Vegan for Life - Jack Norris [58]
• Don’t offer foods that can cause choking like whole tofu hotdogs, popcorn, nuts, hard candies and grapes. Don’t offer infants nut and seed butters by the spoonful or spread too thickly on bread.
• Don’t salt or sweeten foods.
DAILY SUPPLEMENTS FOR BREAST-FED VEGAN BABIES
Nutrient Birth to 6 months 6 to 12 months
Vitamin D 400 IU (10 micrograms) 400 IU (10 microgram)
Vitamin B12 0.4 micrograms only if the mother doesn’t have a reliable B12 intake 0.5 micrograms only if the mother doesn’t have a reliable B12 intake
Iron 1 milligram per kilogram (0.45 milligrams per pound) of body weight beginning at four months 1 milligram per kilogram (0.45 milligrams per pound) of body weight unless infant is consuming sufficient iron from solid foods
Fluoride 0.25 milligrams if water contains less than 0.3 parts per million fluoride
Adapted from A. R. Mangels and V. Messina, “Considerations in Planning Vegan Diets: Infants,” Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2
THE FIRST BIRTHDAY AND BEYOND: VEGAN TODDLERS
After the mad growth spurt and enthusiastic appetite of the first twelve months, things begin to slow down. Toddlers can have sluggish appetites, and children aren’t known for their adventurous eating habits at this stage. Picky and sometimes quirky eating behavior can make it difficult to get toddlers and preschoolers to eat anything at all, let alone to try new foods.
Full-fat fortified soymilk can be introduced to a baby on the first birthday. Avoid using other milks made from rice, almonds, hemp, coconut, or oats as the main beverage, since they are too low in protein (and calories) for young children. If your child is a slow grower or you aren’t certain that his or her diet is high enough in zinc, it might be wise to continue with either breast-feeding or soy infant formula for a while.
The food guide on page 149 and table of suggested supplements on page 159 will help you plan healthy meals for toddlers. Don’t worry if your child doesn’t eat exactly this way every single day. Two or three days of nothing but peanut butter and banana sandwiches never hurt anyone—not even a three-year-old. And getting children to eat healthful foods like vegetables isn’t a vegan problem; it’s a universal problem for parents of young children.
When Breast-Feeding Isn’t an Option
For a number of reasons, breast milk is the optimal food for babies, and most vegans choose it for their newest family members. Breast milk provides a nutrient balance that is close to ideal for growing infants. It also contains unique immune factors and reduces the risk for allergies. Infants don’t need any food other than breast milk for the first four to six months of life, and ideally they should continue to receive it until at least the first birthday or preferably the second.
But sometimes breast-feeding isn’t an option. If you are unable to breast-feed or you need to decrease or stop nursing, soy infant formula supports normal growth and development in babies.3 These formulas are not 100 percent vegan since they contain vitamin D derived from animals, but they are as close as we can get to a healthy vegan choice.
Infants should never be given homemade formulas and they should never be given regular soymilk. In the rare cases where vegan infants have suffered from malnutrition, it’s because they were being fed homemade formulas or did not receive adequate supplements of vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Because babies have very specific nutritional needs, it’s essential to use only commercial infant formulas which are manufactured to meet those needs.
If you feel like your little one isn’t eating enough, focus on higher-calorie foods that he or she enjoys, such as avocado, nut butters, and tofu. Don’t overdo it with fiber, which can fill up small stomachs. Avoid foods