What do your dairy free kiddos eat?

[mommytoC&T]

My son has been suffering with nasal and sinus congestion since last March.  He has had periods when he's relatively clear, but most of the time he has some amount of congestion. He had a skin scratch test that revealed a "mild sensitivity" to dust mites, mold, a certain kind of weed pollen and milk.  He had a blood caseine test that came back with a number of 38.5.  Since this was elevated, the pediatrician recommended going dairy free for 6 months.  After 2 1/2 months, his symptoms seemed to be improving although he still had flare ups of congestion.  Mid December he got what seemed to be a cold and has been congested ever since - 5 weeks now.  What's strange is that he wakes up clear, gradually clogs up, and then starts clearing back up usually in the late afternoon.  We homeschool, so he's home most days.  He has a pretty limited diet due to the dairy restriction and tendency to be a picky eater already. I can 't make any connection to his flare ups and diet or anything in the house.  He as an appointment with an ENT next week to check adnoids and tonsils.  My poor guy is almost 6 1/2 and only weighs 37 pounds.  Granted my husband and I are both slim, but still, he's only in the 3rd percentile and had lost a little bit of weight at his last doctor's visit last week for a sinus infection.   If anyone out there can offer input regarding nasal symptoms, diary sensitivities, dairy free food suggestions, I would really appreciate it.  I'm at my witts end trying to figure this out and get him some relief!

[Brees_Mama]

sweet potato chips (theyre at walmart. brand starts with a "T")

wholesome (i think is the brand?) soy yogurt

Veggie shreds shredded soy cheese

baked rice with "Best Life" spread

sorry I couldn't be of much help, my 3yo is climbing me

:hugs:

[bodhitree]

My dairy-free DD eats a lot of different stuff. In terms of direct substitutes for dairy, there is Daiya "cheese," and there are also various non-dairy yogurts, including soy and coconut. I'm actually trying to learn to make my own coconut yogurt--we'll see how that turns out! There are also coconut ice creams that are very good. For snacks, you can do hummus with veggies, chips, or crackers. Or chips and salsa, or celery and peanut butter. FWIW I also tend to cook with more oil than recipes suggest, just because I feel like we need the fat with all the other stuff we're missing out on.