Help! What Will My Toddler Eat?

[CaylumandJoshua]

My worst nightmare has pretty much come true...

My 2 yr old son has been diagnosed with Celiac based on his bloodwork, as well as multiple food allergies. He is allergic to all nuts, oats, oregano, soy, corn, milk, casein and eggs. We didn't even test for all the food allergies. What can I use for "butter"? They all have canola oil in them. If brown rice syrup is made from barley how can it be "gluten free"?

I literally have no idea what to feed him or what to do. I feel very overwhelmed. Based on his results they want me to get my 5 month old tested...

I really don't know how I am supposed to work full-time and prepare all this food. Im going to have to cook all our meals on Sundays & freeze them.

Does anyone have any websites they can recommend for allergic shopping?

Do you have any blogs you can recommend to me, from people who have been in the same boat?

Thanks so much, look forward to your help.

Erin

[samie]

Do you think you could see a nutritionist. I have one that see my diabetic celiac daughter and she is real helpful. I an sure someone on her can give you ideas.

[Emily30]

wow that would be so hard.

Brown Rice Pasta is really good-Tinkyada is the brand I use. Some yeast flakes would add a nice cheesy texture. I am not sure if the ingredients would be ok, but Walmart sells a vegan mac n cheese (I think its call mac and chreese if I remember right)

Whats the problem with canola oil? Isnt that a seed-not a nut?

I love vegetarian chili. Fry(not with any seasonings or oil) one or two peppers and a medium onion-chopped.I puree a can of black beans and tomatoes for the base, then add one big can of tomatoes(I buy the petite diced-thats all my kids will eat), one can of kidney beans, one can of black beans. Then I add homemade taco seasoning-I dont have an exact recipe, but its equal parts brown sugar and cumin-around a tablespoon or 2), then a dash of each of garlic salt, onion powder, and pepper. Sometimes I will throw in some acorn or butternut squash-whatevers in season) Delicious!!!

I wish I had more ideas for you. I agree-I would visit a nutritionalist.

[kareng]

If brown rice syrup is made from barley how can it be "gluten free"?

Erin

Why do you think brown rice syrup would be made from barley?

[alex11602]

Why do you think brown rice syrup would be made from barley?

Not sure if there is where she read it, but Elisabeth Hasselbeck's first book has that information in it.

eta: After I read that information and about envelope glue I realized that her information couldn't really be trusted.

[kareng]

Not sure if there is where she read it, but Elisabeth Hasselbeck's first book has that information in it.

eta: After I read that information and about envelope glue I realized that her information couldn't really be trusted.

For some reason, EH' s original book had some old myths in it.

[StephanieL]

We deal/have dealt with all the same allergies except oregano.

The first thing I ask is have you SEEN reactions to these foods or are you going only by the allergy testing? Because the testing is 50% inaccurate. The TRUE test is food challenges. If your child has been eating these things with no reaction, you should really talk to your allergist (A board certified pediatric allergist) about the likelihood that they are false positives. Also, at 2 there is a great chance that he'll outgrow at least some of these before school age hits.

Of your list, corn and oregano would be the hardest and would require lots of calls because they are not Top 8 so don't have to be declared. "Flavorings" could have oregano in them as well. I think before I would remove that from his diet, if haven't seen a reaction I would not pull it till talking to the Dr. There is no need to take stuff out if you haven't seen a reaction and it's bad advice to do so.

Yes, you will cook a lot. Weekends will be about freezing foods in bulk BUT it can be done! Hang in there!

Staples of mine:

Pancakes

Chicken tenders (homemade)

pasta with sauce

meatballs

meatloaf

cake

cookies

There are a TON of coconut products out there in the dairy department. Drinks, creamer, yogurt, as well as a butter sub too. Those I get usually at Whole Foods.

Just to name a few.

