My youngest daughter was just diagnosed with a severe cashew allergy. She is only 1 1/2 so we are in the process of trying to build and expand her palate but like most kids she is little miss picky pants. I am actually pretty lucky thus far with what she will eat but she wont eat much meat at all and just before we found out about the allergy I figured I will try to work with her as much as possible using a vegetarian diet while we continue to try her on meat. I just want her to have a well balanced and complete diet and Im finding it very hard to do this. Since the allergy appeared I am finding it challenging to find foods rich in protein and iron that she can eat both from a chocking hazard and nut avoiding perspective. She also has a peanut allergy but its not as severe as the cashews so we were told to avoid peanuts as well. What are some good foods that can help me to fill her with protein/iron rich foods all while avoiding hazards and allergies?
Thanks in advance
Meat/chicken/fish, potatoes and veggies. Very basic healthy diet. If everyone ate like this (diet of the 50s) we would all be better off. Very simple. Certainly there are different ways to make everything using basic ingredients.
I'm allergic to tree nuts as well and agree with MamaR that you should avoid all tree nuts and peanuts as they are usually processed in the same plant.
The issue with a vegetarian diet is not just rich proteins but complementry protiens. For instance, beans and cheese together make a complete protein. You need both. If you google it you should find plenty of good advice. Beans and dairy are a good source. Have you tried tofu? How about eggs?
I think that its pretty normal for kids to not like meat. Mine isn't a huge fan either. I try to hide it in foods. She loves noodles so I make a sauce with ground meat (whatever I have on hand). She doesn't even know its in there.
You should ask the allergist for a consult with a dietician who is familiar with allergies to get suggestions. There is probably someone at your local or regional children's hospital.
My son is allergic to peanuts, cashews, and pistachios. I was told that it's not uncommon that if a person is allergic to one of the three listed, they are also allergic to the other two. My son has not tested allergic for other nuts like almonds and walnuts (yet), but we avoid all nuts for now.
What about fish? You can start with a mild white fish and cut it up. It should be pretty easy to eat.
Also, you could try sunflower butter as an alternative to peanut butter. I get the SunButter brand for my household because I know it's not manufactured in a plant that processes nuts. I've seen other brands that are.
The potential issue with using SunButter is that it is easy to confuse with peanut butter by look. At 1 1/2 it won't matter because you will be providing the meals. As your child gets older, it would be easy for her to look at peanut butter and think, I've had that before...I can eat that. Teaching your child about her allergies, in general, will become important anyway.
BTW, learn to read all the labels...I've seen weird things that may contain nuts or other allergens that you'd never expect. For example, I've seen spinach that may have come in contact with shellfish.
Will she eat meatballs? My kids love them, and you ds use ground whatever you want. Or you can make her chicken nuggets. I take ground chicken and make pretty much a meat ball but flatten it, then bread it and bake it. Beans are also good and filling. You can make bean and cheese burritos or quesadillas.
If she's allergic to cashews you might want to avoid all tree nuts. I'm allergic to tree nuts, but pistachios and cashews are my worst. No help on the vegetarian diet; I would love to do one but have the same challenges with being vegetarian while avoiding nuts - and I can eat peanuts!
ETA - hummus and quinoa (not together, lol). Both of my kids love them, both are protein rich and versatile.
You say that she won't each much meat but it doesn't take much to fulfill most people's protein requirements. In this country, we tend to eat too much animal protein rather than not enough.
You can try tofu or other soy products to add protein to your daughter's diet. Also, try different types of meat. White fish and ground turkey are pretty bland and easy to chew. You can also "hide" ground meat in casseroles or in a sauce over pasta or rice.
Yogurt, eggs, whole wheat breads, fortified rice and cereal, leafy greens (cooked peas, broccoli, etc), fruits such as strawberries are good in iron. You can also do a Carnation Instant breakfast packet with milk. Good in protein.
We had a picky allergy kid that won't eat meat. He never could do eggs (allergy to that too), but loves fruit and dairy. We could find a lot to make in those two areas that really helped.
Google birch tree pollen allergy. Also oral allergies. I am allergic to tree nuts, watermelon, and banana's. They are all on the list for these allergies.
I find that as I get older I suddenly react to more and more foods. My almond allergy is only a few years old. I always ate pecans, almonds, and other tree nuts with no problems. Now I stay away from all nuts and almost everything on the lists. I do carry liquid Children's Benadryl with me all the time just in case. I eat stuff that is on the lists that I have not had problems with but I worry that I will suddenly have an allergy to them.
Fried tofu - Get a package of the "Extra Firm" tofu. Rinse the toffu off and pat dry. Wrap the tofu in 1-2 paper towels and squeeze it a little to get some of the moisture out. (You don't need to get all of it out. You just need it to stop seaping out.) Get your pan really hot. (Non-stick pans work the best.) Add about a 1/8" to 1/4" of oil. You don't need to deep fry it. When oil gets hot, add the tofu. Turn the tofu while it's cooking to get it golden brown on all sides. Add salt or soy sauce to taste. (It will taste like fried egg whites, so you can add whatever you normally add to eggs to get her to eat it.)
You could make zucchini parmesan. The cheese is the protein.
What about simple grilled cheese sandwiches?
Cheese and crackers.
String cheese.
Will she eat baked beans?
What about crunchy baked chick peas?
