Author Topic: ideas to get him eating cheese please (Read 4454 times)

huntersmummyinoz · « **on:** March 31, 2011, 03:40:18 am »

hiya,
ds2 has multiple food intolerances, dairy/soy/salicylates. currently losing interest in his milk (neocate formula) so doing some dairy trials as desperately need to get more calcium into him.

he is tolerating yoghurt

and now we are doing a trial of cheese BUT i cant get him to eat the stuff!! (never had this issue with ds1 who eats pretty much anything!)

i've tried cubes, grated, slices, sticks. tried babybels, swiss, tasty cheese, colby cheese. only thing i've had some success with is he has eaten a couple of pieces of grated cheese, but then continues to spit the rest out. any more ideas on types of cheeses, i'm thinking maybe a milder flavour/softer texture may be needed??

i've also managed to add it to his pasta, and he had grilled cheese on toast today (tho i added vegemite so he couldnt taste it so much i can only use that occasionally as it is high in salicylates. so would appreciate more ideas here too.

i know i can just add it to his food but would love him to just eat some as it is easier when i have to measure/weigh portions and know exactly how much he is consuming atm for it to be a valid trial.

thanks

~Sara~ · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2011, 03:51:32 am »

DS didn't really like cold cheese, either, until only about 4 months ago. Will eat grilled cheese sandwiches every day if we let him

Have you tried cottage cheese? It's kind of like yogurt, and it's a healthy food.

Edesanja · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2011, 06:46:39 am »

Yeah , cottage cheese is a good idea. Cheese is going to be the next thing we try. Just going to wait for the teething to die down. He looked longingly at E when I sliced her cheese for lunch today so I hope he'll eat it!

With the yogurt did you make your own? And how much did you introduce at a time? I plan to do yogurt made with raw milk after cheese.

Shdef · « **Reply #3 on:** March 31, 2011, 07:04:24 am »

You need a hell a lot of cheese for Mac and Cheese (grated cheddar works best). If he prefers red sauces (like my DS) you add a bit of tomato sauce or pureed tomatoes to it.

nelliestar · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2011, 13:08:54 pm »

DS will not eat cheese in any form either and just says "Yak!"

Listening in and hoping you will find something that works for you xxxxxxxxxx

mini me · « **Reply #5 on:** March 31, 2011, 13:15:29 pm »

Hi

Have you tried full fat Philly on rice crackers? Also add philly to tomato pasta sauces. Have you done home made pizzas?

deb · « **Reply #6 on:** March 31, 2011, 13:20:47 pm »

sour cream? Can use it as a veg dip or eat w/a spoon.

Shdef · « **Reply #7 on:** March 31, 2011, 14:38:28 pm »

Quote from: deb on March 31, 2011, 13:20:47 pm

sour cream? Can use it as a veg dip or eat w/a spoon.

with chives, added to a baked potato. Yum.

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #8 on:** March 31, 2011, 15:47:42 pm »

Homemade pizza is our fail-safe here for cheese. Sometimes he'll eat a small amount of a grilled cheese sandwich. As for pieces of cheese, I'm still working on it too as it would be a great source of calcium for us, as well as protein. And an easy healthy snack or part of lunch. I did buy some co-Jack (colby-Jack) slices today - individually wrapped ones. He held one and said MMMMM and licked it but didn't take a bite. But hey, progress!

clazzat · « **Reply #9 on:** March 31, 2011, 17:42:39 pm »

dd2 won't eat cheese either, although dd1 appears to be a reincarnated mouse! Listening in to see if you get any good suggestions - we have tried pretty much every way of getting her to eat it too, without success.

huntersmummyinoz · « **Reply #10 on:** April 02, 2011, 03:33:49 am »

well he has gotten 3 teeth in 8 days so i'm sure that's not helping the situation

love all the ideas, thankyou so much. will def look into cream cheese/cottage cheese and sour cream to see what he'll accept and tolerate as hard cheese is typically more easily tolerated with dairy issues.

havent done pizzas as he cant have tomatoes due to salicylates sensitivity

but i could make some dodgy low sal veggie spread to put on it and then cover it in cheese.

tried a slice of edam cheese today and he sat with ds1 who was eating one too, some success in that he put it in his mouth, bit pieces off, ate a small amount but then spat most out

am about to try the horrible processed cheese sticks, lol, as they are really soft and i will smear some vegemite on it first in hopes of getting him to at least put it in his mouth...

just find it so weird that he wont eat it as ds1 would eat it several times a day if i let him!

jenny, with the yoghurt i did store bought, vaalia banana toddler yoghurt was one of very few i found that is salicylate free. 1 tbs for 2 days, 2 tbs for 2 days, 4tbs for 2 days and then the tub (5tbs)

thanks again

We Three · « **Reply #11 on:** April 02, 2011, 03:45:31 am »

I didn't see American Cheese on your list...it is very mild. I have high hopes for grilled cheese (american) sandwhiches....keep offering! Your ds1 will eat any leftovers for now.

