Soup advice please!

[confusedofengland]

Morning! DS2 (8) is a little constipated & is getting a bit stressed out about it. So, I thought I'd make a nice veg soup for lunch to see if that would help. Which veg are best to help with this?

Also, are there any other foods we should be focusing on? He eats anything

Prune juice!

Lots of water
Prune juice
Lots of water

Prunes are good to get things going

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Today 09:00 MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

Lots of water
Prune juice
Lots of water--

^ this ^

And pure fresh (not from concentrate) orange juice.

Exercise such as a long walk.

Warm bath.

Hope he’s better soon

Tinned pears give a quick result we also soak dried prunes in a bowl permanently and eat 3 to 4 a day, then drink the juice. He may like some prunes with some yoghurt for breakfast. As a child we were given milk of magnesia not sure if you can still get it, prunes taste nicer!

Butternut squash soup always does the job for me!

Am definitely going to get prune juice, thank you, was just wondering about veg too. He had bran flakes with raisins & bananas & orange juice for breakfast, so hopefully that's a good start.

He's autistic, too, so he struggles when he's not 100% as he can't process his feelings

We've been doing loads of exercise over half term, but miserable weather today so I think we'll struggle today! May get them jumping around to music instead.

Also, I have chia seeds & flax seeds which I believe are good, but not sure how to use them! Could I whizz them up with some overripe bananas in a milkshake?

I would try a smoothie rather than a milkshake

Green leafy veg (ie soluble fibre) is supposed to be the long term thing for kids with constipation. Good luck with that....

Failing all that go to TK Max ,it always does it for me

Lentil and spinach soup would deliver a good dose of fibre. You can whizz it up and add a little cream and lemon (even chilli flakes) to make it more palatable if he doesn't like it plainer. I stick a grated carrot in with the onions at the beginning too for a little more hidden veg.

Make a lentil soup - we make one with red lentils, onions, red peppers, carrots, potato, tinned tomatoes - whizz it all in the blender.

Coffee is the answer for me but possibly not for an 8 year old.

Either that or going to the library 🤔

All this fibre talk is giving me stomach cramps..don't over do it. Milk of magnesia is available in Tesco. That or Califig.

I second the tinned pears suggestion.

Kiwi fruit

DD gets constipated if she has too much cheese. Bananas aren't great helpers either. Definitely yy to OJ. Also cream of onion soup is a sure fire winner (tastes awesome too)

Thanks all. He's currently sipping a smoothie of apple, overripe bananas (which are apparently ok but green ones are not), blackcurrants, strawberries & apple juice. Then lentil & veg soup (lentils, carrot, onion, parsnip, Swede, kale, broccoli - basically the veg I had in!) for lunch with brown bread. It's entirely my fault as we had visitors plus DS3'S birthday over half term so lots of cake, chips etc Back to normal now.

I find any green soup is good. Or Onion, broccoli, kale and a bit of grated beetroot is an easy one, if DS is suspicious of green veg

Compote is sweet and excellent for the bowel: any dried fruit (raisins, mango, cranberries etc) soaked in hot water for about 15 mins till soft, or in water overnight.

Also, is he drinking enough?

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross haha libraries and bookshops also make me need to go think it's because they're relaxing

I work in libraries That's not relaxing though (but very enjoyable)

Sugar free sweets maybe?
They have a warning on the packets that having too many has a laxative effect.

We now have a much happier DS2 Thanks for all the advice, will keep up with lots of fruit & veg to try to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Prune juice works a treat but if he doesn’t like/you want something more gentle try dried apricots.

Soup wise avoid root veg go for pulses, beans, tomatoes, greens, peppers, onions & related, beetroot, pumpkin/squash

Also increase fluid uptake BUT no caffeine or fizz.

Caffeine is a diuretic and the fluids will move through his system too quickly to properly enter cells and gut, it can relieve quickly but then things stop up again

Fizz when constipated often leads to trapped wind which is awful!

Bananas are not good for constipation, they don’t actually have much fibre, too dry and hard to digest plus they can lead to gas production leading to trapped wind again

Wholemeal/bran type things can dry you out, I’ve found they’re best employed just as the constipation starts to be relieved

Glad he’s feeling better but I’m still posting as may help in future or someone else

The solution is always a car journey on a stretch of motorway with few service stations 😬

Cup of coffee, and a fag. That will move anything