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.

Homemade sushi doesn’t have to have raw fish in. Prawns, seafood sticks, mackerel, smoked salmon and tuna mayo all make nice sushi. The sushi rice is quite easy to make and will last in the fridge for a couple of days, the seaweed sheets are fairly cheap and easy to get from large supermarkets. Then make into rolls with one of the proteins and different types of vegetables like carrots and cucumber. Dairy free soft cheese spread would also be nice with salmon and mackerel. It’s not cheap, but it’s certainly much cheaper than supermarkets and might encourage him to eat.

If the problem with meat is the chewing, will he not eat it minced? So for example chili con carne but with more pulses than meat, or a wrap with minced chicken and vegetables or a ham sandwich?

My picky autistic picky eating allergy-ridden kid pretty much lives off fish fingers dipped in ketchup, Billy Bear ham and fruit. With the odd ketchup sandwich and marmite sandwich.

Will he eat fish fingers? Unlike oily fish you don't need to limit the amounts.

@VikingLady stupidly, I’d always assumed fish fingers were more breadcrumb and ‘other stuff’ than fish, a bit like chicken nuggets. But having just googled them they are really high protein. I’m sure I can get him to eat these at least once a week. Thanks.

My daughter can't have dairy due to metabolic disorder. She does eat meat but not in huge quantities. She has things like oat milkshakes, and peanut butter sandwiches, tuna mayo sandwiches etc.

Did you know that loads of cheeses are naturally lactose and galactose free.
Extra matured Cheddar
Gouda
Parmesan
Emmenthal
Babybels (red ones)

www.galactosaemia.org/downloadfiles/cheeseinfo.php

OP, we have a friend whose DD can't have dairy or soy either and was diagnosed with failure to thrive, so completely believe you!

Our little friend loves eggs, so quiches are in. You can also make quiche with chickpea flour, which is high in protein. I think you said it is a texture thing - it's surprising how much protein powder you can get into baked goods.

Finally, how much does he weigh? He only needs 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight daily, so a child weighing (let's say) 30kg would only need 24g of protein daily. That may feel a bit more achievable. Good luck!

I could of written this post word for word. Apart from mine is two and half. Dairy, soya and legumes intolerance/allergy. Will not eat meat, mostly won't even try it and occasionally he will have a little peice of roast chicken. Chew it and spit it out. I would love him to have a chicken nugget!! At the moment he's being really picky as well so he's decided he's not bothered about fruit or veg. He's just on 2nd centile 😫. Have seen loads of amazing suggestions on here. Thank you for posting it x

@IScreamAtMichaelangelos I didn’t think of chickpea flour. Thank you for sharing!
@strongcupofTea thanks for the link, I will check it out.
@Tbird5 Ahh, it’s tough isn’t it? I’m really glad you’ve found the replies helpful too!

So many people saying Tofu. It’s made of soy. To which he has an intolerance.

OP: make pate / paste from smoked salmon or mackerel (but without the cream cheese that is often part of the recipe). Finely mash tinned mackerel on toast. Finely chopped shrimps in an omelette?

Potted meat sandwiches?

Have you tried combining rice and beans - eg a mild bean chilli with rice? Together rice and beans form a complete protein. Apparently peanut butter and wholewheat bread is another example of complementary non meat items that form a complete protein when eaten together.

I can empathise OP. My DS is allergic to dairy, eggs, all tree nuts as far as we know,
peanuts, some fish and a number of seeds and pulses. And he would prefer not to eat meat for ethical reasons. Getting enough protein is a complete nightmare. I went as far as getting a vegan chef to come and spend a few days with us and even she agreed that she couldn't provide a meat free diet for him that was sufficiently nutritious. So we have had to compromise on less but better quality/higher welfare meat.
Obviously that's not the issue for you, but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in having this kind of problem. In your shoes I think I would try to find ways of serving meat that are more acceptable to your DC. Slow cook it or serve it in stews or soups so that it is very soft or almost disappears for example. I make mini meat loafs in muffin cases that went down well with my children when they were little.We use lots of lentils too as DS can have those but not a lot of other beans or pulses. I do lentil shepherds pie, lentil curry, lentil bolognese and often throw a handful into other dishes like stews etc to boost the protein.
Fortunately most children do grow out of CMPA and it sounds like the reactions are getting less severe so hopefully this is a good sign for you and it won't be lifelong. I hope things look up for you soon.

Not much use if it's CMPA.

Bread, especially wholemeal, is a good source of protein if you can find one which doesn't have soya. Might be worth making your own if you can - you can often pick up bread making machines on Facebook and eBay cheaply. He might enjoy seeing his special bread being made.

You can buy bottles of protein water. You could use it to make him orange juice. They are not much more expensive than a normal bottle of water. My Foster Son has them after a heavy Sport session.

I second beans and lentils, also nuts. Also eggs.

Hey I’m a vegan download dr sebis food list
everything on that food list is every food that is best for an alkeline diet but if I was you you can make things like falafel wraps chickpeas are high in protein maybe you could make chickpea curry , you can make red beans with quinoa or rice too you just need to be creative maybe go on YouTube and watch vegan recipes love .. home made chips and veggie burgers go down a treat also olives and goji berry’s are very sweet and full of protein

Someone mentioned wholemeal bread- we get Tesco wholemeal or toastie, both soya free unlike a lot of bagged bread. www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/299425783

Depending on age secret foods might be good?

Pulses lentils and Chickpeas, all blended can barely be tasted in a nice pasta sauce with pesto.

Peanut butter sandwich

Tofu in curry or mexican

You can put collagen in literally anything too, it's colourless and tasteless x

Alkaline diets are bogus. You cannot change the pH of the human body and there is no evidence they have any health benefits.

Has anyone suggested felafel? Most kids love them.

I have a friend who will only eat processed meats, he doesn't like the texture of meat, I say he can't be bothered to chew so he eats burgers and sausages. Maybe your DS is similar?

Could you try pate? Home made chicken liver pate is easy but does involve a lot of butter and I'm not sure making it with oil would set.

I was also thinking eggs but I see everyone else is saying that. And also fish.

Could you make sushi? Get him involved with making it, the stuff we get in the UK isn't true sushi and is not difficult to make.

If you go the sushi route maybe try some strips of beef or chicken? Try 'velveting' the meat ie put a couple of teaspoons of bicarb on the meat and leave for 30 mins.

Peanut butter is full of protein and fat, it makes an interesting stir fry sauce when mixed with a little hot water.

I don't think grinding and hiding nut is a good idea actually

Aversion can be a warning sign of an allergy

I would discuss with his allergy clinic and be very cautious about hiding nuts in food

OP you have my sympathies and I hope you can find good ways forward. On your first post I thought, oh also need to get enough fats and oils in for the calories; it sounds like you are aware of that though. So much dairy free stuff including spreads has soya I imagine it's difficult, though there is more coconut etc around now.

Pate is a good shout - I think it may be the Aldi smooth Brussels pate (that comes in a little rectangular tub) that is dairy free - I've seen similar ones in most supermarkets and usually they have some milk proteins in so I always check when I pick one up. Smoked mackerel is very easy to make into a yummy pate (add herbs/lemon juice to taste). Sardines mashed on toast - my mother used to mash them with a bit of vinegar.

I am so very grateful to everyone for their responses. There are some great ideas. I’ve made a list of things to try, spent a lot of time looking online at things I need to buy and my kitchen now looks like a mad scientist’s lab. But my son has just tucked into a breakfast burrito with scrambled egg, mushrooms and ham and a smoothie with added flaxseeds and oats and I’m feeling so much more positive.

Massive thanks.