Having high protein foods for picky eaters is essential for their growth and development. If you are a parent that worries that your picky child isn’t getting enough protein, you will be surprised to learn that protein is easily available from many sources, other than meat. Actually, most of us are eating above and beyond what we need.
In this blog I share my tips on how to get your child to eat more protein. As well as easy and nutritious meal and snack protein ideas for picky eaters, that they will love.
What is protein?
Protein is a macronutrient that is made up of over 20 amino acids and needed from food for the daily functioning of cells in our bodies. Each amino has a different role in the body.
In the western diet most children and adults consume sufficient protein, often more than they need. This is also the case for fussy eaters, unless their diet is extremely limited and they are not eating sufficient amounts.
The only challenge can be getting enough of the high quality proteins, so ones that contain essential amino acids. Later on in this post you will find my top tips for getting more protein into picky eaters.
Why do kids need protein?
Protein is an essential nutrient that plays a crucial role in the building blocks for children to grow and develop. Kids need protein for various reasons, including:
Growth and development: Protein is necessary for building and repairing tissues, muscles, organs, and cells in the body. Children are constantly growing and developing, so they require adequate amounts of protein to support their rapid growth.
Immunity and healing powers: Protein helps maintain a healthy immune system. They help produce antibodies that fight off infections and keep kids healthy.
Energy production: Protein provides energy for children to stay active throughout the day. This is especially important when kids are constantly learning and playing, they need this energy to stay focused and engaged.
Brain function: Proteins are essential for brain health and cognitive development in children. Such as for their mood, memory, concentration, and overall brain function.
Fullness: Protein helps kids feel full and satisfied after meals, reducing the desire for snacks or or other quick fixes.
How much protein do kids need?
These are the recommended amounts below by age. Note that protein needs vary between girls and boys as they reach 11 years. (1) Government dietary recommendations, public health England, 2016)
| Age | Protein requirements (grams a day) |
| 1 – 3 years | 14.5 g |
| 4 – 6 years | 19.7g |
| 7 – 10 years | 28.3g |
| 11- 14 years (boys) | 42.1g |
| 11 – 14 years (girls) | 41.2g |
| 15 – 18 years (boys) | 55.2g |
| 15 – 18 years (girls) | 45g |
What does this amount of protein look like?
Here is an example for a 1 – 3 year old:
Cows milk (6g per 200ml glass)
Rice (3g per 100g portion)
Lentils (3g per 50g portion)
Yoghurt (3g per 2 tablespoons)
Total = 15g protein
This still maybe hard to visualize. It is best to ensure they are getting a portion of protein with every meal and snack. This way, they are likely to be getting sufficient amounts.
If you are worried about portion sizes and not sure if you are offering along the right lines, then check out this portion sizes guide for 1 – 4 years and 5 – 11 years
The SACN report data on feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years showed that kids get more than the recommended amounts of protein. For example: 41 grams a day was reported in children aged 18 to 47 months, which is close to 3 times the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for this age group. It was similar for older children too. (2)
High protein foods for kids
Many types of foods contain protein, even ones you least suspect. However, they are not all equal in which amino acids they contain. Some foods contain all the essential amino acids (protein rich) and others include some of them. Essential amino acids cannot be made by the body and need to be gained from food.
Those that contain al the essential 9 amino acids include animal meat, fish, dairy foods and some grains/seeds:
- Animal meat e.g beef, chicken, pork
- Fish e.g cod, salmon
- Soya milk and other forms of soy
- Milk (cows milk)
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Eggs
- Quinoa
- Buckwheat
- Chia seeds
- Amaranth
Other foods that contain some amino acids (but not all the essential) include nuts, seeds, beans and cereal products like bread and pasta:
- Seeds including seed butter
- Nuts e.g walnuts, almonds, peanuts including nut butters
- Beans
- Chickpeas including hummus
- Pasta
- Bread
- Rice
Top tip: Those protein foods that don’t contain all the essential amino acids you can combine with others to make them complete protein i.e contain all the 9 amino acids.
Here are some examples:
peanut butter + toast = complete protein
Beans + rice = complete protein
Fried rice and peas
Hommous and wholegrain pitta
Won’t eat meat? Alternative sources of protein
It is very common for kids not to like meat or particular types of meat because they are harder to chew and require more effort. Foods like steak, pork chops, lamb cutlets tend to be more difficult and get rejected. Meats that are easiest to chew like minced beef or chicken are more tender and better to try first.
If they don’t like the texture of any meat at all then there are alternatives you can offer. They will still be able to reach their protein requirements.
