please suggest some quick, WHEAT-FREE, DAIRY-FREE snacks/meals for my dd, age 13 mo.
Dd's chiropractor did some nutritional muscle testing w/ her this morn and thinks she has sensitivities to wheat, citrus, and tofu. i said i'd give it a try, since i've tried everything else i can think of to solve her tummy issues and her ongoing recurrent ear infections/ fluid in the ears.
we are vegetarian, and i'm pretty much dairy-free, as is dd. BUT i would do items w/ trace amounts of casein or whatever in them... the chiro actually thinks casein isn't a problem for her, but i'm just so wary of dairy in general that i stay away...
oddly enough, he said she didn't react to the soy yogurt, just to the tofu. he said it may be b/c the yogurt is more processed, the tofu more in its raw state.
i've also noticed reactions to citrus, especially pineapple. last night she was up ALL NIGHT and i thought for sure it was an ear infection again (it's not) but after our visit to the chiro this morn, and remembering her dinner last night of whole wheat pasta w/ tomatoes and tomato sauce w/ orange slices for dessert, i think it may have been tummy pain.
SOOOOOO... any ideas for quick, easy snacks and meals? brand-name items would be great, so i could locate them at Whole Foods.
thanks, meg, that was nice ofy ou to respond! i forgot to mention she's only 13 months, so i hesitate to do raisins or nuts b/c they're potential choking hazards. (yeah, i know, you'd think i was a first-time mama!)
thanks,
alycia
I've found a lot of great items at health food stores. Dh has been wheat free for about 4 weeks now so we are contantly looking for new ideas. meat, potatoes, and veggies are our typical meal items now. you have to be careful about sauces, but i have found some bbq sauce and other marinades at Target.
Originally posted by michmom thanks, meg, that was nice ofy ou to respond! i forgot to mention she's only 13 months, so i hesitate to do raisins or nuts b/c they're potential choking hazards. (yeah, i know, you'd think i was a first-time mama!)
thanks,
alycia
LOL! I am sorry Alycia..I didn't know! Well, Elijah would have nothing to do with wheat or dairy (I think he self regulated) and honestly, he had a lot of breastmilk in those days with supplements of easy fruits. Cheerios, I think, are only oat, but check..elijah wouldn't touch them, but liked a product called Oatios from Whole Foods Market...Again, I think that is only Oats, but I would chk ingredients.
I guess I'd go with finger foods like bananas, etc. You can get one of those mesh things if you are afraid of choking and fill it with apple pieces that she can still gnaw on without getting a chunk that is too big
Hope that helps. You can put frozen/fresh veggies in the mesh bag too, for gnawing on.!
Sorry I can't check my cheerio box right now - it's next to my bed and I'm only allowed to go upstairs once a day right now...
I can let you know tomorrow morning when i get to come back downstairs.
Cheerios are NOT wheat free. Is it wheat or gluten as well?
Malt-o-meal dyno bytes cereal (fruity and chocolate flavors) are gluten free/wheat free, and you can eat them plain or with Pacific Almond milk.
Fruits and veggies, we all love cut up apple dipped in peanut butter
gluten free snacks like other have mentioned- whole foods should have plenty, some brands are "mi-del" and "pamelas" and "sans gluten" I love the cereal bars by "sans gluten"! EnviroKidz cereal makes some gluten free variety as well, off hand I know their "Gorrilla Munch" is gf.
lay's potato chips
hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs
rice cakes
Thai kitchen brand noodle soups
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EnviroKids makes a wheat-free version of Cheerios. They also make Panda Puffs which are yummy. Some of their cereals have wheat so check carefully.
The Mi Del animal cookies are awesome for little kids. And I am spacing on brand, but there are these arrowroot type teething biscuits that are gluten free.
Whole Foods has a brochure that lists all the items in the store that are gluten free. They have another one that is just wheat free. And another that lists dairy free. That should get you started.
My kids always ate bananas and avocados for snacks at that age. Salmon and rice were meals. Yogurt is a great snack if you don't mind doing some dairy. IMO if you don't have an allergy, the probiotics in it outweigh the effects of the dairy. Plus the bacteria in yogurt digest a lot of the hard to digest proteins in milk.
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wow, mamas, thanks sooooo much! i was feeling a little overwhelmed, but i feel a little better now. *sigh of relief*
i honestly don't know if it's a sensitivity to wheat or to all gluten. i guess i'll have to go back to him w/ a sample and have him check her. oatmeal is an example of something that has gluten but no wheat,right? so people that are sensitive to wheat can have oatmeal, for example, but people who are gluten free can't, right?
i didn't know about those pamphlets at whole foods-- how cool!
i have no idea what her reaction will be to beans or to eggs; i've avoided both b/c of gas issues w/ her (which ,in retrospect, could have been caused by these sensitivities...) and b/c egg is a "foreign" protein, although not as "bad" as dairy, from what i understand...
please keep any ideas coming! thanks so much!
what do you put *on* your rice and beans?
thanks,
alycia
y'know, honestly, i don't think she's *that* allergic/sensitive or i'd be seeing more "extreme" symptoms, like diarrhea, "colic" etc., i believe. she has gas and tummy pain, which often keeps her up through the night on and off... but that's the worst, unless you count the fact that the sensitvities are prolly weakening her immune system and contributing to the recurrent ear infections... i'm getting away from myself here... but maybe "trace" amounts would be ok... maybe i don't have to go "all out"... i'm hoping, anyway... any thoughts?
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From my experience, it's best to keep her completely away from common allergens until her immune system is better developed. If you give her some now, she is more likely to have an allergy that lasts a long time. If you take it away completely, you are more likely to be able to add it back to her diet at 2 or 3 or 4 yo, and she will be fine with it. This is also from what I have read on the nature of allergies.
I know it sounds hard, but once you make the adjustment, it's easier than it seems. We have been gluten and casein free for almost a year now. We have nasty, sneaky behavioral symptoms when we add back wheat and dairy. So it isn't always cut and dried, like a rash or something dramatic. Sorry. I know you want to hear that it's fine to just give some to her now anyway. But take it from me. I seem to have to learn it the hard way. It is best to just suck it up, take the stuff out of her diet, and wait.
Oh and yep on the oatmeal. Barley would be another good one. Some oatmeals are contaminated with gluten and others aren't - it is from crop rotation or processing that they get contaminated. So barley is actually a great one as it contains gluten but not wheat.
I just want to ditto what mamabear said. I would cut out all gluten, it's such a common allergen, and can really do a ton of "hidden" damage. Most people with celiac disease don't even realize they have it, many are diagnosed in their 30's or 40's, and by then lots of damage has been done to the intestine. I'd check out www.celiac.org for more info.
please suggest some quick, WHEAT-FREE, DAIRY-FREE snacks/meals for my dd, age 13 mo.
Sorry. I know you want to hear that it's fine to just give some to her now anyway. But take it from me. I seem to have to learn it the hard way. It is best to just suck it up, take the stuff out of her diet, and wait.
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