Chicken off the plate is not one problem. It is a bundle coming apart: B12, the kind of iron the body takes up easily, some zinc, some protein. They do not all vanish together, and they do not all belong in the same shopping trip.
We sell B12. We do not sell iron. Those two sentences are the useful part of this page.
The short answer
- Vitamin B12 occurs naturally in animal foods. Eggs and dairy can cover it. A plate with none of those needs a planned source.
- Iron from plants is absorbed less readily than iron from meat. That is a kitchen problem, not a shopping slogan.
- Our product contains no iron. It does contain B12. Those are two different sentences.
- A child who still eats eggs, yoghurt, beans and a bit of fruit with meals is not in the same situation as a child who eats none of those.
- A month off beef, with chicken and eggs still there, is not a diet. It is a phase. It does not need a supplement strategy.
Meat is several jobs, not one
Take the chicken off the plate and you have not created one problem. You have taken apart a bundle.
B12 is the awkward one. Almost no plant food gives you a source you can count on, unless it is fortified. EFSA's 2015 opinion sets an adequate intake of 4 µg a day for adults, with lower figures in childhood that still have to come from somewhere. Eggs, milk, yoghurt and cheese are ordinary ways to get it. A house that has dropped all of those, not only meat, has something to plan. The child B12 page is here.
Iron is a different job. Beans, dark leaves, nuts and fortified cereals carry it. The body takes up less of that kind than the iron in meat, and vitamin C at the same meal helps. Pepper, tomato or fruit with the beans is a real move. Buying a multinutrient and assuming iron is handled is not.
We have written the iron article already. The sentence that matters here is the same one: we do not sell iron. If iron is the worry, this product is the wrong product. Does my child need an iron supplement?.
What the rest of the week can still do
Zinc, iodine and vitamin D get named in the same breath as meat. They do not all belong there.
Iodine comes readily from milk, from sea fish, and from iodised salt where a country uses it. Portugal and Spain get more from fish than a northern week without it. Ireland has a history of iodised salt being less consistent than people assume. Dairy and fish still do more for this than a steak. The iodine page is here.
Vitamin D is mostly a latitude, season and indoor-life question, not a meat question. Skin makes little of it in a northern winter whatever is on the plate. Portugal in July is a different sky. The NHS winter leaflet is UK public advice, not a Portuguese statute. The age table is here.
Zinc is in meat, and also in pulses, nuts, seeds and dairy. A week with plants and dairy is not empty of it. The zinc-and-copper page is here.
So the short list is actually short. B12 if animal foods have gone. Iron as a food-and-GP question. Vitamin D as its own file.
A phase is not a diet
A child who refuses beef for a month and still eats chicken, eggs and yoghurt is not vegetarian. They are being fussy about one food. That is common, it often passes, and it does not need a supplement strategy. The picky-eating page, which is a different article, is here.
A child who has eaten no meat, fish, eggs or dairy for months is in a different category. You can see that without a laboratory. It is also the point at which a GP or dietitian is more use than an article.
We are not going to give you a checklist. A week of food tells you more, and a GP can do the rest. Midnight googling does not. In Portugal that appointment is the family doctor or SNS 24. In Spain, the paediatrician. AESAN has healthy-eating materials; they sit beside that call.
Our next release is on its way.
Our first small release is complete, and we're getting the next one ready. Join early access and you'll get 10% off your first order. We'll email your code as soon as ordering opens.
Where My Daily Pocket fits
| Formula | B12 in one scoop | Iron | Who it suits | Who it does not |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Kids (4–11) | 25 µg | None | A daily multinutrient beside a week that has dropped meat and kept eggs or dairy | Iron. A house with no animal foods and no plan. Under 4. |
| Pocket Teens (12–17) | 100 µg | None | Same idea, teen amounts | Iron. A clinician's B12 injection. |
| Pocket Adults (18+) | 100 µg | None | Same idea, adult amounts | Iron. Pregnancy as prenatal care. |
Kids also carry vitamin D3 25 µg, zinc 5 mg, iodine 75 µg, vitamin C 80 mg. Teens and Adults carry D3 35 µg, zinc 10 mg, iodine 100 µg. Those lines are real. They still do not put iron in the pouch.
A daily multinutrient can sit beside a diet that has dropped meat and kept eggs and dairy. It cannot replace a conversation about iron, and we will not write as if it could. If you arrived because someone said vegetarian children should take "a vitamin with iron", look at the label. Ours is not that vitamin.
Vitamin B12 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism, in those authorised wordings. That is not a reason to skip the week of food.
What we would actually do this week
- Write down a week of food, as it happens. See whether eggs, dairy or fish are still there.
- If they are, B12 may already be covered. Check the label of any fortified cereal or plant drink as well, so you are not counting twice or counting nothing.
- Put a vitamin C food on the plate with the beans, if meat has gone and beans have come in.
- Keep vitamin D as a separate question. Latitude and season, not steak.
- If all animal foods have gone, or you are simply uneasy, that is a GP appointment. Bring the week of food. It makes the ten minutes far more useful.
FAQ
If they will not eat meat, do they need a multinutrient?
Not automatically. First see whether eggs, dairy or fish are still there. B12 lives in those. Iron is a GP question. We sell the first. We do not sell the second.
Does Pocket Kids contain iron?
No. None of the three formulas.
How much B12 is in the Kids pouch?
25 µg. Teens and Adults: 100 µg. That is a real amount against the adult NRV of 2.5 µg. It is not a reason to ignore dairy and eggs if they are still on the plate.
Is a month without beef a vegetarian diet?
No. It is a phase about one food, if chicken, eggs or yoghurt are still there.
What about iodine without fish?
Milk, yoghurt, cheese, and iodised salt where the country actually uses it. Portugal and Spain often get more from fish. Read the iodine page.
Sources
- EFSA, dietary reference values for vitamin B12, 2015
- EFSA, dietary reference values for iron, 2015
- EU Register of nutrition and health claims
- SNS 24
- AESAN
- Does my child need an iron supplement?
- How much vitamin B12 does a child need?
- My child won't eat
About the authors
Lina is a co-founder of My Daily Pocket and is certified in nutrition. Stanislava is a co-founder. They write the Knowledge Hub together.
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026.
Food supplements should not replace a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. No supplement is a substitute for a varied, balanced diet. Stay within the dose on the pack. This page does not replace a GP. If you are pregnant, on medicines, or a child has a medical condition, speak to a professional.
Our first small release is complete and ordering is paused. Join early access for 10% off the first order from the next release. We will email the code when ordering opens.
