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Standing in front of the opened refrigerator, I couldn’t decide what to make for dinner for my vegan family. Feeling uninspired is something I experience from time to time.
Do you ever feel that way?
Meal planning sometimes feels like an endless maze in trying to figure out what to cook—between the lack of motivation and/or energy, the numerous food preferences of every family member, and just trying to figure out what’s an easy meal.
As vegan parents, we’ve all been there, grappling with the challenge of providing nutritious and tasty meals that our vegan kids will actually enjoy.
In this blog post, I’ll be sharing with you meal ideas that I personally prepare for my vegan family of four. And these aren’t just any meals, they are meals that my toddler and 5 year old actually eat so that you can hopefully replicate them in your own way to continue supporting your vegan kids growth.
What should a child’s meal plan look like?
Vegan kids grow normally when their diet consists of adequate nutrition, proper supplementation at each stage of their growth, and healthful eating habits at home. When those three things are in place, a child grows and develops well on a vegan diet.
But let’s focus on the nutrition piece for now, more specifically, on what their meal should include so that you feel reassured you’re meeting their nutritional needs.
Iron
Iron is a key nutrient for growing children. It’s used to make hemoglobin, which is a protein in our blood that helps carry oxygen throughout the body. As children grow, their bodies produce more and more red blood cells and require hemoglobin to support carrying oxygen throughout their bodies.
While there are a variety of plant-based foods that provide iron, your greatest sources of iron is found in legumes (like beans, lentils, soy foods) and some grains (like farro and quinoa). And most of your iron-rich sources also provide protein, so it’s an easy way of making sure you’re meeting two important nutrients when focusing on meeting iron needs.
Fat
Aside from iron, fat is one of the most important nutrients for growing children. There isn’t a time in their life where they need the most fat to support their growth and development.
Most adults try to limit fat from their diet for various reasons; however, during childhood fat should be a primary focus. It provides so many nutritional and health benefits to support a proper growth and brain development for babies, toddlers, and older school-children.
Examples of plant-based foods that provide fat are:
Avocado
Nut and seed butters
Tofu
Cooking oils
Plant-based yogurts
You can learn more about the importance of fat and tips on how you can include this in your meal planning in my guest blog post over on Taylor Wolfram’s blog. Click here to read.
Fruit/Vegetable
Fruits and vegetables provide an array of nutrients for vegan kids, such as potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K to name a few. When you’re planning your meal, you can offer one or the other, or both. For the most part, I focus on providing both at most meals to give my two vegan daughters plenty of opportunities to meet a variety of vitamins and minerals throughout the day.
It can be challenging to get your vegan kids to eat their vegetables—I’ve encountered this first hand with my two daughters. I like to encourage parents to give your kids time, patience, and plenty of opportunities to try vegetables—when your child is ready. You can learn more about the strategies I use at home to help my daughter try vegetables in Episode 12 of the Vegan Kids Nutrition Podcast.
Omega-3s
A plant-source that provides omega-3s, especially the ALA form, is important to support brain development for growing children. This doesn't have to be part of every meal or snack, rather it’s something to be mindful about when considering where in your day you can offer this key nutrient.
Plant sources that provide the ALA omega-3s are: flaxseeds, walnuts, chia seeds, and soy foods.
The Vegan Kids Nutrition Blueprint program goes into more detail about to include at each meal and what plant foods provide those nutrients so you can feel reassured you’re providing exactly what your vegan child needs to grow strong and healthy.
Meal Ideas for Vegan Toddlers and Older Kids
Now that we have the foundation of what to include in your child’s meals, let's share a few meal ideas that’ll meet your vegan child’s nutritional needs (and will eat!) so you no longer feel stuck on what to meal plan for your family.
The following meals are actual meals (breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner) I’ve served my vegan family.
Pumpkin oat waffles, berries + preferred condiments
2. Tofu peanut bowl with brown rice, shredded cabbage + carrots, and peanut sauce
3. Sunbutter sandwich, celery with sunflower seed butter, apple, edamame
(perfect for a nut-free school lunch)
Planetbox is my favorite reusable lunchbox that I’ve been using for years (affiliate link)
4. Baked butternut squash Mac & ‘Cheeze’, cooked leafy greens
5. Chia pudding, peanut butter toast, strawberries
6. Bean pattie, pearl couscous, avocado, sauteed zucchini, white peach
7. Veggie Dog on whole wheat bread + condiments, carrot/broccoli slaw, clementine
(please note that veggie dogs may be a choking hazard for toddlers. Please
consider cutting in half prior to offering)
8. Tofu nuggets, peas and olives, rice crackers, apple
9. Almond butter toast with hemp seeds, plant yogurt, white peach
10. Tofu + cashew vegan alfredo pasta with peas and broccoli, raspberries
11. Veggie rolls with avocado, tofu, and sticky rice on nori
12. Chickpea veggie pie, roasted sweet potatoes, avocado
13. Nachos (assembled or deconstructed), smashed beans, lettuce, shredded vegan ‘cheeze’,
unsweetened cashew yogurt (as a sour cream alternative)
Please note that tortilla chips can be a choking hazard for toddlers. You may use crackers as an alternative until the age of 4 years old.
My 5 year old assembled her own nacho plate
14. Red lentil dal, white rice, green beans, cantaloupe
15. Pesto pasta with beans, steamed veggies (carrots + asparagus), watermelon
16. Chickpea mock “tuna” sandwich, cucumbers + vegan ranch, clementine
17. Chickpea curry, white rice, roasted curried cauliflower
18. Pizza (homemade, frozen, or purchased), edamame beans, pear
19. Baked tofu, brown rice, salad, apple
20. Veggie stir fry + tofu, white rice, cashews (for topping)
21. Vegan grilled sandwich, purple sweet potatoes, avocado, watermelon
22. Peanut butter pancakes, raspberries + preferred condiments
23. Vegan Deli + vegan cheese sandwich, coleslaw (we like using Tofurky for our vegan deli slices)
24. Tofu crumble burrito with roasted potatoes
25. Veggie fried rice with edamame, sauteed snow peas, veggie gyoza or potstickers
26. Chickpea cauliflower Tikka Masala, white rice, apple
When I’m feeling stuck on what to prepare for dinner, I typically get inspiration from either Pinterest or my Vegan Kids Cookbook. Many of the meals I shared with you in this blog post feature recipes that are inside the Vegan Kids Cookbook and also happen to be family favorites such as:
Pumpkin Oat Waffles
Tofu Crumble
Butternut Squash and Tofu Mac & ‘Cheeze’
Pesto Pasta
Chickpea pancakes
Chickpea veggie pie
The Vegan Kids Cookbook includes simple recipes with ingredients you may already have at home and tailored to meet the nutritional needs of your vegan kids. Recipes feature key nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, and Vitamin A to help you feel reassured that the meals you’re providing are supporting their growth.
If you’re following a vegan Baby Led Weaning journey, the Vegan Kids Cookbook features recipes that are suitable for your vegan baby following the Baby Led Weaning method. And if it isn’t, there are suggestions on how to modify a recipe so that you can safely offer to your vegan baby starting solids.
Say hello to meal inspirations!
This digital cookbook includes 25 recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to help your feed your vegan family with confidence.
