What's Cookin'?

I am not sure if I posted about this earlier, but Will is dairy-sensitive. We are not sure if he is dairy-allergic, because blood and skin tests are about 50% accurate until age 2. All we know for sure is that, since stopping all dairy from his diet, we have not had any stuffy nose issues or ear infections (both of which are common food-allergy symptoms). The only way to tell for sure is to eliminate the offending food-group and wait until he gets older for more definitive testing. We are also consulting with a pediatric allergist. So, just to be clear in this post, I am not a doctor, nor am I offering any medical advice.

I do get a lot of questions about what we feed Will, now that dairy is "off the table." Gosh, am I glad that he is a child of the 2000's. When I was a baby and had a dairy-sensitivity, there weren't a lot of options. Now, there are so many, that it's mind-boggling. Of course, do keep in mind that many of the non-dairy options are nut-based, which is also off-limits to the under-1 set.

We have been fortunate, in that Will does not seem to have a reaction to soy-based products. Many babies that are dairy-sensitive cannot tolerate this great alternative. I do all of Will's "cooking," and have found a lot of inspiration and recipes at the following sites:

Weelicious - Fast, easy, and fresh babyfood (and toddler, kid foods, too). This is a great site, regardless of food sensitivities/ This link takes you to their main site, you can then look for whatever tickles your fancy.

Kids With Food Allergies - Self-explanatory, handy site if you are dealing with any sort of food-sensitivities/allergies.

Wholesome Baby Food - This site has always been my "guidebook" to making my own baby foods, long before food-sensitivity came into the mix.

So, this is a sample menu of our days*:

Breakfast

1/2 banana, cut into small pieces

1 flaxseed, non-dairy blueberry waffle
-or-
3 whole wheat, organic, non-dairy mini-pancakes

1 turkey breakfast sausage, cut into small pieces

small bowl of blueberry-banana oatmeal (I am now making the "adult" kind for him and blending it ahead of time, then mixing with blended bananas and blueberries)

1 sippy cup of plain (non-sweetened) soy milk^

Snack

Graham crackers

Mango, cut into small pieces

Water

Lunch

Peas (whole)

Deli turkey, cut into small pieces

1 slice of soy-cheese, cut into small squares

Chicken salad* sandwich on whole wheat bread, cut into small pieces
(*finely diced, cooked chicken breast, plain soy yogurt, cauliflower puree)

Blueberries (cut in half)

1 sippy cup of plain (non-sweetened) soy milk

Snack

1 Mochi "cookie"

1 sippy cup of plain (non-sweetened) soy milk


Dinner

Peaches, cut into bite sized pieces

Green beans

"Pasta a' la Mommy"
(whole wheat angel hair pasta, mixed with low-sodium chicken broth, hummus, and oregano to make a "sauce" - I also toss in pieces of shredded chicken breast)

Chicken "nuggets" (from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook-adapted with only egg yolk and omitting the Parmesan and salt)

1 sippy cup of plain (non-sweetened) soy milk

*We do make every effort to use organic produce, when available. We are HUGE Cost.co fans, and, fortunately, they have a lot of options when it comes to organics.

^Be sure to double-check your soy milk for added sugars. I purchased a "plain" soy milk once, that contained high fructose corn syrup.

If you would like more information, don't hesitate to e-mail me. Oh, and be sure to check with your pediatrician before creating a meal plan for your own child.