Kids with Food allergies is a great place for support as well. I have found cooking with cookbooks hard because they often ask for a lot of specialized ingredients that I just don't have and won't order for one thing. We get a LOT of things through a website that sells everything under the sun that starts with an A and ends with a mazone (this site blocks it's name which is why I put it like that). With the Subscribe and Save they offer, you can get an additional 15% off if you order things on a regular basis.

Ask questions and you CAN do this Mama! hugs.

[CaylumandJoshua]

Why do you think brown rice syrup would be made from barley?

I found a website that said brown rice syrup was made from barley!

And I think I was so tired and overwhelmed last night I was thinking of Canola Oil as from Corn. LOL

[CaylumandJoshua]

We deal/have dealt with all the same allergies except oregano.

The first thing I ask is have you SEEN reactions to these foods or are you going only by the allergy testing? Because the testing is 50% inaccurate. The TRUE test is food challenges. If your child has been eating these things with no reaction, you should really talk to your allergist (A board certified pediatric allergist) about the likelihood that they are false positives. Also, at 2 there is a great chance that he'll outgrow at least some of these before school age hits.

Of your list, corn and oregano would be the hardest and would require lots of calls because they are not Top 8 so don't have to be declared. "Flavorings" could have oregano in them as well. I think before I would remove that from his diet, if haven't seen a reaction I would not pull it till talking to the Dr. There is no need to take stuff out if you haven't seen a reaction and it's bad advice to do so.

I have seen reactions to eggs, peanuts, oats. After his first peanut reaction we pretty much avoided nuts. I was keeping a food diary at one point and suspected corn but he seemed fine after having Ian's Fish Sticks & Chicken Nuggets. So Im not sure if corn is really a problem. Im not sure milk is really a problem. I was giving him yoghurt/cheese sticks when we tryed our gluten-free trial and he seemed better. Soy could have been a hidden problem I didn't consider.

So I will continue eliminating gluten, egg, nuts and soy and see what happens?

As soon as I put him back on gluten-free his skin cleared of all red rashy skin within 3 days.

Thanks for all the advice!! *hugs*

[CaylumandJoshua]

Do you think you could see a nutritionist. I have one that see my diabetic celiac daughter and she is real helpful. I an sure someone on her can give you ideas.

At my son's next appointment on the 13th we will be meeting with a nutritionist. They gave use 3 cans of EleCare Jr which we are using as his new "milk."

[Kelleybean]

I'm sorry, you must be overwhelmed b/c toddlers can be so picky in general so it's extra tough when you add a lot of allergies to the mix. You might want to check out this website: www.spunkycoconut.com. I'm thinking about her b/c she uses coconut flour a lot, and also has some egg free recipes. Pretty sure she doesn't use corn in her recipes either. Could you sub rice milk for regular? Will your child do soups? That seems like an easy one to control the ingredients and you can make a lot at once. I second the previous poster who mentioned tinkyada pasta - it tastes like "regular" pasta to me. My other thought is cut up Applegate Farms hotdogs. I like them b/c they are nitrite free and don't have an ingredient list a mile long. They also have a chicken and apple hotdog. What about homemade chicken nuggets? Most kids (except my picky 3 year old of course) love them. Amy's also makes a gluten-free, casein free frozen mac and "cheese" for last minute dinners.

There's also a site, Open Original Shared Link that has a lot of crockpot recipes to choose from. My last thought is that vegan websites have a lot of ideas for making baked goods egg free.

[stanleymonkey]

hemp milk is good, also try becel vegan margarine, of fleischmanns

daiya does shredded cheeses that is vegan, gluten and soy free

enjoy life brand has products that are guaranteed free of the top allergens

ask for a federal to a dietician, we are in Canada and after our daughter had a horrific reaction to milk we were instantly issued with 2 epipens and dates for a dietician and allergist

we are gluten, milk egg and soy free' when booking all you do is replace the milk with non dairy, butter with dairy free margarine, and eggs with apple sauce if sweet things, egg replacer or ground flax in savoury

google flour conversions and you'll get ways to substitute flour

I first freaked out and sometimes it seems she is always eating the same stuff but the is eating so at least that's good!

