Need Ideas for What My Allergic Kid Can Eat

you need to specifically look for gluten free items as they are in EERYTHING. You need to make a trip to a healthfood store. Whole Foods sells a TON of gluten free and dairy free items. Once you know what he likes you can buy in bulk online and save some $$$$. Udis makes great Gluten Free bread . There are also gluten free chicken nuggets. Its great that you determined his food allergies because you are going to see that eliminating the foods that bother him are going to make a WORLD of difference in his behavior! Good luck to you! its going to be an adjustment period but you will get through this. O and by the way oatmeal is produced on the same equipment as wheat therefore it isnt wheat free. you need to buy a specific gluten free oatmeal . Bobs Redmill sells a great one! Vans also sells GF waffles!

Wheat-free bread is sold at most health-food stores, Trader Joe's, Woodman's, and Whole Foods.

Oatmeal will have to be gluten-free or it can be contaminated with wheat. It should also be soaked and toasted before using as it contains chemicals which prevent the absorption of nutrients unless these are soaked out prior to eating.

Does he eat nuts? I would soak and toast nuts for him (soaking grains and nuts to release those chemicals also aids in digestion.) You can sprinkle them with honey or spices for flavor. Coconut oil can be used as a great way to get some Omega 3's in since you can't do the butter or eggs.

Will he eat soup or drink broth? Simmer a whole chicken (with organs) in broth for some good fats and protein. If you buy store-bought broth, add a packet of Knox Gelatin before serving.

Regarding milk- some people eat raw cheese and drink raw milk without the effects that pasteurized milk has (my family included.) Goat milk may be an option for you too. I would NOT look to soy, as it contains estrogen and can cause other problems, as well as most soy is GMO. Coconut milk is a good option and is great in smoothies with some fruit and ice. If he likes yogurt, you can buy or make your own coconut milk yogurt, and they even sell the ice-cream some places or you can again make your own. Yogurt would be great in helping heal his gut if he is dealing with allergies and intolerances.

Does he have a history with strep at all or had tonsil/allergy issues otherwise? Have enlarged pupils or clingy behind normal when feeling under the weather? Eating disorders in children can be related to strep and that is why I am asking. Strep can cause neurological problems (a disorder called PANDAS.) My daughter has this. I blog about our journey with food and the diet we try to stick to here:
www.chickiepea.wordpress.com if you are interested.

I'm happy to help you figure out how to change favorite recipes or come up with ideas to help get him nutrients on such a limited diet. I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, etc. but I have a lot of experience with modifying our own diet around allergies and illness + picky children/eating disorders and love to cook and experiment with new foods too.

I hope this helps. Once you get used to cooking without certain food groups, it does become easier. It took us about a month to get used to it and a few months to really be able to make "good" food.

M.

Just wanted to let you know I have a son with these allergies plus others and his behavior was horrible before he was diagnosed. He was a picky eater (I thought) and it is taking years to turn him around but he is doing much better with eating. He tries different foods now and eats things he thought he didn't like. My son had food associated to discomfort and pain but it seemed all subconscious. Ask the psychologist about ways to get him to try new foods. Your son may not understand that the "new" foods should not have an ill effect on him, which is hard to explain when he may not understand why he feels the way he does in the first place. Have patients and understanding that to him it is all so confusing. Good Luck!!!

Looks like you now have to feed him a gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free diet. Sounds a lot harder than it is, but given his eating disorder on top of it, it may sound downright impossible. I suggest you see a nutritionist. Maybe his psychologist can recommend one to you. Together, they can help you come up with a diet plan. Does he eat yogurt? They have soy yogurt, that is actually pretty delicious. Almond milk, rice milk and soy milk to replace cow's milk. They DO make wheat-free (gluten-free) bread, waffles, french toast, chicken nuggets, hamburger and hotdog buns. There is also an egg-replacer from Ener-G that is delicious, and convenient. You can bake with it, but it doesn't cook up like real eggs. Definitely go to Whole Foods or another "nutrition" grocery store, such as The Fruitful Yield. Message me if you have anymore questions. Good luck!

If you have a Whole Foods, or any kind of natural foods store, they will have gluten free bread. I get gluten free bread, chicken nuggets, crackers and other breaded items at our store. Got to www.http://www.celiac.com/ to learn more about what he can and can't eat. A word of warning about oatmeal, you want to get gluten free oatmeal. Oats are still harvested and transported with wheat and there is a huge problem with contamination.

My mom has celiac disease and has to eat wheat free bread. She really likes the tapioca bread from Kinnickinick. It isn't good all on its own, but if you toast it and put butter on it then it is fine. Health food stores and whole foods have tons of stuff now for these sorts of allergies. Good luck!

