Baby Ideas

[daizymommie]

Hi there,

My mom is bugging me about our baby needing more protein. :( We are new vegetarians and didn't have to worry about this with our first daughter. I'm needing some quick ideas for getting more protein in her diet on a daily basis. She loves her fruits and veges but we haven't ventured into too many other things as of yet. She's 13 months old.

All ideas are welcome!!

Thanks!!

Robin

[Jamie Wilson]

My son has always liked plain tofu cubes! Sounds crazy, but he just eats them plain, I just cute up regular tofu into cubes and serve them cold! They almost have a sweet, very neutral taste to them.

He also LOVES baked falafel.

[xmysticprincessx]

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bnutrition/0,,3w6l,00.html
this is a more mainstream website, but it does say that a toddler needs about 16 grams of protein per day. you can keep a food diary for your baby for a few days to be sure that she is getting the 16 grams each day. then you can show your mom the website and your food diary so that she knows that her granddaughter is eating well.
if that doesnt work, you can go to a nutritionist with your mom and the baby. maybe if she heard it from a person with a piece of paper that says "nutrition" on it, she will believe it better.
doctors might recommend peanut butter (dd's former one did), but it seems like the jury is still out when peanut butter should be introducted because of all the allergies. dd's old doc recommended it at a year (!!!), but my nephew's doctor said something closer to 18 months. if you have the money, you may want to try almond butter, cashew butter (i really like that, even though dd spits it out!), macadamia nut butter, etc.

[Neeley]

My daughter loves plain tofu. If you find it hard to get your baby to eat plain tofu try blending it till its creamy and mix in some herbs and put it on pasta. Try different types of pastas, whole wheat pasta has a good quantity of protein.

Have you ever cooked with yeast flakes? I know a lot of people don't like it, but I've got some recipes that my family really likes with yeast flakes, which has quite a bit of protein. If you get the kind that is vitamin fortified you have to be careful about how much you give your little one.

Try some different kinds of bread, whole wheat, multigrain. These are high in protein, especially if you put some kind of nut spread on it.

My daughter loves beans - she'll eat handfuls of chick peas, kidney beans, pinto beans. She also likes vegetarian baked beans and refried beans.

I can sympathize about family members insisting that your baby must not be getting enough protein. Don't feel like you need to give your baby too much protein just to get your mom off your back, because too much protein can be damaging too (like loss of calcium and kidney problems).

Good luck, and try not to stress over it too much :)

[shellie]

Try the Vegan Society U.K. Their site was really helpful to me.
Just had another quick look and I think if you go into livestyles, then families, parenting, baby and after all that reading, if you want to you could check out the recipes! :)

[shellie]

Wow, just had another look, they've added loads more info since I last had a look about 5 years ago:o my youngest son is 6 now! Well, I'm going back for another peek.

[michelleveg]

Hi Daizymommie. My daughter is almost 7 years old and raised Vegan since birth. The "are you getting enough protein?" question has got to be the #`1 question non-vegetarians will ask, followed by: "Do you eat fish?" .Personally, I think it stems from the meat and dairy industries campaigns to promote protein and calcium. What 's more of a concern for vegetarians, especially vegans, are Vitamin B-12 and D. Anyway, I can recommend: The Super Baby Food book by Ruth Yaron. It is a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian based book although the emphasis is more on grains, nuts, legumes vs. the dairy. It is a very informative book including, all kinds of recipees, nutritional analysis & daily requirements info. I really love this book. Over 500 pages of very helpful info! Also, a cookbook called simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman has a section on raising Vegan kids. Just knowing the facts on raising a healthy vegetarain/vegan child helped alot when facing confrontation or questions from others. Good Luck!

[b&pmom]

My mother constantly bugs me too. Are you and the kids getting enough protein? That drives me crazy!!!

I researched it and my intake is about 48g, and the kids are more like in the 20's (they are 3 and 5). We drink fortified soy beverage with 9g protein/250ml. The kids (and me) definitely get enough, we drink the soy beverage at every meal (and snack sometimes). For the kids...3 glasses a day is all they need...not including other foods we eat.

You did not say whether you were nursing, or soy formula, but if she drinks that...she is probably getting enough.

Yes, people have been brainwashed by dairy/egg.meat industry to believe that protein requirements are insanely high. I also like to blame the "atkins" diet for the protein push.

