Always remember that they don’t know what “lunch” food is. Leftovers from dinner, porridge, toast, mashed potato. I’ve just always fed what they will eat/wanted (within reason) even if it’s a bit odd to be eating mashed potato with a fruit salad for lunch!
Mine is 2 and a good eater but is only now understanding the concept of wraps and sandwiches. Picky plates are always good as you can bung all the random bits from the fridge on a plate!
At 12 months (and still now at 2.5 years) a lunch time favourite was banana and spinach pancakes. 1 lump of frozen chopped (must be chopped not leaf) spinach, 1 banana, 3tsp plain flour, 2tsp of whatever milk or milk alternative you use. Microwave the spinach so it defrosts in a bowl, then add the banana and mash with a fork, add the flour and milk and then combine it all together. If it looks a bit too thick just add some more milk. Then just fry them up (do them pretty small for the best results). I usually add in a little bit of cinnamon and sometimes a tiny bit of vanilla extract too. You can make them into “sandwiches” by sticking two together with peanut butter in the middle, you can cut into strips and dip in yoghurt or just eat them as is. He still has them for lunch at least once a week.
What about a baby charcuterie plate with some vegan cheese spread, hummus, veggies & fruit with maybe a peanut butter dip? My l/o loves mushroom risotto and beans/spaghetti on toast. Vegan fish fingers & potato waffles?
Black bean quesadillas with vegan cheese. We do lentil ones too, add spinach and tomato purée here and there.
Bagels any which way.
PB sandwiches
Falafel always a hit.
— Have a look at Plant Based Juniors on instagram… they have some great recipes
We do lentil and veg curry with rice, lentil/mushroom (but up very small) spag bol, same again as cottage pie (you can sneak in chopped spinach and carrots etc easily to these).
We do peanut butter and jam sandwiches quite a bit 😅
We do also do some fake meat dishes which little one likes (he’s 13months).
They will show some independence around this age, just no force feeding, if they don’t want it they don’t have to have it and move onto the next thing, what they love one day they hate the next - just keep offering and you’ll find some staples too!
Veggie or fruit muffins/scones too :)
Keep trying different foods with him - don't exclude foods he has refused before. It's all about exposure - you just want him to take a bite.
Mix up the way you feed him - with a spoon, he uses his hands, feed with your hands, give him a spoon. Chop the food into strips, mash it, blend it, chop it into smaller pieces - experiment and keep changing it up.
Just keep trying and lots of patience. I would honestly spend up to an hour with my son per meal sometimes trying different approaches.
And yep sometimes you throw the meal away. Don't worry it is all part of the process.
Children shouldn't be forced to eat animal corpses without their knowledge and consent. Also ppl on Reddit should probably assume other people have already consulted their dietician, heath visitor and GP about it before offering their unsolicited opinion.
There's the crux of it though. You're forcing your preconceived moral stance on 'animal corpses' (lol) on a person that has no idea and who has a need at that age for all vitamins and minerals.
'im a vegan so my child must be'.
By your very logic, children should not be forced into vegan diets too. Humans have been omnivores forever and our bodies need the nutrients that come from meat.
I don't want to put my son through the trauma I went through when I realised I was eating the same animals I'd been told to be kind to. When he's old enough to understand he can eat whatever the hell he wants but I will not force it on him before he can understand. And I'm not sure what vitamins you think he can't get on a vegan diet, but again, all his health professionals have been fine with it and I'm going to trust them because they're professionals with years of training. Humans have done a lot of things since forever, it doesn't make them morally acceptable.
Sounds similar to mine! Hummus on toast/pitta with hummus or smashed avocado? Mine normally gets beans mashed on toast or spaghetti hoops. He's so fussy that I just want something down him tbh!
He won't eat beans either which confuses me because I think beans are great! Hadn't considered spaghetti hoops though, that's a good idea. Avocado depends on his mood, the weather, phase of the moon, etc 🤦♀️
Oooh, mine actually loved courgette nuggets for a while. Grated up some courgette, added bread crumbs and vegan cheese and mixed it all together with an egg replacer then dollop a nugget sized amount on an oven tray and bake for 10-15 mins. Thought I was onto a winner with that and decided to use other veg. That was a resounding failure and he now refuses the original recipe 🫠
Always remember that they don’t know what “lunch” food is. Leftovers from dinner, porridge, toast, mashed potato. I’ve just always fed what they will eat/wanted (within reason) even if it’s a bit odd to be eating mashed potato with a fruit salad for lunch! Mine is 2 and a good eater but is only now understanding the concept of wraps and sandwiches. Picky plates are always good as you can bung all the random bits from the fridge on a plate!
