Arial

We are raising our daughter vegetarian plus fish and I am having so much fun with this. I didn't think feeding a one year old would be so entertaining! Up until last night she has eaten every vegetable I've given her - asparagus, squash, zucchini, green beans, cauliflower, cabbage, you name it. Last night we had roasted broccoli with dinner and she didn't like it. I can live with that

Casey

That's great to give your baby a head start in eating/loving vegetables. My children are real vegetable and fruit eaters but they do desire meat off and on.

farisa

We are not vegetarians but our 7 year old has decided to be one. I am trying to respect her decision and provide her with a healthy vegetarian diet. Not always east to do for a non vegetarian! Got any tips?

Arial

I can give you some examples of my daughter's diet to give you an idea of how I try to incorporate everything she needs, but keep in mind she is 13 months old so your daughter would obviously eat different quantities and have likes and dislikes of her own. Also, we eat fish. I'm not sure if your daughter is going strict vegetarian or if she is willing to eat seafood.

Okay, so yesterday went like this:

Breakfast - 1 scrambled egg with tomatoes, 1 piece of whole wheat toast

Snack - 1/2 banana and 1/2 peach

Lunch - Asian veggie burger (no bun) and roasted potatoes

Snack - Grilled tofu cubes and the other half of the fruit from the first snack

Dinner - Grilled salmon, brown rice, and roasted broccoli (which she didn't eat, lol)

And since she's still a baby she gets about 24 ounces of organic whole milk everyday.

Today breakfast and the snacks were similar. For lunch she had vegetable lasagna and for dinner we're having mushroom pizza and salad. I don't know if that helps you, but if you have any specific questions I'll try to answer them for you

Momof7

What a wonderful way to feed your daughter! The more she learns to enjoy fruits and vegetables the healthier she will be. Just one suggestion. When she doesn't like a vegetable, have her eat a couple of small bites anyway. Before long she will develop a taste for it, too!

Casey

I like your menu! That actually is comparable to the way we eat as well. For some reason the younger ones seem to gravitate more towards fish, veggies and fruit. My oldest child used to as well but now he will often desire heavier red meat during the course of a week.

Arial

I would make her eat a bite or two of something she doesn't like if she was older, but at 13 months old I would have to hold her down and force her and I think that would do more harm than good. And since broccoli is the only vegetable she hasn't liked so far, like I said, I can live with that. Heck, she loves brussel sprouts and cauliflower - my two most hated vegetables in the world, lol.

Mom2JDS

That's excellent!

Just curious, does she eat sweets at all, or are you letting grandparents and friends know you prefer for her not to have them? And if the latter, how are you letting them know that without offending them?

Arial

I gave her some cake on her birthday which, believe it or not, she didn't really care for. Then her godparents took her out for a birthday dinner and they tried to give her another bit of some kind of cake and she rejected it again. I'm kind of baffled by the whole thing, really.

My intention isn't to keep sweets from her all together, but they are for special occasions. Although at this point it doesn't seem to be an issue since she hasn't liked anything given to her so far.

She doesn't really spend any time away from me (we don't live near family and friends don't offer to take her very often) so I haven't yet had to deal with explaining what I do and don't want her to have. I think when the day does come the bigger issue is going to be explaining not to give her meat. I'm hoping that since I have been a vegetarian for so long my family and friends are used to it and they'll just go with it. If not, we're in for one of those really fun family showdowns

farisa

Wow, now I feel bad. I am not managing my daughters vegetarian diet as well she is 7 and has only been a vegetarian for a couple months. I have made a successful tofu stir fry but having trouble figuring how to make tofu in general.