which meat/fish would you try next?

[Therese's Mommy]

I am expanding the diet of my dd who has a ton of food allergies. She is lacking mostly in protein and healthy fats in her diet. Before today (when she ate some salmon) she was vegan. I have totally exhausted our options in the vegetarian realm (our family is veg, although it looks like that will be changing). Anyway, we tried salmon today and so far so good in terms of allergies. I am looking ahead to what meat/fish to add next. I want to plan ahead so that I can be sure to find a good source of whatever I am going to give her.

What meat/fish would you add next? I am looking for healthy fats and protein, also I would be psyched if it is also a good source of iron as her iron is a little low. She is highly allergic to milk (along with a bunch of other things), and tested slightly positive for beef, so we will be avoiding beef completely. What would be best? Chicken? Lamb? (not sure how easy that will be to get) Some kind of fish? I am interested in doing bone broths, so it would be great if it is something that I could use in that way.

Thanks!

Beth

[changingseasons]

Lamb is the only meat that DD isn't allergic to, so we eat it a lot. But we only buy 100% grassfed (because she seems to react to the animals diet if they are supplemented). I also make broth with it.

[JElaineB]

I don't really know much about food allergies, but I would recommend grassfed lamb. You can find local sources at http://www.eatwild.com and http://www.localharvest.org. If you get grassfed lamb you know it has only eaten grass so any reaction would be to the lamb itself. With chicken, even organic and/or pastured chicken (which I would certainly recommend if you try chicken) it most likely is still eating allegens itself (such as corn and soy) which could *possibly* be passed in the meat, I think. I'm not a expert, though, so someone correct me if I'm wrong!

ETA: Looks like I cross-posted with changingseasons. Sounds like we have the same basic idea!

[artemis33]

I'd probably try either grassfed beef or a pastured chicken. If you get a whole chicken you could then use the bones to make your broth

Around here it is easier for me to find the beef. I can get small quantities of it in the (good) grocery store, so that is probably what I would do to try it out (granted it is pricier than when you buy it in bulk, but you may not be interested in bulk quantities!). Pastured chickens here have to be ordered from farms usually months in advance. During farmer's market season, there are more options for pastured meats so you could check out what is available if they are already open in your area!

OH wanted to add - good point about what the animals are fed - I was *thrilled* to find the chickens I just ordered - pastured with a small amount of supplemented feed, all organic, no GMO, no soy! That is rare

[tanyalynn]

I too was thinking lamb, but maybe also duck. Duck tends to be fatty, which is tasty when it's cooked, but the fat can also be saved and used for other meals. Duck fat is supposed to taste great!

You've checked out eatwild.com, right? It's a starting point for finding local farms that raise animals properly. You can also look for a native nutrition yahoo group, one purpose is to help people find local farmers, and you may find farms that aren't listed on that website. And a farmer's market would be an easy place to look for local meat, usually pastured.

[Magelet]

I would probably try pastured chicken. Lamb could be good too. It definitely makes a difference what animals eat.

(If she doesn't digest the chicken, lamb or other meat well, and it doesn't appear to be an allergy, try some broths for a while, then retry them. I know a lot of former veggies now meat eaters who had to start slow, because their bodies had to re-learn to digest meat. Broths are protein sparing (you get more from protein so need less), and healing to the gut.)

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by artemis33

I'd probably try either grassfed beef or a pastured chicken. If you get a whole chicken you could then use the bones to make your broth

Around here it is easier for me to find the beef. I can get small quantities of it in the (good) grocery store, so that is probably what I would do to try it out (granted it is pricier than when you buy it in bulk, but you may not be interested in bulk quantities!). Pastured chickens here have to be ordered from farms usually months in advance. During farmer's market season, there are more options for pastured meats so you could check out what is available if they are already open in your area!

OH wanted to add - good point about what the animals are fed - I was *thrilled* to find the chickens I just ordered - pastured with a small amount of supplemented feed, all organic, no GMO, no soy! That is rare

Beef is a no go. She is highly allergic to milk and came up positive to beef on a blood test, so we can't give her beef.

[onthemove]

I was going to suggest halibut or clams, lamb is an acquired taste and while we eat mostly wild meat (moose or venison) lamb is a strong tasting for our dc's but maybe in a curry or something.

[artemis33]

Originally Posted by Therese's Mommy

Beef is a no go. She is highly allergic to milk and came up positive to beef on a blood test, so we can't give her beef.

sorry I missed that before!

[JElaineB]

Originally Posted by onthemove

I was going to suggest halibut or clams, lamb is an acquired taste and while we eat mostly wild meat (moose or venison) lamb is a strong tasting for our dc's but maybe in a curry or something.

I do agree that some cuts of lamb can have a strong flavor, but I was thinking ground lamb. I've had grass-fed ground lamb from several sources and it always has been very mild tasting to me.

[BirthKathy]

My son is also highly allergic to dairy, and tested severely intolerant to beef and moderate to lamb. According to my food family booklet that I received from the testing place, beef and lamb are both in the same food family.

He tested negative to eggs, so we just started with egg yolk and that is going well. I am eating turkey, chicken, eggs and salmon. (still nursing)

I don't know what you should do, but I thought I'd share what is working for us since the kids have the same allergy. :-)

[mamadelbosque]

pastured chicken, grassfed lamb, pastured goat, and wild venison are pretty much the meats we eat, with a little grassfed beef every now and then.

[Alyantavid]

I would probably try turkey or pork. Deer if you can find it. Lamb might go over ok, I have a nephew who's very picky, but he absolutely loves lamb.

