Lunch Ideas - 1 Year Old

[Collinsmom]

Please help! I'm just starting the gluten free diet for my one year old ds. I've gotten some cookbooks that have wonderful dinner recipes, but I need lunch ideas! Preferably easy, non-recipe ideas that my sitter can feed ds. If I don't come up with anything, Im going to have to provide left-overs every day. Either that, or he is going to have to continue to live on hot-dogs!

other ds allergies:

chicken

eggs

wheat

tomatos (mild)

soy

milk

peanuts

[Juliebove]

Please help! I'm just starting the gluten free diet for my one year old ds. I've gotten some cookbooks that have wonderful dinner recipes, but I need lunch ideas! Preferably easy, non-recipe ideas that my sitter can feed ds. If I don't come up with anything, Im going to have to provide left-overs every day. Either that, or he is going to have to continue to live on hot-dogs!

other ds allergies:

chicken

eggs

wheat

tomatos (mild)

soy

milk

peanuts

Well, the good thing is... Most one year olds don't eat too much!

I always try to have a serving leftover from dinner for my daughter's lunch. Doesn't always work out that way though.

Can you get Ricera yogurt where you are at? We just got a case of the strawberry and she likes it. She poured it out in a bowl and sprinkled some cereal on it. It's a rice based yogurt that has none of his or her allergens in it.

She also likes toast or gluten free bread. I buy the Road's End Organic "Chreese" powder and make it up into a thick sauce. You can do this ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. You can then make a grilled Chreese sandwich out of it or use it as a pizza topping. Not sure how many teeth your one year old has so not sure if this would work or not.

We eat a lot of chicken and rice or chicken and noodles but my mom has a chicken allergy like your son so when I am cooking for her, I substitute turkey. I buy the canned kind and I buy pouches of concentrated turkey broth to make gravy. I use sweet rice flour to thicken. I might add celery, carrots and/or peas.

I recently bought some new rice based cheese that doesn't contain any of his or our allergens. I've yet to try it. We are going to try nachos tomorrow and I will report back on how it tastes. If you can get this (beware because there is rice cheese with casein also), a slice of it might be good melted over some rice or noodles.

When my daughter was 1, she loved anything she could pick up with her fingers. She would happily eat baby carrots, grapes cut in half, apple slices, raisins, cubes of ham or other meats, small sausage links or patties, rice crackers, rice cakes, etc. She loved hummus as a dip. Road's End Organics also makes a Nacho Chreese dip. It tastes just like cheese to me and you can get it in a mild flavor. Now I sometimes buy her little packages of finger food fruit and veggies at the grocery store. They come with a dip that she can't eat. I just cut out the section with the dip in it and either throw it away or give it to my husband who is not allergic. I've found one kind of honey mustard dressing she isn't allergic to and she uses that as a dip for vegetables. For fruit she uses jelly or almond butter. Of course my daughter had all of her teeth by age 1, some of these suggestions might not work for you.

Corn tortillas warmed in the microwave are another food finger food. They can be rolled up or torn into pieces to make them easier to eat. You can accompany them with a few Vienna sausages and some fruit and vegetables. Daughter also likes applesauce and canned pears. Gerber used to make some soft fruit snacks that were good for toddlers. Not sure if they still make them or not. And two things I had to have at every meal were black olives and green beans straight from the can. I read somewhere that green beans were the perfect finger food. If I didn't have them on the table, she would bang her silverware down and demand, "Hey! Where's my beans?" Gluten free breadsitcks are another good finger food. I've bought some kind of sweet pepper dip in a jar that daughter likes to dip them in. That would work if he can't have tomatoes.

Beans and rice can make a quick lunch. I buy the precooked packages of plain brown rice from Trader Joe's. They can be quickly heated in the microwave and accomanied by some canned beans served warmed or even at room temp. Daughter loves red kidney beans straight from the can.

