Highly allergic toddler! How to make sure her diet?

[whooopsy]

hello mamas:

my little cutie has been diagnosed with the following allergies:

milk (casein)
(chicken) egg
celiac deasease!

this already makes her diet hard enough, but it is even harder since she refuses to eat lots of food and i am confused whether she gets enough nutrition. i feel left alone by doctors, they just keep repeating "she should eat what she likes". but if i keep letting her choose she will only eat the following:

- lots of bread (gf free bread like rice/millet/buckwheat) with soy-margarine and gf-free belony or honey on it
- gf free noodles with tomatoe sauce
- she refuses all kinds of veggies!
- in fruits she only likes to eat apple, banana or grapes
- potatoes, rice, meat

thats basically her diet!

i feel so lost in this and am worrying a lot about her. she has not been growing propery and is farther short/light-weighted for her age (she turned 3 in feb) but the doctors keep saying that she fits in her growth/weight-curve (in the curve she ist at about 3%).

as i dont live in the us (i live in germany) maybe you can give me some general advice but not necessary product/brand names.

[tinyblackdot]

Are you still BFing?

It sounds like you could up her fat intake. Maybe try using coconut oil in her toast, Hemp Milk is a great substitute, my dd loves it in her rice ceareal. Um....

Our staples here are Avacados (great source of fats) Sweet Potatoes (i cut them up like frenchfries and bake them with a bit of olive oil on them, but you can also make mashe sweetpotatoes and add saflower oil, or cocnut oil). You could get GF tortillas and do chicken or beef fajitas (maybe try mushrooms or veggies) and add avacado, tomatoes, and plain soy yougurt or soy sourcream. What about nut butters? DD get alot of her fats and proteins from almond butter.

Will she eat beans?

[whooopsy]

Originally Posted by tinyblackdot

Are you still BFing?

It sounds like you could up her fat intake. Maybe try using coconut oil in her toast, Hemp Milk is a great substitute, my dd loves it in her rice ceareal. Um....

Our staples here are Avacados (great source of fats) Sweet Potatoes (i cut them up like frenchfries and bake them with a bit of olive oil on them, but you can also make mashe sweetpotatoes and add saflower oil, or cocnut oil). You could get GF tortillas and do chicken or beef fajitas (maybe try mushrooms or veggies) and add avacado, tomatoes, and plain soy yougurt or soy sourcream. What about nut butters? DD get alot of her fats and proteins from almond butter.

Will she eat beans?

thanks

yes, i still BF but its nearly ending (only a little "zip" in the morning).

she hates beans and veggies

but i will try the coconut oil. do you use it instead of butter spread?

[kjbrown92]

Keep trying new things and if she sees you eating them, she may try them as well. If you're feeding her completely separate meals, then she may not be as interested in them.

If she likes the noodles, then try different sauces than just tomato. My kids love Swedish meatballs with gravy over noodles. If you make a roast chicken, use the drippings to make gravy. My kids dip their vegetables in the gravy (green beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower). My DS loves sweet potato-bacon hash (I'm making it right now so I'm thinking of it).

We went through a phase where each week at the grocery store, I had the kids pick out a new fruit and/or vegetable to try. They liked picking it out and then everyone trying it (we got some good ones, some duds like ugli and star fruit). Have you tried melons like cantaloupe and watermelon? A lot of kids think those are fun to eat off the rind. My kids like them as melon balls as well.

Sweet potato fries are fun. They do gluten-free ketchup here in the states and I figure since Europe is way ahead of us with celiac, you probably have it there too.

I make coconut milk yogurt and my DD2 (she's 4yo and has been restricted since 13 months old) dips fruit in it.

Buckwheat waffles and sausages, both dipped in maple syrup

[Chinese Pistache]

I agree with increasing her fat intake. Cook all of her foods in lots of oil: olive, safflower, coconut. Add oil to gluten free oatmeal or some other hot cereal (buckwheat, rice).

Hide pureed vegetables in foods she will eat. I make pancakes with pumpkin puree (I buy it in a can/tin, not sure if you can get it there.) I can make the same recipe with applesauce, mashed banana, pureed carrots, pureed zuchinni, blueberries, etc. Whatever I have on hand. You can add cinnamon or other spices, too.

Add some pureed vegetables to her tomato sauce: sweet peppers, squash, spinach, etc.

You said she eats meat, so make meatballs with all kinds of goodies hidden in them. Add sauteed, finely chopped vegetables and beans to the meat and then, fry or bake.

If she likes to dip, maybe you can introduce beans by making a bean dip (cook and puree the beans until smooth) and have her dips some gluten free crackers or pita bread. Hummus is good, but you can use other beans, too.

[whooopsy]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Keep trying new things and if she sees you eating them, she may try them as well. If you're feeding her completely separate meals, then she may not be as interested in them.

