Good morning! How are you guys?
Today, I wanted to share some of the FAQs that I get from people when they find out that Willow eats plant-based. I talk more about our decision here, if you are interested. But when people find out, especially those who may be unfamiliar with what it means to eat plant-based, I usually get some questionable looks and questions in general. (Raise your hand if you feel me, right?)
I don’t mind the questions at all, trust me. I love to talk about it (clearly…) I could do without the unsolicited advice (lol) but hey. To each their own.
So here are some answers to questions that I usually get.
Question: Where does your baby get her protein from?
Answer: Lots of things! But the big ones are: all varieties of beans, chickpeas, organic tofu, tempeh, lentils, and quinoa.
To give you some ideas, this is how she usually enjoys the above: beans as is, as patties/fritters, or as taco filling (seasoned up well), mashed chickpea salad, tofu scramble or nuggets, tempeh meatballs (I love the recipe by Minimalist Baker), lentil soups (her favorites are here and here), quinoa salad.
And don’t forget, a lot of vegetables have protein, too! Like avocado, peas, and kale. All of which she enjoys.
Q: Do you give your daughter soy?
A: I am not afraid of soy, but I am also not loading her up with it. I believe everything should be in moderation. I only buy organic soy products, like organic tofu and the formula we used was also organic. I also tend to stay clear of a lot of processed vegan products. I usually have a bag of vegan meatballs from Trader Joe’s in the freezer if I am in a pinch, but I do my best to stick with whole foods with no additives, soy included. But yes, she enjoys organic tofu every once in a while!
Q: What kind of milk do you give your baby?
A: Willow was bottle-fed breastmilk for the majority of her first year until my supply went. I then moved to an organic soy formula and now she enjoys a variety of plant-based milks – mostly cashew, coconut, and pea protein milks.
Q: What are some snacks you give your baby?
A: Willow LOVES her snacks. She eats a lot of fruit (pretty much any fruit I have in the house) and loves green smoothies. She also enjoys some packaged snacks if I don’t have time to make her something… like puffs, crackers, coconut melts, etc. Another awesome snack that I have every once in a while is freeze-dried fruit. She really loves freeze-fried strawberries. I know it is better to have fresh strawberries (and trust me, she does!) but these are a great treat. I serve fruit along with her meals usually, so these are a nice change of pace some days during snack time.
Q: What does a typical day look like in terms of meals and snacks?
A: I change things up quite a bit depending on what we have in the house. But a typical day might look like this:
- Morning milk in sippy
- Breakfast: green pancakes topped with almond butter with a side of cinnamon apples (pancake recipe is this with the addition of a handful of spinach)
- Mid-morning snack: puffs or crackers with milk in sippy
- Lunch: lentil + veggie stew with rice, side of avocado, side of fruit
- Afternoon snack: green smoothie (her favorite lately is frozen banana, mango, dates, spinach, and almond milk)
- Dinner: whatever Joe and I are having, but her favorite dinner lately is spaghetti with my homemade gravy and tempeh meatballs
- Bedtime milk in sippy
Q: Do you make all your baby’s food from scratch?
A: Not all of it, but most of it. I am very lucky to be able to stay home with Willow, allowing me to have more time in the kitchen. I do most of my bulk cooking for her on the weekend when my husband is home (preparing grains, fruit, proteins, etc.) but I will also get what I can get done during her morning nap, since it is usually about 60-90 minutes. I don’t go crazy or anything… really simple meals. For example, I might toss 4 sweet potatoes in the oven to bake for about an hour while I will quickly throw together a stew and a batch of rice. It doesn’t take me any longer than a half hour and I’ll have lunch for the week for her. I also make a lot of patties, pancakes, or muffins at once and then will freeze half the batch so I have them ready to go. It’s all about prep.
But I am far from perfect and usually have some back-ups, like canned marinara, frozen veggie burgers, frozen vegan meatballs, toast, etc. I do the best I can!
Q: Do you give your daughter eggs?
A: At the moment, no. I don’t plan on serving her eggs anytime soon because we simply don’t buy eggs. My husband isn’t a huge egg guy, so we just don’t really buy them. When she is old enough to make the decision to try eggs, then we’ll go from there. If this did happen, I would buy organic and local.
She enjoys tofu scramble for her protein versus scrambled eggs. She loves it!
You can read more about why I don’t eat eggs here (which basically is why I don’t serve eggs).
Q: Do you give your daughter yogurt?
A: Non-dairy yogurt brands such as Silk or SoDelicious as a treat every once in a while.
I hope that some of these answers shed light on any questions you may have had. If not, please feel free to leave me a comment. I’d love to answer them. At the end of the day, this is what works for our family and I am just so happy and incredibly blessed to have a daughter who isn’t fussy (for now, anyways) and does not have any allergies.
Let me know if you’d like to hear anything else about Willow’s diet. I love sharing her meals on here, but am open to any other topics you might want covered. Comment or shoot me a message on IG. For now, enjoy your day! xx bianca
