[megincl]

DS has tons of allergies. The main ones are wheat, gluten, dairy, soy, oats, and strawberries. He tested allergic to eggs but we had yet to see reactions so the doc told us to keep giving them to him as he has very few protein sources. This week he binged on eggs. And TOTALLY had allergic reactions -- horrible behavior, constipation, etc.

We are feeling really down and out about what he can/will eat. Especially in the protein domain. In addition to allergies, he has SID, which really affects what he will eat. Strangely, at daycare he'll eat things like sliced turkey or cut up hot dogs, but at home he won't. He really won't. No matter what we try. And he also won't just "eventually eat because he's hungry," because only once in his life has he told us he's hungry. Bizarre.

So, we're looking for other protein sources. Probably those that you can sneak into things like goat yogurt or gfcf pancakes. We use whey powder sometimes. I tried one protein meal shake and just smelling it made me gag, so I have another kind to try. He'll eat nuts and peanut butter occasionally, but not with enough regularity to be a reliable protein source. What else can we do????????????

Thanks wise ones,
megin

 

[Wolfmeis]

I see that he's 3. Can you take a list of things that he WILL eat, and maybe let him be actively involved in preparing them? This won't solve the monotony of his diet, but it may get him eating while you figure out more varied meals.

For instance, my kids will eat anything I make into a "stick" or a happy face. Can you make happy face pancakes, using the recipe you like and raisins for eyes and goat milk yogurt* for the smiley?

We make turkey ants sometimes-- the body is a rolled up slice of turkey and the legs are carrots cut into sticks.

For food recommendations, you can check out the following sites:

http://www.livingwithout.com/recipes.html

http://www.itchykids.org.nz/Recipes.htm

http://www.foodyoucaneat.com/ [this one even sort of searches for you]

*Be careful about assuming you can use goat milk in place of cow's milk. There's a significant number of children (80 to 90 percent) who cross react to both allergens.

 

[megincl]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely check out those sites.

Luckily, DS has been tested for goat milk allergies and while he's quite allergic to cow milk, he's good to go with goat milk. Phew, or else we'd be in big trouble!

megin

 

[Wolfmeis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by megincl Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely check out those sites. Luckily, DS has been tested for goat milk allergies and while he's quite allergic to cow milk, he's good to go with goat milk. Phew, or else we'd be in big trouble! megin

That's sooooooo convenient!!!!!!!! I am so happy for you!

 

[NoMariposa]

When my ds2 was 3 1/2 he wasn't eating, dropping weight and was dx'd with Celiac Disease -- no Gluten (wheat, barley, rye and oats). His stomach was so messed up he would not eat. A mom told me about Periactin, an allergy med used to treat those with eating disorders and cancer patients with lack of appetite. Her Celiac son was on it with good results. So, I asked our pedi for it and it was a life saver b/c without food, my son would act out just as he had with gluten in his diet. She later told me that the best method was on an as need basis, that is what I did anyway.

I have rice protein powder which I add to pancakes, he happens to like the protein shakes I make.
1 cup rice milk
1/2 cup of yogurt - haven't found non soy or dairy yogurt
4 T of protein powder
2T flax seed oil
1/2 banana
1Cup of berries
and some ice to tone it down a bit and make it frosty.

I make bread from Sorghum flour. I haven't tried it, but Quinoa in flake form apparently will make a mock- oatmeal cookie. A lovely brand out of Canada starting with Kinninnicki or something like that has GFCF foods, my son is enjoying Chocolate Glazed Donuts this month!

Nut flours are also good to get protein in, you can add a little to pancakes, bread, cookies whatever (Pamela's Baking Mix is GF but not CF it has a bit of Almond Meal in it, I think that is why it is so good). BTW Sorghum flour is a protein source and Quinoa is incredibly high in protein. I would suggest getting a Gluten Free cook book from the library for starters, a lot of the other things your son is allergic to can be substituted very easily in these recipes.

Are you meat eaters? We have reliably safe and animal friendly sources of meat, we have a local farmer butcher a cow 1X a year for us. My son loved chicken and would only eat chicken or turkey for some time, recently he wants steak or beef meat! Needless to say when you have a starving (literally) child, let him eat protein whatever it is that he wants!!!

I'll try to remember to bring my Sorghum bread recipe to the computer, it really is so good I will eat it, all my kids will. It's also available on the yahoogroup SillyYaks, under Ilene's Sorghum Bread (it's for a machine, but I do not use my machine for GF breads -- it just does not have the results consistantly enough to waste expensive flours on.)

 

[wenat]

I saw a rice protein powder at the health food store today -- here's a link that I just googled (not the same kind I saw today, which is a good sign that there are at least a few brands) -- http://www.veganessentials.com/catal...luten-free.htm

DS1, who's also 3, likes the hot dogs which are individually wrapped. He likes the process of taking it out of the fridge and putting it into the microwave and hitting the buttons -- by himself, of course! (I never thought I'd let my kids eat hotdogs, sigh. That was before I had food-allergic kids.)

Have you tried him on any fish or is he allergic to that, too? That's a pretty good protein.

Also, for my picky 3yo, my mom makes him a congee (rice gruel) that he really likes. Basically, you take rice and add tons of water or stock (5-10 times the water) and anything else you want to throw in (I've done turkey and different ground meats, you could also do fish). My mom also puts yam chunks into hers, or sometimes carrots. Spinach also would work. Cook until it's a thick rice soup (about 1-2 hours), or overnight in a slow cooker. The nice thing about cooking it this way is that the meat gets really soft from all that boiling, so its texture kind of goes away. (google "congee recipe" for a bunch of recipes and photos of what it looks like.)

 

[wendy1221]

I make a lot of things out of chick pea flour to up the protein. Since we can't have nuts, I use a lot of sunflower seeds and hemp seeds. Hemp seeds are DELICIOUS.

The chick pea flour can be used as a sub for reular flours in baking. Or you can just mix it w/ water to fry a simple flatbread. Just chick pea flour, water, and salt, fried in oil. I think equal amounts of flour and water. Use a whisk to get rid of lumps.

If you haven't seen "The Food Allergy Survival Guide," get it now! It's amazing! LOL! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157...lance&n=283155 It's a vegan cookbook, all of the recipes are outstanding.

You're so lucky to be able to do goat's milk. I miss yogurt and cheese sometimes.

 

[Pauli]

You've gotton a lot of good info and ideas. I just wanted to add my personal fav: Quinoa
www.quinoa.net

Its a grain that is a complete protein by itself and one of the few things that my allergic picky eater will eat. It doesn't have a lot of flavor so we cook it in chicken broth and she likes it with basalmic vinegar and olive oil salad dressing (I know, weird) but you can serve with anything he likes the flavor of. We use in place of rice since dd is allergic to rice.

Also, if you can find them, shelled hemp seeds are good. We sprinkle them on a lot of stuff or sneak them into fruit smoothies.

You might want to be careful with the whey....that's a dairy protein.

Will he drink a smoothie? You can sneak a ton of stuff in there..peanut butter or sun butter, nuts, protein powder....
If he'll eat meat at daycare but not at home, try to make sure he maxes out on the protein there and then you won't have to bug him about it at home.

Good luck! I know how incredibly frustrating it can be!

edited to add: how about ants on a log? Celery with peanut or sun butter and raisins for the ants? Always a hit when I was a kid!