Help with son

[Tracy]

Hi,
My son is now 2 years old. I started wth the greatest of intentions. He gained weight great for the first 9 months of his life while breastfeeding. After that, he just fell off the chart weightwise, he is tiny. The dr's were all concerned, the nutritionist, my family, my husband. I finally gave in and started giving him dairy:( out of deperation. He is still very small weightwise and I cannot get him to gain. He is still not even on the charts and now he is a cheese lover. How can I wean him off the cheese and other dairy and get him to gain weight? Any help is much appreciated!

[Jennifer]

Have you considered buying some soy cheese? This might either help him make the switch to soy, or it might help him give up cheese all together. Also, will he eat peanut butter sandwiches, or peanut butter and crackers? If so, you could try those or even some other nut butters (like soy nut butter or almond butter). These would be some nice high fat items that are also fairly healthy for him (if you watch the ingredients and stay with health food store products). I feed my children avocado on a regular basis. I read somewhere that 1/5 of a medium avocado has 5 grams of fat. I feed my son a whole avocado every day so that gives him a good amount of healthy fat. I hope maybe this helps a little.

[veganmama]

Most soy cheese is NOT vegan. It contains animal indgredients. But, soy yogurt smoothies with fresh banannas and fruit is a fatty snack. Also, for yummy desserts soy delicious "ice cream" blended with soy milk or oat milk are another fattning dairy free dessert. Also, avacados blended in veggie chili help add fat and avacado sandwiches are another good fat besides nut butters. My son is 28 mos and doesn't like nut butters to much yet, but I am sure he will in the future.

I feel bad that main stream doctors got you worried about your vegan diet. Small children are small no matter what. As long as he is healthy (getting vitimans) and pees 6 times a day and poops every day or so, he is healthy. Unless he is low energy (anemic) or b-12 deprived (which by the way you can make "mac and cheese" using nutritional yeast, soy margarine, soy milk, mustard powder, tumeric, garlic and onion powder...) I think he is just following his natural weight gain patterns. I'd try making him shakes (you can even add peanut butter to the smoothies) to drink with his meals, and AVOID giving him snacks and juice which often fill up toddlers so that they don't eat a good meal. I am glad you are getting him back to his vegan diet! Congrats on making that decision. I know that it was scary when he wasn't gaining and you were worried it was a vegan diet causing it. Hugs. VM

[Jennifer]

In all honesty, I have never fed my children soy cheese so I never looked at the ingredients. Sorry about that. I just knew that I had heard of it and that it might be an option. As far as the macaroni and cheese, I wouldn't mind having the recipe if you don't mind sending it to me. Maybe I can pick up some pointers here too. Thank you.

[Tracy]

Thank you both for your help. I really appreciate it. I would also love the recipe for that "mac and cheese" He loves mac and cheese.
Thank you!
Tracy

[Erin Pavlina]

Tracy, you can also buy some really great mac and chreese at www.chreese.com. The 123z and Chreese is my daughter's favorite. And it has B12 in it. Of course, making it yourself is even better, but I'm cooking-challenged so I like the boxed stuff and wanted to make you aware of it too.

For fats, we give our 3 year old avocado, nut butters, and she eats non-hydrogenated margarine on a lot of things. Tofu too is a good source of protein, calcium and fat.

[veganmama]

No problem Jennifer! I just wanted to pass the info on to you and anyone who didn't know that most soy cheeses were not vegan.

And for Tracy and Jennifer: Veganmama's "mac and cheese" is yummy! My DH and I love it too. I always serve with a side of steamed broccoli.

Since I made this up I don't have exact measurements, but I'll give it to you inorder of portion size. Just taste it before putting on noodles and make sure it is to your liking and adjust as needed.

I eye ball this to look like the amount of sauce I'll need to cover the pasta. Please adjust as needed cause I have never measured it out before, but if it dosen't work let me know AND I'll make it measuring everything. Here goes:

In a bowl pour in soy milk (or oat milk) like aprox 1/8-1/4 cup. You can always add more later so start smaller. That is the base. Next add in some melted soy margarine or oil, like 1 TB more or less depending on your preference. Next pour in nutritional yeast to thicken and make creamy. Like 2-6 TBS as desired. You can ALWAYS add more LATER ON as this is what gives it the cheesy taste. Now the spices. I use a few pinches of veg salt, a pinch of tumeric, a pinch or two of of garlic powder and onion powder, a small pinch of cumin and mustard powder. Now mix up and taste. Adjust to your liking. (More liquid to thin more soy marg to make more fatty and rich, more nutritional yeast to thicken and make cheesier and stronger flavor, more salt if neded...)

I made it up. but it always comes out great. I have tried the brand Erin suggested, but it is skimpy and can't feed a family. This is cheap and very easy, especially the more you make it, the easier. Now mix in the pasta and serve with a side of steamed greens.

Hope you like it.. Veganmama;)

[Tracy]

Thank you Veganmamma! Sounds good, I will give it a try.

