I have recently become Vegan - a little over a month ago.  But I have "flirted" with the idea all my life.  I am 26 and I have a 15 month old.  After reading a lot of information about how cow's milk can actually be unnecessary and even detrimental to a child's health, I started thinking of introducing my 15 month old to a vegan diet.  I started this week by replacing her organic cow's milk with Silk Plain Soy milk (which is fortified), replacing her yogurts with SIlk Soy Yogurt, and her cheese sticks with "fake" cheese sticks.  She also loves natural peanut butter, almond butter, tofu, and other vegan friendly foods.  I was able to find vegan breakfast cereals and waffles for her also.  

BUT I am just worried now that I should find out more about whether or not this is really the right thing to do.  I called her doctor's office but I can't get an appointment with the nutritionist there until Sept. 13th.  I called another nutritionist who really did not seem to know enough about a vegan diet to help me.  She was worried about my daughter getting enough fats, protein, etc.  She recommended that perhaps I stick with a vegetarian diet for my daughter and not a vegan.  

Also, I am leaving my daughter with my parents for the next week (leaving Thursday) as my husband and I have to go to a wedding in France (I am very excited but moreso anxious at the idea of leaving my baby girl).  I know my parents are going to question me if I send my daughter with a vegan food list/plan.  So, I want to know all the information I can.  If I had to decide right now, I would probably let her go back to real cheese and milk (but still no meat) until I can talk to the nutritionist at the pediatrician's office.

 I need some reassurance and information over here!  Would love to hear your stories about your vegan toddlers!

Not sure why I cannot see what I posted... did it not post?

I do not have any kids but I have worked with kids much of my life and many of my friends have kids and are raising them veggie or vegan. I am also an acupuncturist and give a lot of nutritional advice.  I would keep the soy products fairly limited.  They are really hard to digest for a child's digestive system.  I think that hemp milk is probably the best and has great fats for kids.  You can also try almond or other nut milks.  Avocado's are great too and a lot of kids love them.  Try to give her lots of veggie and fruit choices, whole grains like rice and oats and even experiment with beans.  I think that lentils are some of the easier ones to digest.  It is totally possible to raise healthy kids on a vegan diet.  It is important to try to stay away from as much processed food as possible though.  Good luck!

I agree with Sara about limiting the soy consumption, and feeding her the good fats and proteins - which basically come with a healthy, varied vegan diet. As far as dairy goes, a lot of people believe, and there is scientific evidence to support, that dairy is far more detrimental to health than meat.

It might not be the best time for you to make a 'final' decision before leaving her with your parents. I would suggest rereading the section about dairy in TKD, reading The China Study, and possibly Disease Proof Your Child (I haven't read this one, but hear it is very good, although some people tweak it because they feel Fuhrman relies too much on soy products). Also, maybe take some time to become familiar with, and make a list of, the nutrional content of common vegan foods. Not detailed stuff, unless you're into that, but things like - which foods are good protein sources, fat, iron, calcium, etc (and just google some stuff - like raising vegan kids or something - there are a lot of sites). That way, if a doctor questions you, or your parents, etc., you have answers for them and don't become flustered and start to question your decision. I hope this helps some.

I think talking to a nutritionist is a great idea, but if it makes you feel any better, my son only had cow's milk for a very short period after his first birthday. He is now 4, mostly vegan, and very healthy.  We have done soy, rice, hemp, almond and coconut milks.  I am personally a little leery of Silk products because of this:http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18228.cfm  After hearing about that, I just quit buying Silk.  But there are plenty of other brands out there.  My son's current favorite is the So Delicious coconut milk.  Our pediatrician actually recommended almond over all other milks when he was your daughter's age because of healthy fats, but soy, hemp and coconut also have healthy fats in them.

Hazel and Sara have some great suggestions.  I second the recommendation on The China Study and Disease Proof Your Child.  I also would try to steer clear as much as possible from processed vegan junk foods and focus on whole food snacks.  One of my son's favorite things that might work for your daughter is the Just Tomatoes brand freeze dried fruits and veggies.  http://www.justtomatoes.com/  They're in perfect size pieces for little ones, and definitely healthier than processed snacks.  At 15 months too, she may be old enough to do small pieces of nuts, definitely nut butters, and cut up fruits and veggies. Another thing that's been helpful to me is to have a list of daily nutritional requirements up on the fridge that includes how many servings of protein, fruits and veggies etc are needed to meet basic requirements.

I also second Hazel's suggestion that it may not be the best time to make a final decision about changing her diet right now.  I'd probably wait until you get a chance to talk to the nutritionist and maybe get some more information.  Good luck!

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_diets_for_children.html

i recommend the info on this site. i dont have kids yet, but when i do have them, they are going to be vegan, no question about it.

like every one else has been saying, i agree with staying away from processed foods-stick with grains, fruits, veggies, and legumes, nuts etc-whole foods.--this is definitely going to be healthier. and remeber a b12 supplement. good luck! :-)

Hi,

I think it's doable and healthy if done right....but things I would change are the soy-my youngest drinks fortified rice milk. and instead of all the processed soy stuff-I would give her cubed tofu (so soft and easy to eat), edamame (shelled) and the occasional soy or coconut milk yogurt.

Soy boy makes a great tofu ravioli that my kids adore.

make sure she gets enough fat-half an avocado a day is great at this age for vitamin E and good fats.

While in general I believe in eating yr vitamins/minerals-at this age I would give a multivitamin to make sure she gets everything esp B12 and iron.

My 3 kids are vegetarian and very happy, but they are not vegan. I do limit their dairy (and they never get cow's milk) they have cheese a few times a week and yogurt occasionally (they prefer the soy yogurt tho!) 

I would see a nutritionist before a pediatrician-honestly, nutrition is not their forte esp. w/ vegan diets!

best of luck-enjoy France-sounds wonderful!!!!