I am going to try going dairy free for my 17 month old to see if this is causing her sinus/ear/respitory issues, and I had no idea how many products contained dairy. I am going to use Rice Milk instead of regular milk, but how can I make sure that she is getting enough calcium in her diet? I can't give her pedisure, because of course that has milk protein in it. What are some calcium rich foods that you can get a toddler to eat. She will not touch spinach, at least not yet, even though I keep trying.
Thanks for all the suggestions. The dr. does not want any nuts in her diet until at least 2 so I am staying away from that for now. I am not adverse to soy just don't want a ton of it in her diet. There are mixed feelings on soy and I would rather err on the side of caution.
She eats almost anything except a few things here and there, and has a pretty well rounded diet. I know spinach is such a good vegetable with tons of vitamins so I have been trying to get that in her diet but she will not eat it. I have not tried putting it into sauces though, and she loves her sauces so I am going to start doing that. Thank you so much for all the helpful advice.
If you weren't given a list of ingredients to stay away from, I found this great PDF on how to read a label for allergies!
https://www.foodallergy.org/files/media/downloads/HTRLshe...
someone suggested soy cheese...you have to be careful w/the cheese because most of the ones I've found do contain a dairy derivative (casein) there is a another brand that is completely dairy free its called daiya I haven't tried it yet but have heard that it's great tasting. But you are right dairy/dairy derivatives are in everything...my daughter was diagnosed anaphylactic to dairy/dairy derivatives around 7 months (she is now 6 1/2 yrs old) it was definitely a challenge reading labels and figuring out what she could have. Good luck!
This (going dairy-free, I mean) has been a lifesaver for my son. Before you completely give up on spinach, have you tried pureeing the stuff and then cooking with it? A good friend of mine swears by her "green muffins." You can also sneak some into kid-friendly spaghetti sauce. For my son, we make a "green smoothie" every morning -- mango juice, spinach, and a little wildflower honey in the blender.
Hope that helps!
Mira
Jessica Seinfield has a great cookbook called Deceptively Delicious. Her recipies all have good, healthy food "hidden" in the ingredients. Check that out to see if you can get some calcium rich foods (like spinach) into your daughter's diet.
Hi...AL.
We did the same thing. Our pedi told us the following:
-- Vitamin D drops
-- Salmon :)
-- almond spread (dietician said...)
In addition, after a while our pedi said it is OK to use just bio yogurt -- as it is good for the immune system....but ask your pedi first.
hope this helps.
jilly
Rice Dream rice milk (at least the refrigerated kind) is fortified with the same amount of calcium as dairy milk has per serving. Soy milk and some almond milks, are, too. There are also soy and coconut yogurts which are fortified. And occasionally giving calcium-fortified orange juice can't be too terrible. Do you have a Whole Foods or other health/natural foods store nearby? They can probably help you find calcium-fortified non-dairy foods. Good luck!
R.
If you go to bigger and/or organic stores, you can find soy cheese and soy yogurt. Strangely enough (in a good way), my 19 month old loves broccoli so that helps. And the rice milk. You could talk to a dietician, but my ped doesn't seem overly concerned, since the rice milk is fortified with calcium so in that way, it's not much different from drinking cow's milk.
I have struggled with this one - my youngest had a dairy allergy until she was about 18 mo. and I seem to have developed some kind of sensitivity to dairy. Look for vegan options, even if you plan to feed her meat. You will be able to avoid hidden dairy. Is there any reason not to do soy? There are soy milks that are fortified with extra calcium, as well as tofu and soy cheese. Coconut milk and coconut milk products are also good - yogurts especially. If you don't want too much soy in her diet, you can alternate in occasionally instead of going all soy. You can also puree some spinach into spaghetti sauce - you can't really taste it and it's a great way to get it into a toddler. Also talk to your doctor about when you can introduce nut proteins like almond milk. Good luck!
All my kids were dairy free from birth. I had to avoid dairy while breastfeeding with all 5 of them. I used Rice Milk and Soy Milk. I gave them supplements and had them eat foods rich in calcium and fortified in calcium. They all are healthy and doing fine (now they're 17, 16, 10, 8 and 17 months). I had their allergies cleared through acupuncture last year and the dairy cleared just fine in all of them. Not all of their allergies cleared successfully but the dairy did, thankfully. My 17 month old is also allergic to dairy but they won't clear him until he's 2 or 3 so he's still breastfed and I also use rice milk for him. I hope that helps. good luck to you!!
My first son had TONS of ear infections when he was younger and we ended up having tubes put in his ears because of it. However, after my second son was born, I became more and more interested in natural health. Instead of cow's milk, I started him on goat's milk. That greatly reduced HIS incidents of ear infections. And I also have everyone in the family drink a green smoothie each day. Add some water with a splash of orange juice and fill the blender with spinach. Blend that. Once that's all blended, it will leave lots of room for bananas, berries, mangoes, etc. to sweeten it up and make it palatable for your little girl. (FYI: If she's averse to the color green, use mixed berries or blueberries to turn it purple. Otherwise put it in a covered cup so she can't see what color it is.) My little guy has been sitting at my feet since he was 10 months old every time he sees me pull out the blender. He LOVES them! It took a little while to get my bigger guy as gung-ho for them, but they really do taste great so it wasn't too hard. And now he, too, wants to drink them as soon as they're done rather than waiting for lunch (which is what I used to do).
Someone also mentioned the Deceptively Delicious book. I have that and it was really interesting. I didn't use any of the recipes but it's a really good suggestion if you're concerned about getting veggies into her system (which is VERY important). But you should also make sure to offer ACTUAL veggies with each meal. My kids always have to take a "no thank you bite" of everything on their plate. If they don't like it, they don't have to eat it. But this serves 2 purposes: first, they will often be surprised to find they like something they were sure they wouldn't. And second, it helps get their taste buds accustomed to the foods we (their dad and I) like to eat. After a while, your little one will start to eat her vegetables because she sees you doing it, and because she's used to trying them each time they're offered.
I hope this helps! Good luck!
