Vegan Nutrition with Dina Aronson, M.S. R.D.

Dina Aronson, MS, RD is a vegan dietitian whose specialties include chronic disease prevention, vegetarian/vegan nutrition, and lifestyle management. She is the founder and director of VeganRD.com, a nutrition consulting company. Active in many vegetarian nutrition organizations, Dina was the recipient of the American Dietetic Association's Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year Award in 2002.

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Could you make me a sample menu for a vegan diet for an infant just starting solids? I have 5 month old twins and only recently before my pregnancy became vegan so I feel very uneducated on what they're going to need soon. Thank you so much.
-Jessica

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Dear Jessica,

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For the fist year of life, it is not necessary for an infant to be given a menu. Even though babies’ nutrient needs are increasing when they’re ready to start solids, the vast majority of their nutrients will still be coming from breast milk or infant formula. The main purpose of solid foods during the first few months is to introduce the baby to the idea of eating: learning how to eat; experiencing new textures, flavors, and temperatures; using a spoon; feeling food with the hands, etc. It also is an opportunity to form good eating habits and encourage healthy social interaction (i.e. eating meals together). Remember, no two babies are alike, and no two babies eat the same way. And you’re unlikely to find two resources that advise on infant feeding in quite the same way. Don’t let that discourage you! Do what works for you and your babies. Just as important as what you feed your baby is the experience of eating: having calm, smiling parents, laughing, and having fun!

Here are some basic guidelines. For babies under a year, try the following foods. If your baby rejects any, re-introduce several days or weeks later. Some babies simply aren’t ready for certain textures and/or flavors but will develop a taste for them later on. Never force a baby to eat. When they spit out the food or turn their heads away, they are telling you they are done.

As for amounts, when the baby is 6-7 months old, feed once to four times per day, depending on readiness. Gradually increase to 5-6 times per day by 12 months of age. Start with one teaspoon and increase to 4 tablespoons; use your babies’ hunger as a guide. Many babies show a strong preference for breast milk or formula over solids; that’s ok! Feed them what they will eat and try again the next day. Keep giving breast milk on demand or the amount of formula that you have been giving. Babies are generally terrific regulators of their caloric needs. Note: if your baby loses weight or fails to gain over a several day period, visit the baby’s healthcare provider right away.

This is an incomplete list; there are hundreds of vegan foods that you can safely give your babies, so please use this as a starting guide, and add more foods as per your babies’ readiness and preferences.

VEGETABLES: Pureed peas, squash, and sweet potatoes are well-tolerated first foods. Wash, cook, and puree well. (Using frozen vegetables to start, or going right for the jarred type is fine; make sure there’s no added sugar or salt.) Later, add potatoes, parsnips, eggplant, leafy greens, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, and other vegetables, cooking and mashing as needed.

FRUITS: Bananas, pears, peaches, and apples are well-tolerated first foods. Wash, cook (except bananas), and puree well. (Using frozen fruits to start, or going right for the jarred type is fine; make sure there’s no added sugar.) Later, add other fruits, cooking and/or mashing as needed. By 8-9 months, most babies are ready for chopped soft fruits like berries, bananas, prunes, cherries, pineapples, apricots, bananas, peaches, and oranges. Always remove seeds and pits before giving to baby.

GRAINS: Buy iron-fortified baby cereal to start (Earth’s Best makes organic rice, oatmeal, and mixed cereal). Mix with breast milk or formula. Later, add well-cooked whole grains (millet, tapioca, rice, quinoa, buckwheat, etc.) and serve mashed. By 8-9 months, most babies are ready for Cheerio-type cereal, which softens right away when liquid is added or when placed in the mouth. By this age, many babies can start eating bread, and bagels, broken into tiny pieces. By 12 months, you may want to offer whole grain fruit muffins. Avoid popcorn the first year.

PROTEIN FOODS: Plain soy yogurt is appropriate starting around 6 months. Later, try mashed tofu. By age 7-8 months, most babies are ready for pureed lentils, chickpeas, and other beans. Make sure the texture is not too thick. Many babies are ready for pureed seeds by 9-12 months (like tahini blended in a fruit smoothie). If you use soy burgers and other fake meats, most babies can start these (cut into tiny pieces) by 12 months (depending on their tolerance for spices and flavors). Do not introduce nuts in the first year.

FATS: Fats are important for infants’ brain development and growth; do not limit fat or give reduced-fat foods. Try feeding baby a bit of mashed avocado at 6-7 months. Added oils are not necessary for infants who are thriving on plenty of breast milk or DHA- and ARA-fortified formula, but are not harmful if part of a mixed dish. Once the baby starts to wean off breast milk or formula, it’s a good idea to add ¼ teaspoon of flax oil to food per day or an age-appropriate dose of Essential Balance Junior. (See this recent question and answer for more information on fats and infant nutrition.)

Each day, especially as your babies get older, try to include foods rich in iron (iron fortified cereal, leafy greens, beans and lentils) zinc (whole grains, beans and lentils, seeds), and calcium (fortified soy yogurt, beans and lentils, seeds, leafy greens, blackstrap molasses [mixed with fruit, for example]).

Here are a few “rules” that are worth mentioning:

1. To minimize the chance of allergies (and to be able to pinpoint one should there be a food reaction), introduce a new food one at a time, with at least four days in between each new food. Always check the mouth, skin, and poop for changes following the introduction of a new food.

2. Homemade beets, turnips, carrots, and collard greens are not necessarily safe for a baby, since they can contain large amounts of nitrates and can cause anemia. Either use these sparingly in the first year, or buy them commercially packaged as baby foods (they are grown to be low in nitrates).

3. If there’s a family history of food allergies, hold off on the foods your family member is allergic to, as well as high-allergen foods, like soy and wheat.

4. The earliest texture should resemble cream soup (e.g. rice cereal with breast milk, pureed cooked squash with water added to desired texture), and can become thicker (mixed with less liquid) over time as the infant takes it well.

5. For foods that are choking hazards, avoid or cut in very small pieces: grapes, veggie hot dogs, corn kernels, raisins and other dried fruit, hard or chewy candy, raw carrots, etc.

6. Avoid giving baby herbal or regular tea, coffee, foods with a lot of added sugar and salt, and artificial sweeteners. Never give honey or corn syrup, as they might cause botulism.

7. Limit fruit juice to 0-6 ounces per day.

8. Buy organic if possible.

You can find more details, including sample meal plans, and excellent nutrition guidance for growing children in Raising Vegetarian Children by Jo Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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