Melanie...

[Hollyadmin]

Hi Melanie...I was just reading your response about your 15 month old's dairy and soy allergy.  Can I ask what you feed him??

[Melanie]

Hi Holly
Food is very, very tricky for us.  Our pediatrician/allergist advised keeping him on his hypoallergenic formula until 2 years so that he still gets enough vitamins/minerals, etc, but he absolutely detests the taste.  So I have to find ways to really supplement his diet to also make up for what he's not getting in his formula. 

The quick answer is that he doesn't eat hardly any processed food.  And a lot of it is organic.  I know you're in Canada, and I'm not sure if the other mom asking is or not, but PC Organics (available at Loblaws stores) is finally offering mixes/foods that are dairy/soy free.  For example, their pancake mix, cake mixes, muffin mix are all dairy/soy protein free.  It's much less expensive than going to Whole Foods. 

He eats A LOT of pasta...almost every other day.  It's easy, and has whole grains, etc.  Lots of fruit, kidney beans, almond butter (we started early and thank goodness no allergy), graham crackers, green beans (only veg he likes), special bread, some wraps, hummus, Tyson chicken fingers (only ones I've found that are dairy/soy free) Cheerios, Quinoa, meat...gosh, I can't think of anything else.  And this list isn't very big. 

We use rice milk for cereal and cooking.  Also, coconut milk (considered fruit, NOT nut) is excellent for cooking.  I made chocolate tapioca pudding last week with coconut milk, and it was absolutely delicious!!!  It's thicker than rice milk, so it's really good for sauces, pudding, etc.  It's also really high in fat, which is good for my son.  He's always been pretty slim as he's not getting fat from dairy products, which they need in their diets right now. 

I tried to buy canned vegetable soup the other day, and was amazed to find that it contained soy protein.  It's really difficult and frustrating to grocery shop.  It's amazing what's in your food once you really stop and read the labels. 

There are some great websites that have some really good recipes for dairy/soy free foods.  I'd be happy to share the list of websites if you're interested. 

Feel free to ask any more questions!  I'm happy to share what I've learned, and am always looking for new ideas too!  So please if you have any, share!  I'm sure my son would be thrilled with some new food to try!

[Hollyadmin]

YES! I am very interested in websites that offer good dairy/soy free recipes. Partly for myself (when my stomach acts up due to lactose intolerance, I cook dairy-free), but mainly because people I meet through the website often ask.

Wow, I can only imagine how hard it would be to find 'safe' foods. I know places like Choices and Capers here in Canada have great pamphlets that list their dairy-free, soy-free foods, but like you said, they can be very expensive, and are usually in bigger cities.

I agree re: coconut milk. I'm a huge fan. SO much better than rice or almond milk (I find both have a chalky aftertaste).  Using coconut milk tricks you into thinking you're actually getting some dairy lol

[jiwel]

Melanie,

I would love any websites or information that you can share.  I will definately try using coconut milk in cooking.  Maybe she will like it enough to actually eat something!

[Melanie]

Hi Ladies!
So sorry for not getting back earlier.  We were away for a few days, and now my little people are sick.
I would be so happy to share the websites/blogs I have found.  They are my lifeline when trying to find recipes & ideas.  There are quite a few, so I'll work on the list over the weekend and then just cut & paste it into a reply. 

Jiwel, I have this amazing recipe I found using coconut milk for a creamy sauce.  It's so delicious, and you can tweek it to whatever you are making ie add mushrooms for a creamy mushroom sauce.  My husband thought it was cream of mushroom soup when I made it.  It's delicious on pasta too, and egg noodles. 
We are currently in "Operation: Tommy-Turkey" (we need to stuff my son like a turkey)  He has lost weight since his 12 mos checkup, so I need to find some ways to get good fats into him.  I've been totally stressed about this since so many of the high fat foods (hotdogs, sausages) are so high in sodium.  Argh! 

Anyways, enough of my rant.  I'll do up the list and post it.  Jiwel, hang in there.  Have you taken your daughter totally off dairy and soy?  Any improvement?

[Hollyadmin]

Ooohhh - would love that sauce recipe! I've been craving something creamy lately...

[jiwel]

Well I learned my daughter is more picky than I first thought! 

I gave her some rice milk and you would have thought I had given her something gross.  She got mad and through it on the floor.  Very typical for her.  She is moody on the best of days.  We are going to try again when she is in a better mood.

Then I thought I would make the girls a treat and make pudding with rice milk.  Lesson learned.  Rice milk does not thicken like regular milk.   It stayed like flavoured water.

My mom really wants me to try taking my daughter off the lactose free products and try and see what happens with regular milk.  She is wondering if possibly she has grown out of the lactose intolerence and our problems is with the lactose free products she is eating?  I agreed to try it for a week but only once they are back from holidays and she can help me if it gets really bad.  Any ideas on that option?

Thanks so much for all of your help! 

Melanie - I would love that recepie!  It sounds delicious!

[Hollyadmin]

Hmmm, I can't imagine that the lactose free products would be causing a problem, except if she was actually sensitive to soy or some other ingredient in them. 

Have you tried using almond milk at all? I found that least offensive of all the choices. Besides coconut milk, of course, which I love 

[Melanie]

I agree with your daughter...rice milk is definitely not the tastiest!  I tried to mix it with other juice to make my son's formula, but he wont' drink it.  I can only use it in baking. 
If you want her to drink it, you might try almond milk (just make sure she's not allergic to nuts first).  I think it's tastier, and higher in fat.  We are moving to almond milk for those reasons ourselves.  You may still need to add chocolate/strawberry syrup to it for flavour.  I think your daughter is about the same age as my son.  Is she still on formula? 

If you are making pudding, try coconut milk.  Or, I'm just about to post the websites with dairy free recipes.  There is one in there for chocolate tapioca pudding.  It is so delicous.  Your daughter might not like the texture of the tapioca, so you might need to make just chocolate pudding.  But trust me, she will love the chocolate pudding made with coconut milk.  It's so creamy....I think I might need to make some tonight for dessert

I'm obviously no expert on food challenges, but as a mom with a baby with severe food allergies, I would be very hesitant to just change her foods and start giving her diary.  Her system is not used to it, so it might upset it.  I would probably check with your doctor, or give just a little bit and see how she does.  Let me know how it goes. 

I'll make a new post about the websites/blogs.