toddler won't eat

[lijahbaby]

Hi everyone!This is my first time posting and I'm hoping for some advice.I just switched to a vegan diet a few months ago and I planned on my 18 month old son eating vegan too.But he is sooooo picky.All he eats is yogurt,applesauce,ritz cracker sandwichs,and slice after slice of cheese.He eats a few vegan things,like pasta and oatmeal.But it is very hard to get him to try new things.He won't eat any veggies.He still nurses alot.I get so frustrated when I cook a big meal and he takes one bite and throws it on the floor.Does anyone have any ideas of vegan things he might like?I feel aweful buying non-vegan food but I don't want him to starve.Any advice would be appreciated.Thank you!

[Deborah Barrass]

Hi there, I have Tabitha aged almost 3 and Felix aged 15 months, both vegan since birth. Have you tried meat replacement products such as "Cheatin Chicken/ham" (sorry to those vegans who don't approve !) - They're available in the UK by a company called Redwood (they do have a website but I don't have it on me). They also do sausages and burger/patty type foods. My kids love them.
What about a tofu/soya ravioli (another of Tabitha and Felix' favourites) - Danival make a delicious tofu ravioli.
Soups - with added nutritious ingredients hidden from little eyes !! I add lots of small pieces of wholemeal bread to make it more manageable for self feeding.
Have you tried vegan chheses instead of dairy ? Tofutti do a scrummy cream cheese and Redwood (I think) a cheddar type cheese which Tabithe and Felix like chopped into cubes.

Hope this helps GOOD LUCK

love from Deborah Barrass

[Krystal323]

My 4 yr old Ian eats like a bird--except of course when the in-laws order cheese pizza or my mom makes him a pot of mac-n-cheese :mad: My inlaws don't really realize that I don't want him to have these things--they figure if there's no meat on it he can chow down all day! They think vegan is too strict, and they don't think animal products are bad for you at all--aside from my personal animal issues--I thought everybody knows that cheese pizza is junk food, right?!?! My mom is big on giving the child what he asks for--regardless of whether or not it's good for him. She's been veg all her life, but she thinks that it's harming him emotionally to tell him he can't have kraft anymore. She thinks vegan is great,and most days she is vegan herself, but she just can't bear to see my boy pick at vegan noodles when she know that he wolfs down cow cheese with abandon and glee. This is a big prob for us because we are living w/my mom and dad until my husband gets out of tech school (USAF). I am almost vegan but every day it's a struggle when there's chocolate and cheese there just callin' my name. And my dad is sneaky--I've found baby Lili with ice cream around her mouth a time or two!! He doesn't think I'm doing the right thing at all. So I know how you feel. Strangely enough, if I don't have time to feed my son breakfast and just give him a silkmilk in the morning, then he happily eats vegan for lunch--it's probably real hunger kicking in! We've even tried Road's End 123's and ChReese but he prefers "the cowmilk kind". I try to explain to him that little baby cows don't have milk to drink if people take it, just like what if his baby sister didn't have any mama-milk to drink, and he gets all sad, but then he says to just buy the cow some sun-soy! He just can't wrap his brain around it all yet, I guess. He's just a kid after all. If you think of any other good suggestions tell me!!

[5xblessed]

It is very frustrating to have picky kids, but really, they won't let themselves starve. (Though I know it seems like it.) I would try vegan alternatives to all the things he likes, crackers, soy cheese, soy yogurts, etc. My kids also like things that are smooth, like hummus, refried beans, whirled up fruit added to applesauce. Just some suggestions. Good Luck!
Lisa