[purpleelephant]

Hi Tracy,
When Iona was around that age the health visitor we had was really great and supportive. She said that around 9 - 12 months babies weight normally drops because they start getting more active and it gets really difficult (even in meat eating diets) to get more calories inside than they burn off by crawling/walking etc. Also of course there is the added problem that with all these new interesting things to do who wants to sit down and do something as boring as eating!! I don't know how you feel about table manners but I used to find that Iona would want to get down after only a couple of mouthfulls of dinner rufusing anymore spoonfulls yet if I let her down and let her wander about a bit she would often take a few more whilst on the floor and then at regular intervals throughout the day. To be honsest I haven't had Iona weighed since just before her first birthday. I gather that if she has loads of energy and looks well then we must be doing OK, I gather that if there is something wrong with her I would be the first to sense it. Not some medical professional who only sees her to plonk her on the scales!
Hope this makes you feel a bit better!
Mandy
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[duckie1978]

Veganrella is a vegan cheese company, they make cheddar and mozzarella. It is really good in a pasta bake b/c they don't melt so well. (I haven't been able to afford that fancy vegan cheese reviewed on this site) There are also Vegan Slices but they only come in American flavor. These are really only available at health food stores, although some bigger Hannaford stores have them. My husband and I have both tried the mac and chreese and hated it (we tried every type they make), but that is b/c I wanted something that tasted just like the kraft mac and cheese. I have not found a single vegan cheese that tastes the same, but I am sure that your son isn't going to notice the difference. I use the vegan slices in sandwiches all the time, like grilled cheeses and I enjoy them. My husband isn't vegan so he eats all the other veggie soy cheeses, they melt very well :0(

[Tracy]

Thank you all for your replies, I appreciate it.

[SeattleVegan]

Just exactly what is your child's height and weight? You have to remember that the dr's charts are for meat eating-dairy consuming children. Avacados were a good suggestion, as well as tofu and faux meats. How much does your son eat on the average day? You said you want to wean him off of milk too? Great. Start off by mixing the milk with your choice of nut milk (my daughter loves Silk soymilk) Start off with a 50/50 mixture and adjust accordingly. Does he like smoothies? If so you might want to add soy protein to them. Also, children will often eat more of dried fruit then regular fruit. The also get more calories this way! If he eats yogurt, give him soy yogurt! I think it's better the milk yogurt!!
Mandy was right about children's growth slowing down at a year. My daughter was 20 pounds at a 12 months, now at 20 months she weights 23 pounds. As long as he is getting the right nutrition, I think you have no need to worry. Meat eating children get so big so fast because all of the hormones and contaminents in their food!!! I look after a child who eats enormous amounts of food, and hasn't really grown for 6 months now (he is 10 months old) but he is NOT VEGAN. It's not the milk/non milk issue, it's a matter of a child's metabolism and the activeness of the child.
Is your Dr. supportive of your beliefs? If not try searching for a different doctor. That's the last thing you need is a Dr. breathing down your neck!!
I hope some of what I have wrote will help. Feel free to email me to let me know how he is doing!
Good luck to you. I would rather have a small child eating HEALTHY food than a large child eating JUNK FOOD!!!!!
Amanda

[Sheree]

My daughter was also very small and now (at almost 3), is thin, but not too thin, she's just thin (everybody is built differently-if you know what you're doing is right, don't let the conventional docs bully you!). Her doctor would tell me she had to have dairy. I did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that I was giving her very nutritious meals with enough fat for her small body. She's always been very healthy, smart and strong and has only had 2 colds (that lasted very briefly) in her life. Children, for that matter any of us, do not need a large amount of fat each day and it's pretty hard not to get any (if not impossible) if you're eating a healthy diet with lots of variety. Along with nut butters, I give my daughter olives, avocados and she loves my homemade pesto made with olive oil (a good fat if it's extra virgin)...I put it on flatbread for her. Check out The Vegetarian Resource Group at www.vrg.org for menu suggestions for raising vegan children. Best Wishes to you and your family. Peace & Love.

[kim]

Hi, tofutti brand cheeses are vegan (no casien - which is usually the ingredient that makes soy cheese non-vegan) and delicious!! The cream cheese (called 'better than cream cheese') can be added to lots of different things - sauces, bagels, soups, desserts - for added fat and flavour. The cheese slices (come in 3 flavours) make great grilled cheese (which is a meal quite high in fat - cheese and margarine). When making the grilled cheese, have the element on low/medium heat (so that the cooking time is longer than it would be when using milk cheese) giving the tofutti extra time to melt - also cover with a lid during cooking. It comes out wonderfully!! If your son loves cheese, this is a great alternative while still giving him lots of fat! Also, of all of the foods that my non vegan friends and family try (which is a a lot!), the cream cheese is the one thing that they say is least different from 'the real thing'! They also LOVE the ice cream from tofutti, it is the best non dairy ice cream I've ever had too. Another good option for a fatty treat for your son! These are all available in bigger grocery stores and of course most health food stores. My son is one, and I appreciate all of the suggestions here, as well, for making sure he gets lots of food and fat and energy!