Conventional wisdom dictates that meat is a necessary component of a complete and healthy diet, especially in childhood. However, many children have an aversion to eating meat, whether it be for physiological, social, religious or moral reasons. This does not mean these children will suffer from dietary deficiencies; on the contrary, vegetarian kids are often much healthier than their carnivorous counterparts.
Vegetarian Children Must Pay More Attention to Diet
It is imperative that vegetarian kids are educated about the importance of a varied and balanced diet. Too often young vegetarians fall back on a diet high in carbohydrates and low in protein and other nutrient dense foods.
According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), "[w]ell-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes." To aid those planning a vegetarian diet, the ADA has developed a food pyramid designed specifically for vegetarians, making it easy to assess if all nutritional needs are being met.
What Constitutes a Vegetarian Diet?
There are different degrees of vegetarianism:
- those that avoid red meat only (sometimes referred to as "semi" or "partial" vegetarians)
- lacto-ovo vegetarians avoid meat, seafood and poultry, but enjoy dairy and eggs
- lacto-vegetarians avoid meat, seafood and poultry and eggs, but enjoy dairy
- ovo-vegetarians avoid meat, seafood and poultry and dairy, but eat eggs
- vegans avoid anything that contains animal products, including meat, seafood and poultry, dairy, eggs and honey
Adhering to a vegetarian diet requires careful label reading. Animal products lurk in unlikely places. Most commercial yogurts and marshmallows contain gelatin, a substance derived from the skin, connective tissue, and bones of animals. Casein, a common ingredient in "non-dairy" cheese products, is actually a milk protein. Rennet, found in cheese and other dairy products, is an enzyme taken from calves' stomachs. Taking the time to research other sneaky ingredients is an excellent opportunity for parents of vegetarian children to create dialogue and better educate their kids about this lifestyle choice.
Vegetarian Kids are Healthy Kids
Vegetarian children inevitably consume less saturated fats than those who consume animal products. In addition, because vegetarian diets emphasize whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes, vegetarian kids are at a lower risk for developing ailments such as Type II Diabetes and heart disease later in life. Many parents of vegetarian kids also report a lower incidence of common childhood illnesses, which equates to less time off school: a happy by-product of vegetarianism by all accounts.
Quick Healthy Menus for Vegetarian Kids
Not used to cooking vegetarian? Keeping staples on hand makes cooking vegetarian easy. Stock the pantry with this vegetarian shopping guide to take the stress out of dinner preparation. There is a wealth of quick, simple and healthy vegetarian recipes available online. Visit our vegetarian recipe index to get started. In addition to more traditional cooking, vegetarian convenience foods have never been more plentiful. Vegetarian "meat," such as veggie dogs, burgers and even chicken breasts, are readily available at many local grocers and health food specific stores are a common sight in any urban epicenter.
Vegetarian Kids Have a Head Start at a Healthy Life
Because of their desire to avoid animal products, vegetarian kids are by nature more cognizant of what they are putting in their mouths than meat eating children. This is a fantastic starting point for fostering a healthy attitude towards food that will last a lifetime.
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