low protein, low energy? plz critique my son's intake!

[loveandgarbage]

my son is generally low energy, and i worry that it's because of his diet. he's never been the most kinetic kid, but recently he seems a little too tired all the time. my husband and i are vegetarian, mostly avoid dairy, but do eat eggs occasionally. my son (three yrs) refuses to eat our main protein source, beans. so he gets his protein from milk, cheese, peanut butter, and whatever other small amounts are in the other things he eats, like noodles/bread/etc. he will not eat eggs by themselves, but will eat them in pancakes, breads, etc.

so, should i be worried? how much peanut butter should i be cramming in? i also worry about iron. i tried to give him floradix last winter and he refused it.

[PlayaMama]

i would try to incorporate lots more nuts into your diet. you can grind them up and mix them into breads, make nut butter smoothies (mmm almond butter + banana + almond milk), and even chop them up and put them into things like enchiladas (kale + potato + pumpkin seeds a la veganomicon) or lasagna. brazil nut milk is SO good and easy to make. brazil nuts, water and a blender, then you can strain it or leave the nutty pieces in it to use for cereal or on oatmeal.

what about molasses for iron? my dd LOVES molasses and plain yogurt, it's like probiotics and vitamins at the same time

can you milk the floradix into orange juice? or let him chase it with apple juice or something?

my kids aren't vegetarian but i was for 15 years and still cook mostly all vegetarian. i give them a CLO supplement but it comes with a plastic syringe, so i fill it with the supplement and then half juice and they think it's this fun game to drink out of the syringe.

[wytchywoman]

I would attribute lack of energy to low iron levels more so than low protein levels. Can you use black starp molasses in your baking or mix it in with oatmeal? That is one of the top souces of dietary iron.

[loveandgarbage]

thank you for the advice. i think i had suspected low protein because i'm generally worried about his intake. i will try some of the suggestions. unfortunately my son is a very picky eater, and would not try enchiladas, lasagna, or anything that has "too many" ingredients!