oh, boy. i wandered accidentally into a vegan thread. my apologies. your response was SO WARM, especially after i offered plenty of suggestions to help the kid. gtfo is a great way to build a new on-line community. thanks!
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Note to all: I will make a clarification now that the Vegetarian/ Vegan board is for the discussion of vegetarian/ vegan cooking, recipes, dining only. We as individuals may have strong beliefs on specific dietary decisions, e.g. vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, kosher, omnivore, its a personal decision, and letās respect each otherās dietary decisions.
Thank you!
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so i am not allowed to suggest a 10-year-old shouldnāt be making these kinds of decisions? lol. i presented no judgement on that choice made by adults. inferences made by other readers were not implied.
While you may see my statement as a criticism of you, but its not intended to. Please see original post:
A friendās 10 year old daughter has decided she would like to try eating a vegetarian diet and Iāve offered to help plan out meal ideas for them to cook together. Her father has requested she take a more active role in meal planning because sheās still kind of a picky eater and this will make it even more difficult to find something she gets excited over.
As indicated, the child is to get more involved in meal planning.
Olala! Didnāt exist in my days, kids could be a picky eater, we had to eat everything!
As an additional reminder for an area I didnāt address earlier, when there is a difference in opinion, please disagree calmly. Please refer back to the forum rules if there is an inclination to raise the voice. Thank you.
If adults and children eat dairy and eggs, they should not need to take supplements. There is not a huge problem with being a vegetarian and getting a balanced diet.
Maybe someone will call the police on me, but eating cheese, bread and carrots is not terribly unhealthy unless it is processed cheese and white bread.
I think the reason the question comes up that there is another agenda is because mushrooms and onions are not necessary food groups, so what is it about her present diet that is in need of variety?
Only if people think a vegetarian diet has to be complicated recipes and a lot of cooked foods. Most of my meals are vegetarian and I donāt spend a lot of time cooking. My typical meals are a variety of simply cooked veg and/or raw veg, nuts and eggs or cheese, or plain bean dishes, and fruit for dessert. I usually have whole grain bread or crackers, or pasta, sometimes rice (usually a risotto).
I put greens in frittate or scrambled eggs, or toss greens in with cubed potatoes. I do use bagged greens, but I never use frozen vegetables ā and if I were trying to guide someone to a vegetarian diet, I would avoid frozen veg because they mostly taste terrible.
If the child doesnāt like the taste of most vegetables, then disguising the flavor with sauces and powders and dips is probably unavoidable if she wants to go vegetarian. But it is quite normal not to like mushrooms or onions, and simple vegetarian dishes like baked beans, pea soup, eggs and nuts and fruits is a fun, healthy diet and can be quite delicious and beautiful to look at too.
you are correct there is nothing inherently unhealthy about any of those foods, but they are not sufficient fuel in a restricted diet for a growing child. too many āvegetarianā kids donāt really eat eggs, vegetables or legumes and instead wind up mostly eating wheat, corn,and potatoes.
can we limit all this defensiveness in light of the fact that the op is about a 10-year-old child with omnivorous parents?
I donāt think Iām being defensive at all. You made some incorrect comments ā sorry! ā that did need to be corrected, but Iām pointing out something quite different.
A lot of the things that 10 year olds are happy to eat over and over and over constitute a perfectly fine diet. They are comprised of the exact same ingredients one finds in casseroles, soups, pasta dishes. Even more importantly, they are staples in the diets of zillions of people the world over who donāt have a Trader Joeās in their neighborhood and have not been subjected to constant marketing that unless one is eating 30 unique dinner menus per month, one is not living life to the fullest or even getting enough nutrients.
I am trying to say ā and said this before you entered this thread ā that āvarietyā in diet, vegetarian or meat ā is largely overrated concept/trend. Some variety is needed ā but even there, that variety is very easily obtained by making sure fruits and nuts are eaten frequently. Most children, without a huge amount of hovering, eat a sufficiently varied diet. They eat dairy, they eat legumes, nuts, fruits and greens. And carrots and bread.
No, you canāt sit them down next to the potato chips and candy jar and not give any guidance, but children can find favorite foods in all the essential food groups, and as long as they are eating 1 item from each essential food group, they donāt need to be bugged to try different items in the same food group.
Hope thatās clear!
