My 19 month old son has just been diagnosed with a milk allergy, and he has had problems with gaining weight all along. He is not even on the growth chart for his weight. He is also a typically picky toddler. Since I took him off milk almost a month ago, he has been eating great (where before he would just look at his food like he'd rather vomit than actually eat it), but is actually gaining weight more poorly than before, since the dairy products had so much fat and were high calorie. He is taking rice milk, but won't take it if I add formula powder. He cannot have nuts, since we have such strong food allergies in our family. I add olive oil to what I can, and I just today started him on a DHA supplement (fish oil). I am just at a loss as to what to feed him...he needs the fats and calories for growth and brain development. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
L.
Off the cuff - olive oil massages 2-3 times a day. I have read stories of children being kept alive and well on that alone!
I didn't read all the responses, just skimmed the first few, so sorry if this is already mentioned. how about tofu? get the extra firm kind and dice it into the size of a cheese cube and coat it with smooshed cheerios or cornflakes and then cook it on the stove top with some olive oil. if he doesn't like that then get the firm kind(it is softer and smoosier(sp?)) and smoosh it up in a blender with a fruit smoothie for him to drink. he won't taste it and it will be full of good fat. and you can add the cocunut milk to the fruit smoothie too, so lots of good fat.
Can he have eggs? My 11 month old son LOVES diced hard boiled eggs.
Feeding him fish would be great--canned tuna and salmon. Also, any ground meat: ground beef, ground turkey or chicken...
Hummus is a wonderful food. The chickpeas/garbanzo beans are high in protein and fiber, and hummus does contain olive oil. My son eats hummus straight, but you can use it as a dip or a spread.
How about pasta tossed with olive oil.
Tofu.
Avocados are full of "good" fats.
Judging from your post, it sounds like your son can't have any animal's milk, but I'm wondering if you've tried goat's milk? My son is sensitive (but not allergic) to cow's milk, but does fine with goat's milk.
How about soy products other than tofu? Not everyone is crazy about soy, but soy milk, soy ice cream, yogurt, and even cheese are becoming more widely available.
Lastly, if you haven't shopped at a co-op, I would go to one. You will find everything under the sun without dairy, stuff you never even thought possible.
this is fine, and good! milk and all dairy is actually BAD for us.
as long as your child gets lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans) and whole grains, his diet should be healthy.
dont worry about fat. the amount of fats that we eat (because of dairy products) is actually harmful - look at the diseases adults face these days!
check out 'the china study' www.thechinastudy.com i believe is the site. its GREAT. amazing stuff!
We used coconut milk--I added it to his formula/milk alternative. It tastes good and is high in good fats.
Best of luck!
J.
L.,
This is not a commercial this is honest advice. I have a three year old son that had acid reflux so bad he didn't sleep for the first year of his life. He couldn't gain weight either and we tried it all... soy will not hurt your son just in case you've bought in to that lie. There has been a bunch of hype about soy and boys... trust me it isn't true.
I have 6 children and the only thing that has helped us... we have very bad milk allergies... is Reliv. It's a nutritional supplement that comes in vanilla and chocolate shakes. My children love it! When they take it they can eat ANYTHING without allergic reaction, and so can I. If you'd like more information or have specific questions e-mail me directly at ____@____.com allergies are no laughing matter and getting the fat and callories into our little ones that they need without breaking the bank can be nerve racking... please contact me and I will help any way I can.
God Bless, and Merry Christmas
What about salmon which has all the good stuff for brain development?
Will he eat eggs, or is that also on his no-no list because of allergies?
Scrambled eggs or hard-boiled eggs can be toddler-friendly foods.
Or, if he can tolerate eggs but doesn't like to eat them that way, you can try french toast made with rice milk. Be careful that the bread doesn't have whey or other dairy ingredients, though.
If you family eats meat, try a little chicken for him.
Coconut milk is high in fat, and tasty too. You could mix it with the rice milk or cook veggies with it.
What about using soy milk? Is that made from nuts that he can't have? I know Silk Soy makes a Very Vanilla that is comparable to the Vitamin D whole milk and has lots of vitamins and minerals in it. My son has been on this milk since he was about 13 months old and he's 3 1/2 now. Good luck!
