I'm vegetarian and want to give dd meat but don't have any clue what to give her! please help!!

[entropy]

I don't eat meat but I would like to keep dd's diet as balanced as I can. problem is I don't have any ideas for meaty meals! DH just eats burgers or steak (we eat badly and are trying to change) so I guess I shouldn't give her some of his. she has had roast chicken breast at my parents house but that is it so far....
dd is 7 months old. she is a finger food fiend or likes to spoon feed herself so food needs to be fairly solid (as spoon is always upsidedown by time it reaches mouth)
Also things that are easy to cook would be a bonus as I have no experience of cooking meat. please help me!!!

[q7]

There's nothing wrong with bringing your children up as vegetarians.

[AitchYouBerk]

what about pork or lamb chops? not too red, especially the pork, and you can grill tehm so minimal input from the chef.

[AitchYouBerk]

also true g7.

[entropy]

If she choses not to eat meat then thats her choice (1 was about 2 when I made it on ethical grounds apparently I made a very loud speech about it being wrong to eat baby lambs whilst stood on the counter in the butchers and refused to go near meat from that day) dd takes after me in knowing her own mind so I don't think I'll have too long to wait. in the mean time there are health benifits to eating meat. (she is very underweight) and although I know by carefully balancing the diet in other ways it can be compensated for but I'm a tv dinners girl trying to mend her ways for the sake of her baby so I'm looking for the easy route to a healthy and well nourished baby.

[entropy]

this is probably a stupid question but how would I serve pork/lamb chops to a 7 month old?? (although I might have a problem with the lamb....)

I have cooked prok chops for DH in the past but that usually consists of me throwing them under the grill and him coming along and telling me they are done and he'll take it from there... (but I could try it for the first time at a weekend when he is around.)

can babies have bacon? (not sure why but I think it might be salty) thats another one he would eat/cook too.....

[choosyfloosy]

Trying to remember what meat I gave ds at this sort of age. Not a whole lot I think - meat very chewy for littlies without teef IMO. Eggs were a big feature quite early (scrambled, bits of hard-boiled) but advice is not until 1 year i think.

Got a nice recipe from MN (sorry can't remember if you are totally non-pureeing/BLWing) - bake 1 chicken breast with 5 dried apricots in a dish with I think 60ml cold water for about 30 mins? at 175 degrees, then puree. Quite a strong flavour so only a few spoonfuls per meal needed. Can't remember if this amount of water is right. I liked it, anyway.

Bacon, ham, sausages I would say a bit salty for this age, although we were not eating any pork at the time so I never made that decision. I don't give bacon to ds often even now, but pork is generally cheaper than other meats so he gets quite a lot of ham and sausages.

Bake some chicken pieces if whole chicken is a fag? - chicken thighs best, put in baking tray with potatoes, carrots, garlic cloves, peeled onion halves etc then bake for 45 mins at 175 or so, then just put thigh on plate and chop off bits of meat.

If you buy good chicken pieces then why not make meat stock to cook veg or rice in to add to vitamins that way? - bones and bits in pan, cover with water, add a few carrot bits, herbs etc, bring to boil and simmer for anything from 10 mins to an hour or so.

You can stuff quite a lot of things down penne if desperate! (I still occasionally do this now although at 7 months I could do it in front of him...)

[AitchYouBerk]

shame about the lamb, beacuse it's a baby (erk) it's generally not too buggered-about-with. i'd just rub some oil into the chops and fling them under a medium grill. then cut the meat off and serve. meat for a baby is best served in quite large chunks, about fist-sized, and they really just chew and suck on it. i've got to be honest, though, dd's favourite is roast chicken (easy, but there's a recipe on the blog if you're not familiar) and steak. rare.

there are also a good few recipes on the blog for breaded chicken which is handy to keep in the freezer. and lots of lentil burgers etc, but you probably know those already.

[BizzyDint]

also, what about fish? i don't know whether you're fully vegetarian or eat fish yourself. anyway, fish is really easy. say you get some salmon fillets, just pop them in a foil parcel with oil/butter/lemon/herbs (whatever you like really) and bake in over for 20 minutes (instructions are on pack if you get a big bag of frozen fillets.) easy!

[Lullabyloo]

i would start with flakes of white fish,some chicken & then buy some lamb mince & make little ramekins of shepherds pie etc to frieze.

[nickytwotimes]

i am also veggie and wanting to give ds some meat so this thread is good! my cousin brought up her girls veggie, so i know it can be done, but decided to give him meat. not sure why, really? hope he will convert when older!! i've been relying on ... jars once a day!!!!!

[AitchYouBerk]

there's a brilliant and delicious fish poached in milk recipe on the blog at www.babyledweaning.com

[AitchYouBerk]

(it's my mum's)

[Lullabyloo]

[redbeki]

Why do you want to give your lo meat?
Sorry,if you are veggie why would you want to do this.I've been veggie for 20 years ,and I wouldn't dream of giving my kids meat.

[SpawnChorus]

We're a non-meat eating household, but I decided to give DD some meat when she was about one (I was concerned about her iron intake - she wasn't eating much of anything).

I made her venison stew, which was easy to make and (in my opinion) relatively ethical as it had not been farmed. It was v tasty (I had some), and DD usually scoffed it happily which was unlike her at that time.

I only made a few batches, as she started eating other iron-rich sources more readily, and I couldn't be arsed to make separate meals for her.

[entropy]

Its sounding silly as I type this but I don't like meat, but I can at times eat processed meat if it isn't too meaty. (and I do the la la la it isn't really an animal thing) Fish however I can't even look at in a supermarket! I hate it to the point of being sloghtly phobic about it coming near me I want to give my dd meat as I see vegitarianism as a lifestyle choice that should be opted into and worry that if she doesn't have meat when she is little that I will pass on my aversion to it without it being her considered choice. If I was a good veggie who ate a healthy balanced meat-free diet it might be different but I eat shit and don't want dd to eat the way I do. just realising that this means I will have to feed dd fish too........ (panics slightly) although thinking on my feet, I have a reasonably good get out! I can't see enough to see fish bones so my mum will have to give her fish. (pheww!)

thanks for pointers to the blw blog. I have looked at it several times but find it really hard to find the kind of info I need. this isn't a criticism. I am just rubbish and always in a rush. will go back to it again to look for breaded chicken and lentil burgers as both sound easy

also like sound of chicken and apricot puree thing. I like the ease of bulk making and freezing purees but dd makes such a mess with anything liquid I'm cutting down on them (but from the sounds of this one I could flavour her mash with it! would make a change from cheese...

only realised that eggs should be avoided after dd had had scrambled eggs several times, seems silly to hold back now as she likes it. (one of the rare things) and I love the idea of hiding things down penne if she hadn't made quite such a mess with it last night I might use it soon with veg (found 2 pieces of whole penne down the front of her nappy at bathtime despite 2 layers of bibs and 2 layers of clothes! then another bit in her sleepsuit the next morning!!!

[keeplaughing]

I was veggie for years but not again by the time dd was born, but i couldn't handle the idea of giving her meat when she was a baby, don't know why, just seemed odd somehow (digestibility of meat for a baby??) i didn't give her any till she thought she wanted to try it (3ish?)and then it was things she wanted to try like sausages / spag bol etc. don't think you need worry about her nutrition if you eat ok, but go with your own intuition. when she was about 9 she decided to be veggie herself, but about 13 she wanted to try some meat again (was gammon as it happened which she loves) She still doesn't eat beef / lamb / pork but will eat things with mince / sausages / bacon. Each to their own i s'pose. Unless you are really strong in your beliefs re meat, then i'd say chill and let them find thier own way.