Part of the process of growing up is discovering who you are. New friends, new hobbies, and new ideologies may be part of the discovering. Whether it means wearing only orange clothing, learning a foreign language, or exploring a new belief, this is a time to study new subjects and find things that are of interest. For some kids, vegetarianism may be intriguing.
If you have access to a close friend or family member that is vegetarian, then this change in eating will be simple. However, if you aren’t vegetarian and don’t know anyone who is the thought may be a little daunting. Questions may be numerous:
- Is a vegetarian diet healthy?
- What can I offer my child instead of meat products?
- What nutrients will he or she be missing due to the lack of meat?
The first thing you need to determine is what type of vegetarian your child wants to be. It could range from vegan (no animal products- including milk and eggs) to ovo-lacto vegetarian (will consume egg and dairy products). Once that is determined, you should work in partnership with your child to create menu options. If your child is old enough to make the choice to eliminate meat (and possibly more) from her diet, she should educate herself on this choice.
The main nutritional concern is the lack of protein and iron when eliminating animal products. However, they can be replaced quite easily. Vegetarianism in a Nutshell is an excellent reference for nutrition questions. Have your child determine how many grams of protein he requires and then research items that he will eat to provide that nutrient.
An important part of the process is learning. If your child wants to eat a vegetarian diet, then she needs to learn how to do it in a manner that promotes good health. Simply eliminating meats and adding extra french fries or pasta isn’t an option. Depending on the child’s food preferences, vegetarianism may or may not be as exciting once the new foods are introduced. However, that, too, is part of the learning process.
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Before switching to vegatarianism in the beginning of the summer, I did some research to make sure I would be making healthy choices. As a female runner, iron is an important part of my diet, because female runners tend to be low on iron, which causes fatigue that could be avoided. Naturally, lack of protein was a concern at first as well. However, through experience and research, it turns out that a vegetarian diet really doesn’t have to be different than a typical, healthy diet, minus the meat. Key word: healthy. Thus, adding extra french fries might not be an option, but an extra serving of whole grain pasta IS an option. In general, Americans have a protein-rich diet, and omitting meat does not cause any particular deficiency if the diet is otherwise healthy. Sometimes, when I am eating at a friend or family member’s house, he or she finds out that I am vegetarian and immediately has an impulse to cook up some additional meatless meatballs or something else, but I don’t find that to be necessary. (In fact, my preference is to not even eat anything that mimics meat.) My iron levels were extremely low BEFORE I stopped eating meat. With dietary supplements, they are currently at a healthy level, while I have been omitting meat from my diet, and simply eating more of the rest.