For fish, tilapia and trout are both pretty mild.

[deditus]

We love sardines, too. Trader Joe's and Crown Prince have some that are packed in olive oil. Great for lunch or snack, we eat them with rice crackers.

[robugmum]

I agree with most of the previous suggestions. Rabbit is pretty low on the allergy list too. I knew one child who couldn't eat any other kind of animal protein at all! I happen to love it and it is one of the most sustainable meats around.

[kjbrown92]

Chicken or turkey make great broth (the pork broth I tried to make was not very good).

Have you tried coconut for a good fat already? It's versatile (we use coconut milk to make coconut milk yogurt, etc.) for cooking/baking.

My kids like salmon and tilapia, and that's it for fish. One of them can't eat beef, and the other can't eat chicken. They can both eat pork (but it has to be rotated, since DS reacts mildly to it) and he just got back turkey as well (also has to be rotated). They've tried venison and lamb but didn't like it. DS tried tuna and loved it, but reacted. I'm still looking into other meats.

True pasture fed chickens shouldn't be eating corn and soy. They should be eating bugs, etc. Cage free chickens are usually fed corn and soy because they're not actually out in the world.

Goat is another one to try.

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Chicken or turkey make great broth (the pork broth I tried to make was not very good).

Have you tried coconut for a good fat already? It's versatile (we use coconut milk to make coconut milk yogurt, etc.) for cooking/baking.

My kids like salmon and tilapia, and that's it for fish. One of them can't eat beef, and the other can't eat chicken. They can both eat pork (but it has to be rotated, since DS reacts mildly to it) and he just got back turkey as well (also has to be rotated). They've tried venison and lamb but didn't like it. DS tried tuna and loved it, but reacted. I'm still looking into other meats.

True pasture fed chickens shouldn't be eating corn and soy. They should be eating bugs, etc. Cage free chickens are usually fed corn and soy because they're not actually out in the world.

Goat is another one to try.

She is allergic to coconut, that is what makes everything so hard. Also allergic to avocado.

I spoke to an awesome local farmer yesterday. She came recommended by a friend who said I can completely trust her. She uses no soy at all on her farm. She has her chicken feed specially made so that it does not contain soy. I believe she said that they only get feed in the winter. I am sure they are not getting corn either. She was really hardcore. She even suggested that we start raising our own animals and offered to look at any land we were considering buying. She said her farm is a teaching farm and it definitely showed. She suggested that I don't buy any meat for my dd from the grocery because of her allergies.

She said she should have chickens ready in 2 months and lamb I think in the fall. She is going to try and find me some in the meantime from other farmers (she is making some calls for me). I can't remember if she said she has turkey, but that will be another possibility as I just got back last night the results and she is negative for turkey as well. Pork came back negative as well, but I am not really excited about pork for some reason.

She is also very familiar with bone broths and keeps the bones for that. She also keeps the organ meats, except the hearts and gizzards which go to her cats and dogs.

So far so good with the salmon. I haven't been able to eat it myself I guess it is the combination of the smell and having handled it uncooked. I do think our whole family will start eating some meat/fish, but for now I am a little squeamish after not eating it for almost 15 years.

[staceychev]

I would stay away from tilapia. There's a lot of information on the web about this, from sources of varying reliability. This one is just a random blog, but it summarizes the issues nicely. Essentially, they're fed testosterone to turn them male, they're on a mostly corn diet, and they're high in Omega-6s, so they're like hamburgers and fried chicken for your heart!

http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/...d-for-you.html

I actually was doing a pendulum "survey" of the food items in my kitchen once, asking my body what it liked and didn't like. The one thing it didn't like was the tilapia in the freezer! This was the first I had heard of this, and I went onto the web to do some research and was surprised to find out all the negatives.

[cristeen]

I think you seriously lucked out on finding that farmer!! And I completely agree - once you've identified what he can handle, raising your own may be a very good idea.

I agree with the pp's - lamb would be a great thing to try next. I know one little boy whose only source of protein is lamb.

For any fish/seafood, you really want to get wild caught - farmed fish are fed crap.

I would be hesitant with duck - it's difficult to find ducks that aren't fed soy/corn. But if you can find it, go for it. Duck is a red meat, so higher in iron than other poultry like chicken/turkey. It's also a great source of fat as the pp indicated - I get it 5# at a time.

Another option that is becoming more available, at least around here, is goat, often labeled chevon.

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I think you seriously lucked out on finding that farmer!! And I completely agree - once you've identified what he can handle, raising your own may be a very good idea.

I agree with the pp's - lamb would be a great thing to try next. I know one little boy whose only source of protein is lamb.

For any fish/seafood, you really want to get wild caught - farmed fish are fed crap.

I would be hesitant with duck - it's difficult to find ducks that aren't fed soy/corn. But if you can find it, go for it. Duck is a red meat, so higher in iron than other poultry like chicken/turkey. It's also a great source of fat as the pp indicated - I get it 5# at a time.

Another option that is becoming more available, at least around here, is goat, often labeled chevon.

If I got duck it would be from this farmer and she uses no soy on her farm at all. And I doubt she uses corn, she is very particular.

I would be hesitant about goat because she is highly allergic to goat's milk. She is also highly allergic to cow's milk and tested positive for beef, so I would guess it is the same with the goat. Oddly, she is allergic to eggs, but tested negative for chicken, but the tests aren't 100%, so we will have to see.

I am going to be careful about wild caught fish. On another thread someone recommended Vital Choice for salmon. I think I will be ordering salmon from there since even the Alaskan wild caught salmon that I bought frozen at my well stocked grocery store was processed in China