Protein ideas for DS2

[sphil]

I've decided that DS2 doesn't get enough protein, having witnessed a major 'before and after' episode today. But it's so tricky - he's allergic to dairy, nut and eggs and won't eat any meat except minced beef/lamb and sausages. Oh and fish in fish cakes. So evening meals are fine, but breakfast and packed lunches difficult.

Are your eczema-prone DCs OK with baked beans? He hasn't had tomato for years but might be OK with it now. And has anyone got any ideas about how I can get him to eat chicken? Or any other protein rich foods?
Thanks

how is he with spreads/pastes? would he eat pate? Just checked the pate in my fridge, and it contains none of your list (aside form normal "may contain traces" - don't know how stringent oyu are on those...)

what about quinoa? I put quinoa in porridge for dd1's breakfast (flakes, not the normal kind) and it's apparently quite protein rich. Could make pancakes etc as well (if so inclined!)

also, don't know how much protein is left after milling etc, but you could make bread with quinoa flour (I sound like a real quinoa freak - we don't use it that much, honest!)

chicken wise, I once made some interesting (to say the least) sausages using chicken & veg all minced up together - they fell apart really easily, but tasted nice. Could try to look out the recipe (wasn't hard) if you think your ds1 would eat that? (note I say I made them once - dd1 wouldn't touch them...)

if he does eat suasage/burger types annabel karmel has a nice-ish chicken & apple recipe that makes meatballs, or sausages etc...

I think you said once that your ds like shepherds pie? have you tried making that with chicken mince?

Hello, I'm afraid I can't help with the chicken thing, my DD just chews it for a bit then spits it out! But she loves baked beans. Unfortunately they do aggravate her skin. Saying that, it is not definate that the skin problems on her face are excema(she has recently developed psoriasis on her elbows)so your DS may be alright with it. Anything tomato-ey seems to make her face sore but I do let her have it still just not as often as I perhaps would have done. Would quorn have eggs in? DD will eat the chunks you can get of it, its a bit easier to chew I think than real meat. Or ham because its a bit thinner so may be easier to manage?

on the baked bean front, if it is the tomato aspect you are worried about, what about adding the beans (plain ones) to whatever sauce he does like? I do this with dd1's curries and spag bol - she always has a different pulse/lentil/bean added alongside the meat - it's all a bonus as far as I'm concerned!

Re: chicken - what works for us (oddly) is chicken fajitas. Chicken chopped up and cooked in fajita spice, served in a tortilla wrap with salad, mayo, and a bit of cheese.

(I know, sounds like I don't understand the problem. At one point about a year ago, DD1 would only eat weetabix. Literally. She will eat salad or, tbh, vitamins in any form, in very few guises and a chicken fajita is one of them.)

I can also highly recommend home-made sausage rolls. Jus-rol frozen pastry, sausagemeat, whatever else you feel like throwing in, a handful of stuffing mix doesn't hurt. Eg apple if short of vitamins. Apricots. Chicken mince. The pastry holds the whole thing together and presents a familiar shape/texture under which you can hide a multitude of sins. If you cut them up into 3/4" slices before cooking, they make great packed lunch food.

Burgers and fish cakes travel well in those mini-pitta things. Burgers freeze well. Chicken ones (actually turkey mince seems easier to get hold of) won't fall to bits if you add an egg. They take flavour well - indian ones, greek ones (with lamb and mint) etc. etc.

Thanks for all those ideas. I already add quinoa to sausage meat burgers - I wonder if I could add it to his bread mix? I forgot to say in the OP that he's gluten free as well - so tortillas, pittas etc are out, unfortunately. You can get gf versions, but all the ones I've found have egg in them. Unless anyone knows different?

Porridge is a possibility - anyone know if It's possible to make it with buckwheat flakes? Or millet? (yuk). Or would the quinoa flakes work by themselves?

Chicken sausages are a great idea - it's always best if things are in a familiar form!

Spreads and pastes are also worth investigating - had never thought of pate. He's fine with hummous, so could be OK...

Will keep you posted

.

Have you thought about protein in veg? Sounds loopy but a smoothie made with fruit, but add a handful of spinach or curly kale does actually taste nice if some of the fruit is of a strong flavour eg. raspberries, pineapple, in with banana, mango, strawberry, etc etc. Spinach is loaded with minerals to help poorly skin and has lots of protein.

Nuts - if you soak raw nuts in water overnight, then they are not allergenic. (For those with serious anaphylactic reaction then I wouldn't suggest it, but for my dc with eczema, she rashes0 with nuts, but after soaking, she doesnt. You can then make nut milk and add that to cereals, milk shakes etc and get loads of protein. And calcium.

quorn burgers/sausages?

actually holland and barrett do ready to eat veggie sausages, that could be handy for a lunch box?

how about a tofu shake?

Yes you can make millet porridge. Buy millet flakes from Holland and Barrett or wherever. But it takes much longer to cook than "real" porridge and the pan is a beggar to clean. Might be worth doing a huge batch and freezing it in pots or whatever: it nukes well enough.

sausages for breakfast? also lentils make nice patties. felafels and lots of the pre-made veggie stuff should be ok ingredients wise and there are some really nice things which are portable. oh, have you tried tofu?