I make coconut milk yogurt and my DD2 (she's 4yo and has been restricted since 13 months old) dips fruit in it.

i never thought about that she might be more interested in eating something that i eat too. since i am a single mum with a low income at the moment i cook separately for me and her, but i will try to share her food to make it more fun :

thanks for the ideas with the veggys in the store, i will try that too!

do you the your yoghurt yourself??

i never use coconut oil - is it nutrional? i usually use rape oil, olive oil (only sometimes because she doesnt like the taste) or corn or soy oil.

and the sweet potatoes sound yummy too:

[whooopsy]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

I agree with increasing her fat intake. Cook all of her foods in lots of oil: olive, safflower, coconut. Add oil to gluten free oatmeal or some other hot cereal (buckwheat, rice)..

thanks for the tipp to puree veggies!! i will try that one for sure :

is safflower oil safe for kids that young??

[whooopsy]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Sweet potato fries are fun. They do gluten-free ketchup here in the states and I figure since Europe is way ahead of us with celiac, you probably have it there too.

yeah, we have gf-ketchup and she loves it (i dont like it too much because each ketchup contains some kind of sugar)

do you just cook the sweet potato fries and then bake them with some oil?

[tinyblackdot]

I cut up the potatoes like fries, and then coat then toss them in olive oil, and then bake them on a pan for about 20 minutes at about 275f...or untill soft.

And yes, you can use the coconut oil just like butter, so in oatmeal (we do coconut oil and add hemp milk) on toast, on veggies, you can even add it to smoothies (which are great for the picky eaters! Just add yogurt, frozen fruits and or bananas, fruit juice, flaxseed oil, a dash of milk, and then i add some probiotics and other supplements to it.

Have you tried babyfood veggies? My dd will only eat peas and greenbeans if offered whole, but i can feed her just about any veggies out of th babyfood jar. I dont know why.

Also we make a Mac N Cheese with rice elbow noodles, and then i buy the organic babyfood squash and add some oil, and tada, it looks just like MacNcheese!

What about fish?

[Lissybug]

Would she eat a smoothie? My kids love smoothies or popsicles made from smoothies, and they're so easy to cram a bunch of nutrition into

[kjbrown92]

MDC isn't letting me quote tonight for some reason...

Yes, I make the coconut milk yogurt myself.
We do smoothies too and then freeze into pops for summertime.

Everything is more fun off of mama's plate.

My DD2 even eats salmon out of a can.

My kids like chickpeas and refried beans too.

As far as I know safflower oil is okay. Coconut oil is actually healing as well as good for you nutritionally. I go through alot of it.

[ASusan]

Originally Posted by whooopsy

hello mamas:

my little cutie has been diagnosed with the following allergies:

milk (casein)
(chicken) egg
celiac deasease!

this already makes her diet hard enough, but it is even harder since she refuses to eat lots of food and i am confused whether she gets enough nutrition. i feel left alone by doctors, they just keep repeating "she should eat what she likes". but if i keep letting her choose she will only eat the following:

- lots of bread (gf free bread like rice/millet/buckwheat) with soy-margarine and gf-free belony or honey on it
- gf free noodles with tomatoe sauce
- she refuses all kinds of veggies!
- in fruits she only likes to eat apple, banana or grapes
- potatoes, rice, meat

thats basically her diet!

i feel so lost in this and am worrying a lot about her. she has not been growing propery and is farther short/light-weighted for her age (she turned 3 in feb) but the doctors keep saying that she fits in her growth/weight-curve (in the curve she ist at about 3%).

as i dont live in the us (i live in germany) maybe you can give me some general advice but not necessary product/brand names.

You have the same restrictions we do, except we're avoiding peanuts (and by extension, all nuts), too.

I may be repeating some of the mamas above me --

- lots of bread (gf free bread like rice/millet/buckwheat) with soy-margarine and gf-free belony or honey on it

switch to coconut oil.
We also do gf buckwheat pancakes, in which I can hide pureed pumpkin, squash, sweet potato, applesauce or banana. I use rice milk, and hot water + flax seed as an egg replacer. (3 Tablespoons hot water + 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed - let sit 10 minutes = 1 egg in a baked-goods recipe)


- gf free noodles with tomatoe sauce

puree vegetables and add to the tomato sauce. Be careful pureeing green vegetables and adding them to red sauce. It will turn brown and your LO will be suspicious. Start with the orange family - pumpkin/sweet potato/squash purees. You can add onion, cauliflower, zucchini and carrots fairly easily, too. Start with just one, and watch that the consistency is similar to the tomato sauce she already eats. Over time, you can add more veggies and alter the consistency even more.

- in fruits she only likes to eat apple, banana or grapes

Those are our 3 fruits, too. Pear would be relatively easy to add to applesauce. Other fruits may go into smoothies, if you can get her drinking those.


