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Sample Menu Items for your Growing Vegetarian Toddler
Vegetarian child.
The term almost sounds like an oxymoron we’ve joked about through the years, like jumbo shrimp.
The words just don’t seem to go together! It's not as unnatural as it may sound.
Actually, kids are almost natural vegetarians.
It’s imperative that you offer your growing vegetarian child a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and soy based proteins to ensure they have the energy and nutrients needed to grow up strong, healthy, and happy.
Consider including items in your daily menu planning for a well-rounded, nutrient-dense healthy diet:
2-3 servings veggies (1/2 cup salad or raw veggies, 1/4 cup cooked veggies—bear in mind that the younger your child is, cooked vegetables might be easier for them to chew and digest, then introduce raw veggies as they grow older.)
2-3 servings fruit (1/2 fresh fruit, 1/4 cup cooked fruit, 1/4 cup juice)
2 servings protein foods (1/4 -1/3 cup cooked beans/lentils, a slice or so of calcium-fortified tofu, or peanut or almond butter – be sure that nut butters are fed to children who’ve been tested and shown not to have nut allergies; if you’re unsure, wait until your child’s healthcare provider has had the opportunity to test for such allergies in your child before trying them)
Vitamin B-12 source - nutritional yeast, breast milk, formula, fortified soy milks and cheeses
Vitamin D - sunlight, breast milk, formula, fortified soy milk
And here’s some finger-food friendly options for your growing vegetarian toddler:
Fresh or frozen mango
Fresh or frozen peaches/nectarines/plums
Cubed avocado
Tofu (put in microwave or steam for 10-30 seconds
Fresh or frozen peas
Pasta that is slightly overcooked
Cubed soy or rice cheeses
Canned beans- black, garbanzo, black eyed peas, or kidney
Toast, cut into little pieces
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Even when we try to eat well, we're disadvantaged. The nutritional content of most food has been compromised over the years, not only by deficient soils and modern production, transportation, storage and processing methods, but also by the enormous amounts of chemical and artificial substances added to promote growth, storage life, taste and appearance.
It's for this reason that more and more medical authorities are advocating the use of vitamin and mineral supplements. However, finding them in the right combination can be both confusing and costly. The nutrition products I am going to recommend you make use of knowledge gained from the botanical world's 6,000 year history. They incorporated health building nutritional herbs with the best modern technology to help our bodies cleanse and detoxify so that the cells - the tiniest living units - can be as fully nourished as possible. This allows the cells to grow, repair and to perform their functions with the best possible efficiency so that we feel and look better and are more able to prevent and fight disease. Once the body begins to clear itself of toxins it can more efficiently absorb nutrition.
Further reading through our articles on health issues will give you a body of information that will help you decide what options you have to deal with the underlying causes of your problem through giving your body the nutrition products that will assist you body to heal from the inside out.