Non- meat sources of protein for picky eaters
Good protein sources that are soft, easy to chew and digest will be foods like:
Tofu, scrambled eggs, plain yoghurt, milk, smooth nut butters, red and green lentils and cottage cheese.
How do I get my picky eater to eat protein?
If your child struggles with certain food and textures then you should still offer and expose them but there are things you can do to help.
My top tips:
- Gradually introduce new high-protein foods to picky eaters so they have different options to try and find ones they enjoy. Cook them in different ways such as for eggs. Try eggs scrambled, boiled, poached, mixed with other ingredients.
- If they are really struggling with trying new protein foods don’t pressure them to try them. Just keep exposing them in different ways.
- Offer a variety of protein types. There are plenty of plant based sources such as rice, bread, oats, beans and nuts that are great sources too.
- Incorporate protein-rich ingredients into familiar dishes will help make them more appealing to reluctant eaters. For example using yoghurt mixed into sauces or chickpeas blended into a dip with other flavours.
- Offer small amounts, such as a small pea size amount of chicken to begin with, it doesn’t have to be large. Then gradually increase, if they are happy to eat it.
- Add a sauce or dip to the protein food such as egg and mayonnaise dip or chicken and tomato sauce.
- Make it fun by using different shaped protein types.
Surprising foods that contain protein
If your child struggles with the most common types of protein, namely meat, fish and dairy then there are a number of surprising foods you wouldn’t think of containing protein. This is great news for fussy eaters and those that struggle with eating meat or certain textures. These don’t contain as much protein but adding these in will help to ensure they are getting more.
- Pasta – plain wheat pasta contains protein but you can boost that level even more by using chickpea pasta or lentil pasta.
- Rice – offer a variety of plain, brown, risotto, and paella rice
- Bread – Generally liked by fussy eaters and can be used as a base for a topping or as a sandwich.
- Peas- Green peas can be used in all sorts of recipes such as pasta, rice or stews
- Chia seeds – when liquid is added they swell to form a gel. Use them to make a chia pudding or sprinkle on salads and cereals.
- Walnuts – chopped small for under 5 years and used on cereals or yoghurt. You can also make walnut pesto for mixing into pasta.
- Quinoa – Use like rice and add alongside stews, curries etc.
- Lentils – can be used in place of meat or mixed together. They work brilliantly in tomato sauce.
- Pumpkin seeds – ground or sprinkled into puddings, cereals or yoghurt.
- Edamame beans – lovely blended into a dip or salad.
High protein snacks for picky eaters
15 Snack Ideas:
1. Greek yogurt with honey and chopped nuts and berries
2. Cottage cheese with fruit such as pineapple and toast strips
3. Hard-boiled eggs sliced with some strips of peppers and rice crackers
4. Turkey or chicken slices with whole grain crackers and apple
5. Peanut butter on whole wheat toast and banana slices
6. Oat bars – flapjack with dried fruits and chopped nuts
7. Fruit smoothies with yoghurt such as kiwi smoothie
8. Milk and cereal
9. Cheddar cheese on a bagel with some cucumber slices
10. Peanut butter and jam sandwich
11. Wrap with tuna and spring onions
12. Omelette strips with
13. Tuna pate on toast with chopped veggies
14. ABC muffins that contains yoghurt
High protein meals for picky eaters
Meal Ideas with meat:
1. Breaded chicken strips with a side of roasted potatoes and vegetables
2. Turkey meatballs with tomato sauce over whole wheat pasta and green beans
3. Spaghetti bolognese with mixed beef mince and lentils
4. Slow cooked beef stew with potatoes and carrots
5. Homemade beef burger in a bread bun and salad
Fish:
6. Salmon burgers on whole wheat buns with a side salad
7. Tuna pasta with sweetcorn
8. Fish fingers or breaded cod in a wrap with grated carrot, cabbage
9. Salmon risotto with cream cheese and peas
10. Tuna and baked beans on a jacket potato
Vegetarian/vegan:
11. Tofu stir-fry with mixed vegetables and brown rice
12. Black bean quesadillas with avocado and salsa
13. Egg Frittata with potatoes and peppers
14. Red lentil lasagne with cottage cheese
15. Halloumi vegetable stir fry with egg noodles
Help your fussy eater
If you are struggling with your fussy eater and would like more support to get a more varied diet then I would love to help. Book a free clarity call to find out more.
References
- https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/618167/government_dietary_recommendations.pdf
- https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/feeding-young-children-aged-1-to-5-years-draft-sacn-report/summary-of-draft-report-feeding-young-children-aged-1-to-5-years
0 Comments