Dairy and soy free child refuses meat. How on earth do I get enough protein into him?

[Ohidontbloodyknow]

My DS is completely dairy free due to an intolerance, but won’t eat any meat. He’s pretty good on fruit and veggies but his meals are mostly carb based. He’s also on the 5th centile for weight and height height having been born on 50th and I suspect his diet is seriously lacking.
I’ve looked into how much protein he should be getting according to weight and it’s around 25g a day, but I worked out on average he’s getting around 10g from other foods in his daily diet.
He’s also suffering with concentration issues at school and retaining information, which I’m certain is linked.
I guess essentially, he’s vegan. But due to his dairy intolerance he also can’t have soy. In addition to this- he won’t eat nuts. We’re on a waiting list for NHS dietician and have been for a year, apparently there is a 2 year wait and I’m desperate. He’s 6 years old. Any advice gratefully received.

french toast? aka bread soaked in egg & fried, dash of sugar/cinnamon

or savory with paprika/salt/herbs

He's only six, so part of his problems with meat could be that he hasn't got his adult teeth yet, and deciduous teeth aren't very good for chewing meat. This could be why he's spitting the meat out.

People with a mild dairy intolerance can sometimes get on much better with goat cheese and yoghurt, as it is naturally lower in lactose, so that might be worth looking into.

Other meal ideas are frittata, made without cheese, risotto made with home made chicken stock, homemade beef or chicken broth with high protein pasta or noodles added. Perhaps nut milks used for Yorkshire puddings, quiches or rice pudding?

Hidden veg pasta sauces and similar- hide finely ground nuts, spinach etc. (I add red food colouring or beets if it goes too green for fussy anti-green kids!). Even if he picks out the pasta he'll get a bit.
Smoothies with peanut butter and hidden spinach?
Eggs are great and can be used with a bit of butter and cheese like a cabonara sauce (more difficult to take off!)
You could try him on a low sodium broth as a drink- water it down more if it's too high in anything like salt.

Sprinkle flaxseed on everything. It's pretty tasteless and is a good protein source

Smoked mackerel?

Richmond meat free sausages are by far the best veggie sausages. Try him with those those.
Quorn ham chopped onto pizza/ pasta sauces or just as a snack.

These almond yogurts aren't anywhere near as good as an egg but they do have 1.6g protein in each plus calcium and vitamin D, no dairy or soya and are popular with our toddler.

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/308104251

I’m surprised no one has said to try pâté yet. It’s dead easy to make your own (shop bought often has butter in it, so not dairy free. Chicken liver or a fish pâté like smoked salmon or smoked mackerel blended with silken tofu maybe. Also but butters if it’s the texture of nuts that he doesn’t like.

Another vote for eggy bread. What about home made quiche? Dairy free pastry.

Have you actually got symptomatic intolerances here or is he just being fussy? Because from your OP you made it sound like he had real intolerances to dairy and soy, but then you said to @Simonjt that you "diagnosed" it because your son said he had a "bellyache" after having them. You've also made it sound like you haven't actually seen a diagnostic health professional yet. So stop cutting random things out of his diet, it's going to do more harm than him eating something he's intolerant to!

Honestly I think if he's this fussy you need to be really clear on what he can and can't have. Try him on small amounts of dairy and soy. Don't tell him what he's eating, hide it if possible. A table spoon of soy milk mixed into something else, for example. Don't assume just because he has problems with one, he definitely has them with the other, the crossover isn't even close to 100%. And work towards getting him on either the dairy or soy ladder (google them) and building up his tolerance to one then the other because you are doing him no favours pandering to him so much.

And I say this as a parent of a child with a real allergy and a real intolerance. It really frustrates me that so many parents deny their children nutrients based on self-diagnosing bogus allergies and intolerances.

Hummus
If he won't eat nuts then peanut butter or make a nut based hummus type dip (grind raw almonds or cashews and add dairy free milk).
I like dips 😀

Most of my initial suggestions have already been done. My first thought was pulses, nuts (almond in particular), egg, quinoa and a variety of seeds.

