Ideas for picky eaters and more

I watched this interview and thought Kelly's suggestions for introducing foods to picky eaters quite useful. Similar to what I said a while ago but more specific. There are some other good tips as well. Kelly's focus isn't feeding children with allergies but I think there are lots of useful things. Our Gluten Free Family will probably have the rest of the interview up soon or you could follow the links. Apologies for the way the video goes on the screen - I haven't designed the blog for wide screen! And you'll probably need to turn it up.

Chia seeds

Chia pizza - yum

I recently bought a packet of chia seeds from the supermarket. There has been a bit of hype about them being a super food and really good for you so I thought I would see if I could easily add them into my daughter's diet.

Chia seeds are part of the mint family and rich in omega-3 fatty acids as well as providing protein, fibre, and some essential minerals (phosphorus, manganese, calcium, potassium and sodium). More information is available at Wikipedia or just Google it.

So far I have added them to pizza dough and scones (not GF ones though yet). Apparently they go well in salads to add a bit of crunch. For the pizza dough, I just added about 1/4 tsp to the single serve.

On the packet of seeds it also tells you how to make Chia gel, which you can use to replace eggs, oil and/or butter. Combine 1 part Chia Seeds to 9 parts water and whisk to blend the seeds. Stand for 15mins and then whisk again. Put into airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Pretty cool! Will try it soon.

Edit 22 October 2011 - I recently read that people who were allergic to nuts could be sensitive to chia seeds. So please be cautious if you/your child have nut allergies. I am glad I read it because it explained my son's eczema that had strangely returned. We had been eating a loaf of bread with chai seeds in it that week.

Soy Milk

I have finally taken my daughter (Miss 2) off formula. The allergist had recommended putting her on formula and staying on for a while so that it could provide more vitamins and minerals etc. My decision to take her off was my own since we can't see the allergist until June and it was made easier by the discovery of this soy milk by Vitasoy - Soy Milky Kids. It has added vitamins (D, B6, B12, folate) and minerals (calcium, iron) and iodine. It is also made from non-GM ingredients.

Yoghurt

 photo from here

Soy yoghurt is an essential part of my daughter's calcium intake. She has it every night, as long as she has eaten enough of her dinner (vegetables specifically - she's such a carnivore!) because, apart from milk, it's her only big calcium product in her diet. Click here for other calcium ideas.

We currently use Soy Life Yoghurt, either vanilla or blueberry. You can get mango/apricot but she didn't like it. They come in 2 packs and tend to last us 4 nights. A tub is 26% of Recommended Daily Intake for Calcium. The other option is Kingland Yoghurts (not a great website unfortunately) that come in a 4 pack. They are good but not as economical for us at this stage.

Persevere

My daughter has had a well-documented struggle to drink milk of any type. Since the allergy specialist told me to give her soy formula, I have offered it to her every day, despite rejection every time for 4mths. It was easy to be frustrated at the wasted formula and money (I think most of the first tin of formula went down the drain) but looking back, my perseverance paid off.
Earlier this month we had a breakthrough. 60ml as a drink was a huge deal. Now, almost a month on from that, she is drinking 200-300ml a day! We praise God for this and are really glad we persevered. 4 months (when you look back) isn't so long and it is worth it for the result. She's looking a bit chubbier (in a good, healthy baby kind of way - she's a slim girl) and seems to be more content.

Another story of perseverance to success was with her vitamin supplement. It's a liquid and doesn't taste particularly nice. When we first gave it to her, she screamed, cried etc. It would have been much easier to give up. But we calmly gave it to her each day (unlike the milk, we actually made her have the vitamins) and now she happily takes it. It's just part of the routine. Worth persevering.

So, if your child needs to have something, I encourage you to persevere with your plan and not let your child take control. They don't always know/like what's best and it will get easier over time.

Vitamin supplements

When your child has numerous allergies, it is likely that they won't be getting all the vitamins and minerals they need, especially if, like our daughter, they refuse to take formula (which has a lot of the vitamins and minerals in it). We saw our GP a while ago and she suggested going on Pentavite with iron (available from chemists). Thankfully we had had a blood test that helped us work out what she was missing (iron and calcium). The change in her appearance was substantial - we had grown so used to what she looked like that we didn't even think she looked anaemic. Looking back, she looked quite unwell!