~Sara~ · « **Reply #12 on:** April 02, 2011, 13:44:16 pm »

Yeah, edam is a pretty strong cheese (though one of my absolute favs!)

The fact that he even tried it is encouraging!

You can also try pizza with olive oil instead of tomato sauce; it melts all the same.

~*Nicole*~ · « **Reply #13 on:** April 02, 2011, 13:52:47 pm »

DD over here has learned to open the fridge and find her own slices of cheese at all times of the day!!! I need to put a lock on the door to the fridge so she can't just keep helping herself. American is her fav. though. She also likes cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese, etc. Mostly I add it to things, like cheddar on top of broccoli. So long as you measure it first and then add it to his portion (I just melt in the micro.) you should be able to measure pretty accurately.

~Sarah~ · « **Reply #14 on:** April 02, 2011, 14:02:23 pm »

DD isn't loving pieces of cheese either.
She will however gobble down mac and cheese like crazy. I use a mix of cheddar, gouda, and anything else I have in the house. Both kids are guranteed to eat that.

Mostly reading along for ideas for us as well.

deb · « **Reply #15 on:** April 02, 2011, 14:43:05 pm »

We make pesto pizza here from time to time - we usually don't bother even with the parmesan due to our MPI, but if you're looking to get a hard cheese into him that might work. Also a wonderful sauce on its own with pasta.

nwmm · « **Reply #16 on:** April 02, 2011, 19:53:11 pm »

Would shapes help? I will, sometimes, use cookie cutters and cut shapes out of slices if cheese. What about string cheese or cheese curds?

mini me · « **Reply #17 on:** April 02, 2011, 20:10:05 pm »

Does he eat vegemite at all? I know marmite is nice mixed with cream cheese of soft cheese triangles and then spread on bread/crackers etc. Kind of disguises the taste a bit.

Just re-read you first post, and noticed you'd tried vegemite and cheese on toast, but maybe this is smoother and less chewy this way - so a different texture too as well as taste.

huntersmummyinoz · « **Reply #18 on:** April 04, 2011, 03:01:30 am »

bless you ladies, thank you so much for all the ideas

deb, parmessan could work, very salty so he's less likely to notice it in his food. (he has flatly refused fav meals the last two nights that have had cheese added

)

nwmm, loving the shapes idea, will give that a go. and will look for cheese curds too, tried stringers.

andi, he LOVES vegemite but i can only use it sparingly every couple of days as it is very high in salicylates and he is super sensitive to this, BUT i did have success with cream cheese and vegemite toast fingers today. i'm wondering if i can sneak philly spread onto a few things...

will have to see if we can get american cheese here too.

he is so wary of anything i give him now, think his cheese radar is pretty high atm so going to have to give it a break and try again soon i think. he seems to be tolerating it (in terms of dairy intolerance) but i havent gotten his intake above 10g for more than 2 days so hard to tell completely just yet. worst thing is i dont think i can rely on getting him to consume cheese on a daily basis in order to count it towards his calcium requirement. can see him needing a supplement soon

clazzat · « **Reply #19 on:** April 04, 2011, 13:08:34 pm »

Spinach is fairly high in calcium, and white bread isn't bad for it as well (although that might be due to milk - I'm not sure). Sardines are good too, and you can get orange juice which is fortified with calcium - in the UK, at least.

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #20 on:** April 04, 2011, 14:26:46 pm »

Can get OJ fortified with calcium here as well - and I may be doing that for DS soon too! He has all but given up milk since I took his bottles away a week ago. Which is OK with me since we suspect an intolerance and are actually seeing a new holistic doctor tomorrow to determine. He seems OK with yogurt but doesn't have it everyday. OK we think with cheese but only wants it on pizza or occasional grilled cheese.