I have been addressing all my posts to the topic of this one child, whom as far as we know, only doesnāt eat mushrooms or onions. You seem to be against vegetarian eating for kids. You seem to want to argue against it overall, or view as doomed to fail. But with so many perfectly healthy vegetarian kids out there, I think you are out of touch. Plenty of kids are thriving not eating meat. If you are set against it, you will feel frustrated with my pointing that out, but itās a fact.
And surely you are aware that a lot kids being fed mainly meat are otherwise only eating corn, wheat and potatoes with the meat. Have you taken that up as a cause?
honestly? i am sorry i entered this thread at all. NOTHING i said was incorect, but please carry on. stop projecting about my years of research and experimentation and/or my opinions, since clearly your ābeliefsā are way more valid.
i know more than enough kids who subsist on mashed potatoes and plain pasta. on no planet is that ābalancedā ā which was the MAIN point i was trying to make. if a grown-up wants to have toast and twizzlers for dinner, i could not care less.
I was a bad teenage vegetarian. I basically stopped eating meat but didnāt compensate for it in my diet. I ended up with B-12 deficiencies. I was older than the 10 year old spoken of in the original post but still too young to comprehend the negative impact on my physiology.
My parents were omnivores, but my mom would lecture me on eating legumes, which I avoided too.
A 10 year old might be a good age to be receptive about learning to eat a proper vegetarian diet. They still have that willingness to listen to their parents.
I think the key is to hook Pumpernickel up with awesome vegetarian recipes, which a lot of people have already done. She can work with her friend to properly nourish the 10 year old.
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I came back to this thread because I realized later that when I posted earlier that somebody might ācall the police on me,ā you might have thought that I was directing that remark at you, which I truly wasnāt. Lots of people would question the judgment of a parent who let their 10 year old eat only what passes for a grilled cheese sandwich in lots of places, so I was just acknowledging that before saying the ingredients have to be healthy.
However, it is not correct to say that vegetarians need to take supplements. It might be true of vegans (Iāve never looked into it) but there is no reason why someone eating dairy, whole grain, fruits, veg & nuts needs supplements. Iām not angry you posted it, but people are bound to correct you if you going around saying that or posting that. Itās not a matter of equally valid belief. Itās just not true!
When I was a child under 6, both my sister and I developed huge scabs on our scalps due to vitamin deficiences, but my parents were feeding me meat. I donāt know exactly what they were doing wrong, but we were not being fed well. For months my sister and I had to take spoonfuls of gloppy vitamin mixtures, sort of the consitency of rubber cement.
The issue is not vegetarian diets. The issue is good diets for children and bad diets for children. Omnivore parents ā mine were - are no guarantee, and in my case, we werenāt picking our own food.
You raise an excellent point about whether kids will continue to listen to their parents. My feeling is that if parents donāt genuinely respect their kidsā non-essential palate preferences ā just as they would for an adult ā such as āno mushrooms, pleaseā or āno onionsā or āthe only green I eat is cabbageā just as they would an adult who made the same request, there is greater risk of kidsā tuning out helpful advice or rebelling in destructive ways.
Ten year olds are growing up in a world where it is highly likely most people will eat less and less meat than has been the US/European norm for the past 2 generations. Tens of millions will eat no meat at all, unlike their parents. Many future 21 year olds will come to view this as a necessity for personal and planetary reasons. Iād prepare my kid for the future.
I feel like this poor 10 year old aspiring vegetarian is getting in the middle of a mess. 
I called her picky but honestly sheās just picky compared to me. I donāt know kids. Donāt have them and am almost never around them. I suppose sheās not all that picky for a kid. Iāve included a list of her no-go foods at the bottom.
Her dad will be sure she gets a well rounded diet. She eats plenty of things for that. He just needs a little help with new ideas as a typical meal for him is the basic āmeat and two vegā. Heās not used to one pot style cooking or cooking with a ton of ingredients other than lasagna.
Iām so grateful for all the advice and ideas everyone has given me! I think Iām feeling a little challenged by this because my style of cooking tends to not fall under the category of quick and easy. As an example if I feel like having broccoli, Iāll probably make a ādishā like soup or a casserole type of thing with it instead of just steamed (which I also love) or if want something rice like, Iāll make a risotto or Mexican rice.
