new diagnosis :(

Sharon&edgar09

i just got the call today confirming that my 10month old son has allergies to cow's milk, wheat, peanuts, and egg whites! i just bought the soy formula to switch to, but other than that im at a loss. Husband and I dont have allergies and we have no idea how to feed our son with so many restrictions. any suggestions? by the way i am not a good cook, so easy foods/snacks would be great thanks!

 

la79al

In our house, I am finding that straight veggies, fruits and meats work the best.  DD2 is very picky so even having food ready and waiting is usually a pain.  I usually have a chicken breast and some hamburger cooked and stored in the fridge, some safe french fries in the freezer and at least one kind of fresh fruit.  We always have applesauce.  I would suggest a gluten free pasta and some safe spaghetti sauce.  My girls both LOVE pasta, hamburger, mixed frozen veggies, all cooked in V8.  Easy to make, freezes very well.  We are kind of new at this allergy thing too (we have the same ones as you, plus soybeans) so we're learning as we go and the picky eater really doesn't help

g_belle

We have a pretty similar allergy list.  If you search around this board long enough you'll find a bunch of suggestions.  At 10 months old I'm assuming he's just really getting into finger food so it will be easier than it seems. 

Here were some of our standby foods:

- gluten free pasta- the Tynkenyda (I know I spelled that wrong) is the best one we've found for texture

-Mur Glen organics makes an awesome pasta sauce.

-baked sweet potatoes are good and the Alexia brand of sweet potato fries are safe.

-if he can handle a little more texture- the Ore Ida tots are safe- NOT the crowns or hashbrowns- just the tots.  And double check the ingredients for wheat just in case they switch it up.

-Glutano makes a great cereal bar.  

-Enjoy life has fantastic cookies

-Van's waffles/french toast are safe

-avacadoes are always great.

-You can get coconut yogurt and ice cream for a treat or use a jello pudding packet (not the instant kind) with coconut milk on the stove

-Making your own meatballs is actually really easy.  

-Soups are easy to cook and easy to make safe versions on your own

The biggest thing for us with the allergy safe diet was a lot of trial and error.  There are a ton of allergy safe blogs out there with great suggestions.  Once I found a recipe that was good- I would/do cook in double or triple batches and freeze the leftovers.  That way we have easy snacks/meals for the nights I don't have the energy or time to cook.  good luck!

LittleYellowBirds

My son is 10 months and allergic to wheat, peanuts, eggs... milk& soy is a maybe. I'm afraid to start him on meat.  I've recently tried quinoa pasta, he loves it!

laftr4evr

Soooo been there.  I was a very very basic cook when we had our twins.  Okay, I pretty much knew NOTHING about how to cook.  I think the best thing that helped me navigate my way through was making a list of the things our twins COULD have.  It made life less overwhelming.  We decided to skip the high priced alternative foods and go with what we know they CAN eat from the regular grocery store.  Our pediatrician also referred us to a nutritionish who helped us figure out how to meet their dietary needs with this new way of thinking.

  You've probably already heard this, but ...READ EVERY LABEL.  It will always be part of your life now.  Manufacturers change, so a product that used to be tried and true could now be processed "on equipment that also processes peanuts."  that's annoying.  So here's a list of things it sounds like you CAN have:

Minute Rice
Cans of beans (read the label.  We've found a brand of black beans that doesn't have added ingredients.  And beans plus rice = complete protein to mimic meat protein.  But kids need more fat than that, so this is just a good "just in case I have nothing else" meal to have on hand).
Canned veggies (frozen and fresh are nutritionally better, but your guy probably still needs softer foods, and canned will save your sanity.  READ EVERY LABEL!!!  You'd be suprised where crazy ingredients pop up.)
Thai Rice Noodles found in the regular Asian food section work GREAT as a spaghetti noodle substitute, and they cook up quickly.
In the gluten free section there are rice crackers, and one or two brands of rice cakes.  READ LABELS!!!
Fresh fruits are awesome snacks (apples, bananas, oranges, grapes...cut up grapes for the little ones)
We get some fruit cups too, but they're loaded with sugar, so they're more of a "sometimes" treat.
Raisins
Plain Rice Chex for breakfast cereal (we buy the store brand).
The grocery stores also sell freeze dried fruit packets for babies, as well as with adult dried snack foods.  (READ LABELS! to make sure they're not processed with peanuts).  You can also make your own dried fruit VERY easily with a dehydtrator. 

Microwave sweet potatoes or baked potatoes.  Just wash and pierce with a fork first!  Cook on high for about 5 mins per russet potato, less for sweet potatoes.  To flavor a russet, white, or yellow potato, just use a chicken stock cube (recipe for EASY homemade stock is below), or just salt and pepper.

If you're still on pureed food, we invested in a "Smart Stick."  It's made for making smoothies or shakes, but it pureed meat and stews beatifully STILL IN THE POT (didn't have to transfer to another container to puree it!). 
To get meat soft enough for our guys when they were little, the slow cooker was literally a lifesaver.  Make big batches of any kind of meat, and freeze what you don't need yet.  He can eat it for lunch and dinner for a couple of days in a row and won't know the difference.  Basic chicken: throw a frozen chicken in the slow cooker around 8 in the morning (season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder) and cook on low all day.  It will be ready by supper time.  Same thing with beef (same seasonings).  For thawed meat, especially beef, cut up a few potatoes and carrots, put them on the bottom of the cooker.  then put on the pot roast or chuck roast, add onions and celery on top of the meat, then top with a 28 oz can of tomatoes (READ THE LABEL), or use 3 big fresh tomatoes.  If you only have frozen veggies, like green beans and carrots, then add them to the very top still frozen.  Cook 6-8 hours, or until the meat is falling apart.  Then puree with the smart stick.

 Make your own chicken stock by keeping any carrot peels, and cuttings from celery or any veggies in a freezer-safe ziploc baggie.  Store them in the freezer till you have a full quart baggie.  When you cook a big chicken with bones, take off the meat, then throw the drippings, bones, and skin back in the slow cooker with 6 -8 cups of water, throw in your veggies you've stored up, add a little salt, and let cook overnight on low.  In the morning let the stock cool in the fridge so the fat will collect on top.  With a wire mesh strainer, rest it over a big bowl and pour the stock in.  This will strain out the veggies and leave you with beautiful plain stock to use in rice, veggies, soups, and more!  Once it's cooled you can store it in plastic freezer containers (not while it's still hot, though, or leaching from the plastic is an issue), or use glass freezer containers.  I also put some in an ice cube tray and cover it with foil.  I use a cube here and there to flavor their vegetables or rice instead of butter. 

 These are just a few of the lessons I've learned in these very exciting last three years with our twins.  Good luck to you!!  And hang in there.  A new normal WILL come!!