MSPI Mommies, what do your infants actually EAT?

[Mashi]

I'm just feeling like all that DS eats is fruit and veg, with the odd bit of meat or fish chucked in at dinner time.

Breakfast -- fruit.  Lunch -- veg.  Snacks - fruit or veg.  Dinner, veg with some chicken or salmon mixed in.

No yogurt, no cheese, no biscuits (always have milk in them), not even any cereals as rice constipated him really really badly (tried a tiny bit of rice pasta last week and took him 3 days to get it out and get back to "normal").  Tried oatmeal this week and the same - really constipated instantly, bad face rash, tummy aches, etc.  Can't do other cereals as commercial cereals almost always have milk powder mixed in.

Then we find something that is milk free, and there is almost always soy in it.

I'm just really curious what your infants daily diet is like.  I really think that DS is sick of just fruit and veg, and I don't know what else to do!

[KathrynK]

Sainsbury's Freefrom Ginger Biscuits & Shortcake biscuits don't appear to have soy
Neither do their Freefrom English Muffins ( a bit healthier than biscuits  ) Could spread with puree for lunch?
Do you think ricecakes (for finger food) would have the same effect as rice pasta?
What about corn pasta? (that's what I have)
They do a Freefrom Pitta Bread which looks ok- you could do slices dipped in puree for lunch?
will carry on thinking.

(am on an elimination diet myself at the mo so will bear you in mind when I am on the lookout! I can't have dairy/ gluten/ egg and have been told to limit my soya intake to once a week too  )

[MLK]

I find it hard too! Luckily my DS can eat cereals/grains so I add those in quite a bit. I usually soak the grains first for a few hours to make them more digestible. I 've recently added egg yolk to his diet which expands the range even further!

What about chicken broth or soups? Will he eat from a spoon? If he can;t eat grains you can make patties etc from mashed root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes etc.

So for example

Breakfast: fruit with grain porridge (brown rice, quinoa or oats) & coconut milk OR egg yolk OR sourdough toast with meat/liver paste

lunch: meat with rice & veg OR meat and veg patties OR soup OR sandwich with avocado

dinner: noodles/ pasta with veg and meat OT white fish OR squid

snacks: fruit

Unfortunately without the grains his diet is going to be very limited! What about lentils? You could try making patties with mashed potato and lentils and other veg.

[Spectra]

I find it difficult too, the variety, well I did when he couldn't have milk/soy.  My son cannot also have wheat, oats, and barely, so all he could eat was rice.  Honestly he loves waffles and bread that I get in the Organic Frozen section of the grocery store.  The waffles are made with corn flour, he can have corn, and the Rice bread contains no dairy and no soy.  They also have other breads made with wheat or oat, still no dairy and no soy and no eggs.

He also likes these Alphabet French Fries, from the organic section as they only have olive oil on them.  He loves the rice crackers, rice cakes.  I found I made a lot of homemade bread, with rice milk.

Your son is still young, so just even having fruit and vegs is really good for him.  You can make finger foods with fruits and veg.  I took sweet potato and made wedges, put some olive oil on them, baked them and he eats them.  There are many recipes at http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/recipes.html   , you just tick off the things he cannot have.  Hopefully that helps.  I know it's a struggle.  I still struggle because my son also had an easy gag reflex and wouldn't eat a lot of solid foods.  He still eats a ton of veg and fruit, pureed meat, but is now trying the french fries homemade, waffles and other baked goods I either make myself or buy in the organic section.

[Mashi]

I"m not sure if rice cakes would have the same effect as rice cereal and rice pasta. I picked some up today and thought about it, and then put them on the shelf, couldn't decide.  Was going to post here to ask other's experiences. 

The pasta we have is rice and corn flour, that is all that is in it.  But it bunged him up BADLY!

We are staying gluten free until he is one year, if I can.  Then I cracked and this week gave oatmeal, as sometimes celiacs can have oatmeal as the gluten is often removed in processing. He was instantly constipated BIG TIME. Has been off of it for three days and still has cramps and can barely poop.  Now, that said, it was Ready Brek that I tried and only after three days of reading and re-reading the box over ad over and over again did I notice that it says "MAY contain traces of milk...." so perhaps that is what has happened.  I am going to wait a week and buy some plain oats, try again.