Basically my goal is to find easy(ish) meals that donāt take too long so dad doesnāt get frustrated and interesting enough that she is not bored and will feel successful with her endeavour.
To give you an idea of what she is used to eating, dad sometimes makes traditional Jewish meals but I think thereās a whole lot of chicken breast being consumed along with steak, fish (mostly salmon), rice and simple sautĆ©ed vegetable sides. Mom is Guatemalan (parents arenāt together) and I believe she is used to eating a lot of traditional Guatemalan food at momās house.
Wonāt eat:
kale
cooked and fresh whole tomatoes
mushrooms (but is willing to try if not in big chunks)
tofu
onions if not very finely minced and never raw
sweet potatoes
polenta
spicy food
bbq sauce
smoked flavours
strong cheeses including goat cheese (but she loves feta)
butter
whole wheat bread
Asian food (all of it! No, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese etc. etc.)
sour cream
mayonnaise
brown rice
artichoke
asparagus
radish
eggplant
Foods she doesnāt like but is willing to give another try:
mushroom sauces (if no big chunks of mushrooms)
bell peppers
brussel sprouts
cherry tomatoes
zucchini
quinoa (is not familiar with farro, bulghur, millet etc.)
cabbage
potatoes
capers
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gods, Pumpernickel youāre a saint. As said, veg dishes donāt have to be complex, though personally I am a big fan of the slow cooking movement, in fact I have the greatest memories of cooking with my dad who recently passed away (91!) He totally got into vegan cooking at the age of 70.
Tonight I donāt feel like being bothered so dinner is w,w, Spaghetti with garlic and oil, faux chicken patties, spinach sauteed with the same garlic and oil sauce and focaccia from the local coop.
Pesto sauce and all the nice nut variants would probably work for this fussy child too.
Iām about 90% vegan, my internist whom I see yearly is a professor at Duke and a vegetarian. He has me take a multi-vitamin and a daily dose of B-12. Thatās it, I also take Evening Primrose and Flax oil supplements and I am very knowlegeable and fussy about my diet. Frankly if you enjoy Indian food itās a doddle, especially these days with the variety of Almond, Soy, Rice, Cashew milks and yogurts. For my pains Iām 5ā2" weigh 100 lbs, my blood pressure is low and so is my bad cholesterol, my HDL is high. Iām in tip-top shape.
Do you think sheād eat falafel? Not the easiest to make at the last minute but could be something made ahead of time.
One of the biggest mistakes I made with tofu was not knowing how to use it right. I expected it to taste good plain, on itās own. I finally learned how to cook with it and like it.
there are falafel mixes out there, but i confess to never having tried them.
Iāve tried them and they were OK. Iād have it more often but hate the āfriedā smell in my house!
yes, i always eat falafel out too! but most beans can be smooshed up and made into patties that can be pan-seared or baked.
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Iām right there with you on the fried food smell. Ick. To avoid this, I make fat patties instead of balls and just pan sear them in a little bit of oil. Not as good but still delicious. Iām on the hunt for a good mix.
I think this is such an interesting point. Iāve commented elsewhere that Iām a victim of my own high expectations for not wanting to eat the same thing twice. Itās something I consciously try to reign in when I need to feed a family of 4 in 30 minutes on a weeknight. Especially in a joint custody situation, thereās nothing wrong with having a meal plan where 4 or 5 meals repeat for the girl every week- Tuesday at dadās is bean tacos, he can add chicken to his. That kind of thing.
Responding to the falafel comment, she could consider having a bag of frozen Trader Joeās falafels in the freezer. She can assemble a pita pocket with some reheated falafels, add some veg of choice and either tahini or a dollop of greek yogurt have a pretty healthy meal in 5 minutes.
Responding to the comment about kids who end up eating potatoes, wheat and corn, yes! I cannot tell you how many of my preschool age kidsā friends fall in this category. Sadly, it has nothing to do with parents who eat meat or not. Last night we went to a Vietnamese restaurant in Harvard Square where my kids always split a bun - rice noodles, assorted vegetables and grilled chicken on top. Our friends ordered chicken fingers and fries for their daughter. I had NO idea this was even an option. Guess what she ate? Fries. And a couple of crumbs of the breading for the chicken. And of course I was less than thrilled that my kids polished off the rest of the huge pile of fries instead of finishing their mung bean sprouts.