I also eat hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds) they are a great source of protein and omega 3 and 6. I HIGHLY recommend looking into these.

[michelleveg]

Hey b&pmom, Where do you get the hemp hearts? How do you eat/prepare them? The Omega's tend to be a challenge. Also my daughter has become very "picky" when it comes to eating nuts, seeds. Gotta keep trying new things! Thanks. Michelle

[b&pmom]

http://www.gremlinproductions.ca/hempseed.htm

HEMP HEARTS (SHELLED HEMP SEED) IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER FOODS

*Contains more required amino acids (proteins) than milk, meat or eggs.
*Is a complete protein source--much more balanced & digestible than Soy products.
*Contains about 47% oil, 78% of which is omega 3 & 6--the essential fats.
*Contains all the essential or omega fats required for human health.
*Contains several times more omega 3 essential fat than any fish.
*Provides more energy than energy bars--without their sugar and with much less saturated fat.
*Is suitable for those unable to eat gluten, sugar, milk, nuts & meat.
*Is perfect for those troubled with constipation and for those avoiding carbohydrates.
*A 42 g serving (4 tbsp) contains 240 cal energy from 15 g protein, 15 g polyunsaturated fats ( 11.4 g omega 6 & 3.6 g omega 3), 2.7 g mono-unsaturated fats, 2.1 g saturated fats, 2.5 g fiber, 4.5 g carbohydrates, 2 mg iron, 31 mg calcium, 3.8 mg sodium, 3.8 mg vitamin E, 956 IU vitamin D, .42 mg vitamin C, .05 mg vitamin B6, .14 mg vitamin B2, .58 mg vitamin B1, 1.68 IU vitamin A.
*Every lot can be traced to its source and is laboratory tested to guarantee the absence of contaminants.



These are the ones we buy. I get them at my local health food store. In the past, I have had success contacting companies and requsting local retailers.

To prepare...just eat RAW the way they are. Kind of like small shelled sunflower seeds. Add to trail mix or on a salad. They lose some healthy benefits when cooked (destroys enzymes...much like most foods), and should be cooked under 350 degrees F, if you are adding to muffins or other baking (heat damages the healthy fats).

For omegas we also drink an omega fortified soy beverage (flax derived) called "so good" omega.

[Christa]

If you eat hemp seeds, could they potentially cause a false positive on a drug test? I've tried them before at the HFS and do like them and think that my family would as well. However, dh's work does periodic drug tests and I would hate to have him come up positive for THC.

[Elizabeth]

Christa, I wondered the same thing awhile back and did a google search. This article (and many others) say that injesting hemp seed oil will cause a positive drug test:

http://www.cleartest.com/testinfo/hemp_products.htm

Andrew Weil says the opposite, that "hemp foods" will not cause a positive drug test, although he talks only about the seeds themselves:

http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA345325/

Maybe the oil will cause a positive drug test, but eating the whole food will not?

Elizabeth

[Zoesmama]

Maybe introduce some nutbutters but mix with water/milk of some sort and dilute them for awhile. That is what I did with my dd anyway. Helped me feel better about giving it to her.

She had no reactions so I kept offering.


Does she drink soy milk? Many ignorant omnis believe that ONLY meat has protein.

ALSO a fav for my dd was when I started adding kidney and other beans into her diet around that age. She would seriously eat a half can of kidney beans they are her favorite. And great protein. :)

[celtic-womble]

The hemp used in food contains tiny levels of THC, in many cases it isn't detectable at all. I really don't see how it could cause a positive on a drug test.

With regards to the original post: my DS (9months) loves beans. I wasn't sure if he would because he has a big sweet tooth but he'll suck down anything beany. One of his favorite meals of all time (second only to Gerbers peach cobbler) is pinto beans and bananas mashed together. That would be yummy mixed with some brown rice too for an older child which would add some more protein. A lot of kids like frummus too; that's hummus without garlic and with fruit mixed in e.g. pureed chickpea and peaches. You can throw in tahini, flax oil or whatever for a further boost of protein and other nutrients.

I second the Super Baby Food suggestion. There are loads of toddler recipes (meals and snacks) and instructions on safe use of seeds and nuts for toddlers plus info on sprouting, homemade cleaners and everything under the sun. Some of her ideas are a little wacky but for the most part it's insanely useful. I refer to it almost every day.