Bounty

Your questions answered by Fiona Hinton of Greatvine.com

I need some ideas for vegetarian meals for kids. Can you help?

It’s important to plan meals extra carefully when kids are vegetarian, to ensure they get all the protein, vitamins and minerals they need to grow and develop. Any vegetarian diet risks a low iron intake, and stricter eating plans such as vegan diets can lead to lower intakes of other nutrients if they’re not well-thought-out. Of course many vegetarians got protein through eggs and dairy foods, however it’s also important to regularly include plant-based protein foods, including beans, tofu, lentils, chickpeas and (if allergies are not an issue) nut-based foods. This can be as simple as a:

• Peanut butter sandwich
• Crackers, hummus (which is made from chickpeas) and salad
• Bean salad
• Sprinkling chopped cashew nut on a vegetable fried rice
• Lentil or bean soup with a bread roll

Or it can be more sophisticated, with options such as: 

• Nut loaf
• Spaghetti bolognaise using Quorn in place of meat
• Marinated tofu stir-fry with rice

There are also many ready-made vegetarian protein foods on supermarket shelves, such as veggie-sausages and veggie-burgers. These can be very convenient, but do check the label as some are high in salt.

Iron

Iron rich foods are also important – vegetarian sources of iron include breakfast cereals with added iron, wholegrain foods, beans, lentils and tofu. Eating these foods with another that is high in vitamin C, such as oranges, orange juice, tomatoes or melon, helps the body to absorb the iron more effectively. For example, they could have baked beans (look for lower-salt and sugar types) on toast followed by an orange, or lentil soup with a salad containing tomatoes.

I’d recommend that you discuss your child’s diet with their GP or a dietician if you are concerned that it may not be meeting their needs. In some cases a vitamin and mineral supplement may be recommended. For convenience you may also like to visit Greatvine.com and speak to a dietician or nutritionist today.
 

Fiona Hinton

Fiona Hinton is a registered dietician and nutritionist. With a Master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics and over 15 years of professional experience, Fiona’s expertise covers all aspects of nutrition – from general healthy eating and what (and what not) to feed your toddler, through to medical issues such as lowering cholesterol. For individual advice you can trust, book a private phone call with Fiona at www.greatvine.com/fiona_hinton

Greatvine.com offers individual advice, by phone, direct from the country’s best parenting experts.