Infant vegetarian diet
Offer your baby foods containing good amounts of each of the essential amino acids at the same time. Weaning plan: weekly meal planners for you and your baby. If you want to keep your infant on a vegan diet, you can select a soy commercial formula, as long as it is nutritionally-adequate. Rice milks are not suitable for children under five years (NHS 2013b). Some vegetarian food may have too much fibre and not enough energy (calories) for babies (NHS 2013a). So make sure your baby gets plenty of energy-rich foods, such as avocado and hummus. To help your baby enjoy his food and get the nutrients he needs, offer him a variety of foods from the four main food groups once he reaches six months. Try not to rely on one type of protein, such as cheese, for your baby (BDA 2011). This is because too many high-fibre foods can stop him from absorbing important nutrients, such as calcium, iron and zinc (BDA 2013). Your baby will also need a source of milk. If you need advice on which milk is suitable for your baby, talk to your health visitor, practice nurse or a dietitian. Nutritionists suggest that you keep your infant on a full-fat, high protein diet after age one, which includes vegetarian-friendly foods, such as. Vegetarian food for babies can be very nutritious.
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Try to give your baby two to three portions of protein a day (NHS 2013a). After about a year, you can begin to supplement formula or breast milk with other sources of nutrition, such as home made formulas, soy. If you plan to breastfeed your infant and you are also a vegetarian, you may need to supplement breast milk with additional sources of. You baby needs both essential and non-essential amino acids to help him grow. If you plan to use formula rather than breast milk, you should stick to commercial formulas, which contain the proper amounts and ratios of. They may suggest you continue to breastfeed or give your baby formula milk for longer than you were initially planning. Find out what our expert has to say about soya formula milk. Oat, rice and soya milks (even if they are calcium-enriched) do not provide the same amount of energy, protein or essential nutrients that breastmilk and formula milk provide. Protein is made of amino acids, both essential and non-essential. Your baby can only get both essential and non-essential amino acids from soya, quinoa and hemp seeds and eggs (BDA 2011). Your baby needs iron because it helps to make haemoglobin, the red pigment in blood that carries oxygen from his lungs to his organs and tissues (NHS 2012a). If you opt for a home made formula or soy milk over a commercial product, your child could experience developmental problems. Should you, for dietary or ethical reasons decide that you want to put your infant on a. Most vegetarians, however, eat some animal products, such as milk, cheese made with vegetarian rennet, and eggs (BDA 2011).