Make sure your hot dogs are Kosher. Most meat products contain milk. It's used as a binder in processed meats. Try whole foods in the freezer section for bread. Warning that allergy friendly bread does not last like regular bread. Also you can looking into buying a bread maker and buying wheat free flour to make your own bread. Vans makes an allergy friendly waffle and french toast sticks. ( I found these at Kroger!) I have also found allergy friendly donuts in the freezer section of New Flower! Also try WestSoy yogurt. I put a pinch of splenda and chopped up strawberries and my son loves it. I have also found a few, not many, granola bars that are dairy free in the organic sections. There are dairy free chicken nuggets. You just have to really look. Be careful at restaurants! Even some fries have milk in them! The chicken can be processed with broth that contains milk as well. Always ask tons of questions if they don't lest the information on a website. Let me know if you have any questions!

There is a big learning curve with food allergies. In time you'll get into the groove and figure out what works for your child. Check to see if there is an allergy support group in your area - it's great to be around other moms who are dealing with the same thing. Also, there are a lot of bloggers who have recipes for food allergies. Check out Gina Clowes at Allergy Moms.

Check out Enjoy Life products - all dairy, egg, and gluten free. I think that you can sign up on their website and occasionally get coupons. And maybe Divvies products as well?

One mom commented and suggested Udi's bread - check, but I think that it contains eggs.

I found the book Food Allergies for Dummies very helpful. And there are cookbooks for these allergies too.

Hang in there.

We just recently found out about our daughters allergy to milk and eggs. I have found several websites that are helpful. I like www.faan.org and Kids with Food Allergies.
Fortunately she is not too picky of an eater but it is a challenge...I feel ya! I have a bunch of websites I will look up at home for you and send you as a message! Good luck! :-)
The good news is, there is a lot of support out there!

Corn tortillas with refried beans
Hummus with veggie sticks
Rice, veggies, and chicken made with some chicken stock (some stock has wheat, so check it) (Kind of like Rice-A-Roni, but cheaper and healthier)
Applesauce
Rice or soy milk
Check Asian or international markets for rice or bean crackers instead of wheat crackers.

Good luck!

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/foodlab/

A., my suggestion would be to go joing the GFCF Kids yahoo group. Those members are dealing with pretty much the same issues that you are having to deal with now and can give you suggestions on what products you can buy at the store and yummy recipes that you can try out on your son. And I remember that they have a "How to Get Started" file you that you can print for all the newbees out there.

I have found that a lot of grocery stores maintain lists of products that they stock that are wheat and dairy free. You can probably access it from their website or ask them for a copy of it when you go in to shop.

I'm sure that you'll get some other great responses so I'll just limit my response to this. Good luck and hope that you can find some allergy-free staples that your son likes very soon.

I totally understand what you're going through. My son is a picky eater and allergic to egg, milk, soy, fish, all nuts, beans and legumes. He's 10 now, but most of his food allergies occured when he was a toddler, so I've been dealing with this for over 8 years now!

Make sure you join a Food Allergy group of some kind, so that you can get recipes using ingredients your son can eat. Check out the online newsletter, KFA (Kids with Food Allergies) and the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network website. I believe both of these websites sell cookbooks and/or recipes online and have been so helpful for me in finding good foods to make for my son.

My son is not allergic to wheat, but we buy some products that are wheat free. One line of products is Ian's and you can find it at Whole Foods. Ian's sells products that are wheat free, dairy free and egg free (Read the packages to be sure. Some Ian's products have no egg or dairy but might still have wheat.) They make chicken nuggets your son could eat, and Kid Cuisine type frozen meals that are very convenient. My son also likes the Ian's French Toast sticks.

Another option for breakfast food is Van's waffles which are sold at Whole Foods, as well as at some other grocery stores like Jewel. They make a wheat free, dairy free, egg free waffle that might be a good option for your son.

Also check out Enjoy Life cookies and bars either at Whole Foods or Jewel. My son loves them and they are wheat free, egg free and milk free.

One thing I learned from my doctor was that some kids with food allergies to egg and dairy products are able to eat these foods if they are baked for a long time at a high temperature. My son is able to eat banana bread that I make with eggs in it because it is baked for an hour. However, we haven't had too much luck with home made cookies containing egg or butter since they are not baked as long as the bread is.

Hopefully your son will grow out of these allergies. Best of luck.

Updated

Oops-I meant to add this to my previous answer. If you are looking for a dairy-free margarine, you can use Fleishmann's Unsalted margarine. Check to make sure it is wheat free--I'm not sure. My local Jewel carries it.