Can you raise a healthy vegetarian?

•    Note: Always consult your paediatrician and a dietitian with a special interest in paediatrics and vegetarian diets. A good quality vegan diet, especially, requires expert guidance, planning, resources, supplementation and ongoing monitoring (growth and development, blood levels and micronutrients).
•    Younger children should NOT follow macrobiotic, raw food and fruitarian diets, as they need a diet rich in fats, omega 3, vitamin D and B12 and other essential nutrients to contribute to healthy growth and development.

There’s more than one type of vegetarian, with all eating plant-based foods. 
•    Lacto-ovo vegetarians also eat dairy and eggs, but no meat, poultry or fish
•    Pesco-vegetarians/Pescatarians also eat dairy, eggs plus fish, and no meat or poultry
•    Vegan diets exclude all animal foods, including dairy, eggs and honey 

•    Environmental/ethical reasons: to lessen the impact of meat production on the planet and resources (land, water and greenhouse gas emissions). According to a UK source, The Guardian, it takes about 15000 litres of water to produce one steak, 196 litres for one egg and 255 litres for a glass of milk. So if you change what’s on your plate, you could help change the world. You may also be concerned with eating animals or whether they are treated humanely. 
•    Egg or dairy allergies, or food intolerances.
•    To up your 5-a-day intake.
•    Economic: starchy carbohydrates like grains and legumes may be more affordable and more accessible.
•    Or, health benefits e.g. to watch your cholesterol levels. Vegan or vegetarian eating plans are typically high in fibre and lower in fat.

If you follow a high quality vegetarian diet that contains a balance of grains (oats, barley, brown rice and quinoa), legumes (beans, lentils, dried peas), soy products, nuts, nut butters and seeds, fresh fruits and vegetables, it could be an option for your family. The important thing is to make sure they get the nutrients and energy they need to grow and develop well. This will take some planning. 

Meat provides protein, iron, zinc and vitamin B12. If you’re going vegetarian, you’ll find protein in soya products –  tofu and veggie burgers made with soya or legumes, milk, cheese, yoghurt, fortified soya beverages, eggs, legumes, nuts and seeds; Iron in iron-fortified cereals, legumes, fortified pasta and cereals, soya products, dried fruit, quinoa and dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, rocket and kale; and Zinc in legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains, as well as vitamin B12 in dairy, eggs, fortified tofu and other fortified-soy products like veggie burgers, nutritional yeast and supplements. 

If your child is vegan, or allergic to milk products, they will need to get calcium from fortified-soya beverages and non-dairy drinks, or orange juice, calcium-set tofu, almonds, legumes and leafy green vegetables; and vitamin D from soft margarine, fortified soya, rice and almond beverages, fortified orange juice or supplements.

If your child does not eat fish, they may get omega-3 fats from canola oil, tofu, walnuts and flax and chia seeds, important for brain development and eye health. 

•    Muesli, fortified cereals or oats
•    Vegetable omelettes or scrambled eggs. Tofu scramble if they’re vegan.
•    Nut butter sandwiches. Try peanut butter with banana or almond butter with sliced apple.
•    Yogurt parfaits or smoothies
•    Macaroni and cheese
•    Veggie and bean pitas
•    Veggie pizzas
•    Tofu fajitas
•    Bean burritos
•    Pasta with soya meat balls, veggies and tomato sauce
•    Veggie burgers and hotdogs
•    Falafel (chickpea balls) in a pita 
•    Hummus (chickpea spread) or tahini with veggies
•    Quesadillas with beans and veggies
•    Veggie lasagne

Change up your repertoire and make dinner way more fun with these so-delicious-meat-eaters-won’t-even-notice meals. 

Planning and meal prep is half the work done when starting and sticking to a vegetarian eating plan so have a look, then shop our meal plans. 

If your kids love nuggets and burgers, or you enjoy butter curries and bolognaise, don’t miss out on hese classics, with our plant-powered meals that are as delicious as they are easy to heat and enjoy.
We carefully label our Plant Powered™ meals and snacks so they’re easier to find in store.

SHOP OUR PLANT-BASED MEALS

•    There is a lack of good quality research of vegetarianism and veganism in children so it is difficult to make conclusions with regard to the benefits and nutritional suitability thereof so always consult your doctor, paediatrician or nutrition expert before starting a vegetarian or vegan eating plan. 
•    Childhood is the most intensive period of growth and development 
•    physiologic requirements for macro and micronutrients are high to support growth and development
•    many essential nutrients are deposited
•    nutritional habits are formed
•    The more restrictive the diet and the younger the child, the greater the risk of nutritional deficiency. Some reported issues in children following a vegetarian and vegan diet include: growth failure, reduced bone mass, muscle wasting, delays in cognitive development, neurological damage, anaemia. 
•    It’s easier to obtain necessary micronutrients in a good quality vegetarian diet that includes eggs and/or dairy than a vegan diet.
•    Plant-based meat and dairy substitutes are often not nutritionally appropriate. They may lack the micronutrients of the animal-derived products they mimic (e.g. non-dairy milks and cheese), and may be high in sugar, salt and saturated fat.

This information is not intended to replace medical advice received from your doctor or dietitian. 

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/child-health/news/2021/jun/vegan-diets-children-may-bring-heart-benefits-pose-growth-risks
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-parents-need-to-know-about-a-vegan-diet-2020010718625

Mairead E Kiely. Risks and benefits of vegan and vegetarian diets in children. Proc Nutr Soc
. 2021 May;80(2):159-164. doi: 10.1017/S002966512100001X. Epub 2021 Jan 28

Rudloff et al. Vegetarian diets in childhood and adolescence : Position paper of the nutrition committee, German Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ). Mol Cell Pediatr
. 2019 Nov 12;6(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s40348-019-0091-z.https://www.eatrightpro.org/-/media/eatrightpro-files/practice/position-and-practice-papers/position-papers/vegetarian-diet.pdf
https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/vegetarian-vegan-plant-based-diet.html
https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/plant-based-protein-diets-for-children

Baroni et al. Vegan Nutrition for Mothers and Children: Practical Tools for Healthcare Providers. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6356233/#