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Allergies and intolerances

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Please Help!

9 replies

zye1 · 20/03/2012 12:12

My Son had been diagnosed with multiple allergies. No wheat, eggs, sesame, nuts, & soy. Advise how to provide a nutritious diet for a two year old, who is also a fussy eater!

OP posts:
doubleshotespresso · 20/03/2012 15:15

Jeez zye1 that's quite a list-your poor son!

The good news is that you can still incorporate the major food groups into his now to be limited diet...

He can eat , meat and fish-great news as he'll get plently of protein.

He can also have milk and cheese so will get plently of dairy type goodness and calcium.

Thw wheat elimination will be your most difficult task.
Most major supermarkets now do a wheat free range of pastas, spaghetti, bread, biscuits etc. And he can eat other slow-releasing carbs such as potatoes, rice cakes I guess. Yes they are a little more expensive though.

Soy is not too bad unless you were hoping he'd eat loads of tofu!

And I guess that you can balance all the above with a good selection of fruit and vegetables.

You say he is a fussy eater- what foods does he particularly dislike?

There are lots of websites that offer loads of egg and wheat free recipes as well.

I would advise checking any and all sauces, oils and condiments and confectionery products as soy and sesame are often listed there.....

There's also chocolate available that guarantees being produced in a nut-free environment.

If you need links to any of this stuff let me know.

Don't panic here, I hope it all helps, you're just going to get very good at working smarter around what seems to be a major problem right now. Soon it will just be part of your daily routine and shopping habit.

Best of luck!

zye1 · 20/03/2012 16:50

Thank you so much! I would be grateful if you could send me the links for any sites. I have spent most of the day in floods of tears at my desk.

He has been seeing a dietitian to improve his eating habits which has been a great help and he is slowly gaining weight. I knew deep down he may have allergies but I feel overwhelmed at the moment.

OP posts:
doubleshotespresso · 20/03/2012 17:12

No more tears please Zye1 !!

Help is at hand!!!!

I PROMISE you I'll get the links to you by tomorrow afternoon as I have to fly right now- but rest easy-you will get thru this and your son will soon eat for England-you just have to play the game (& of course teach him the rules!)

Big hug x

Jammygal · 20/03/2012 18:17

Soups,
roasted veg tomato sauce for gluten free pasta
". ". ". Gluten free pizza base
". ". ". Spag Bol with gluten free pasta
Roasts
Lasagne with gluten free pasta
Fried Rice with veg, small pieces of meat etc
risotto
Jacket potatoes
Shepherds pie
gluten free sausages, mash

Hope these are a good basic start! A fantastic book is Allergy free cookbook by Alice sherwood. This has fantastic cakes, pancakes, savoury recipes for allergic kids. it was recommended to me by Georgio Locatelli who has a daughter who is allergic to many foods.

It may seem daunting ATM but believe me it will get easier!

Jammygal · 20/03/2012 18:18

Soups,
roasted veg tomato sauce for gluten free pasta
". ". ". Gluten free pizza base
". ". ". Spag Bol with gluten free pasta
Roasts
Lasagne with gluten free pasta
Fried Rice with veg, small pieces of meat etc
risotto
Jacket potatoes
Shepherds pie
gluten free sausages, mash

Hope these are a good basic start! A fantastic book is Allergy free cookbook by Alice sherwood. This has fantastic cakes, pancakes, savoury recipes for allergic kids. it was recommended to me by Georgio Locatelli who has a daughter who is allergic to many foods.

It may seem daunting ATM but believe me it will get easier!

ChocaMum · 20/03/2012 21:47

Hello zye1. I know it is really daunting to start with, and so much take in. Our dietician told us most 'fussy eaters' have actually got allergies and intolerances, so it's nice to have a reason for things. My dd has just turned 2 and is allergic to nuts, dairy, eggs, soya, wheat, gluten, and kiwis. There are lots of other mums on the allergy boards who also have children with multiple allergies, so you are not alone.

There is another thread on here asking for meal suggestions for multiple allergies too so have a look on there for more ideas.

Remember you can use dairy which is great because cheese, dream, yoghurts etc are very difficult to find replacements for, and are a major source of fat for children under four. Also when it comes to childrens parties you can find treats quite easily that are nut free (both nestle and cadburys do a list online.) And you can fairly easily substitute egg, and it's not a major problem to take it out when you have other protein options. For wheat free I buy doves farm pasta and flours (waitrose or goodness direct.) For bread we buy EnerG bread which is free from everything!

Ordering food online is a good idea. I use goodness direct and allergy Essex. Also food shopping from superamarkets is easier to do online because you need to spend so much time reading labels, especially in the early days. Do keep checking labels though because allergy information does change from time to time on the same products. If you become a member of the anaphylaxis campaign they send you text alerts when allergy information changes or they've made mistakes.