You can always serve breakfast foods for lunch too. Like pancakes made with Ener-G egg replacer or flax seeds and water instead of eggs. These can be made small so he can easily pick them up. Or he could eat gluten free cereal. Daughter loves gluten free oatmeal. Actually if he has only a wheat allergy and no gluten issues, he might even be able to eat regular oatmeal. You can also make it up into a fruit crisp using some coconut oil or Spectrum shortening in place of the butter or margarine.

You might also try grits or polenta. I like them, but daughter doesn't. You can buy pre-made polenta that can be sliced and warmed in a skillet or microwave.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

You could start looking into some vegan options, too.

[dandelionmom]

My one year old's favorite lunches (that I think fit into your guidelines!):

beans and rice (black beans or baked beans are her favorites)

steamed veggies (she likes cheese on hers but you could use olive oil)

pancakes (assuming you can find a safe mix!)

glutino pretzels with hummus

you could make up your own version of a lunchable with glutino or rice crackers and meats that are safe for him

[Juliebove]

My one year old's favorite lunches (that I think fit into your guidelines!):

beans and rice (black beans or baked beans are her favorites)

steamed veggies (she likes cheese on hers but you could use olive oil)

pancakes (assuming you can find a safe mix!)

glutino pretzels with hummus

you could make up your own version of a lunchable with glutino or rice crackers and meats that are safe for him

I think the Glutino pretzels are made with soy. Ener-G makes some with no soy.

[Collinsmom]

You guys are geniuses! Thanks for all the great ideas. I am actually excited to go grocery shopping to try all this stuff. Reading some of the ideas, it seems so obvious. Apparently I have difficulty thinking outside the "norm"/"box". Its not just the gluten free diet I struggled with, even before ds had allergies diagnosed I racked my brain forever trying to think up things for him. That tells me my own diet was pretty blah, and narrow.

anyway, i appreciate the help. If anyone else has thoughts, keep em comin!

[buffettbride]

melon might be good. it's soft to chew and easy to get sized for a 1yr old.

a rice cake or rice cracker your child can eat (i don't know what might be safe based on your allergies as i've never had to deal with that) with some sunbutter. my son has a peanut allergy and LOVES sunbutter.

perhaps you could buy some turkey breast in advance and cook a bit of it up to use as meat for lunch throughout the week.

hmmmm. onigiri rice might work. it's a little more "holdable" for a one year old and you could make fun shapes.

[Juliebove]

I also just thought of Ian's Fish Sticks and possibly the Corn Dogs. Not sure about the Corn Dogs since they are not available where I live. They might have chicken in them. Be sure to read the label because they also make a gluten version.

[Nikki'smom]

We have some gluten-free corn dogs that my dd loves.

What about making burgers the night before and the sitter can heat them up? I know my walmart has these Mickey mouse shapped burgers my kids love. what about apples sauce? or canned fruit? I say canned because at 1 my DS still didn't have teeth!

The Univ of Chicago Celiac center just emailed me this Lunch list I noticed some of the things your child can't eat but I figured I would post the whole letter for everyone and hopefully you can find stuff off it too.

Ideas for Gluten-Free School Lunches

This list was designed to include as many gluten-free products as possible that could be

found in a common grocery store. The suggestions listed below were considered

gluten-free at the time this list was made (May 2005). Final verification of

gluten-free status is the responsibility of the list recipient.

SANDWICHES

Breads from Anna Bread is terrific tasting bread that holds up when used for just about any kind of sandwich. It is a mix that can be made in a bread machine or by hand, it has a fantastic nutrition profile and there are varieties for those allergic to corn and those who cannot eat yeast. Order at www.glutenevolution.com.

Fillings:

Smuckers Jelly with Skippy Peanut Butter

BumblebeeTuna fish with Best Foods mayonnaise

Applegate Farms turkey (or turkey bologna), Kraft cheese with lettuce and tomato

CHIPS AND PRETZELS

Frito Lay Cheetos, Fritos

Lay