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My little lady is 11 months old. Although I fully feel like she'll be better off being raised in a vegan household, I'm having trouble with getting her everything that I know she needs since she's still a newer eater. Does any one have any pointers and/or recipes that they would suggest for getting this lady all her good nutrients? Thanks!
My daughters first food was mashed avacado, then bananas. I kept her on breastmilk exclusively until she was 9 months old, then we introduced things to her very slowly, since my hubby is asthmatic and my son had allergies when he was young.
I bought one of those baby food makers for traveling, very handy.
We moved on to cereals and grains, cooked and mashed to death.
My kids are not vegan (although since I've made the switch, they do eat alot of vegan meals....baby steps). So, I don't have baby food recipes for you. But I remember being very concerned when they were babies that they were getting all the nutrients they needed every day...particularly with my son who was and still is very picky. My doctor said something that eased my stress a bit. Don't look at their daily nutrition. Rather look at the whole week. Some days they won't get enough calcium, or enough protein. And then the next day, they will get more than they need. As long as the week looks balanced, you're doing fine. My hats off to you for starting her off in a vegan household.
Thanks so much! Some days are certainly better than others, but it's nice to hear others' experiences. Though I do tend to stress over some things with her, at least she'll know that I care enough to do so.
Kim T. your doctor and our baby nurse are smart people. Our daughter, who is 20 months, has meat on very rare occasions (courtesy of my father!), we have a vegetarian household and you really have to look at the whole week. There are days when Ruby will eat nothing but vegemite sandwiches and rice crackers. Then there'll be a couple of small containers of yogurt with some fruit. Then she will surprise me, almost give me a heart attack, and eat her entire dinner and ask for more. Last night she ate half a cucumber and half a tomato, that was dinner, she left the rest.
When they are hungry they will eat and unlike adults, they seem to know what to eat. When I look at Ruby's whole week, she eats a variety of food - fruits, vegetables, grains etc. If I look at a day, I want to cry. Good luck.
My son is 14 months, I would say there are a lot of good resources on the internet if you search like vegan meal plan etc. Fat is very important. avocado is great so is coconut, some olive oil and flax oil. Smoothies are also great to sneak in all the healthy stuff, spirulina is a complete protein so adding some to a smoothie. Also once you have tested allergies nut butters are great. My son loves a piece of whole wheat toast with nut butter and a piece of fruit for breakfast. Also chia seeds are good. For lunch he likes a brown rice salad I make, just cook well so they can chew and add a bunch of veggies well cooked, I worry a lot about his nutrients intake but after talking to many seasoned vegan parents they say dont stress it all balances out. Just try to give as many healthy foods as possible. quinoa sweet potatoes all very good as well. Hope that helps
Anyone have a suggestion for a book or website that breaks down foods to introduce once you start solids? My doc isn't open to a vegan/veg diet for a baby (I need a new ped), and want to be sure I fill all my babies needs. Thanks!
There was a book I used when my kiddos were little called "Vegetarian Baby", I believe. Sorry, its been a while, my youngest is 10 now! Anyway, I remember it being very good as far as "how much of what things" I should be giving my kids. I am not sure where I got this (possibly books by Dr. Sears about development, etc.), but I had a definite plan of what to introduce when - I know I started with some cereals, then veggies, THEN fruits and juices (the idea being not to give them a "sweet tooth" too early. My kids have always been great, very adventurous, eaters. Not sure whether to attribute it to that or not :)
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