How Will My Baby Get Enough Protein If They Aren’t Eating Meat?
When Ramsey started eating food, he’d gobble down almost any fruit, veggie, grain and dairy product that we served him. However, the meat we offered him was often left behind at the end of the meal.
My husband Jason was pretty dismayed by this as he had been a huge meat eater for most of his life. When I first met Jason, he had the diet of a college kid—lots of take-out and lots of meat. It was not uncommon for Jason to eat an appetizer of chicken wings followed by an entree of ribs. Somehow I saw past this and slowly worked on reducing Jason’s meat intake to make space on his plate for some veggies. I, on the other hand, have never been a big meat eater so I wasn’t too concerned about Ramsey’s lack of interest in meat.
Luckily, my nutrition knowledge helped me feel confident that Ramsey was getting all the nutrients he needed to thrive despite his disinterest in meat.
First off, a baby can have a perfectly healthy diet without eating meat.
Many families around the world raise their babies on meat-free diets for cultural, ethical or religious reasons. As the parent, it is your choice to decide if you would rather your child continue their preference for a meat-free diet or if you prefer to work with them to build up acceptance to eating meat.
Meat in the average American diet is a source of protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins. All of these nutrients can easily be found in non-meat foods.
It’s fairly common for kids to not love eating meat.
For some, it’s the texture/chewiness and for others it's the flavor that turns them off.
Let’s Talk About Protein
Kids 6 months to 3 years old need about 1 gram of protein for every kilogram of body weight.
There is no need to calculate your child’s protein intake everyday but if you ever want to do a spot check or figure out a goal intake level, you can take their weight in pounds and divide it by 2.2 to get a ballpark of their daily protein need in grams. For example, 20 lbs/2.2 is about 9 grams of protein per day.
For kids not getting a lot of protein from meat, it is important that they regularly eat other protein rich foods. I recommend having a high protein food with every meal and trying to include them with most snacks as well.
High Protein Foods:
Beans: 6-9 grams in 1/2 cup serving. They are also packed with healthy fiber which helps keep kids full between meals and snacks.
Tofu: 8 grams in a 3.5 ounce serving. We cut it up and pan fry it with olive oil and a dash of low sodium soy sauce then serve it hot or cold.
Edamame: 9 grams in 1/2 cup. It’s an awesome snack or pre-dinner appetizer. Older kids enjoy popping them out of the shell too.
Eggs: sometimes called “the perfect protein” because of it’s blend of essential amino acids. An egg packs about 7 grams of protein.
Lentils: 9 grams in a 1/2 cup serving. Makes a great soup or can be served cold as a side dish.
Whole grains: Most people think of grains as all starch but whole grains can pack in protein as well. 1/2 a cup of oats adds 5 grams of protein (and more if you mix in a nut butter) and quinoa can provide about 5 grams in a 1/4 cup. Quinoa is also considered a “complete protein”—more on that below.
Nuts, seeds and nut butters: Most nuts have about 5-6 grams of protein in a 1/4 cup portion. Peanuts are the highest protein nut with 9.5 grams protein in a 1/4 cup portion. Peanut powder is an easy way to mix peanut into foods like oatmeal. The brand we use has 3 grams of protein per tablespoon.
Seeds: Pumpkin, sunflower, chia and sesame are some of the highest protein seeds.
Milk: Milk and some milk substitutes such as soy milk contain 8 grams of protein in an 8 ounce cup
Cottage cheese: 12 grams in 1/2 a cup. Taste great mixed with fruit. Consider looking for a lower sodium variety.
Yogurt: All yogurt has protein since it is made from milk but greek yogurt carries the most protein with up to 18 grams of protein in a single serving!
Meat substitute products: Protein varies between products. Consider using sparingly as they can be highly processed and high in salt
Do plant protein foods need to be combined in a certain way to make “complete proteins”?
When I was growing up, I learned that certain plant-based foods should be eaten together to make a “complete protein”.
A complete protein is one that has enough of all the essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and the essential ones are the ones that we need to get from our diet.
Most plant based proteins are high in some essential amino acids but not all. Quinoa is considered a complete protein on its own. Some examples of complete protein pairings are rice + beans and peanut butter + whole wheat bread.
We now know that getting all the essential amino acids at each meal isn’t needed. It’s just important that you get all the essential amino acids throughout the day which if you are eating a variety of dairy and plant based proteins shouldn’t be hard to do.
What about other nutrients that come from meat?
B12 is a vitamin that really only comes from animal sources. As long as your child is eating dairy and/or fortified grain products on a regular basis they can get adequate B12. If your child eats no animal products whatsoever, it would be a good idea to discuss with your pediatrician or a dietitian to ensure that they are getting enough B12.
Iron is the most common nutrient deficiency in children. Babies who eat less meat are at higher risk of developing this because plant sources of iron are less bioavailable than meat sources.
Luckily many of the plant based high protein foods are also high in iron. These high iron plant foods include beans, lentils, whole grains and enriched breads, nuts and seeds. Consider pairing iron rich foods with a food high in vitamin C to increase the iron absorption.
What if it’s still important to you that baby eats meat?
For some families, meat is a staple of the diet and the idea of preparing alternative proteins at every meal may be unappealing. Maybe you simply want your child to have as wide a palate as possible.
If it’s important for you that your child eat meat, you can work on increasing acceptance while still providing a healthy and balanced diet in the meantime.
Try frequent exposure to small amounts of meat without pressuring your child to eat it.
Also try different textures and flavors of meat. Many young children do better with softer and wetter options. Items like stews, meatloaf, meatballs and slow cooked meats may have better acceptance.
After serving Ramsey pan fried and baked salmon with little luck we found out that he enjoyed flaked salmon in greek yogurt and smoked salmon.
Keep offering meat and mixing up the texture and your little one may come around to liking it as much as my husband.