Pumpkin is an incredible seed it has around 30g of protein in 100g. It also has a lot of other nutrients. I would try to add it with someone sweet to make sure he would eat it. I found this googling but I haven't tried it https://www.thefoodmarket.com/products/12-x-organic-milk-chocolate-pumpkin-seed-protein-bites-snacks-12-x-30g?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIKuMho2ogAMVUevtCh3J6QRXEAQYESABEgLSRfDD_BwE

So I followed the link and the protein powders are whey based which is DAIRY that the OP’s DS is intolerant to.

That link is from a referral programme for a particular website. The website does lots of variations of protein powder. I'm sure the OP is capable of browsing for particular products that suit their needs, there are many options.

We had exactly this until ds tolerated dairy, soya and egg (birth to 5)
he is autistic and rejected meat completely from the off - still does but luckily now he can have a full range of other foods (age 12)

we relied on

• oat milk and non dairy/soya ‘yoghurt’
• pulses
• Nuts
• tofu (bland and miserable to me but ds really likes it)
• quorn

protein powders are a good idea I didn’t think of!

Here's a direct link to BEEF protein powder
https://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/hydrolysed-beef-protein/10902405.html

No DAIRY in that.

Fish wise, if he likes smoked salmon and sushi do you think he'd go for other fish meals? He seems to enjoy the oilier ones which is interesting in itself cos fussy kids often prefer white fish. That might be buildable on?

I know this is not what your asked for but I would appreciate the information. I would also try to get a referral to a Pediatrician if not possible I would talk to your GP. Iron deficiency can cause lack of appetite, which then gets them to eat less, thus they continue deficient then eat less. Ask his doctors they to check it.

I was concerned my child was not growing enough and the Pediatrician recommended a supplementation. It has only been a few months but it seems to have helped.

By the way I am not a doctor, so I would seek medical advice.

Make a tomato pasta sauce with added lentils and spinach and blend it all up so it’s smooth and bits can’t be picked out.

use coconut milk in your cooking can be added to sauces etc as a high fat source of calories

will he eat protein vegan yoghurts? Some of those aren’t soy and are some are again coconut milk based

My kids are vegan and one had a soy allergy for three years. I never struggled with protein as it’s in almost everything, if he is eating enough calories he should be getting enough protein.

chickpeas in everything, kidney beans as snacks, houmous on toast, white bean spread etc

@BiscuitsandPuffin
I didn’t say anywhere that I diagnosed it. He was diagnosed with dairy and soy intolerance at about 9 days old by the children’s hospital, which he was admitted to with failure to thrive. He was on nutramigen and the amino acid based formulas prescribed by the GP and was under an NHS dietician up to the age of about 3 and tried (and failed the milk ladder) multiple times, we were discharged from the dietician as we had his diary free diet under control, however it is now becoming apparent that as he develops and his dietary requirements change, he is struggling to keep up with his nutritional needs. We have been through the wringer with his diet and I spend an awful lot of time, energy and money ensuring he gets optimum nutrition as a result of this. Whilst he seems to be growing out of the more severe reactions to dairy and soy, if he has them now, he gets bellyache.

I can assure you that this is not a fad.

Referral to a dietitian? They can be helpful with recommendations. Keep a food diary for at least two weeks prior to appointment. Lots of helpful suggestions on the thread; love when threads work

@mamakoukla yes I agree, super helpful suggestions. A lot of them hadn’t even crossed my mind!

@goodatmaths this is really helpful, he doesn’t have a huge appetite and I’ve noticed a few posters have mentioned that he may not be getting enough calories which I’ve also suspected based on his limited diet. I will get this checked out. Thanks.

@stormshadow potentially, yes. I don’t think he’d go for the meatier cod types but I’m Googling fishcake recipes as we speak!

Pancakes made with banana and oats
https://www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/banana-oatmeal-pancakes/

Bliss balls with white beans
https://www.mjandhungryman.com/peanut-butter-bliss-balls/#recipe

Date and nut bars
https://krollskorner.com/recipes/appetizers-snacks/homemade-protein-bars/#wprm-recipe-container-37295

Peanut butter muffins
https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/healthy-peanut-butter-banana-muffins-dairy-free-gluten-free/