Our reader has the opposite side of the coin to a more common problem - her toddler loves vegetables but not meat. How can this mother be sure her child is eating enough protein? Raisingkids.co.uk's nutrition expert, Vardit Kohn has some useful tips.

Raisingkids member's problem
This may seem like a strange question about a toddler, but I can't get my two-year-old to eat anything but veg at dinner time! I always make sure she has meat on her plate but if she doesn't eat it I don't make a fuss. She must be the toddler in the world to steal brussel sprouts off the table! I'm worried she isn't getting enough protein as she is rather small for her age. I offer her a wide range of meats, fish and eggs but the only things she will eat on a good day is ham or faggots and sometime burgers and sausages. I've tried reducing her veg in the hope she will eat the meat but it doesn't always work. She does eat beans but will this provide enough protein for a growing child?

Nutrition expert's advice
Congratulations! You must be the only mum around not struggling with veg-shy children. You are however right in your intuition that a child’s diet must include a variety of foods, not just one category, and protein is very important to a child’s healthy growth. However, there is a lot of hype about protein and the issue tends sometimes to be blown out of proportion.

The time of life when we need most protein is from birth to six months, when our body weight doubles. This is also the time of life when we are programmed by nature to feed and grow on mother’s milk. Mother’s milk contains only 3-6% protein, and this at a time of peak growth. Thus, even a growing child does not need masses of protein; in fact, the average Western diet includes too much protein rather than too little.

Protein is important, but luckily you can get it from many sources other than meat. Whole grains combined with beans, lentils or seeds provide ‘complete proteins’ from plant source: try brown rice with lentils, pasta with peas or corn tortillas with beans, for example. You can ‘hide’ eggs in sauces or bakes; sprinkle sunflower and ground sesame seeds on the vegetables she likes so much; and offer her different sprouts regularly, such as alfalfa, mung, lentil or bean sprouts. Quinoa is a lovely grain (available in health food shops) that cooks quickly and is high in complete protein. Tofu, hummus, milk and cheese are also good, non-meat protein sources. You may want to look for a good guide book on the subject for more detailed information and ideas.

Lastly, the height of your child may be linked to a many other factors, including genetic tendencies. So long as she develops normally, which can be regularly monitored, you can rest assured she benefits fully from the healthy diet she chose for herself.