I make him "smoothies" almost daily with bananas, blueberries, avocado, apple juice and water. Wonder if another good option would be spinach, OJ, water and then which fruits?

I also will be discussing supplementation with the doctor tomorrow...

huntersmummyinoz · « **Reply #21 on:** April 05, 2011, 03:11:51 am »

you know what the dairy intolerance issues i can deal with, it's just the darn salicylates intolerance is so so restrictive, it's in majority of foods at varying levels. he cant have any juice (only really really diluted pear juice), spinach is high in sals too. bok choy is meant to be lower in sals but still to high for him atm but would be great in smoothies when he can. (he is REALLY sensitive, ie. he has 5 tsp a day of moderate salicylate foods which we attempt to increase every 2 weeks, just added 1 tsp of peas last night, and of course he wont eat them so am now mixing them into his dinner

). tho he can have tin salmon or sardines, wonder if i can convince him to eat those, would be good mixed with philly cheese. might have to try getting him to eat chick peas again too.

we are having some success with philly cheese, had it on a cracker this morning and spread it on his banana sandwich too.

mini me · « **Reply #22 on:** April 05, 2011, 12:25:21 pm »

That's good to read he's eating philly. I can't imagine how difficult having food intolerances must be - we just had to avoid egg for the first 18mths.

p.s. How's Hunter doing? Seems so long ago since those BC boards!

Mama2boys · « **Reply #23 on:** April 15, 2011, 18:49:32 pm »

needing help with cheese

huntersmummyinoz · « **Reply #24 on:** April 21, 2011, 03:26:37 am »

had to stop the philly after 4 days as got a reaction but could have been 1tsp peas (moderate salicylates) that we trialled him on too

he's still eating one tub of yoghurt a day and we've managed to get him tolerating 50/50 Neocate LCP (baby) and Neocate Advanced (toddler) so he is ok for his calcium requirement for now.

i think once he's settled i'm just going to try cow's milk so at least then i know for sure whether cheese is okay or not...

for others with cheese issues, HV suggested 'havarti' cheese. it's a really soft creamy yellow cheese, mild flavour. havent tried him on it yet but that will be what i look at when we get back to this.

andi, H is fab. started 3yo kindy this year and LOVES it. and is a great big brother (well most of the time...). gosh they grow up quickly dont tho. how is artemis? (did i remember that correctly...?)

Edesanja · « **Reply #25 on:** April 21, 2011, 04:16:36 am »

Good to hear he's drinking some Neocate Advance!

We gave cheese a go. He won't eat it straight either (going to try some of these other options too soon) but will eat a little bit melted on his rice pasta. We also tried him on yogurt and the first day he ate about 6 baby tsp then the next day only one tsp. Now can't get him to try any again

. So in both cases he tolerated the small amounts fine. I guess if we keep offering it we will see if he will up his intake and whether he can tolerate larger amounts. But there blew my theory of getting enough calcium into him without moving to Neocate Advance.

I just got our delivery of what I thought was Neocate Advance today but it turns out they sent the wrong thing (LCP, not even the plain stuff he's currently on!

) Does K drink his milk from a bottle or sippy? I'm trying to decide whether to do a whole cold turkey switch to 'new milk in new sippy cup' and ditch the bottles. I don't think it will work though! Also I think I remember they suggest giving Neocate Advance cold. Don't think he's going to go for that either - not a big deal, just a lot more convenient when you're out! Anyway, got probably a whole week more to think about it now while we wait for the new delivery.

huntersmummyinoz · « **Reply #26 on:** April 21, 2011, 04:35:41 am »

jenny, so hard to do proper food trials when they wont eat enuf isnt it!! hopefully J will make the switch to advanced fine since he's on regular neocate. i'm pretty sure the reason for the taste diff is the LCP uses different oils so that it is higher in omega 3, so on the advanced i have to make sure to use more canola and sunflower oil, more salmon, etc to keep up his omega 3. yeah they suggest fridge cold for advanced but he wont touch it like that, i used to give it room temp (same reason, way more convenient!) on the LCP in a cup other than for his bedtime bottle but i started warming slightly in the cup and he is drinking more of the 50/50mix now, so go figure

so he has milk in cup for breaky and lunch (kept a lunch milk for calcium as uninterested in afternoon) and bedtime milk in bottle which i had hoped to ditch by now but will hang on to for calcium as he wont drink as much in a cup. maybe try J on a sippy cup at a diff time rather than a regular time (like when he'd normally have water with a snack) to see what he does first and then decided whether to go cups or bottles? my only concern would be seeing if he'll take enuf volume of milk in cups for calcium requirements.