Like already mentioned above, you can give all the protein food groups, which is good because most children with multiple allergies tend to be on the skinny side! So just make sure you have a carb, protein and veg. Although I know right now it must seem impossible to cook for your DS, you should be able to provide nearly all the meals you were already. I remember I was a mess when my dd got diagnosed. But taking out the foods she was allergic to made her into a gear eater and she definitely isn't fussy anymore. You will see a huge improvement in so much by taking these foods out, so you will end up being able to offer more foods than you could before because he will happily eat more foods. And that alone makes it worth it.

So for example this week my dd's meals are spaghetti bolognese (I use rice noodles), chicken and mushroom risotto, roast drumsticks with roast veg, baked beans and toast, lamb curry with rice, tuna pasta bake, jacket potato, homemade fish fingers (you can buy wheat free breadcrumbs.) Orgran is a brand that do lots of free from foods that I use a lot, and they give you quick options when you haven't cooked liked tinned wheat free spaghetti. It's a free world and look what we found are both good ready made meal brands, available from allergyessex and some from waitrose. I do my online food order from ocado because I find a lot more options with waitrose than the other supermarkets. But they all have a free from aisle/section. Sainsburys is also pretty good.

For eating out we go to McDonald's! It's all nut free and dd can have the fries, but that's it! Pig in the kitchen is a good website for recipes. I'm hungry by Tanya wright is a small allergy free cook book that I find quite useful, especially for snacks/party foods.

It will get easier, I promise you. And your DS will be so much healthier for it, so you will see the benefits fairly soon. Anyway I hope this helps.

ChocaMum · 20/03/2012 21:58

In my long post I forgot to day you can buy egg free mayonnaise too, so tuna mayo with jackets/pasta/sandwiches. Tinned sardines in tomato sauce on bread grilled, topped with cheese. The cake crusader makes nice cakes and treats that can all be nut, wheat, egg and soya free. I'll stop now!

doubleshotespresso · 21/03/2012 13:49

zye1 back as promised!!!

Here's what has got me thru it all- really hope at least some of it is of use to you.... The website below is a good introduction to the subject....

forum.allergyuk.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=324

For basics, pastas, bread,wraps etc I use tescos or Sainsburys freefrom ranges- quite good prices and work fine for DS.

Yes to egg-free mayonnaise too, it really helps other little ideas along!

I contacted BooksforCooks when I first got the news and they were brilliant at finding me recommended allergy-free books which are now very dog-eared and well-loved.

Groovyfoods supply us with fun packaged ceralas and currently have a2 for 1 deal on porridge.

Trufree are fab for the little extras and treats that I usually need to steer DS away from, snacks, bars, and lunch-box fillers.

EnerG bread is good too.... FROM GENERALDIETARY who also do doughnuts!!

www.aardvark-wholefoods.com/Allergy-free-products.html

www.godairyfree.org/Food-to-Eat/Online-Food-Retailers/

www.glutafin.co.uk/

www.groovyfood.co.uk/index.html

www2.sainsburys.co.uk/food/allergies-intolerances/freefrom-range/freefrom

www.tescorealfood.com/Our-Food/Tesco-Free-From.html

www.trufree.co.uk/

www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/landing/86.html

www.generaldietary.com/

Finally, zye1 I hope at least some of the above works for you.... if you need any further help, please let me know. Please let us know how you get on- best of luck!!!

x

freefrommum · 21/03/2012 18:57

Looks like you've had some great advice on here already. All I want to add is that we all know how overwhelming it can feel at first but it WILL get easier, I promise. My DS is allergic to milk, wheat, eggs & nuts which took some getting used to but now it's just part of our lives. I'm not going to offer food suggestions because DS is not allergic to soya and lots of the freefrom foods he eats contain soya (often to replace butter/milk etc) so I won't be much use in that area I'm afraid. It is something to be mindful of though when looking for wheat free products as they do often contain soya. EnerG bread (from Sainsbury's) is one of the few that don't as far as I know. I think Heinz baked beans & sausages should be ok too but do check in case they contain soya and I've forgotten. King Soba rice noodles are definitely ok and the brown ones in particular are a good alternative to pasta (or simply a change from rice!). I would also recommend including avocado in his diet if you can get him to eat it as it's really nutritious and full of 'good' fat. I used to mash it with banana to improve the taste. Ready Brek has added calcium and vitamins so a good option for breakfast. Oatibix and Oatiflakes are also good.

Just realised I said I wasn't going to suggest any foods but then got carried away anyway!

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