L.,
I feel for you! My daughter is lactose intolerant - not as severe as an allergy, of course - but we try to keep her away from it all, too. Beware of all the hidden sources of milk. It is in many medications that disolve in your mouth (like some allergy medicines, etc.). Whey is used as a filler in TONS of things - even some hotdogs. Read all labels even when you are certain that there is no way... I just found out (after months!) that the vitamin C tablets my daughter was taking each day have lactose in them. Grrrr.... We have also recently discovered that she is also intolerant to soy. I saw someone else mention that below. We had been giving her some soy to supplement the lost dairy - like soy based cream cheese and Almond Milk. There is some soy in the almond milk we were buying. It is hard. Very frustrating to eat anywhere other than home! I hope your little one grows out of it. Good luck!
I saw you got coconut milk recommended. I'll second that and add coconut oil. Put a tablespoon or two in a soy/rice/milk substitute of your choice smoothie every day. Cook with it. Hide it on toast. It doesn't really have much taste and it's a very good fat.
And yes, eggs, avocados, seed butters if you can, dark meats.
Avacado has good fats in it. You can give him cookies that do not conain milk. I am not sure if pediasure contains milk but that would be ok to give for some nutritional stuff. Peanut butter, extra syrups and honey are good things to try. Your child may baulk at some of these things at first but keep offering. Try cheese if your child can tolerate it (somethimes they can even when they can't tolerte milk). Just keep trying different items.
Hi-
My daughter was diagnosed with the milk protein intolerance at 4 months. We put her on soy (have never tried rice milk). Anyway when she started to eat real food, I put her on the "Silk Soymilk Plus Omega 3 DHA". This milk has more fat than the regular soy milk. While not as much fat as whole milk, it is close. Also she can still tolerate cheese, so I make sure she gets a lot of that. She also ate a lot of cottage cheese, breads and pastas. Since I was always a little concerned about her weight gain, I would allow cookies, cakes, etc from time to time. She has consistently been in the 20 percentile for weight and she is now 2 1/2. Hope this helps!
My 2 1/2 year old daughter can't have milk either so her doctor's office has a dietician that worked with us on diet. We tried soy milk, but that was worse than regular milk for her & the dr said 1/2 of the kids that can't have dairy have soy problems, too. She suggested frying things, making gravy (with water or rice milk) or adding mayo as a dipping sauce. They said since most kids are on whole milk after they get off of formula they need that extra fat for brain development and her rice milk didn't have much fat at all. Hot dogs & bologna are high fatty items that most kids like. You can use a cookie cutter to make fun shapes with the bologna:) We use Fleishman's Light margarine on things (dairy free) and put lots on toast or whatever she's having. Good Luck!
You are right to worry about fats. Americans eat so few healthy fats. The advice about coconut oil and avocados was RIGHT ON! Also, the fish oil is a HUGE asset! You are feeding your child's brain with healthy fats!
Beware of the China Study. It's been deemed inconclusive even by the author and independent studies strongly criticize the outcome of the study.
Dairy is not right for your son but don't throw the healthy animal fats out the window.
I think what you are doing is wonderful! It sounds like you are on the right track!
L.,
My son can't have dairy either and he will be going to a school next month that has a strict "no nuts" rule, so he won't be able to drink his Almond milk at school anymore. He does not like rice milk and soy milk does not work for him, so we are going to switch to Hemp milk. There are different kinds out there, some we like, some we don't like. We were buying it sometimes about a year or so ago, and it is not cheap. I believe Living Harvest Vanilla is our favorite. There is a new one I saw at Whole Foods that we are going to try. I'll be buying it this week so we can taste test it.
Olive oil, olives, and avacados. You can dice the olives and avacados and use them as finger foods, or you can mash them and add them to lots of foods. Avacado hides well in smoothies too- you can use soy yogurt and rice or soy milk, and soy ice cream in smoothies.
We have the same situation here. My 3 children have milk, beef, egg, and nut allergy.I supplement by adding corn oil, corn oil margarine, to all their foods. They eat it without complaint. I also use soy ice cream (quite fatty) and soy ice cream sandwiches. THe calories in a tablespoon of corn oil, corn oil margarine, all up during the day. I mix it into their applesauce, and spreada all their food with margarine, tons of it. Their rice, their noodles, their sandwiches, their crackers, It all adds up at the end of the day. Good luck.