Can I suggest that you see your GP and/or a dietician and get advice regarding vitamin/mineral supplements. Your child might not need a blood test to work it out either. Supplements are not worth the expense if they aren't justified, but very much worth it if they are.

Try it again

My daughter is a pretty good eater, but she has gone through fussy phases. One example is fruit. She would refuse banana, orange, mandarin, apple and pear and only want watermelon. For a while I had to just have watermelon in my fridge at all times, but I kept offering and offering and all of a sudden she is eating them all! The biggest surprise and relief was banana.

As a baby, I refused banana and as an adult (despite a few attempts) I still can't eat it. So I assumed she might be the same. The only reason I kept trying was because it's such a great fruit (a meal in itself at times!) and with her limited diet, it would be wonderful to have in her diet. So, praise the Lord, she now eats one a day - apart from about a bite's worth at the end...don't ask me why, but she won't eat it. Strange and kind of cute, but since I can't eat it, a bit of a waste :)

Bread again

We had been using Springhill's fabulous bread mix until I realised that I could be getting more calcium into my daughter if I could put soy milk in the bread mix. Springhill didn't suggest milk as an alternative to water, so I have gone back to Orgran's bread mixes (white and wholemeal) I use up to 500ml in the loaf, so that makes a big addition to her weekly intake of milk, given her dislike of it.

Book Review: Managing Your Child's Food Allergies

I heard about this book on the radio and went out and bought it that same day.

The Complete Australia Guide For Parents: Managing Your Child's Food Allergies

It goes through the following things, plus more:

- What is a food allergy
- Understanding anaphylaxis
- Food-allergy testing
- Getting the message across to family, caregivers and schools
- Understanding food labelling
- Keeping your food-allergic child well fed
- Living positively with food allergies

It is a great way for parents new to their child's diagnosis to familiarise themselves with everything about allergies, plus a few chapters of it would be helpful for extended family or friends to read, if they are having a hard time coming to grips with the news. It also considers possible reasons for the unbelievable increase in food allergy in the western world. There are many options but I want to point out (because lots of people think this and say it to the mother) that maternal diet while pregnant/breastfeeding has nothing to do with causing food allergy. That has been scientifically proven.

I am going to go back and read a few chapters again, especially about keeping my child well-fed. I encourage to you get your hands on a copy. I am pretty sure I've even seen it at Big W (which would, no doubt, be the cheapest place to buy it) and you can get it from numerous online stores like Borders (free postage) and Angus & Robertson.

Menu Planning

After a recent melt down when I was feeling the strain of cooking for my daughter and thinking of meals to cook her that she would eat, I realised that I was doing it the hard way. I was trying to think of what to cook for dinner on the day, with no real planning apart from having staple meats/vegies etc in the fridge. It really makes things a lot more difficult for someone who isn't very good at just throwing fabulous kid-friendly meals together.

So, I have started menu planning my weeks again. I plan a week at a time, make my shopping list and then only have to shop once a week (unless we run out of bananas or yoghurt as tends to be the case!). I have felt a lot less stressed this week. It also helps me look at what my daughter is getting and can show me if I am missing any food groups/nutrients too.

Calcium rich foods

We have just discovered through a blood test that my daughter has a calcium deficiency. This wasn't surprising given her dairy allergy and her rejection of any other type of milk drink. So, with her doctor, we are considering calcium supplements. Children aged 1-3yr need 500mg daily.
I've just googled food rich in calcium that aren't milk drinks and here are some of the non-dairy ones.
- Calcium-fortified orange juice
- calcium-fortified tofu
- white beans
- almonds
- bok choy
- rhubarb
- red beans
- broccoli
- calcium fortified soy yoghurt

For us the orange juice isn't great because of the sugar content and the almonds are difficult because of my son's nut allergy. We know that he isn't seriously allergic to almonds specifically though so they could be an option for her when she's a bit older.
We'll be praying she starts drinking the soy milk (she didn't even like it when it was chocolate flavoured!!) but work with our doctor to make sure she is getting all she needs.