my daughter is interested in becoming a vegatarian, does anybody have any tips for me to help her out.?

Question

she is 13 and a competative swimmer that needs alot of protein and complex carbs.

Answer 1

The vegetarian society has some great information packs for teenagers, new veggies and parents so i'm sure there is a lot of decent info for you there:

www.vegsoc.org

Its all in a clear non-preachy way.

The new veggie page:
http://www.vegsoc.org/newveg/

Going veggie Q&A:
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/goingveg.html

The young people page:
http://www.youngveggie.org/

The family page:
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/familyindex.html

food and nutrition facts:
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/foodfacts.html

It really is a shame people have believed the protien myth. Vegetarians get more than enough protien from a balanced veggie diet.

See http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html for more info on how much we need and where we get it from

There is no need for a veggie to take supplements, I've been veggie for 27 years, since i was 14 and never take any supplements, nor am i ever ill.

Finally, there are many world class athletes who are veggie or vegan, it hasn't hindered their abiltiy to win.

Best of luck with supporting her.

Answer 2

First let me respond to something the first answer said..

Your daughter can eat whatever she wants.. no one is telling her what she can and cannot eat.. but PLEASE make sure she's educated enough to know that fish is meat and that by definition a vegetarian does not eat it.. Too many people who eat fish call themselves vegetarians and its causing just wayy too much confusion and problems

Okay, that ranting over with...

Protien is found in all kinds of plant products. She may develop a taste for soy meats or tofu. This is high in protien. Any legume or nut is a good source of protein. The key is variety!! And make sure she eats those whole grains!!

Her diet, to be the healthiest, should be centered around a variety of whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.. If she eats enough of these foods, in a good variety and balance, she won't lack for any nutrients or protien.. BTW.. "vegetarian" is usually short for "lacto-ovo-vegetarian" which means dairy and eggs are included in the diet.. So there you have some other sources of protien. If your daughter wants to leave dairy and eggs out of her diet, she would be VEGAN, which can still be a completly healthy (probably superior to all others) diet if done right..

You may want to take her to a dietician or nutritionist who is not anti-vegetarian, who can talk to both of you and give you expanations of her particular nutritional needs, and how these can best be met through plant sources..

Peanut butter is a good source of protien. Next time you fix waffles or pancakes for your daughter, suggest that she try putting peanut butter on them first (instead of butter) and then put whatever else she wants on it. See if she likes that (Likely she will).. Just a little extra way to sneak a good protien into a meal!! And SOOO yummy!!!

Thanks for being so open-minded and supportive of her!! Vegetarianism is a wonderful lifestyle for many reasons.

Answer 3

The food composition of lentils is great. They are cheap, easy to prepare and have tons of protein and complex carbs.

She should take a nutrition supplement (to get enough iron, for example) and if I were going veggie, I'd buy some chaep whey protein and take a scoop every day just to ensure she gets all the proper amino acids nd, hey, swimmers could always use extra protein anyway.

Answer 4

Thank you for being so supportive of your daughter.

As long as she eats a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts/seeds, and beans/pulses and doesn't eat too much junk food, she should be fine.

www.vegweb.com is an all around great resource for veg*ans, including recipes.

A great cookbook for getting started is "How it All Vegan!" by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. The recipes are simple, and it has lots of tips on being vegan (even if she just chooses vegetarian for now, there's still excellent information).

Compassion Over Killing (www.cok.net) has an excellent starter guide that should also give you more information.

Answer 5

Complex carbs are never a problem with vegetarians -- that is more of a problem fro meat-eaters!
There is enough protein in vegetarian diets.
Since she is an athlete, she should take a protein supplement like ISOPURE.
As long as she is not turning vegan, she can get enough proteins in milk, eggs, Soybeans, tofu, & beans.
Don't forget to include plenty of calcium in her diet.

Answer 6

I am 13 too and have been a vegetarian for about 3 months now. At first, my mother and I disagreed about the idea but, we talked about it and found some common ground. I agreed to take multivitamins daily. Especially iron for my period. IN time, you will develop a system that works for both of you. I wish the best of luck to you! And being vegetarian really does have alot of benefits.

Answer 7

hi mom, don't worry there are plenty of ways to get "Complete protein building blocks" even as a veggie. i know this because i raised 3 boys and 1 daughter all veggies all athletes. the youngest of the boys lettered in 3 sports 4years of high school. it will take a bit of extra effort on both your parts. maybe consider the two of you taking a Veggie cooking class together. you'll need to do your homework. make sure she REALLY wants to do this, i know sometimes @ team dinners it could be awkward-while living in Malibu it wasn't a problem all the mom's took pride in being able to feed my veggie sons-but when we moved to a rural community-TRI-TIP was the order of the day and most of the kids and parents were very (let's just say this to be nice) Backwards. if your daughter has any friends who are doing the veggie thing maybe get in touch with those moms. there is alot of info out there - you will both have to avail yourselves of it and apply what you learn - good luck! you can do this MOM!

Answer 8

I was a vegetarian all throughout my teens, and I was a competitive figure skater. I would recommend going to a registered dietitian in your area who specializes in teens/vegetarianism who can work with you and your daughter in designed healthy balanced yummy menus. The book Becoming Vegetarian is also a great resource.

Answer 9

Black beans! They're delicious and don't cause gas like the other beans do. Make sure you get the kind with low sodium, and rinse them before eating them. My favorite recipe is black bean tacos. Get a packet of seasoning mix and prepare tacos exactly as usual, only use one can of black beans instead of 1 lb. of ground beef. They are delicious!

Remind your daughter that many foods use chicken and beef broth, and gelatin is not a vegetarian item, since it's made from animal hooves.

EDIT: I am a vegetarian and I DO eat fish. I also eat dairy and eggs. Yes, I am considered a vegetarian. This is one of the many forms of the veg diet.

Answer 10

many pediatricians agree that it isn't the best idea to be a vegetarian while still growing. it takes a lot of monitoring of food intake to keep the body in a good healthy state. definitely take her to the pediatrician and see what he says about it. if he gives the go ahead then you should check out some books with recipes and guides to complete nutritional health.