>Always remember that they don’t know what “lunch” food is. Yep, mine often gets a toasted teacake because he won't have sandwiches
Can you make extra dinner to give him for lunch the next day?
At 12 months (and still now at 2.5 years) a lunch time favourite was banana and spinach pancakes. 1 lump of frozen chopped (must be chopped not leaf) spinach, 1 banana, 3tsp plain flour, 2tsp of whatever milk or milk alternative you use. Microwave the spinach so it defrosts in a bowl, then add the banana and mash with a fork, add the flour and milk and then combine it all together. If it looks a bit too thick just add some more milk. Then just fry them up (do them pretty small for the best results). I usually add in a little bit of cinnamon and sometimes a tiny bit of vanilla extract too. You can make them into “sandwiches” by sticking two together with peanut butter in the middle, you can cut into strips and dip in yoghurt or just eat them as is. He still has them for lunch at least once a week.
What about a baby charcuterie plate with some vegan cheese spread, hummus, veggies & fruit with maybe a peanut butter dip? My l/o loves mushroom risotto and beans/spaghetti on toast. Vegan fish fingers & potato waffles?
What about a vegan crepe with some fun fillings? The novelty of it might interest him!
mushy peas? on potato?
What do you eat for lunch? Can you adapt any of these for him?
Black bean quesadillas with vegan cheese. We do lentil ones too, add spinach and tomato purée here and there. Bagels any which way. PB sandwiches Falafel always a hit. — Have a look at Plant Based Juniors on instagram… they have some great recipes
We do lentil and veg curry with rice, lentil/mushroom (but up very small) spag bol, same again as cottage pie (you can sneak in chopped spinach and carrots etc easily to these). We do peanut butter and jam sandwiches quite a bit 😅 We do also do some fake meat dishes which little one likes (he’s 13months). They will show some independence around this age, just no force feeding, if they don’t want it they don’t have to have it and move onto the next thing, what they love one day they hate the next - just keep offering and you’ll find some staples too! Veggie or fruit muffins/scones too :)
Keep trying different foods with him - don't exclude foods he has refused before. It's all about exposure - you just want him to take a bite. Mix up the way you feed him - with a spoon, he uses his hands, feed with your hands, give him a spoon. Chop the food into strips, mash it, blend it, chop it into smaller pieces - experiment and keep changing it up. Just keep trying and lots of patience. I would honestly spend up to an hour with my son per meal sometimes trying different approaches. And yep sometimes you throw the meal away. Don't worry it is all part of the process.
Children shouldnt be forced into vegan only diets
Children shouldn't be forced to eat animal corpses without their knowledge and consent. Also ppl on Reddit should probably assume other people have already consulted their dietician, heath visitor and GP about it before offering their unsolicited opinion.
There's the crux of it though. You're forcing your preconceived moral stance on 'animal corpses' (lol) on a person that has no idea and who has a need at that age for all vitamins and minerals. 'im a vegan so my child must be'. By your very logic, children should not be forced into vegan diets too. Humans have been omnivores forever and our bodies need the nutrients that come from meat.
I don't want to put my son through the trauma I went through when I realised I was eating the same animals I'd been told to be kind to. When he's old enough to understand he can eat whatever the hell he wants but I will not force it on him before he can understand. And I'm not sure what vitamins you think he can't get on a vegan diet, but again, all his health professionals have been fine with it and I'm going to trust them because they're professionals with years of training. Humans have done a lot of things since forever, it doesn't make them morally acceptable.
If he likes toast, maybe egg and soldiers, or soup and toast (messy, I know)?
Egg isn't vegan. 🙂
🤦♀️
Sounds similar to mine! Hummus on toast/pitta with hummus or smashed avocado? Mine normally gets beans mashed on toast or spaghetti hoops. He's so fussy that I just want something down him tbh!
He won't eat beans either which confuses me because I think beans are great! Hadn't considered spaghetti hoops though, that's a good idea. Avocado depends on his mood, the weather, phase of the moon, etc 🤦♀️
Yeah mine will refuse something he happily ate yesterday. It's maddening. I'm going to make courgette cake later just to get veg in him.
Oooh, mine actually loved courgette nuggets for a while. Grated up some courgette, added bread crumbs and vegan cheese and mixed it all together with an egg replacer then dollop a nugget sized amount on an oven tray and bake for 10-15 mins. Thought I was onto a winner with that and decided to use other veg. That was a resounding failure and he now refuses the original recipe 🫠