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Whether this good value habit comes from their own desire or from family philosophy, the vegetarian toddlers need adequate meatless diet. Although it is quite surprising for some people, a vegetarian diet for toddler is not only provides all the nutrients young bodies need to grow and go on, but it can be one of the healthiest dietary lifestyles around. Parents who have vegetarian toddler should know all nutrition your toddler need :

Making every bite count. Although this statement is common for feeding every toddler, but it is especially important for young vegetarians. Since vegetarian foods generally are larger than other foods, for example a few bites of chicken have the same amount of protein with nearly a cup of rice and beans, thus makes vegetarian toddlers likely to get fuller faster. That’s why parents should really consider their toddler’s intake for eating only notorious food.

Keep an eye on protein intake. Toddlers who eat dairy products and eggs can easily fill their daily requirement for protein. But vegan toddlers, who eat no animal products at all, can easily fall short of this category. And since protein is essential to growth, it’s important for parents to ensure their toddler get adequate protein. To meet enough non-animal sources that equal to protein in animal and dairy products – provide all the amino acids found in animal protein –, parents shouldn’t rely only on soybean products such as tofu, tempe or soybeans formula, because soybeans is short on methionine. It’s better, easier and wiser to mix all non-animal protein sources on your toddler’s plate (bean soup with rice, pasta with pies).Adequate vitamin B12 as needed. Not like their non-vegetarian friends, a vegan toddler need more supplement for the source of vitamin B12, since it is rarely provided in vegetables. Vitamin B12 is provided in some seaweed, such as nori and spirulina, but those are not well absorbed in children. These foods may also block the absorption of the vitamin from other sources. So a supplement is necessary for vegans. Ask doctor’s prescription for a supplement that contains the B12 RDA for toddlers.

The needs of iron. Children who don’t eat meat, a rich source of iron, often don’t get enough of this important mineral. To improve the absorption of the iron that is in your toddler’s diet, serve a vitamin C-rich food each time you serve an iron-rich one. For this, ask doctor as well for the prescription.

Calcium needed. On a dairy fee diet, it is difficult to get adequate calcium from diet alone. It is generally recommended that vegan parents consider giving their children milk, at least trough the teen years. If they aren’t open to this idea, then calcium supplementation in some form will probably be necessary. Ask doctor for prescription or for advice of giving soy milk – make sure the soy milk consist with calcium.

Giving a vitamin-mineral supplement. Because a variety of other vitamins necessary for toddler growth and development may be missing or in short supply in a vegetarian diet, such as vitamin D and riboflavin, a children’s vitamin-mineral supplement is good insurance for vegan toddler.

Vegetarian Protein Combination for Toddler

It’s preferable for your child to get some of his protein from animal sources, such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy products. If your dietary practices make this wholly impossible, or if you occasionally like to serve purely vegetarian meals, the following food combinations will each provide an adequate serving of protein.

For a full toddler protein serving (about 6 grams), combine one portion from the Legumes column with one from the Grains column. Note: Nuts are high in protein and can also be combined with legumes to provide vegetable protein servings. But do not serve them to toddlers unless they are finely ground, since nuts are a choking hazard.

GRAINS
½ ounce soy or high-protein pasta
1 ounce whole-wheat pasta
1½ tablespoons wheat germ
1/6 cup (before cooking) oats
¼ cup cooked wild rice
½ cup cooked brown rice, bulgur, kasha (buckwheat groats)
1 slice whole-grain bread
1 small (1 ounce) whole-wheat pita
½ whole-wheat English muffin or bagel

LEGUMES
Note: beans and peas should be split or lightly mashed so they won’t be a chocking hazard
3 tablespoons lentils, split peas or chick peas (garbanzos), soybeans, mung, lima, or kidney beans
¼ cup cowpeas, black-eyed peas, white, broad, or Great Northern beans
1/3 cup green peas
1 ounce tofu
¾ tablespoon peanut butter