What solid food can I feed my baby?

Someone asked me what solid food they could feed their babies who were intolerant to milk/dairy. Here's what I shared with her:

This is a list of foods to introduce to your baby with recommended ages that I got from one of my cookbooks ("Set For Life"):

0 - 6 months - breast milk, formula, or goat's milk

7-8 months - cereals (brown rice, millet, oatmeal, barley) You can buy the Gerber-type baby cereal and mix it with water and applesauce to flavor it, or you can make your own (healthier, but not fortified with iron). Make the cereal by putting the whole grain into the blender until it's a fine meal consistency. This cereal cooks in minutes using about a one tablespoon of the grain to one-third cup water.

8-10 months - in addition to the cereals, add vegetables and fruits, such as: squash, carrots, potatoes, green beans, peas, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, applesauce (unsweetened), bananas, peaches, pears, etc. These items are easy to cook up and mash or puree in the blender. I've also tried Cheerios later on as a finger food, and my babies have loved chewing and sucking on them with no problems.

10-11 months - add cooked eggs and legumes (NOTE: My oldest son was allergic to both eggs and milk, so if you are worried about that, then wait to introduce the eggs until you see an allergist or until they are 1 year old.) Black beans might make a nice finger food. Just rinse, heat, and serve, otherwise, mash up to a fine consistency.

11-12 months - add lean meats (cut up really small or pureed) and bread, cubed or diced

A few things that we did were when my kids were old enough, I gave them little bits of what we were eating for dinner (provided you are making dairy-free dinners). If we had steamed veggies, then I pureed some for them or let them try a couple of peas. If I had chicken, then I would puree or cut up a little bit for them to try (when they were older or could chew okay). To grind foods up quickly, I used a baby food grinder (like this: http://www.amazon.com/BabySteps-Food-Mill-by-Kidco/dp/B000067Q6J/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_ex). That said, a blender or food processor can work just as well, just add a little bit of water if it's dry. You could also try brown rice on the side either ground up or see how they do. I have some free recipes (like a dairy-free chocolate cake for the 1st birthday:)) on my website: www.milkallergycompanion.com and also on my blog.

As far as the teething biscuits go, I found these recipes, but haven't tried them yet:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/teethingbiscuits.htm

Although I love whole wheat, I would wait until your babies are 1 year old before introducing it if you are worried about other food allergies. Stick with oats and rice. The same goes for strawberries, peanuts, honey, fish, etc.

Here are a few "meal" ideas that you could let them taste as soon as they are old enough or can chew well enough:

Chicken with rice and steamed veggies (make sure you flavor your chicken dairy-free or just salt and pepper theirs...you can boil the chicken and it will be tender.)
Cooked Macaroni Noodles with tomato-based spaghetti sauce and hamburger (you may have to cut this up; also the tomato sauce is a little bit acidic, so you'll have to see how they do. You could also offer plain pasta cut up very small.)
Oat pancakes with blueberry syrup (diced really small to try as a finger food. If you're worried about wheat allergy, then use white flour. If you don't have oat milk available, you can use rice milk or make your own.)
Turkey (cut up small) with peas and a baked potato, mashed up
Chicken 'n rice soup (you'd have to make sure that everything is cut up really small, or puree it in the blender)
Chicken Pot Pie (a little more of a complex meal)
Shepherd's Pie (another more complex meal)

Your babies will be just fine with fruits, veggies, and whole grains. They really don't need anything complicated at this point. Just try adding a new food every week and see how they do. Good luck!!!

Juventa

A few costume ideas

Here are pictures of the bee costume and Mario and Luigi.

Dairy-free Halloween Tips

I know that Halloween has already passed, but I wanted to post what we did for Halloween to make it fun AND safe for my kids.

1. I purchased extra candy that was dairy-free. I let the kids go door to door and accept the candy given. When they got home, I went through all their candy and sorted out the dairy-free candy and the non-dairy-free candy. I then let them trade for dairy-free candy. This way they didn't feel left out or excluded and still had fun. Some neighbors know of our allergy and were very kind to provide something extra special for my kids:) I love great neighbors!!! (Note: Due to too many dental bills, I keep their candy up high and give them a little bit each day. At this rate, we may never get through it!!! Maybe I'll send some with my husband to work:))

2. Make meal time fun! For our Halloween festivities, we celebrated the entire day. (I LOVE Saturdays!!!) Here was our menu:

Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes with chopped pecans and Apple Spice Syrup (found in my cookbook: www.milkallergycompanion.com)

Lunch: Tomato Soup ("blood"), Bone Breadsticks, Fingers (carrots with hummus and almonds as finger nails), Spiders (cucumber slices with pretzel sticks stuck on with hummus), Swamp Juice (green Kiwi/Strawberry Juice with swedish fish)

Dinner: Toes (hot dogs with ketchup as toe nails), Monkey Brains (potato salad), Salad, and Water

Dessert: Dairy-free Chocolate cupcakes with fun decorations (recipe on my website)

Other ideas: "Teeth" - apple slices cut in teeth shapes stuck together with peanut butter, "Bats" - baby carrots with lettuce wings, grape tomato head stuck together with toothpicks.

3. Focus on the fun of dressing up and making fun family memories! For costumes, I made a Mario and Luigi costume for my boys. My daughter was Princess Leia. We also had a bee and a spiderman (store bought). We carved pumpkins and played the Bone game (we cut out a skeleton and hid the different pieces). We also watched some Disney Halloween short movies on You Tube. Overall it was a great day!!!

A new chapter

Over the last few weeks, I have seen a remarkable difference in my baby. We have been able to take her off of all of her medication for reflux. I have also tried little bits of dairy (yogurt, cheese - occasionally) and thus far she has been fine. She no longer screams all day and I have been able to meet her needs better. I am so grateful for this change in her temperament. I am still off of all soy products (allergic), however, I have tried soy lecithin, soy oil, and soy sauce with no adverse reactions. I really like using Rice Milk and Oat Milk and like baking some things with Almond Milk. Since Earth Balance has the soy protein in it, we have switched to using Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine (dairy-free) as well as Smart Balance Light. I also heard that Smart Balance Organic is dairy-free, so I'll have to keep a look out for that to try it out. We had a great Halloween (too much candy...) and are looking forward to the fall/winter holidays:) I'll post what we did for Halloween to keep it safe!!!