One day out of the blue, my six-year-old daughter made the decision she was going to be a vegetarian. It came as a surprise since she would snack on pepperoni straight from the bag. I figured – well, she’s six, so it’s just a phase. The rest of our family are not vegetarians so I wasn’t even totally sure where she was getting the idea from. She simply told me she didn’t want to eat animals. I told her I would support her in that. Again, thinking this would last maybe a week.
That day was almost two years ago and she has not had an ounce of meat since.
Despite still being surprised some days that she is sticking with it, I am also incredibly proud of her for doing so. It has not come without struggle, of course. Two years in and I am still learning how to ensure she gets enough protein and iron. Oh, and calcium considering she also made the decision that she doesn’t like milk nor will she eat anything if it’s, in her words, “too cheesy”.
For anyone who might be on this same adventure, here are the tips that have been most helpful to me.
Identify foods they will eat that have the nutrients they need. Early on, my daughter was having a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches since that has protein. I thought for sure once she learned she cannot live on that she would change her mind. Not the case. We sat down to decide what would be some foods she would not push back on that would give her the nutrients she needs.
Talk to the Pediatrician. Doing this really put my mind at ease because I was concerned with things like giving her too much soy, what supplements should I buy; the list was long of my worries. The pediatrician was incredibly helpful in giving me some ideas while also putting my mind at ease.
Try it with them. My husband and son were not interested in going on this journey with her. So, while they stuck to their carnivore ways, I committed to being a vegetarian with her for the first while. What this did was help me identify healthy things I could be making for her since I would be eating them too. It also helped me to avoid just being lazy and falling back into making PB&J every night. I soon realized I was eating more carbohydrates than I wanted and since I was already gaining some COVID pounds by that time, I eventually started introducing animal protein back into my diet.
Find recipes that can serve both meat lovers and vegetarians. This is not easy. But once you take the time to do so, it is so worth it. It will take lots of trial and error but it will be worth it in order to ensure you are not making two totally separate things for dinner each night.
Plan ahead when eating out. By now, my daughter is easily able to find things she likes off a restaurant menu. But initially out of COVID when we hadn’t been out, it was a challenge. She isn’t a huge fan of certain veggie burgers or other common restaurant options for vegetarians. It took a bit before we could be creative or convince her to try new things.
Plan ahead when dining at someone’s house. Initially I felt really obnoxious when I packed my daughter her little bento box of food when going to a friend’s house. But I have heard several times now that the parents really appreciate it because that way they don’t have to worry about ensuring they have options on hand for her. If my daughter doesn’t end up eating what I pack, great. But it gives her some relief knowing it’s there if they end up serving something like chicken nuggets.
Give yourself grace. Of course there are nights I end up making my daughter a PB&J or a “not too cheesy” quesadilla. Do not give yourself guilt when that happens.
Do you have a vegetarian in your family? I’d love to share more of this journey with you including some of my go-to recipes for busy moms like me! I’d also love any tips you have!
Read more of Stephanie’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
