Meal and Snack Ideas for My Son with Millk Allergies

Updated on November 18, 2009
A.M. asks from Laguna Niguel, CA
12 answers

Hello Ladies,

My son was diagnosed with a milk allergy at 8 weeks. We switched to Nutramigen and he did well on it. Now he is 13 months and the pediatrician suggested that I keep him on this formula until his next visit with the allergist. Apparently, the allergist will recommend whether he is to drink rice milk, etc. (Soy irritates his eczema.) Well, I am waiting for authorization from the insurance company before I can even schedule the appt with the allergist, so I am wondering what to do in the meantime. I am at a bit of a loss as to what I can give him. Just about everything I gave my girls at this age was dairy based. They were able to eat such a wide variety of foods. I just feel like my son's diet is so limited. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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So What Happened?

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the helpful ideas. I know how busy everyone is, so I greatly appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post. I am headed off to Trader Joes tomorrow and then, finally, to the allergist in two weeks! Thanks again!

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E.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

My daughter had milk allergies too (she is 4 1/2 now) and I found rice cheese at Whole Foods. There are more options there to at least cruise and get ideas (even though more pricey). There was white and yellow rice cheese, so I could still make grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadillas.

Good luck. It is hard work.
E.

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A.F.

answers from St. Cloud on

Hi A.! Almond milk is great. It's a blessing in disguise that soy irritates his eczema, it's so high in estrogen that it will damage his endocrine system.

Have you tried avocados? My daughter has love those since she was 10 months.
Have you heard of cashew milk? My parents were vegan and they always made pasta dishes and mashed potatoes and the like by making cashew milk using 1/2 cup RAW cashews (found in the refrigerated section of any health food store) pureed in the blender with 1/2 cup water, dash of sea salt and onion powder. If you want the recipe please private message me. I will look for my dairy free cookbooks and message you with the titles.

Dairy free is daunting but there are so many products that make life easier! I hope you get into the allergist soon!

1 mom found this helpful

J.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

My son is now 2 and has milk allergies as well. He drinks the Rice Dream Rice Milk. He loves it when I add strawberry syrup to it. :) Just a little fun treat for him. Some great snacks... fruit it always a hit! Applesauce. Animal Crackers. Veggie Sticks (you can find a big bag for $5 at Costco). Graham Crackers. Those are just a few snacktime ideas. My son does really well with pasta... any pasta! :) And he enjoys green beans too. Rice. Tuna. Ham and Turkey. For his birthday, I discovered that the boxed Duncan Hines cake mix has no milk. So I always make his cakes and decorate them fun. He loves French Toast. I use his milk when I make them and add a little vanilla extract to it for sweetness. I know it's hard at first... but it gets easier. Mashed potatos with his milk... it gets easier and you will never taste a difference by using his milk instead of yours in ingredients. :)

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D.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

That is really hard. They also have almond milk at Trader Joes. You can make him a shake with that, banana (a ripe one) dates or other fruit and some ice to make it cold. I make that for my kids now with a little bit of yogurt, but if you can not add that, a ripe banans would make it thick. Oatmeal and other breakfast stuff, like eggs, can be with out dairy. For lunch and other meals, lentles, bean dishes, split pea soup. Vegan's do not eat milk, so there are books out there with options.
Good luck

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S.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

Try goat's milk-from what I understand, it's the closest to breast milk. I gave both my boys goat's milk after I was finished nursing them because they were allergic to cow's milk.

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P.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi A.,

I have a 2 year old son with allergies to gluten and dairy. He drinks rice milk that we make at home. I bought a rice milk maker online for $88. We eat lots of stir-fry with rice or rice noodles. There are many stir-fry sauces available that do not contain dairy. There is also rice cheese available at certain helth food stores. There are also cake mixes we have found that are very good and have substitutions for milk on the directions. We also found apple sauce in tubes, like the yougert tubes kids seem to like so much. I try to give my son things that look like the things the other kids have so he won't feel left out. If there is a Whole Foods in your area they will have many dairy free products you can try.

If there is any specifics you would like please let me know. I hope this helped a little!

-P.

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C.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

There are so many delicious foods and recipes you can make for him. DOn't stress. We have a dairy free tab on weelicious with tons of recipes!- www.weelicious.com

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A.Y.

answers from Los Angeles on

Well, I think that a lot of fruit would be good at this point, maybe applesauce, and other fruit purees? My kids loved the different flavors of applesauce at this age. Does he have the same reaction when eating yogurt as with other milk products? Often yogurt behaves a bit differently in a kids system. Might want to task the ped.

H.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

My daughter loved and still loves beans. Perfect finger food! Trader Joes sells freeze dried blueberries and other fruits that are great for the diaper bag. There are nut cheeses (they don't taiste great but are okay). Trader Joes also sells Tofurky slices and we both love those.

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Z.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi A.!

My daughter is also 13 months and has cow's milk, soy, egg, and nut allergies. We found out 6 months ago so I've had some time to adjust, but I know how you feel about not being able to provide a variety of foods. Here are some things I give my daughter:

Breakfast - oatmeal, Van's dairy free/egg free frozen waffles, "banana butter" (mashed bananas w/sunflower seed butter - great source of protein and healthy fats), vegan french toast (you can google this for a recipe), and of course lots of fruit

Lunch
-we do lots of different types of sandwiches using whole wheat bread or rice cakes - hummus and avocado, goat cheese (my daughter can tolerate goat milk) and peppers, turkey, sunflower seed butter and fruit spread
-we also do soups (butternut squash, lentils, chicken, beef and barley, etc...) and pastas
-and more fruits and veggies

Snacks - rice cakes, apple/pear sauce, snap pea crisps, cheerios, fruit smoothies, fruit/veggie finger foods

Dinner - she pretty much eats what we eat, i've just learned to cook without the dairy; i also have some simple meals that i prepare in batches and freeze in single serving containers for when i feel like making something else for the family or when we're having dinner somewhere else

I've also managed to find some pretty tasty dairy free cupcake and muffin recipes (you can google this too and find a ton of stuff) for birthdays and special occasions.

Hope that help! Good luck to you!

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K.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

My son is 2.5 and is highly allergic to milk. He can't even have anything with traces of milk in it. He is also allergic to eggs and nuts.
Do you know if your son can have soy lecithin? It is an ingredient in many of his snacks and foods, so if he can't have it, you'll need to rethink my ideas and read labels carefully. Here's a lot of his favorites, including things he could eat at 13 months:

Snacks: cheerios, life cereal, rice krispies, Gorilla Munch (Trader Joe's), Gerber Puffs, Annie's Brand Bunny Crackers, Graham crackers (cinnamon flavor), Gerber fruit strips

Meat: chicken - stir fried and cut into very small pieces with a wide variety of sauces - teriyaki, bbq, soy, Italian dressing; ground beef, ground turkey, pork, hot dogs, Turkey meatballs from TJs, fish sticks (read labels carefully), chicken nuggets (read labels carefully) - Ians brand is good but expensive, as is Dr. Praegers

He loves fruit - just about any kind of fruit, cut into small pieces. He also likes fruit cups in gel and applesauce

Soy yogurt (might be too much soy for your son)

Breakfast - Vans brand and Whole Foods brand waffles, sausage I also bake a lot for him and then freeze it - lemon muffins, coffee cake, cornbread (I can email you recipes if you want)

Veggies - corn, peas, anything steamed - carrots, broccoli, spinach, squash, cauliflower, etc

Each meal usually has a meat, a fruit, and either a veggie or crackers/bread of some sort

I hope that helps. I know it's hard now, but it does get easier!

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