I was going to suggest nuggets and stuff but saw your post about being GF, too. I sometimes roll strips of chicken or fish in polenta and gently fry them - it turns out dead crunchy and seems to meet the approval of both boys, even the picky one.

For porridge, I use one packet of rice porridge (either sainsbury's or Barkat - think the Barkat one may already be a mix of stuff, but not sure) and mix i na big tub with one packet of Sainsbur'y golden porridge (is rice/buckwheat I think) and one packet of quinoa flakes.

I did do a half/half rice/quinoa but the quinoa came thrugh a bit strong (although I think it was more me objecting to the smell than the dds!)

Don't see why you couldn't add to bread mix. I put some quinoa flour in some bread I was making as had run out of some other GF flour that was needed, and it tasted quite nice...

I also had quite a good success this evening with adding quinoa to a spag bol I was making; how is your ds with casseroles etc? or soups? if he eats soup then adding quinoa would be dead easy...

Is polenta gluten free Ourvye? That sounds good if so - DS2 loves anything fried and crunchy!

Didn't know spinach had protein - could mix into stews as long as it didn't make them too green! Also didn't know about soaking nuts - but am bit scared to try DS2 with nuts. Even though he's only had skin reactions before, he did have one more serious reaction (to a fruit smoothie) requiring visit to A+E, which has made me more nervous about giving him stuff I know he reacts to. Would LOVE to be able to give him nuts/seeds though - would make life a whole lot easier.

Thanks for porridge tips SF - will try, though pretty sure DS2 will turn nose up, as it's so unlike anything he eats atm.

ah, porridge is a bit of an acquired taste, I reckon. I think dd1 only eats it as it was a replacement for her beloved weetabix, so she was already used to the wallpaper paste texture!

I put loads of other stuff in too - fruit purees, raisins, chopped fruit (although she gets very suspicious of this...)

Does your ds2 eat anything like rice puffs? because I have at times (just for variety) given dd1 a bowlfull of rice puffs, with the porridge really thinned out so like a thick milk - could be a way to test your ds (if any cereal is acceptable, you could do the same as a crossover)

are all seeds out? (ignorant when it comes to nut/seed allergies emoticon) so no pumpkin seeds etc? I found some apricot kernals a while back (not that dd1 would eat them!) which were nut like in texture, so nice and crunchy, but (to my untutored eye) not nuts? actually, dd1 will eat hazelnuts now, so might try her again with the apricot kernals...

Maybe a bit of reassurance with the nuts - my dd had a reaction where she rashed (like nettlerash), wheezed, and then was sick. But eventually I was pursuaded to soak nuts for 12 hours and she was absolutely fine, and has nut milk most days now. I make almond milk (again, good for skin) by soaking 1 cup of nuts overnight, then putting them in a blender with 1 1/2 cups of fresh water and 3 soaked dates (soak for 1/2 hour). Blend until smooth, then add 1 more cup of water. Process again. Put through a strainer and there you have it! It lasts for 5 days in the fridge. It's nice and sweet, but not really for drinking straight, but for adding to milkshake, cereals. I wouldn't cook it into porridge though, keep it raw, it keeps all the nutrients in.

I wouldn't cook the spinach either, keep it fresh. You can use it like lettuce, or smoothie it.

Avocados are also packed with protein and loads of other good nutrients. If your ds doesn't like it, then you can disguise it by making a chocolate mousse (honestly!) If you would like the recipe, just ask. It doesn't look green, or taste of anything other than chocolate (and is gluten free, dairy free, nut free).

ooh, can I have the avocado/choc mousse recipe? I need to get calories into dd2 (she's only 16lb, at 15 months!) and she has gone on avocado strike (prob because of the indecent amount of them I keep trying to shovel into her

sounds like a perfect pud for both dds!

I'd like the mousse recipe too please! I'd love DS2 to eat avocadoes - but far too mushy and green! Mind you, I'm not sure he would go for the texture of mousse either - but it's worth a try.

Thinning the porridge is a good idea SF.

I saw a recipe for chocolate and avocado cake once, it was a healthy recipe but not sure if it was free of everything your DS has to avoid, it looked very nice though, keep meaning to google it and have a go as DH is on a low cholesterol diet! Hard to think of things to suggest except to say that all my boys (even the fussy one) like old-fashioned soups like lentil soup and broth (we are Scottish!), if you make them the old-fashioned way ie. cooking a good chunk of meat in the pot v.slowly with the veg and the pulses, and then finely chop the meat you get a good whack of protein and lots of veg and fibre in one bowl. I sometimes give mine a bowl of soup as their after school snack.

I'm sure I've seen quinoa milk too (waitrose?) but no idea whether it is suitable for GF/CF, as haven't checked ingredients... but that would be a start cereal wise, maybe?

I'm wondering if you could use unflavoured whey protein that athletes and bodybuilders use to mix into drinks. You would need to check the ingredients and definitely the flavoured ones would be no good. Something like this. Actually that says you can sprinkle it on casseroles etc.

Sorry I realise whey is no good, but look at the link because that's vegetable based.

I had wondered about some kind of protein powder Saker. Will check with his nutritionist first I think - I may be worrying needlessly, or it may be a blood sugar issue, so carbs related rather than protein.

Just to let you know that I haven't forgotten about the avocado chocolate mousse. My mum borrowed the recipe book last week, so I just need to get hold of it. Won't be long I promise!