- potatoes, rice, meat

Cook your rice in bone broth. Make it brown rice for added nutrition. You could also do mashed potatoes, cooked in bone broth and with added coconut oil. YOu could mash cauliflower into them. PP had great ideas about hiding vegetables in meatloaf/balls. THis is how I get veggies into DH, too!

[whooopsy]

: WOW - i love this forum!

a lot of your advice sounds really great, i havent even thought of those ideas!

i will definitely try the coconut oil, the veggy puree, the smoothies (she will love those i know - i just need to find a way of making it sweet enough!) and also the bone browth!!

how long can you store a bone browth in the fridge?

[whooopsy]

Originally Posted by ASusan

You have the same restrictions we do, except we're avoiding peanuts (and by extension, all nuts), too.

funny in a way that we have similar kids

until now i havent found one single child in my neighbourhood/friends who deals with the same allergies my dd does. sometimes it really stresses me out because she is so restricted on her options :

how do you deal with situations when your dd sees other kids eating something different and she is not allowed to eat it? what do you say when she wants to try it or looks sad because she cant?

normally i deal with it in a "normal" way, i dont act weird about it and try not to make a big deal of her allergies in a way that she has to feel strange. and i make sure to have her snacks with me all the time, so whenever a mummy pulls out her candys at the playground then i am prepared

....but still: there is so much temptation in our world, it gives me sometimes a hard time to deal with it. also, a lot of people express their sorries about dd's "situation".

so: how do you deal with those moments?

BTW, are you avoiding nuts on purpose or is she allergic to them too?

[kjbrown92]

When other people say sorry about our situation, I point out the good stuff... they eat real food and they hardly ever get sick.

When they wish they had something that someone else was eating. I tell them it's "bad food" or "sad food" (their food is "happy food") or tell them they can't have it because it'll make them sick, give them a rash, or whatever. I do have treats a lot to make up for it (right now we have peppermint patties and root beer barrels from www.naturalcandystore.com. Because I'm pretty nonchalant about it, they are too. DD2 will just say "no thank you." Sometimes she'll add "I'm allergic." But usually she just goes off and plays. Though when she was 2 and they did Valentine's Day, all the kids grabbed the candy and started eating it. I wasn't expecting a 2 year old to get a bag full of candy (especially because everyone knew she had allergies) and she was pretty upset that she couldn't have a lollipop. If I'd had foresight, I would've gotten her one.

[tinyblackdot]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

When other people say sorry about our situation, I point out the good stuff... they eat real food and they hardly ever get sick.

Hm...i wish that where true for us.
\

[lobilichetti]

Coconut Milk Yogurt Recipe?

Do you or anyone have a tried and true coconut milk yogurt recipe that you can share?

Thanks,
Leela

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Keep trying new things and if she sees you eating them, she may try them as well. If you're feeding her completely separate meals, then she may not be as interested in them.

If she likes the noodles, then try different sauces than just tomato. My kids love Swedish meatballs with gravy over noodles. If you make a roast chicken, use the drippings to make gravy. My kids dip their vegetables in the gravy (green beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower). My DS loves sweet potato-bacon hash (I'm making it right now so I'm thinking of it).

We went through a phase where each week at the grocery store, I had the kids pick out a new fruit and/or vegetable to try. They liked picking it out and then everyone trying it (we got some good ones, some duds like ugli and star fruit). Have you tried melons like cantaloupe and watermelon? A lot of kids think those are fun to eat off the rind. My kids like them as melon balls as well.

Sweet potato fries are fun. They do gluten-free ketchup here in the states and I figure since Europe is way ahead of us with celiac, you probably have it there too.

I make coconut milk yogurt and my DD2 (she's 4yo and has been restricted since 13 months old) dips fruit in it.

Buckwheat waffles and sausages, both dipped in maple syrup

[whooopsy]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Though when she was 2 and they did Valentine's Day, all the kids grabbed the candy and started eating it. I wasn't expecting a 2 year old to get a bag full of candy (especially because everyone knew she had allergies) and she was pretty upset that she couldn't have a lollipop. If I'd had foresight, I would've gotten her one.

uh, thats sad for your little one luckily only newly weds and adults celebrate valentines day here in germany so i dont have to deal with that issue right now. but off course there is often a kids birthday to be celebrated in preschool so i'd have to bring stuff for my dd.

[whooopsy]

Originally Posted by lobilichetti

Do you or anyone have a tried and true coconut milk yogurt recipe that you can share?

Thanks,
Leela

i would love to get that recipe too : currently my daughter eats processed soy joghurt but its just an alternative.

[kjbrown92]

It's on my blog (in my sig). Not sure if it's in the recipes sticky at the top of the page as well.