V is for… Vegetarian
My 9 year old announced yesterday that he is now a vegetarian.
Prior to yesterday he was probably the biggest carnivore on the planet.
His reasons for becoming a vegetarian are:
• the animals don’t ask to be eaten
• it might hurt the animals when they are killed
• a chicken once lived for months without it’s head
• Bear Grylls knocked a toad out on a cave wall and then ate it’s guts and it was gross
I have decided to humour him and so far (yes for 2 whole days….) he has been eating a vegetarian diet.
I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do or if I should tell him to wait until he is older? Can a 9 year old get sufficient sustenance from a purely veggie diet? What foods should I include to ensure that he receive sufficient protein?
Does any of you have vegetarian children – are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of?
Hiya
I’m a veggie, as is my husband and we are raising our daughter who is currently 9 months old as veggie aswell. It’s perfectly fine for kids to have a veggie diet the only thing you need to do is make sure they get enough protein and iron. Lots of leafy veg, beans and pulses. Quorn meat substitutes are high in protein and an easy way to make veggie meals which the whole family can enjoy 🙂 Oh and it he likes marmite then that’s a boost aswell as it has loads of vitB12 in it which aids iron absorbtion. It takes a bit of getting used to cooking a veggie diet but once you get the hang of it you realise it’s actually really healthy, loads of vegetables and low fat. Good Luck xxx
You are a superstar! Thank you so much – he loves marmite so that is a result (can’t stand it myself….). Really appreciate your help xx
Don’t forget that dairy is protein too – and I assume he’s still eating that. It’s perfectly possible to stay healthy on a veggie diet, even as children as Dawnie says. It might be a phase, but he won’t get malnourished if he eats a range of foods, as ever. Most people worry about the protein but something as simple as beans on toast has as much protein as a steak and in this country, we all tend to eat more protein than we need anyway.
Good luck with it.
Thank you Kate – fortunately he loves beans on toast. I’m lucky it wasn’t my 10y/o as there is so much that he can’t eat because of his skin. x
Humans are omnivores. End of. But yeah, vegetarian diets are fine for children. It’s great he’s aware of some of the issues. The acid test will come next time he walks in the kitchen and you’re cooking bacon. 🙂