The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids - M.s.j., Dana Villamagna [43]
The following sections outline some general nutritional needs of the 9 to 13 age group parents need to be aware of.
Calories
Female tweens need about 2,000 calories per day, and males need 2,300. This is the baseline, and the number increases as activity levels increase. No vegan tween should be on a calorie-restrictive diet.
To adults, this may seem like a high daily calorie intake, and tween girls who read women’s fitness and beauty magazines may be misinformed about the number of calories a female their age should eat because they’re comparing their needs to those of already-grown women. Encourage your vegan tween to eat well, eat often, and ignore information about dieting or proper weight maintenance from mainstream media sources that focus on women. It would be extremely rare for a mostly or all vegan tween or teen to be overweight unless their diet was based mainly on refined, processed vegan junk food.
Protein
Vegan tweens should consume about 40 grams of plant-based proteins per day. As with calories, this sounds like a lot of protein, but vegans need a few more grams of protein per day than meat eaters because of the reduced digestibility of plant-based proteins. This is more applicable for vegan children up to age 6 but still applies to a small extent for older vegan children. A Clif bar or a smoothie with veg protein powder, some nuts or nut butter, and one meal containing tofu or beans and brown rice would fulfill that need quite easily.
Tweens and teens need this much protein because their body is building mass faster than at any time since babyhood. Protein also helps the body rebuild stronger after athletics and helps the mind focus during studies.
This is not to say, however, that tween and teen boys, in particular, should be supported on using protein powders too often or in the place of whole foods. Moderation is key with all macro-nutrients, including protein.
Vitamins
Be sure good sources of vitamins A, C, and D, and the B-group vitamins are part of your vegan tween’s diet. Hopefully by this time your tween’s palate will have advanced to the point where she’s willing to try a wide variety of plant-based proteins, fruits, and vegetables in varied and more complex combinations so you won’t have to be as concerned overall as when she was younger and still more prone to food aversions.
Vegan tweens, however, still need at least a B12 supplement. Parents of girls, in particular, should strongly consider a calcium supplement for their tween daughters. For more specific suggestions, consult your tween’s doctor or a registered dietician familiar with and supportive of vegan diets about supplement recommendations related to your child’s unique health and diet profile.
Minerals
Calcium, iron, and zinc remain the most critical minerals to be aware of in the diet of vegan children, including tweens. Iron becomes even more important after girls begin menstruation.
If your tween is eating a varied diet based on whole, natural foods, these minerals should be easily acquired. Try to provide many fresh, colorful fruits and veggies, including dark leafy greens, as well as tofu and multigrain foods in their diet. Require a B12 supplement or B12 fortified foods. Then all mineral needs should be met.
If your child is a picky eater into the tween years, a multivitamin may be necessary, as well as continued positive encouragement to try new foods. Talk to your child’s doctor about her unique dietary profile related to mineral supplementation needs. Mineral supplementation should be done cautiously and with the recommendation of a physician or a registered dietician because mineral toxicity is possible.
Fats
About 25 to 30 percent of a tween’s calories per day should come from healthy fat sources. (See Chapter 7 for more information on DHA requirements.) This is a critical time for parents to assist their tween