My 16 Year Old Daughter Has Decided to Become a Vegetarian.

I've been a vegetarian since the age of 5 (and I'm 37 & healthy, currently). I would suggest you get her eating Quinoa - it's the only COMPLETE protein grain, and can be found at Whole Foods or most healthfood stores. If you buy it, be sure to purchase the Ancient Harvest brand so it's already cleaned and ready to eat when you buy it. It can be eaten cooked like you'd cook rice (for every cup of quinoa, cook in 2 cups of water). You can cook quinoa with chopped green apples and cinnamon (or applesauce) for breakfast, for instance. You can also get her to eat a handful of natural (uncooked and unsalted) nuts to get a protein source, and/or peanut or almost butter. Beans and Rice = Whole protein, too, and there are other good protiens out there (yogurt, soy milk, etc.). Hope that helps!

The biggest thing to be aware of is that there are a whole bunch of amino acids that need to interact in a certain way to create a complete protein. If she is willing to eat cheese or drink milk with a meal that will cover the situation just fine. If she is leaning towards being a vegan--no animal sources at all--then it just takes some research as to what foods will provide what amino acids. Any combination of beans and rice is good, soybeans are good, tofu is good and adapts to any texture or taste. There are many websites out there that will help with understanding and provide recipes. About.com/vegetarianism is one of my favorites. Hope this helps! Good luck and enjoy!

Hi S.. I can understand wanting your daughter to get enough protein. Thankfully, she can do that pretty well without eating meat.

Main sources of protein besides meat would be soy (tofu, edamame,) legumes (i.e. beans,) lentils, dairy (i.e. cheese, milk, yogurt, etc.) If she is not opposed to eating eggs that would be a great source also.

The other thing to consider is that she is getting enough iron. Most kids don't like to eat a lot of leafy green veggies like spinach, kale, etc. Those are a great source of iron. So, if she doesn't like those, make sure she is eating iron fortified cereals, or taking a multivitamin. It might also be beneficial to have her blood count checked after she's been doing the vegetarian diet for a few months, just to make sure.

Hope this helps.

Why not make an appointment for you both to meet with a nutritionist/dietian? This way you can both learn about ways to make sure she's getting all the nutrients she needs. That's what I would probably do, since I wouldn't know where else to start!

Good luck!