my 1 year old vegan a little skinny...

[barak]

Hi: we're raising my little boy vegan, and he seems to have a hearty appetite and eats everything we give him, but he seems a little skinny to us. Should we be worried? How do we get him to be a little chunkier?

[xmysticprincessx]

i'd say the most important thing is to have a vegan-friendly doctor. if you have a doctor who thinks vegans just eat salad all day and your vegan son is small/underweight, be prepared for some problems. even if you have to interview a dozen doctors and have to drive a ways to see this dr, its worth it. drs can and do call social services on parents who do not agree with them or take their advice. (not to sound harsh, but its a reality.)

what does your family tree look like? is everyone in your family skinny or small? dont expect your son to be a basketball player when he doenst have the genetics for it.

what does he normally eat? you may be surprised, but babies/toddlers need 1,000-1,300 calories a day. (it amazed me because the average adult needs 2,000 calories a day and adults are so much bigger than babies/toddlers.)

[barak]

thanks so much for the info! I appreciate it. any advice about certain kinds of foods? He loves all kinds of veggies, fruits, pastas and rice. We have recently started giving him beans, which again he really likes. We're hoping that might do the trick.

He's lanky, just like I was when I was little, so I sujppose it's okay. I guess the bottom line is that if he is happy and very energetic (which he is), he's probably okay, yes?

[Erin Pavlina]

Our son was really skinny (still is). Here is what we did to keep his weight up a little.

Vegan milk shakes. Add chocolate syrup, peanut butter, vanilla vegan ice cream and some soy or rice milk, blend it up and serve it. No resistance to this meal whatsoever. ;)

Nut milks and like almond butter french toast.

And occasionally we'd add a teaspoon of olive oil to things like soup or a smoothie to add some fat and calories.

Coconut milk.

[xmysticprincessx]

i also add flax seed oil to dd's soy milk when i have it on hand. its 130 calories per serving, plus gives omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which if i correctly remember what i read, the 3's and 6's combine to form dha and ara which help with brain development.
dd really likes pasta shapes (vs spaghetti) with sauce. i add some nutritional yeast to give her B vitamins.
dd likes the chili i make. (its basically a mix of beans, seasonings, corn, tomatoes, and sometimes ground boca burger.) i put lots of tofutti sour cream on top and share it with her. (tofutti anything seems to have lots of calories.)
roads end organic mac n chreese has a bunch of calories in it, plus lots of vitamins and minerals. (i think the kids 123's has about 300 calories per serving!) dd LOVES that and just picks it up off her high chair tray. not always the cleanest meal, but definately one of her (and my) favorites.
as long as ds is on a consistent growth curve and hitting his milestones, i'd say he's fine.

[celtic-womble]

My son is 10 months and he's a little leaner than the average pre-walker but his dad is a bean pole (he had a choice of 1 tarten when we got married because they only had one kilt with a 28" waist) so we're really not worried. He's tall so he's still a good weight for his age group.

In an average day he eats 3 servings of baby oatmeal for breakfast (we're moving him on to adult soon because that's just too much iron), some fruit or veggies for lunch like a banana or avocado (he can eat a whole one at a sitting, lots of cals and fat in those) or a stage 2 jar if we're out. Dinner is something similar (usually whatever we're having, he's wicked adventurous and loves spicy food) and he also has snacks in between like those gerber fruit puffs (all vegan except the sweet potato ones), joe's o's or his current` favorite, craklebred with hummus. He also love mac and chreese, he sits beside me and picks shells out of my bowl or I make the 123s and he gets his own bowl. He loves a little nutritional yeast sprinkled on stuff too.

He gets a little dessert now and again too, room for that in the diet if your munchkin is underweight. He likes the chocolate covered frozen bananas from trader joes (I bite off pieces for him and give him mostly banana, the chocolate is mine!) and sharon's coconut sorbet which is made with coconut milk so it's like a really decadent ice cream.

[amielia80]

hi there...
As long as your little guy is eating a variety in his diet...no need to worry. I have a great doctor who supports our lifestyle. My son has always been small, and he told me that as long as they are staedily growing at a rate appropriate for them, not to worry. It is when they "fall off the chart (the curve ) that they worry. My doctor tells me that he wishes he saw more kids like my son, there is a huge epidemic of obese children out there and diabetes is a complication of that. Congrats to you for giving your son a healthy start and good eating habbits. Keep up the good work!

[Triffid]

My son (13 months) is slim and small for his age too. But no one worries about it because he's such a healthy and active wee fellow. He started walking at 9 1/2 months too, so that might have slowed his weight gain. His cousin weighed 10kg at 5 months, whereas Jess is still not quite 10kg at 13 months!
Is there any mother who doesn't worry about their kid's eating? Jess has recently become quite fussy about eating, and will sometimes only eat fruit, fresh or dried. He doesn't like the look of pasta so will only eat it if I get the spoon in before he sees what's on it!

[amielia80]

I worry about my son not eating all the time!!! My almost 5 year old is autisitc and very picky and eats only a few specific things. So, I am always worried about him and he isn't good to compare to because he is an extreme case. However, my nutritionist has told me that kids get into what they call food jags. Food jags are when they will only eat one thing for weeks and than they may refuse that food and get stuck on a new food. I am lucky with my 16 month old, he eats well. One thing I have learned in 5 years of worrying about how much my son eats, is that they will eat what they need to. They know their limits and kids don't starve themselves. Alot of time it is a control thing because they know you want them to eat. Good luck, sound like you are good at sneaking food into your little one! At least what he does want is something good like fruit and not a cup cake or something :)

[vegma]

If he seems healthy and energetic I wouldn't worry about it. :) I always offered the breast before any other food at that age. One-year-olds still get much of their nutrients (and fat) from breastmilk. I'm not a proponent of giving a child junk food for added calories, although I've heard of many medical professionals that suggest just that. :o