Newly Diagnosed Allergies... Need Help Feeding My Kid

[chely7425]

I have a 15 month old who was just diagnosed with a bunch of allergies... strawberries (most other berries too), citrus, tomatoes, dairy and soy. I am not worried about the veggies/fruits, those are easy enough, but what do I do about the soy and dairy??? That cuts out so many foods he eats!!

[chely7425]

Anybody?

[scsigrl]

That list is really doable.

What are you specifically looking to figure out?

[lil_miss_understood]

Coconut yogourt is now on sale in most stores, as is coconut milk, rice milk, hazelnut milk etc. You could also PM kjbrown or ask in the Chat thread for Kathy to pm you her coconut yogourt recipe. While you're at it, you might ask her about how to make your own mayo, unless you want to buy Spectrum canola mayo.
Daiya cheese is coconut based. Kathy also found a cheese called Rice Vegan which is soy and dairy free which she prefers.

As Mammo2Sammo always says, I would work on getting 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners and a couple of snacks which aren't reliant on those foods.
That's what comes off the top of my (presently ill) head. If you have anything more specific to ask, I'll be here.

eta: you sound really overwhelmed. It's going to be okay. We're here and we'll help you through. Also, check out the resources sticky. One of the first posts should be the allergen free recipes thread.

[rhesp1212]

Hugs, Mamma! It's going to be okay. Dairy and soy are toughies to avoid at first, but once you get a handle on it it's really not hard. For the most part, you'll need to find out alternative names for dairy and soy derivitives. Don't trust the labels to put it in the allergy warning area! We are off dairy, soy and a TON of other things. Basically prepackaged foods for the most part are out. Prepare most of your foods for your child at home from fresh whole foods. This is the easiest way to avoid possible cross contamination or trace slipping in. Instead of thinking what she CAN'T have, think about what she can have!

There are lots of milk alternatives...coconut, hemp, rice, almond, oat milk, etc. that are available on the market. She can have corn and wheat, so you can still do alot of cereals for breakfast.

I premake a lot of foods and freeze them so I do'nt ever get in a bind where I don't have a safe snack for DS.

You CAN do this, Mamma! I know it's overwhelming at first!

[chely7425]

I am SUPER overwhelmed!! My husband is due to deploy any day now, we are having marital issues (to put it mildly), I am having our 3rd baby in 3 weeks and now this... I mean, I am glad to know what we need to address with this kid but I have no idea what to feed him!! Breakfast I think I am good with... cereal, eggs, fruit, and I want to get some of that coconut yogurt you guys were talking about. We have some rice milk that we got to try that he will tolerate drinking. Lunches... I have no idea. Right now he is eating hot dogs, cheerios, and apple slices because it is all I could find/think of to feed him. Dinners are sort of an issue too because it involves getting my mom to change the way she cooks since we are staying with her for the year DH is deployed.

I REALLY need to figure out some lunch/dinner stuff I can premake and just have on hand to feed him so he doesn't waste away when the baby is born and I have 3 of them to deal with.

Not to mention everyone keeps saying it isn't THAT big a deal because he doesn't have a deadly allergic reaction... *just* a horrible rash and nasty poo and bad sleeping...

[lil_miss_understood]

Originally Posted by chely7425

I am SUPER overwhelmed!! My husband is due to deploy any day now, we are having marital issues (to put it mildly), I am having our 3rd baby in 3 weeks and now this... I mean, I am glad to know what we need to address with this kid but I have no idea what to feed him!! Breakfast I think I am good with... cereal, eggs, fruit, and I want to get some of that coconut yogurt you guys were talking about. We have some rice milk that we got to try that he will tolerate drinking. Lunches... I have no idea. Right now he is eating hot dogs, cheerios, and apple slices because it is all I could find/think of to feed him. Dinners are sort of an issue too because it involves getting my mom to change the way she cooks since we are staying with her for the year DH is deployed.

I REALLY need to figure out some lunch/dinner stuff I can premake and just have on hand to feed him so he doesn't waste away when the baby is born and I have 3 of them to deal with.

Not to mention everyone keeps saying it isn't THAT big a deal because he doesn't have a deadly allergic reaction... *just* a horrible rash and nasty poo and bad sleeping...

Check out the allergen free recipes thread and freezer thread.
People are clueless. I'm sorry.

nak bbl

[scsigrl]

Lunch meat should work for you! I know for sure Applegate Farms is safe of those things.

There is a "cheeseless" mac and cheese. My kids eat it well though I know some do not.

Soups are easy to make DF! We do a lot of soups here. Also crock pots are a great option. I do all sorts of chicken dishes in mine. I just add what I have on hand (potatos, squash, peppers) whatever.

: What a stressful time for you! Please know this is a great place to find information! Just let us know what you need and someone here will have answers for you!

It helps if we know what exactly you need (well, for me anyway). I have a head filled with useless allergy information that I don't want to overwhelm people with so it's easier to answer specific questions.

More hugs too!!!

[chely7425]

Well, a few things:

1. For right now meals need to rely on meat as little as possible, my parents keep kosher so meat is a whole nother issue. Hot dogs are easy, and we can do a small amount of lunch meat but it is expensive and hard to get.