[Juliebove]

There used to be some sites online where you could shop for allergen free foods and you could put in your allergens. But I think they are all closed now. One problem with shopping online is that the items will not always list the "may contain" or "made on shared lines". Many is the time I got food I thought my daughter could eat, only to find they may contain traces of nuts.

As to the brown rice syrup... Some is gluten-free and some is not. We've never used it.

We use coconut oil for butter but you'd need to talk to your allergist about this. Some allergists consider coconut to be a nut. If you can't use that, use olive oil. The good thing is, he is young so he is not used to eating some things. Then he won't miss them.

As for buying food, you might start with your local health food stores. We buy a lot of our food there.

Do you own a crockpot? They are great! You can do a chicken or beef stew or soup in them while you are at work. You can even do pot roast or roast chicken.

[mushroom]

Earth Balance makes a good soy free spread. I use only olive oil and grapeseed oil, sometimes a splurge on avocado oil. Your son may be able to eat the egg whites, just not the yolks; you can test this out by buying a carton of egg whites.

I second the crockpot idea. Just brown your meat and onions and toss in the crockpot with vegetables, a little tomato or glluten free stock and let it cook all day while you're at work. Dinner is ready when you get home Nutricious, easy, delicious. You can thicken with some arrowroot or white rice flour.

Hemp and almond milk are both delicious too. You can make smoothies with hemp protein powder and milk, banana, strawberries,mangos, whatever fruit is in season or you have canned or frozen. I always freeze my going overripe bananas for smoothies. Or use with gluten free rice cereal.

[StephanieL]

There used to be some sites online where you could shop for allergen free foods and you could put in your allergens. But I think they are all closed now. One problem with shopping online is that the items will not always list the "may contain" or "made on shared lines". Many is the time I got food I thought my daughter could eat, only to find they may contain traces of nuts.

I am not sure where you live, but in the US a "may contains/shared line" warning is voluntary. So just because a food doesn't say "may contains" does not necessarily mean anything. Everyone has a comfort zone, I understand but I just want to be sure people know that just because it doesn't say it doesn't mean there may not be an issue.

Your son may be able to eat the egg whites, just not the yolks; you can test this out by buying a carton of egg whites.

It is impossible to completely isolate the yolk from the white. So while Dr's may test for white vs. yolk, if you are allergic to egg you can't of either part.

[domesticactivist]

What kind of allergies are they? I ask because if they are just IgG allergies, that indicates "leaky gut" and the reactions will just show up to whatever he is eating. If you are not seeing reactions it's also possible those foods aren't actually a (long term) problem.

It's really tough to adjust to a new diagnosis and find out there are all these foods to avoid. Changing the way you do things is not something that happens perfectly overnight. Unless the other allergies are life-threatening or you can really see the reactions, I would focus on really getting gluten out of the house and your child's food first.

There are good reasons to stay away from canola oil - it is inflammatory and will not help with leaky gut issues! As for corn, it is Open Original Shared Link since it is not declared and it is used in so many processed foods.

What we found is that it was best to go to a very basic diet of whole foods. This way we could avoid everything we were avoiding without having to stress out about it.

It sounds like your schedule is very tight, so for easy home-cooking, get set up with:

- a crock pot

- a food dehydrator

- a food processor

Beef jerky is a really easy snack to make in large batches. Just get ground beef, season it (you'll want to buy new seasonings that are not cross contaminated), roll it out, and put it in the food dehydrator!

Raw veggies

Pot roasts & roasted veggies

Roasted chickens - do a couple at once for leftovers, then you make stock from the carcasses to use in soups later

Stew

Pureed soups (like carrot ginger)

Raw honey as sweetener

Some people who are intolerant to casein and lactose can do ghee (clarified butter). I wouldn't chance it if he has anaphylactic or otherwise severe reactions.