vegitarianism and protien

[kezia]

My 2 1/2 year old has so far been pretty much vegetarian. This is HIS choice--dh and I eat meat (mostly chicken & fish), and offer it to him whenever we're eating it, but so far he won't even taste it. I haven't been too worried about it, because he was still nursing quite a bit, but now he only nurses once or twice a day and I'm wondering If I should try to make any changes to his diet. I have no problem with him continuing to be vegetarian, but I want to make sure he's getting enough protein, vitamins, etc. His diet is pretty limited right now:

fruit--almost any kind
veggies--carrots, white potatoes, garbanzo beans (that's it--I'm not kidding)
carbs--pasta, bread, crackers (I try to give him mostly whole grain stuff)

He will occaisionally eat eggs, and I sometimes give him rice milk or orange juice to drink. What do you guys think? Any suggestions for other foods I can try?

[Erin Pavlina]

How about a potato lentil stew? There's a great recipe in Lean and Luscious and Meatless... okay that probably doesn't help you.

Umm, how about hummus on whole grain crackers or pita bread?

Peanut butter and other nut butters have protein.

Don't forget that all foods contain protein so I wouldn't worry about his protein intake, especially if he is eating eggs occasionally.

Will he eat broccoli or sweet potatoes?

[bebe luna]

How about more beans~ black bean soup, refried or mashed beans w/ corn tortillas, lentil soup, hummus, etc

sprouted wheat bread

smoothies w/ a bit of protien powder

baked tofu w/ peanut sauce

apple slices or celery sticks w/ almond butter

vegi burgers

carrots w/ tahini sauce

crackers or rice cakes w/ hempseed butter and honey

pancakes w/ protien powder mixed in

occassional glass of soymilk or soy yogurt

grilled tempeh strips w/ bbq sauce

falafels

[Sandra Dee]

Just wanted to add that you can get some great nutrients by making smoothies (just a few seconds in the blender, really) and adding some flax seed oil to it. Also, you can find eggs that have Omega 3 fatty acids in them and are fed flax.

I would also be sure he's drinking a fortified Soy or Rice milk that contains B12. (Or a multi vitamin at very least). You need 5mcg, I believe.

[EnviroBecca]

Is he allergic to dairy? Cheese cut into strips is a fun finger food.

Also, one of my favorite childhood snacks was apple slices with a dip of peanut butter, powdered milk (could use powdered soy or rice milk), and honey.