2. I need easy to make lunch and dinner ideas... like, they used to eat mac and cheese, yogurt, cheese, fruit and sandwiches for lunch or quick dinners. The only things left on that list are sandwiches and some fruits... so what else can I do that is quick?

[rhesp1212]

Congrats on your baby, and I'm sorry to hear about your hubby deploying....BTDT! My DH is in the Army and is currently gone for a year too! It's so stressful, I know!! Hang in there!!

How about things like hummus with veggies, or beans of any kind....I think you can even find dehydrated or fried chickpeas that kids usually like as a crunchy snack. Nuts, if he can tolerate them okay, are a great snack. Get natural or fresh ground peanut butter or other nut butters and make pb&j sandwhiches on dairy/soy free bread. Most organic sections of grocery stores carry breads that are free of dairy and soy. For example, I know there is a spelt bread that has absolutely nothing else added to it! I also make my own safe breads at home and use that for sandwhiches. Or make cornbread and put the nut butter or hummus on it. You can probably find dairy/soy free crackers in the organic sections too.

I know you said to limit meat, but if you can find something like a whole turkey or chicken, roast it and make sandwhiches from left over meat, and soups from the bones to make a bone broth, etc. with them. You could also do hardboiled eggs for lunch, or egg salad with dairy/soy free mayo. Definitely think outside of your traditional lunches....pasta that he can eat with his fingers is good for lunch too. French fries or potatoe chips for snacks and lunch.

Hope that helps a little bit!
Valerie

[chely7425]

Thank you! Lots of good ideas... I will talk to my mom about the whole chicken idea... that could work well if I can keep everyone else from eating it in 2 seconds flat!

[Mommy2Haley]

Boars head turkey breast is dairy/soy (top 8) free if you need lunch meat.

Tyson chicken nuggets are dairy free (not sure on soy).

We eat lots of BEANS now that we're off top 8 plus corn, rice, citrus, gluten.

[kjbrown92]

Are these IgE allergies? Or intolerances? It may be semantics to some, however, some folks with soy allergies can tolerate soy lecithin and soybean oil, so keep that in mind after you get to baseline (free of symptoms) to see if he can tolerate them. Just curious where you live (since I forgot to look before starting the reply) since some brands are found more easily in some places than others.

Coconut Bliss and So Delicious coconut milk ice cream are both very good (just look at the flavors because some of the chocolate chip ones have soy in them).

Some things to do ahead of the new baby, roast a chicken, then make broth out of the bones (simmer for 24-36 hours with celery, carrot, clove of garlic, and 6-8 peppercorns). The broth is good as a soup base or gravy, and it's a great source of calcium and other minerals. I do mine in the crockpot. Other crockpot meals we make are chicken marsala, chicken mirabella. We also make turkey broth and make turkey soup with turkey meatballs (I make a whole pan of small ones and bake in the oven at 375F for 15 minutes, and throw some in the soup, and freeze some for another batch some other time). All of those things freeze really well. Will he eat potatoes? Roasted potatoes, french fries, hash browns, potato pancakes, boiled potatoes, etc. We do a lot of rice in the rice cooker as an easy side dish. Just be careful with the deli meat with cross contamination on the slicers. You can ask them to use a fresh slicer if you get there early in the morning sometimes.

Hard boil a bunch of eggs so you can make deviled eggs, egg salad, just a hard boiled egg as a snack.

We make pancakes/waffles with no dairy (use rice milk or almond milk, etc.) and then freeze extras so we can just pop them in the toaster to reheat.

Sorry people think it's okay to downplay allergies. Poor sleep affects soooo many other things (growth, mood, etc.). Most of us here understand that one all too well.

If you've got specific recipes that you want altered, just let us know. I'm hoping that my recipe blog is back up again soon (it was hacked). I've got lots of recipes on there.

[chely7425]

I live in Washington State, kinda near Seattle. My mom will actually be in Seattle on Thursday so she is going to go pick some things up from Whole Foods. We are *pretty sure* that soy lecitin and soybean oil are going to be on the ok list but like you said... we want to get to baseline first before we test that particular issue. I think I will try and do a bunch of cooking this week... I feel so bad for the little guy, the majority of his favorite foods just went away until I can find a way to replace them!! Any thoughts on suitable replacements for a 1 year old for:

- pizza (he can't have tomatoes either)
- waffles (can I make normal waffles and just use rice milk?)
- cheese sticks
- mac and cheese

We generally make all of the above from scratch anyway so making it from scratch a different way is no big deal... just not sure how to do it!

[lil_miss_understood]

There's a product on the market called nomato. you may have to order it online... it's carrot and beet based tomato product replacements. someone has a similar recipe in the allergen free recipes i linked earlier too.
between that and the 2 cheeses i mentioned earlier, pizza should be not only possible but recognizable.
you should be able to make waffles with just rice milk yes.
i don't think you'll find a replacement for cheese sticks but road's end makes passable boxed non-dairy mac n cheese i understand, Amy's makes a frozen mac n cheese that's gluten, dairy and soy free (but strangely not a dairy and soy free one) or you might look at doing it yourself with either cheese i mentioned, though Kathy might have a better idea if that'd work.