LO's milk allergy + very picky eater = Mommy sending out an SOS

sami1784

I really don't know where to start with LO.  Obviously, I know what can and can't be eaten with a dairy allergy - I had to be dairy free for 9 and a half months until he was able to tolerate me eating dairy while still nursing him.  He's 19 months old, and the only foods he will willingly eat for meals are fruits (bananas, peaches, pears), PB&J sandwiches, corn dogs (sometimes), poptarts (at breakfast), and perhaps the occasional bite of hamburger or chicken.  He doesn't generally eat actual meat - I've tried pork, chicken, ham, turkey, beef... all no-go's.  He's not big on vegetables - whole or mashed.  I made some mashed potatoes tonight for him and he spat them out and played in them until I confiscated them.  He'll eat veggie pouches, but if I place beans or corn on his tray, he feeds it to the dog or just pushes it around his tray.  He doesn't like pasta - I have tried several types of pasta with different sauces.  He eats plenty of snacks - mostly graham crackers, but he does eat a few other things. 

Anyone have any ideas for meal items that I can try with him that he might enjoy?  It was very easy for me to eat the dairy-free diet because I'm not a picky eater.  I love meat and I really love fruits and vegetables.  I would try a vegan cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich or something, but there aren't any stores around here that carry that.  The closest stuff we have is the Veggie Slices cheese that has caesin in it.  

LSU628

Will he do lunch meat or eggs? My kid is weird and likes things that most kids don't. She loves hummus and enjoys dipping green beans, cucumbers, or pita bread in the hummus. Edamame and sushi (veggie rolls and snowcrab or any other raw rolls are a HUGE hit at my house). DD requests sushi on a regular basis. The Tyson chicken nuggets are also dairy free, as are Oreos. Cheerios are safe, apple sauce is another always safe option, and some of the Annie's snacks and cereals. What about guacamole? If I give DD a tortilla chip she will chow down on guac or mashed avacados. There are also some safe PB crackers that get fat and calories in my DD.

LSU628

I also forgot to mention that Bisquick pancakes made with almond milk (or milk sub of your choice), anything wrapped in a tortilla (breakfast burritos- eggs, and ham or any meat/veggie of your choice or lunch meat with guac or hummus or just plain old refried beans). Certain bagels and English muffins are good with PB for breakfast

sami1784

I forgot about some of those foods!  He does like Oreos, Cheerios, and apple sauce, but the Tyson chicken nuggets were a resounding no.  He'll snack on chips and salsa if we go to a Mexican restraunt.  I haven't tried giving him hummus, but then I've never tried it myself.  I don't know how he would take to sushi - he's really weird about textures.  Last night we were at a Chinese restraunt, and I gave him some rice.  He spat that out immediately.  I'm not sure how he'd like guacamole - I haven't tried giving him avacado since he was starting to eat, and it didn't go well when I did.  I may have to try it again since DH loves avacado.  At least if LO doesn't like it, DH will eat it!   I feed LO PB&J to help get some fat and calories into him.  I've given him PB crackers from a pack, and he seemed to like those. 

ali26

You've pretty much described my DD's diet, minus the poptarts and corn dogs.  Do you make the corn dogs yourself?  I've never seen ones that are dariy free, but I also am usually looking for veggie dogs so maybe the dairy is actually in the veggie dog itself. 

 

It used to bother me, since she has progressively liked less and less since around 15 months. But I think getting more picky is pretty common for toddlers. I'm hoping once she's 3/4 she'll start trying more, or maybe grow out of the allergy and have more options.  She rarely eats veggies- will usually eat cooked carrots and sometimes a smoothie with spinach blended in, but that's it.  She'll eat French fries or sweet potato fries and corn very rarely.  Used to eat pouches but started refusing them around 2 yo.  

Her main source of protein is eggs- she loves them scrambled or hard boiled. She also mainly drinks soy milk which has plenty of protein too.   Meats are hit and miss but usually refused.  She likes hot dogs and tofu dogs and deli ham.  Used to love fish but recently hasn't wanted it.  In my area all of the stores carry both vegan slices and daiya shredded 'cheese' which don't contain caesin but neither makes a great grilled cheese.   

I sometimes add pur?ed veggies to things like tomato sauce or baked goods/pancakes just to get some into her.  Ill also mix some purees with her jelly in a pb&j, which she doesn't seem to notice.   I always offer her small bits of everything we eat that she is able to have.  Sometimes just seeing someone else enjoying something makes them try it.  I also let her dip foods in sauces and maple syrup...it usually results in her trying more.  I just put a tiny dollop on her plate and let her experiment.  She also eats more when it's on her special Minnie Mouse plate as opposed to one of our regular household dishes.   

sami1784

The corn dogs I buy for LO are the Foster Farm ones in the frozen meat section at Wal-mart.  The mini corn dogs have dairy, but the large ones don't.  I just make one and cut it up into bite size pieces. 

mrsmac08

I think the pickiness is very common at this age, but the allergies make it harder for sure. DD and DS are 25 months, and it seems to change from day to day or meal to meal what they will eat. Here are a few things mine will eat (DD has milk allergy, DS has peanut allergy & recently got cleared of soy allergy - we keep them on same diet): Stacy's pita chips or Pretzel crisps with hummus, English muffin pizzas (w Daiya cheese..nit sure you can get that though), deli meat rollups with Toffuti cream cheese or hummus or guacamole in the middle, gnocchi (little different texture than pasta, maybe he'd like) with marinara sauce or meat sauce, mini muffin tin turkey meatloaf (w ketchup), smiley fries or alphatots, scrambled eggs, cooked cubes of ham, turkey hot dogs, chicken sausage, almond milk or coconut milk yogurt, avocado. They love fruit, but don't love the texture of vegetables, so we use pouches too when they need some extra veggies. I find that if I give them something whole (banana w peel, etc) or cut into fun shapes (deli meat cut with cookie cutter) they are more likely to eat certain things. Good luck!