Struggling to Increase your Child’s Protein intake? Include these Vegetarian Protein-Rich Foods in your child’s diet, which pack quite a nutritional punch!

Have you played with your baby’s building blocks? You’ll have found that when the blocks are not stable or firmly fixed to each other, they tend to topple down easily. A strong and stable foundation and well connected blocks helps you add more blocks and grow the building as high as you like.

That’s pretty much how protein works in our bodies as well! It’s no wonder that it’s called the building block of the human body. Every single function in the body requires protein. All our organs, muscles, hormones and enzymes are made of proteins. Protein is essential to maintain the body’s functions as well as to help it repair and heal. As for children, they need protein to help all their body systems develop normally and to grow at a healthy pace.

But that’s not all; proteins themselves are made of building blocks called amino acids. The human body needs 20 different amino acids, of which 9 are essential amino acids. These amino acids cannot be synthesized by our bodies, which means we need to get it through food. Even kids need these amino acids, in an age appropriate amount every day:

• 0-12 months: 9.1 g/day
• 1-3 years: 13 g/day
• 4-8 years: 19 g/day
• 9-13 years: 34 g/day

You can see that as the child goes, his or her protein demands grow, as they put on muscle and many hormonal systems kick in during puberty. Unfortunately, going by a study in the Indian Medical Gazette, 9 out of 10 Indians have a protein-deficient diet, particularly among vegetarians. Those of us who live in vegetarian households think our kids are resigned to be protein-deficient, but that’s not the case! There are many vegetarian protein-rich foods for kids, from babies to older children. Here is a look at 10 of the top vegetarian sources of protein.

10 Vegetarian Protein-Rich Foods for Kids

1. Organic Oats

One of the easiest foods to feed babies is oatmeal. It’s a single ingredient Stage 1 food, is neutral in taste, can be cooked quickly and can be paired with pretty much anything later, like fruits and veggies. And most importantly, it’s an excellent source of protein!

Half a cup of oatmeal has 6 grams of protein. This is significantly higher than other grains, like rice and wheat, making this a better choice for babies just starting solids. Additionally, oats is also rich in dietary fiber as well as trace minerals like magnesium, zinc, manganese, phosphorous and folate. It’s filling and makes for a great weight gaining food for babies.

Suitable for babies over 6 months.

2. Banana Soya Cereal

The most popular protein pick for vegetarians is probably soya, and for good reason! 100 g raw soya beans contain a whopping 36 g of protein. Unlike other plant sources of protein, soya beans are a whole protein, containing all the essential amino acids.

This banana soya cereal also contains raw Kerala banana, which is also a powerhouse of nutrients, including potassium and dietary fiber. Together, the banana and soya provide a filling meal that keeps babies full for longer.

Suitable for babies over 6 months.

3. Instant Soya Rice Porridge Powder

Rice is a favorite with parents across the world when it comes to starting solids for their baby. This is perfectly natural since rice is neutral, easy to digest and with a low risk of allergy. However, once baby is used to rice and is ready to take on Stage 2 foods, it’s a good idea to introduce this instant soya rice porridge.

Some people wonder if soya is safe for babies. It most certainly is; in fact, infant formula for lactose intolerant babies is made with soy protein. In this meal, soy combines with rice for a complete, balanced meal that is easy to digest and provides the requisite amount of protein and carbohydrates.

Suitable for babies over 6 months.

4. Instant Bajra Moong Dal Khichdi

One food that is commonly encouraged even by governments is lentils. This is because, lentils are easily available, economical and packed with nutrients, most importantly protein! Lentils are an important part of global programs that aim to eradicate malnutrition. One cup of cooked lentils contains 18 grams of protein along with lots of fiber, iron, folate and manganese. Lentils also improve gut bacteria, encouraging healthy digestion.

Sometimes, we miss out on many of our traditional habits, simply because we’re not aware of their benefits! This applies to traditional grains as well, like bajra or pearl millet, which is the world’s most produced millet. Bajra and moong dal make a great combination in this easy to prepare instant khichdi.

Suitable for babies over 6 months.

5. Sprouted Sathumaavu Health Mix

After lentils, the next in line of the vegetarian protein hall of fame are pulses. We have a wide variety of pulses in India, and they’re all good sources of protein. A cup of cooked chickpeas contains 15 grams of protein. With chickpeas being one of the ingredients of the Sprouted Sathumaavu Health Mix, it’s an excellent food for increasing protein intake in your baby or toddler’s diet.

Along with chickpeas, Sprouted Sathumaavu Health Mix contains an assortment of sprouted grains, pulses, nuts and seeds. What’s more, sprouting all the grains and pulses increases the bioavailability of the nutrients and also increase the content of amino acids as well as the quality of protein.

Suitable for babies over 8 months.

6. Dry Fruits Powder

One of the best snacks you can offer your children are nuts. Not only are they pleasantly crunchy, they are chock full of protein! Nearly all nuts have a good amount of protein in them, along with healthy fats and several other nutrients.

Just 50 grams of almonds and pistachios each contain about 10 grams of protein. The same amount of cashew nuts gives 9 grams of protein. So when you combine these nuts in the dry fruits powder, you get a massive protein boost in one single scoop!

Suitable for babies over 8 months.

7. Mixed Nuts Powder

Along with almonds, pistachios and cashew nuts, another protein-rich nut that features in the mixed nuts powder is walnut. 15% of a walnut is protein, with about 7 grams per a 50 g serving. When this combines with the remaining nuts in the mixed nuts powder, you get a quick way to add protein to your child’s diet.

Walnuts also contain high amounts of healthy fats and fiber. In fact, walnuts contain more polyunsaturated fatty acids than other nuts. They’re also rich in Vitamins B6, B9 and E, along with copper, phosphorous and manganese.

Suitable for babies over 6 months.

8. Protein Delight Powder

Just like its name suggests, the protein delight powder is a mix specially formulated with one food group that is among the top plant-based protein sources – seeds! With Sunflower seeds, Flax seeds, Pumpkin seeds and Chia seeds, this is a power packed mix!

100 g of Pumpkin seeds has a good 32 grams of protein, while sunflower seeds have 20 grams and flax and chia seeds have just under 20 grams of protein. Seeds are also incredibly nutritious in other areas, being full of trace minerals like zinc, iron and magnesium.

Suitable for children over 1 year.

9. Immunobooster Drink Mix

The Immunobooster drink mix combines the high protein of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds along with other protein rich foods like oats, almonds, cashew nuts and sesame seeds. Just 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds gives 5 grams of protein. This small amount also provides 3.5 grams of dietary fiber, which is impressive.

Sesame seeds are also a good source for calcium. So if you have someone who is vegan and does not have animal protein or dairy products, sesame seeds are a great option. When combined in the Immunobooster Drink Mix with other protein super foods, it gets even better!

Suitable for children over 1 year.

10. Soya Noodles

Soy can be tricky to feed older kids who don’t take kindly to khichdi with soy beans or soya chunks. For them, it’s a good idea to go for something more kid-friendly like 100% soya noodles. Along with offering loads of protein and fiber, it also helps lower bad ‘LDL’ cholesterol and increases good ‘HDL’ cholesterol.

Another benefit of feeding your child soya is that it’s perfect for vegans or lactose intolerant kids, especially since soya is a complete protein. Using healthy options like this one also reduces kids’ dependency on unhealthy versions of instant noodles.

Suitable for children over 1 year.