Help me get more iron & protein into 7 year old with ADHD

[YouFilthyAnimal]

He pretty much only eats fruit, veg & carbs carbs like pasta/rice/bagels & bread products

Will not eat;
chicken
beef
lamb
pork
fish
prawns
chickpeas
beans
cheese
eggs
leaves

So basically no protein or iron whatsoever
Hes very tiny and slight, and lately is starting to look very pale and dark around the eyes

Any ideas??

If they haven’t already been mentioned, red lentil pasta and Morrisons do a high protein pasta.

Visit GP and ask for a blood test and a dietician referral.

One of my kids was really fussy at one stage. I used to add ground almond to smoothies and muffins etc to get a bit of extra protein in.

Normal pasta made from durum wheat also contains protein

Have a look at myprotein.com

they have all sorts of protein foods and powders on there.

This is a massive bottle of iron and b vitamin for just £3 from Holland and Barrett. Good place to start! www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-liquid-iron-formula-6100138642

Maybe he'd eat other grains like quinoa and millet? They have decent protein. You can cook quinoa and rice together to phase it in. Tofu? You can stir silken tofu into things. Fruit yogurt? Grated cheese mixed into mashed potato so it's not noticeable? I'd definitely get medical advice though - surely he needs supplements?

I couldn't get dd to take the chewable tablets or liquid iron but found a strawberry flavour iron gummy on Amazon, she happily has that, plus a gummy multi-vit with one of the omegas in.

I hope you find something that helps.

I add flaxseed to my pancake mix and blend it together to mill the flaxseed to get more protein and fibre in there.

Having an ND child who will not eat lots of foods is so bloody hard.

Blue Iron Liquid Supplement - blueberry flavour

Make high protein bread/rolls (just substitute out the whey protein powder and milk for dairy free alternative). Egg white protein power and soya/oat milk would work. You could make a pancake mix with egg protein powder added in too.

https://cheatdaydesign.com/protein-bread/

Cake, always a good way to get in protein!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/flourless-chocolate-almond-cake

Banana bread/muffins protein version with vegan protein powder.

Vegan protein powder in smoothies with blueberries and banana.

Tofu is really bland and my young DS loves it. You can just bake it with some seasoning, or do a stir fry.

You can add chia, flax, pumpkin seed or sesame seed into smoothies or yoghurts (more notable in yoghurts though, so not always accepted).

Hummus and carrot, cucumber or peppers.

My DS has dairy, egg, fish and legume allergies so we're also always on the lookout for protein sources!

You can buy protein water to drink. My son has it. It comes in different flavours.

Banana bread with raisins

Custard.

Recipe for Carrot and lentil soup:

2 onions, 2 carrots

Good amount of butter I.e. 2/3 tablespoons

Chicken Stock cube

Big handful red lentils

Fry veg till soft. Add red lentils. Add Stock cube. Cover with water, maybe until 1 cm above the veg. Simmer till veg is soft. Blend till smooth. Can't even see the lentils when blended.

Not sure how gullible your son is but I tell mine the recipe is Mrs. Rabbit's off Peppa Pig.

Assuming he won't eat ham, sausage etc??

Make him potato cakes maybe - mashed potato, egg, and flour fried up together.

Could you get tahini into the smoothies, or into a banana sandwich or anything else banana based?

I'd be inclined to go with an iron supplement to ease your concerns for now, but if he's eating veg, potato, soya, berries, bananas, pancakes you have a lot to build on.

On his list of does not eat, is that every thing? I mean you listed eggs but will he eat cake or pancakes? Cheese in mash?

Yorkshire pudding?

I it all beans? Baked beans are very different to green beans.

Will he eat pastry? Pies might be an idea if he does.

Do you cook in cast iron cookware?

Does he eat tomato based sauces with pasta? I always have a box of frozen cubes of chopped spinach in the freezer (Asda) and put some into passabta sauce. We call it pop eye sauce lol - I have been known to blend in all sorts to Passata sauces, one day I added a mushroom which changed the colour, so our in a few drops of red food colouring - he really enjoyed it (had all sorts in it lol!)

Try 'Clear vegan protein' drink by My Vegan. They are like juice/squash with high protein. I think you can get a variety trial pack.

www.myvegan.com/nutrition/clear-vegan-protein/12360400.html

Also agree the high protein bars/desserts might go down well. Alpro do a great vegan high protein yoghurt.

If he’ll happily eat pasta with a tomato sauce then I’d try making a tomato and lentil sauce. Initially mainly tomato with a few lentils. Do it once a week and increase the lentils gradually.

If he happily eats veg can you try him with edamame? They’ve got a lot of protein in but look and taste like a vegetable.

If he eats crisps id try him with some of the lentil / chickpea / pea protein crisps. And salted nuts.

Looking at what you’ve written it sounds like he’ll eat egg in things so I’d also do more of that. Find a cake recipe with lots of egg, make pancakes with lots of egg, potato cakes that pp suggested sound good.

Yes, and get sweet potato into the tomato sauce too for more iron?

Another thing I'd look at if he eats pancakes and baked food is gram flour (chickpea flour). Not as expensive as many specialty foods, bakes up nicely.

If he'd eat peanut butter at all that would be a good addition.

Chia seeds are really high in protein,we use them with sprinkles on all puddings,Ice creams,banana spilts etc,and we also use ground almond in similar way,lots of both on crumble kind if thing

I came on to say potato cakes with egg, and see others are on it. What about cornbread? That has egg in it. Also socca, the Italian chickpea flatbread which you make in a pan - that might go down ok as it's crispy like a treat. My aunt used to make almond cake like this very easy recipe, which has almond flour and four eggs in https://thebigmansworld.com/almond-flour-cake/

Socca is with the chickpea flour mentioned by someone else above so it doesn't seem like chickpeas. I make pancakes with it too with grated vegetables in.

Before you go down the route of protein powder and bars, calculate how much protein he's getting and check how much he actually needs. Too much protein isn't good for your kidneys and a lot of those supplements are ultra processed stuff that can do much more harm than good.