Edesanja · « **Reply #27 on:** April 21, 2011, 08:34:45 am »

Thanks for that.
DD made the switch from Neocate to Neocate Advance with no problems but I had to keep it warm. She wouldn't drink any significant amount from her sippy (Well until 22months when she saw her cousin used a sippy!

) so we kept it in a bottle. She drank it all in one go so I wasn't too worried.
I will try and give him some in a sippy at meal times. Good idea.

Edesanja · « **Reply #28 on:** April 21, 2011, 09:22:56 am »

Ugh I just found an email form the paediatrician in my spam folder that was sent earlier today saying he won't prescribe Neocate Advance for him at the moment. Grrr!! I am so cross!

Mama2boys · « **Reply #29 on:** April 21, 2011, 16:48:15 pm »

Oh I need to listen into this DS loved soft mozarella for a bit but is refusing it now

Lemonthyme · « **Reply #30 on:** April 27, 2011, 19:50:15 pm »

Eeek! My LO is a cheese monster, happily eats extra mature and vintage cheddars at 11 months. I think putting it in foods would be a good option.

Here's a pasta sauce recipe from my blog that I often serve with grated cheese. It is pretty messy though...

Chicken and Tomato Sauce - made approx 5 portions for 11 month old (to serve with pasta)

Ingredients

500g Carton of passata
1/2 red, yellow or orange pepper, chopped into 3-5mm cubes
1 small courgette chopped into 3-5 mm cubes
1 chicken breast chopped into chunks
1 clove garlic
Olive oil

Method

Fry the chicken breast in the oil until starting to brown. Add the garlic and other vegetables then add the passata. Cook until the chicken breast is cooked through and the vegetables are done. Blend the chicken in a blender with a small amount of the sauce. Serve with pasta.

Lemonthyme · « **Reply #31 on:** April 29, 2011, 20:02:40 pm »

I came up with another recipe on my blog which might be a good one for this. Contains cheese but no other dairy. Very simple and you could put in some other veg if you want. You could also gradually increase the cheese quantity and strength so he gets used to it.

Potato Cakes - 6 months plus if accepting finger foods (or baby led weaners) - 1 portion for my hungry horace!

Ingredients

1 cold jacket potato (cooked)
A handful of the cheese of your choice, grated
1dsp chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and drained (optional).
Herbs of your choice (optional) chives or garlic chives would be good
Oil

Method

Scoop out the flesh of the potato and mash or pass through a potato ricer. (I love potato ricers, I'm rubbish at mashed potato but they make it almost foolproof.) Mix with the other ingredients apart from the oil.

Put some greaseproof or baking paper on a try and brush the greaseproof paper with the oil. Form the mix into small cakes (and I mean small, think a 10p piece in diameter and about 2/3 cm thick). Put on the tray and brush lightly with oil.

Store in the fridge until ready to cook. Bake at 200 degrees C in a preheated oven for 15-20 mins (18 was perfect in my oven.) Take out and allow to cool till at a safe temperature before serving.

This is the link which has my inexpert photography as well:

http://mamacook.blogspot.com/2011/04/potato-cakes.html

huntersmummyinoz · « **Reply #32 on:** May 11, 2011, 05:46:42 am »

jenny, so sorry, somehow missed your post! how's it going? did you get the neocate advanced or is he making you do more dairy/soy challenges? i've got to do cows milk and soy by his 18mth paed appt in order to keep getting scripts.

mukta, how's your LO getting on with cheese now?

lemonthyme, thanks for the ideas, def going to try those potato cakes they sound delicious!

well we are about to try parmessan cheese over the weekend (glutamates challenge) but i am not too hopeful since he keeps failing on peas which are a small amount of glutamates by comparison. BUT i feel i need to do a 'proper' challenge to see if it really is glutamates IYKWIM.

Lemonthyme · « **Reply #33 on:** May 11, 2011, 08:25:29 am »

I think that's a sensible idea. Also glutamates are the things which make food taste yummy so it would be sad if he missed out on them.

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Author Topic: ideas to get him eating cheese please (Read 4454 times)