Once a baby starts to eat solids he or she needs a well balanced diet to help them grow healthily. As a lot of the nutrients and vitamins a baby needs are found most easily in meat and animal products they can be found in other sources of food. The parents of a vegan baby should be aware of their baby’s nutritional needs and seek to replace the missing nutrients with vegan food.

The nutrients and vitamins usually provided by animal products, meat and fish are;

Iron; A baby’s natural store of iron has begun to diminish by 6 months so this becomes one of the most important nutrients to gain in order to help grow healthy blood and muscles.Vegan sources of iron include beans and pulses, dried fruit, wholegrain cereal and green vegetables (spinach, peas and broccoli).

Calcium and Vitamin D; Calcium is important for bones, teeth, muscles and nerves. Vitamin D helps your body to absorb calcium. Vitamin D and calcium rich foods include calcium rich juice, soy drinks, margarine, fish and broccoli. The easiest and most effective source of vitamin D is sunlight so make sure that baby gets plenty of chances to play outside.

Protein; Protein helps baby’s imune system and their ability to repair skin, tissue and muscle. Vegan sources of protein can be rice, pasta, beans, lentils, seeds and oats.

Vitamin B12; As the only reliable sources of B12 are meat, eggs and dairy most vegan foods are fortified with vitamin B12. Parents should look at the food normally eaten in their household to find one which is low in salt, sugar and fat and is vitamin B12 fortified to see if there are any suitable for baby.

Iodine; Iodine helps cell metabolism and keeps the thyroid gland, skin, hair and teeth healthy. A major source of iodine is milk but there are vegan alternatives such as seaweed and some vegetables and grain (depending on the level of iodine in the soil).