milk free meals for 19mo old - former cheese addict - help!

[lilQuidditchKel]

My son is so fussy to start with, and now we've been told he's allergic to cow's milk.

Thankfully we need only cut out actual milk, cheese, yogurts, butter at this point. Can still eat biscuits etc. For now, at least.

Problem is, he used to almost live on yogurt, muller rice, cheese and/or fruit for dinner.

HELP! Any clever ideas for cheese-free, finger-friendly "real" meals? Besides pancakes?

Thanks!

[glaskham]

my friends daughter is the same and she eats a lot of soups with toast.....and one thing she loves which i make for her when she comes as its so easy is pasta with a bit of hot mushroom soup and cooked ham in it!! i even eat it its so yummy!!! myself and my kids have a sprinkle of cheese on top but thats obviously optional!!! its something you could eat together!!!

[glaskham]

or you can make pizzas without cheese.....just tomato puree and meats and veggies.....i made it for my two for lunch and had ran out of cheese but only realised after i'd started making it!!!- you could even make them from halved bread rolls/barms with just pizza toppings on (obviously without the cheese) my little man loves making pizzas for his daddy this way as we set up the dining table as a pizza shop and he puts lots of different toppings on, and he's eaten things he doesn't normally eat this way as he's made it!!!

[glaskham]

oh my god- i've got so many things going through my head!!!....can you tell i spend a lot of my free time in the kitchen!!??!!

obviously you can do things like spaghetti's and mild chilli's with rice.... korma and rice is a fave of my kids....and its made with coconut milk which shouldn't be a problem for your ds....

jacket potatoes with chilli, tuna or beans on them make ideal lunches.....

how old is your ds?....i suppose if he's young then you'll just chop anything up for him anyway wont you....my 18mth old eats all the mentioned no problems!!!

[MeMySonAndI]

If she is not really very sensitive (as your OP seems to suggest) she may be able to tolerate goats hard cheese, at least in small quantities (like in pasta but not in cubes).

Don't understimate the variety of substitutes that can be found. DS is perfectly happy with a free-from almost everything spread that is called Pure. I use the soya based one for toast and the sunflwer oil one for baking. Cereals are great with rice milk (I'm not particularly fond of soya milk and yoghurts but they may be another alternative).

Most things you normally cook can be done milk free without problems. It just takes a bit of experimenting

Good luck!

[MeMySonAndI]

Sorry...he not she

[lilQuidditchKel]

thanks for the advice - intrigued about korma sauce recipe...anyone have one? I normally just buy the jar

[mistlethrush]

We've just been through this - ds on exclusion of all dairy (my mother and I both lactose intollerant so can't have milk but can have yoghurt and cheese, so there is potential that ds also affected, and has ear problems)- totally - which effecitvely means hardly anything to eat out. At home, no problem: he liked the soya yoghurts, and he also liked the custard ones (he also was a yoghurt monster). He coped with the soya cheese options, but only the cooked ones - didn't think much of them myself, but as a sprinkling, kept him happy. I made sure he was getting lots of nuts and beans as well as fish and meat (I'm veggie, dh isn't). (ds has been eating nut butters from about 1yo, and moved onto peanut butter at 2.5 with no problems)

Milk - he's been sharing my soya milk (I like the fresh Alpro best) - not getting the organic one as it doesn't have calcium added.

Sainsbury's do an organic olive oil spread that actually tastes OK - much better IMO than the PURE (sorry MEMYSONANDI - just didn't like the taste!)

DS now back up to goats cheese and goats yoghurt but I still havn't been able to reintroduce goats milk as he's been down with a cough for 3 weeks and I won't be able to tell if the milk has a bad effect.

[glaskham]

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, skinned and cut into approx. 1 inch pieces
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee
  
• 1 inch piece cassia bark
  
• 2 cardamon pods
  
• two thirds of a batch of Basic Curry Sauce
  
• quarter teaspoon hot chilli powder
  
• half teaspoon concentrated tomato purée
  
• salt to taste
  
• 4 tablespoons double cream
  
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped creamed coconut
  
  Method
  
  

1. Heat a little of the oil in a large heavy frying pan then fry the chicken pieces over moderate heat until they are sealed and have turned white. Remove them from the pan and set aside
   
   
2. Heat the rest of the oil in a heavy pan over a moderate heat then put in the cassia and cardamon and stir for a few minutes
   
   
3. Turn the heat to low then add the Basic Curry Sauce, chilli powder, tomato purée and salt. You can add a little more tomato purée if the colour isn't rich enough but no more than another half teaspoon.
   
   
4. Add the chicken pieces and simmer on a low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add hot water if the sauce gets too dry.
   
   
5. Finally, add the cream and creamed coconut and heat through until the creamed coconut has melted. By the end of the cooking the sauce should be silky and not too thick.
   
   
   just substitute the double cream for coconut milk and you then dont need the chopped coconut if you dont have it!!.......i have used this one a couple of times, done both ways and it has been very successful!!!

[MeMySonAndI]

I'm sorry but children that can't tolerate milk or yoghurt can't either tolerate double cream.

However you can get single cream made out of soya.

[MeMySonAndI]

I would check the olive oil from the Sainsbury's organic range... I know that at some point DS couldn't have it but I don't remember the reason. He has outgrown some of his allergies so hopefully, he may have it now.

[MeMySonAndI]

BTW... about nuts... if your family have a history of allergies it may be wise to avoid them until the child is at least 3 year old.

[glaskham]

thats why i put at the bottom to change the cream for coconut milk!!!

[MeMySonAndI]

Sorry, to used just to read the ingredients before deciding yes or no!

[glaskham]

no probs.... i normally make it the original way i posted- good for anyone....but when my friend comes with her little one who cant have milk i have done it using coconut milk instead of the cream and coconut and it turned out just as good.....if not better to be honest!!!

[lilQuidditchKel]

just to let you know, doing brilliantly. Thank God for 'free from' aisles at the shops. And corn flakes. And curries with rice. Actually DS is eating every thing better now that we've sat down to eat with him at each meal, and give him a bit of whatever we're having.

Plus I've realised he doesn't need to eat as much as he used to - what a relief....