Child friendly dinners and lunches that are carb free

[ilovecookies123]

Hi everyone, my DD suffers with ongoing terrible constipation which is most probably down to her diet which is ridiculously carb heavy, we've been to the doctors and decided to pretty much try and go cold turkey, so no pasta or rice mainly, obviously we will have it here and there but I really need some help to think of some dinners without these that are child friendly and quickish although some nights I do have more time so they could take longer. Any help would be much appreciated!! Thanks!!

Pearl barley can be used as rice but has significantly less carbs. How about doing a nice curry? Lots of vegetables and some meat? On Pinterest you can find recipes for pizza, where the pizza "bread" itself is actually made of califlower or spinach. Or just go on Pinterest and search for "food without carbs". I'm sure there'll be tons of recipes.

Could you get her eating sweet potatoes? I know they are still a carb, however they are much have a much lower GI index than white potatoes and are full of fibre and vitamins. You could make them into wedges, chips or mash to have alongside things like chicken or sausages.

You could also do things like cottage pie but have sweet potato mash or a root mash (parsnips and carrots etc) on top.

Check out a recipe for a cauliflower base for pizzas. It's quick and easy and tastes surprisingly like a crispy pizza dough when cooked.

Omelettes with things like cheese, ham and peppers in it is always a quick and easy option too.

Breakfast wise you could do her pancakes made out of whizzed up bananas and eggs

Are you stopping potatoes as well? Does she have an intolerance?

Increase her water, veg and fruit intake.
Have lots of veg soups, stir fries, casseroles, stews.

Cauliflower rice with chicken, ham and peas
Asparagus wrapped in bacon
Savoury egg muffins
Crustless quiche
Dipper / sharer plates (cut up veg, dips, chicken pieces)
Roast dinner without the potatoes
Cauliflower rice with salmon and peas

All that said, if the GP has advised you go cold turkey on all carbs, they should have given you an appointment with a dietician. A carb free diet is not without dangers and it can be difficult to maintain weight, or gain weight due to the burning of fats.

You may want to go back and ask for a dietician referral.

Swapping potatoes for sweet potatoes is a good thing to go.

Courgetti or spiralled butternut squash is a good pasta substitute.

Lentil and bean stews are nice.

But I'd second what another poster has said, before removing a whole food group from their diet go to the GP or a qualified dietician.

The way we left it with the docs is that she can have bread, rice and pasta but that it shouldn't be in more than 2/3 dinners a week and then if she has it for dinner can not have a carb for lunch but she also said to try and limit at lunchtime aswell as much as possible. The doctor was actually a dietician aswell apparently which is why they gave me an appointment with her.

These ideas are really great. She actually said potatoes would be ok but not in excess but sweet potatoe would be best

Surely it's more likely lack of fibre that causing the issues? Low carb diets are notorious for causing constipation (and I speak as someone who is a bag fan).

Just up fruit and vegetables and add in a supplement like fybogel.

If you really are sure it's the carbs then you need to get sensible with substitutes - cauliflower for potatoes is great, courgette noodles instead of pasta is excellent.

Personally I would given her 'normal' food but pile on the vegetables and add in some high-fibre snacks like dried apricots, dried prunes and lots of vegetable sticks - carrots, celery, cucumber etc.

Also lots of salads - lettuce is very good for bowel health.

I follow a low carb diet and suffer constipation frequently so I'm shocked that this is the doctors advice. What helps me is Alpro plain yogurt and taking probiotics. They promote gut health and will keep you regular.

ilovecookies123

I'm on the keto diet for medical reasons (epilepsy) and I have had to really increase my water and fluid uptake. Three litres of water at least, plus teas and lemon water etc.

How old is she?

I'm now really confused about the advice she has given me in regards to going low carb?

I've heard that low carb is a cause of constipation, not a cure. She probably needs more fibrous carbs and veg (bran flakes, spinach etc makes you poo). Also quorn has a stool-loosening effect for some people.

What have you tried already?

If eating potatoes eat the skin too if your tummy can handle it, that's where the fibre is.

"so no pasta or rice mainly"

These, however, aren't fibrous foods - so lots of fruit and veg is a good start (and not low carb). Increase the water intake and increase exercise a little too (as it helps things move through the digestive system quicker).

I tried low carb once, never again. I'd never it inflict it on a child. Is she eating junk? Could there be other causes?

I have friends who maintain their weight doing low carb and they've mostly mentioned constipation as a side effect. Not that we sit around discussing this!!

It's just on the list of stuff they warned me about when I tried it.

PS how old is she?

Maybe list a typical, say, 3-day diet of your DD? It's very unlikely that low-carb will decrease constipation - what EXACTLY did your doctor say?

What was a normal day food wise for her before?

We limit pasta/rice/wraps etc to only a couple of dinners a week. We eat a lot of sweet potato though.
Staples for us are:
Piles of any roasted veg (we usually do broccoli, red pepper, courgette, onion, parsnip) with some roasted sweet potato too, sprinkled with feta cheese (could add sausages or some chicken, but we don't eat meat)

Stew made with onions, tinned chick peas, tomatoes and white fish. Throw in fresh chopped parsley at the end

Lentil dal with hard boiled eggs

Fritatta, can put any veg or meat in, salmon and broccoli is nice

Warm salad with puy lentils - again nice with little chunks of sweet potato.

Red onions cooked slowly with balsamic vinegar then add fresh spinach and tinned green lentils (drained and rinsed), serve with sausages (we have quorn). This is yum and much simpler than it looks

Sometimes I make a 'loaf' using red lentils (lots of recipes online) and serve with cauliflower and broccoli cheese.

Could also try skewing ratios so make say a curry with a pulse such as lentils or chick peas, so it's filling, and serve with a small portion of brown rice. Then most of the meal is less carby. Same with pasta make tomato based tuna pasta sauce but add sweetcorn and broccoli, make the sauce chunky and satisfying then have a small amount of pasta with it

The different meal ideas are great and really helpful, if anyone has any others that mainly don't include pasta or rice it's really helpful.

I'll join in on the "low carb causes constipation" bandwagon.

It is still a healthy way of eating, but she would really need to up her fibre. Lots of leafy greens, sweet potato & skins, and fruit (which obviously have carbs in them but are at least unprocessed).

You can google or pinterest "paleo for kids" and find a lot of recipes and meal ideas. Done right it can be very delicious and very healthy but you really would have to keep an eye on the amount of fibre she is getting.

whoever suggested pearl barley is onto a winner, ditto the lentils. Mashed beans are a great substitute for mashed potatoes and full of fibre - I like cannellini for the texture, also tins of mixed beans

Also, she needs to be taking magnesium, potassium and increased salt too if you are going to cut out all carbs / almost all carbs.

keto egg roll bowl is a real winner here (to my surprise tbf). Tho' my kids have with white rice noodles and furikake seaweed sprinkle. Tastes like the yummy insides of a steamed pork dumpling.
Also milk kefir smoothies have helped to relieve my son's tendency towards constipation

I think maybe your doctor meant less white rice, white bread and pasta, rather than no carbs at all. Those types of carbs lack fibre, but carbs with fibre won't be constipating - fruit, for example, has plenty of carbohydrate but also plenty of fibre, as do lots of root veg and wholemeal versions of pasta or bread.

A completely carb-free diet is usually a) very constipating and b) not healthy for a child.

I too think that advice is odd unless what's happening is you are feeding her a varied plate but she's just eating the pasta/rice etc and ignoring the veg and other fibrous foods? In which case I can see an argument for removing carbs from a few meals so she eats more of the other foods.