly protein: legumes such as lentils, soybeans and their derivatives, pseudo-cereals such as quinoa, nuts such as almonds and seeds of all kinds.
3. What will you eat at children’s parties or birthdays?
Some parents allow their vegetarian children to eat other foods when they have a birthday or are eating out at a restaurant. Others, on the other hand, choose to notify the organizers to prepare a special menu for them or there are those who put together a meal and the child eats differently from the rest. It all depends on how flexible you are and how well the little one is educated.
Tips for Getting My Child on a Vegetarian Diet
If you want your child to be a vegetarian because you are too or because you are going to start this diet, we give you some tips that can be very useful:
1. Consult with a pediatrician
Some doctors are reluctant to accept a vegetarian diet in children under 15 years of age, but there are many professionals who even advise parents to carry out this diet. Talk to your pediatrician to get all the necessary tools.
2. Offer a variety of meals
As said before, it is not a matter of only eating salad or pasta, but rather that the menu is varied (this also happens with other diets). Planning will be essential so that they do not get bored of eating the same thing and that they can obtain all the necessary nutrients.
3. Look for meat replacements
Not only at the menu level but also nutritious. For example, consume olive or avocado oil if you do not eat fish. It is necessary to know that Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for neurological development. As for iron, not many know that legumes offer twice as much as red meat. And in relation to vitamins, the only one that can cause problems is B12, which is not so widespread among products of animal origin, but it can be obtained in a supplement.
If you wanted to know: How to make my child follow a vegetarian diet? Here we have given you several more than useful tips.
