Proper nutrition is crucial for your child's development, especially in the first few years of her life. According to Healthy Children, your child may not get enough calories if she follows a vegetarian diet. If she is underweight, you can help her gain weight by still allowing her to stick with a vegetarian die, just increase her calorie intake.
Timing
Help your toddler to gain weight by changing the timing of his meals. According to Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., eating five to six small meals instead of three big meals can help increase healthy weight gain. Avoid giving your toddler large amounts of liquids in the half hour before a meal to keep him from filling up on juice or water. This will leave more room for nutritious foods.
Nutritious Foods
Feed your toddler nutritious and calorie-dense foods. Try offering whole grain breads and pastas, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Babycenter recommends offering foods like pancakes, mashed potatoes and hot cereals. Dried fruits and avocados offer healthy calories, and she can get protein from vegetarian sources like black beans and soybeans.
Dairy
Toddlers who eat eggs and dairy and only avoid meat are lacto-ovo-vegetarian. Eggs and whole milk dairy products contain fat that can help him gain weight. Try offering him whole milk, cheese and yogurt. You increase his intake of dairy by making soups with milk instead of water and sprinkling cheese onto whole grain noodles, scrambled eggs or mashed potatoes. If he eats dairy and no eggs or meat, he is considered a lacto-vegetarian, and you can still offer him milk, cheese and yogurt while avoiding egg products.
Recommendations
If you are concerned about your toddler's weight, talk to her doctor. She may be lacking some vitamins and minerals if her vegetarian diet is not balanced. Her doctor may recommend a special food plan or supplements to help provide her with the nutrients she needs.
Member Comments