[ErinluvsKen]

DH wants to introduce meat to my one year old ds. I eat a vegan diet and would like ds to mostly eat vegan as well. I'm not sure what the proper age is to introduce animal meats. I would rather not have him eat meat at all, but DH wants him to have a "choice" in what he eats so we're going to see how he reacts. I plan on only serving him organic meat and poultry and wild fish if I ever give him any. I don't want to introduce red meat for a while (yuck if you ask me!).

DS was EBF until 7-8 months old. He only eats little bits of solids here and there. I'm not even sure he'd be interested yet. Because I minored in nutrition in college and research nutrition constantly I know how bad animal fats/meats are for the body (as compared to other sources of protein found in legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc.) and I don't want to give it to him. DH wants him too.

Can anyone with similar diet issues or experience help me?

Thanks,
Erin

 

[Laurel723]

From http://www.westonaprice.org/children/nourish-baby.html

Babies do produce functional enzymes (pepsin and proteolytic enzymes) and digestive juices (hydrochloric acid in the stomach) that work on proteins and fats.12 This makes perfect sense since the milk from a healthy mother has 50-60 percent of its energy as fat, which is critical for growth, energy and development.13 In addition, the cholesterol in human milk supplies an infant with close to six times the amount most adults consume from food.13 In some cultures, a new mother is encouraged to eat six to ten eggs a day and almost ten ounces of chicken and pork for at least a month after birth. This fat-rich diet ensures her breast milk will contain adequate healthy fats.14

Thus, a baby's earliest solid foods should be mostly animal foods since his digestive system, although immature, is better equipped to supply enzymes for digestion of fats and proteins rather than carbohydrates.1 This explains why current research is pointing to meat (including nutrient-dense organ meat) as being a nourishing early weaning food.

This might help. I've found their site extremely helpful on nearly all things nutritional...and the studies noted I've found elsewhere as well.

The whole site is good, if you ask me...feel free to disagree, but please do read it first.

HTH

 

[babygrant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErinluvsKen I would rather not have him eat meat at all, but DH wants him to have a "choice" in what he eats

why not wait until he ASKS for meat. he has as much of a choice to eat vegan as he does an animal based diet

 

[VikingKvinna]

He can have a choice, certainly...but I think it's early. my DS wasn't eating solids at all until after a year, and still doesn't enjoy meat, besides the occasional hot dog as a treat. We offer it pretty frequently (whenever we eat it, just as we offer everything we eat to him, 75% of which he's not interested in). Toddlers are notoriously picky and their tastes change weekly (if not daily!). So there's every chance your DC will reject meat now but choose it later, or vice versa. I think it's a bit early to expect your child to take an active role in choosing his diet (other than rejecting things that are offered) in terms of whether it will be vegan or vegetarian or omnivore, KWIM?