Finger Food Proteins for the Vegan Baby

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Quinoa is a whole protein just like soy, its a tiny grain and cooks in 15 min.
If you're giving her lots of whole grains and beans (variety) she'll get everything she needs. And don't freak out about getting them all in the same meal, the body can gather throughout the day what it needs. All fresh foods contain some protein, even fruits. Another idea is wheat gluten cut into small pieces. I can send you a recipe to make it at home (we eat tons of this!!) and you can buy everything you need at the local grocery store.

How old is your daughter? If this is all through breastmilk, it may just be that her system isn't dealing well with much of anything yet, since she is still too young for these complex proteins. She may be alright when she's older.
Still, one thing about soy is that most people find that unfermented soy, like tofu and soy milk, acts very differently than fermented soy, like tempeh and miso. Have you tried eating tempeh and checking her reaction? If this works, then tempeh is a wonderful finger food if prepared so it is tasty. Avocado, though not strictly a protein, does offer good easily digestible fats and a smaller amount of protein, and babies often love it. There are some great mixes for cookies for children with all kinds of allergies and sensitivities. And of course, rice. When my youngest daughter was just barely sitting up, we all went to a sushi restaurant and, to keep her entertained mostly, we got her a bowl of sticky rice. Now, I don't recommend this for a daily snack, but it sure was funny the way she got rice stuck literally to every surface of her body! Regular brown rice, though, fully cooked, would be a lovely finger food with protein to it.

Not every protein has to be a straight protein. There are often amino acids found in foods that combine with other foods--rice and beans--to form a complete protein.

Hi M.---How are you today? How does your baby tell you that she is having problems with her food?

All food contains some protein. If she is eating a wide variety of foods, she is most likely having her protein needs met. Human protein needs are actually quite small---no more than 2.5 to 10% of daily calories. For an adult, that means we only need a piece of meat the size of a deck of playing cards each day. Any more than that leads to degenerative diseases, like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and serious auto-immune disorders. Read The China Study by T Colin Campbell. It's very eye-opening.

I suggest looking at vegan cookbooks on Amazon .com. It will be good for the whole family. You can also look at www.vegetariantimes.com or get their magazine. Also, take some time to explore this website,
http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/kids_cooking. There are lots of great ideas there.

A couple of comments on previous posts.
You can get brown sticky rice. Short grain brown rice is the same. The shorter the grain, the stickier the rice.

I've read that there are some dangers with Quorn products. Can't remember what but I have the publication and will find out if you are interested.

There are 8 amino acids that are essential, meaning that our body does not make them. It has been found that we do NOT need to do combining with plant proteins to get complete proteins in the same meal. If you eat a varied diet, you will consume those we don't make. .

Still looking forward to 'meeting' you soon. Hope this helps. D.

Quinoa, a couscous-like whole grain, has a lot of protein. You can buy the grain itself (you cook it up just like rice) or you can buy pasta and bread that is made with quinoa. I believe that there are other whole grain like amaranth (you can make a cereal with it or pop it like popcorn) and possibly buckwheat (the actual grain; not the pancake mix) may be good sources of protein as well.

If your insurance covers it, definitely consult with a nutritionist to make sure that your daughter is eating a balanced diet.

Hope this helps.

ditto the nutritionist, since kids have far different nutritional needs than adults. Where I live, every 3rd person it seems is vegan, so there are a ton of nutritionists who are very very familiar with the dietary choice, but you MAY have to phone interview a few to find one in your area who is knowledgeable and supportive

Any grain+legume equals a complete protein (aka the same you'd find in steak)... so you've got a gazillion options, even eliminating soy -which killed my first thought of sooooo many asian foods I grew up on. But here are some others (and a few that are just high fat, which she'll need until 2-5 years old). Beans (legumes) alone don't have *complete* proteins (what's found in milk, eggs, nuts, & mean)... the have to be added to a grain. But I'm sure you knew that. I'd just be remiss if I didn't say it though.

Anyhow... fingerfood time... here's just a few :)

- Pita + hummus
- rice + refried bean "balls" (like mashed potato balls)
- pakoras
- samosas
- stuffed baby pepper slices
- stuffed button mushrooms cut up
- broiled or grilled portobello mushroom caps cut up
- quinoa (there's even quinoa pasta available at places like whole foods)
- bulgar wheat (w/ onion, lemon, & cucumber slices) is another lesser well known grain that kids tend to looooooove... and it can be mixed into hummus to make balls the same way mashed beans and rice can be.

Peas, spinach, & broccoli also have protein in them (but only 4-5 grams per cup, vs 20+ grams per cup for legumes). So they're a source as well, you just don't want them to be your only source. But they add more diversity as you can make spinache gomae, saag paneer (minus the paneer), bowl of giant garden peas with salt, peas IN things like pakoras and samosas which already have lentil flour and chickpeas/garbanzo beans in them... etc.

I forget if it's vegan or not... so check out Quorn Chick'n Nuggets. I DO know they're soy free (they mycoprotein - aka mushroom), and I THINK they're vegan... but I'm not sure.