It is common for early years settings to provide a vegetarian menu alongside a non-vegetarian menu. A vegan menu is not seen as much, however, a vegan diet is becoming increasingly popular. Families may follow a vegetarian or vegan diet due to religious, cultural or ethical reasons and it is important that early years settings are respectful to the requests of a family.
Children under 5 have high energy and nutrient requirements, therefore, it is important they have a well-balanced diet to grow and develop well.With a vegetarian and vegan diet there are dietary restrictions that need to be catered for.
What is the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan diet?
Vegetarian Diet
- Vegetables and fruits
- Grains and pulses
- Nuts and seeds
- Eggs
- Dairy products
- Honey
- Meat or poultry
- Fish or seafood
- Insects
- Gelatine or animal rennet
- Stock or fat from animals
Vegan Diet
- Vegetables and fruits
- Grains and pulses
- Nuts and seeds
- Meat or poultry
- Fish or seafood
- Insects
- Gelatine or animal rennet
- Stock or fat from animals
- Eggs
- Dairy products
- Honey
Vegetarian Diet
Careful planning and consideration is needed to ensure that these children are not at a nutritional disadvantage compared to non-vegetarian children. Therefore, it is important that early years settings and caterers have the correct information and guidance to provide as close to an equally nutritious meal as non-vegetarian children.
What to do if a child in your setting is Vegetarian
A vegetarian diet is common and requires small adjustments to achieve a well-balanced diet. With the exclusion of meat and fish products, alternative sources of protein and iron must be eaten. Eggs, grains and pulses (e.g. kidney beans, chick peas, butter beans) and nuts and seeds (e.g. crushed nuts, peanut butter) are vegetarian sources of iron and protein. Quorn products are not suitable meat free alternatives as they do not include iron and are high in added salt. This should be limited on your menu to no more than twice a week and wherever possible used in combination with grains and pulses to provide a source of iron e.g. chilli with Quorn mince and kidney beans.
It is good practice to try and provide a menu where the vegetarian meals are similar to the non-vegetarian meals e.g. chicken curry and chickpea curry. This encourages good eating from the children as all the meals look similar. Settings are also encouraged to have a meat free day where all the children eat the same meal.
What to do if a child in your setting is Vegan
A vegan diet has further dietary restrictions. It is a purely plant based diet and is more difficult to achieve a well-balanced, nutritionally adequate diet. There are a range of nutrients which need to be carefully planned for (protein; iron; zinc; calcium; iodine; riboflavin, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fats) and a risk of developing nutritional deficiencies, therefore we would not advise a vegan diet for children under 5 years.
If families are requesting their child follow a vegan diet please carry out the following steps:
- Refer parents/carers to the child’s health visitor to check that they are growing and developing well for their age and for advice on how to achieve a balanced diet and avoid nutritional deficiencies.
- Check evidence that the family have seen their Health Visitor and received assurance that a vegan diet would be ok e.g. notes from Health Visitor in red book
- Only then adapt your menus or talk to your caterer about an appropriate menu.
If you would like further information on vegan meal planning please download First Steps Nutrition Trust – Eating well: vegan infants and under- 5’s.
It is important to develop and display menus for vegetarian diets alongside non-vegetarian menus
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