DH does the grocery shopping and he tries really hard, maybe I will have to go with him this weekend and see what I can find in the frozen section. Melanie are you in the US or the UK?  And, I will check that recipe site out! Thanks for the tips ladies!

[Spectra]

I am in Canada, but have similar stuff to the US I think.  There are other flours I used for baking.  There is Quiona flour, that is gluten free, and a few others.  I found it all together in the Organic section, they have a nice Gluten Free section, which has a ton of stuff on their shelves, like cookies, crackers and bread/cake mixes, etc.  I used the Quiona flour when I made his 1 year birthday cake.  I know there are other flours, I just cannot think of the names right now.  The organic section was a life saver for me.

[*Liz*]

My DS is MPI, and also constipated terribly on baby rice. You helped me out on the solids pages the other day  . He also has reflux and food aversion.

One of the few thing he will eat is rice cakes - and I'm pretty sure they are not upsetting him tummy or causing constipation. He eats them plain, and also likes the fruit flavoured organix ones. I'm currently trying to think of savoury things to put on them to see if he will be willing to try more foods this way. We tried some hummous today which he seemed to like. I know sesame seed can be an allergen, but it hasn't done anything yet.

[Mashi]

Those are the ones I picked up today and then put down - the apple organix ones! Maybe I will go get some tomorrow, they were just at my local shop so will give me a reason to get out of the house!

[*Liz*]

Yeah, he loves those ones. They taste a bit like sugar puffs without the sugar  .

[MLK]

The rice pasta I use is Orgran, the ingredients are brown rice flour, spinach and beetroot powder. It's the vegetable rice penne and spirals. I like it because it has no salt added and also the vegie powders are an added bonus - makes it look pretty too! DS loves them.

[KathrynK]

I had an appt with a nutritionist yesterday, she said corn and rice pasta aren't particularly high in fibre, so can lead to constipation- like your lo. She told me to get some buckwheat pasta- it's gluten free- and not only higher in fibre, but she said actually aids the digestive system so is much better for you.
I haven't tried it yet so don't know what it tastes like but hth anyway! 

[Spectra]

Well the only think I found last night were these cheese slices that were lactose and casein and soy free.  But all the actual cheeses had casein in them, but no lactose.

The other flour I was thinking of was Tapioca flour.  You can also get some rice cereal in whole grain brown rice which has more fibre, which may help.

[KathrynK]

another thought re. breakfast- have you tried Oatibix? that's what I'm having at the mo

Also I can't have now soy or rice milk so am having oat milk- it's called Oatly, I got it in Sainsburys and they've got a website Oatly.com with loads of recipes cooking with their oat products as a replacement for dairy
xx

[*Liz*]

Just had another though - the Organix range do a few other snack things - carrot sticks (which are like those puffy crisps but made of carrot) and some ring things made out of sweetcorn too. I don't check for soy but know they are free of milk. Might be useful for a snack or to give to dip into purees? And shouldn't constipate as they are veg not cereal.

[Mashi]

I picked up a bag of the apple flavoured Organix rice cakes last week and DS has been chomping one or two a day ever since. He loves them and it's his only finger food!  They haven't constipated him, which I do find weird as EVERY other rice-based food does, but it must be in the puffi-ness. 

I did see some other Organix products yesterday in one of the shops, but they all had oats in them, but none of them were the carrot or corn ones you mentioned, so I will keep looking.   

I'm also going to see if I can find a puffed rice breakfast cereal that is just plain old puffed rice, or one that is plain old puffed corn.  Hard though, as so far they all seem to have *something* added. 

But those rice cakes are a good addition to our day. When DS gets up from his afternoon nap he likes to cuddle on my lap while he eats his snack and he's so cute sitting with me, watching TV (Countdown, he thinks the clock is hilarious!) with his little rice cake in his hand.