Vegan Baby Protein Sources

Q Can  you tell me how to be sure my baby gets her 23 grams/day of protein and not be so dependent on dairy and eggs?

A I don’t know where you got 23 grams of protein per day. At 4 calories per gram of protein that works out to 92 calories of protein. If you derive 10% of calories from protein (which is 3 times mother’s breast milk, so if anything, that’s too much) then your baby would be eating 920 calories per day. I guess that’s about right for a growing baby, in fact a few more calories would be even better for a growing baby.

You’ll have no problem getting 10% of calories from protein on a vegan diet. In fact, you’ll get more., just make sure your baby is eating a nice simple variety of foods. such as winter squashes, sweet potatoes (but you may need to go easy on that as it can be hard for little one’s to digest) and whole grains. Tofu, and tempeh are all excellent protein sources. The easier to digest beans, like lima and azuki are also good protein sources. Be sure to soak beans over night. I grind all of the above foods in a baby grinder for my 17 month old Halle.

Remember, cow’s milk is way TOO MUCH protein for human babies. That’s why formula makers have to REMOVE two thirds of the protein from cow’s milk to make it safe for infants.

Cow’s milk is about 10% protein. Human breast milk (which is the perfect food for your baby) is only 3% protein. iI you assume human breast milk is PERFECTLY formulated for your baby (which is a good assumption) then you want to keep the protein DOWN to 3% NOT worry about getting it up to 10%.

The most important nutrients your baby needs are SLEEP and calories. In that order. As long as the calories come from a variety of plants you’ll be fine.