Alternatives to toast

[Scottishmummy]

DD is almost 7mo and has really taken to BLW.  I'm following the principles of offering a little of what we have but all our lunches are sandwiches or something on toast. I offer her toast fingers with something on them (e.g. Veg soup, hummus etc). She's getting constipated frequently though & I wonder if she's having too much toast. It's only a finger of toast at one meal, but it's every day.  I offer water with the meals and she gets fruit & green veg at other meals but she's still straining & only passing tiny little stools.

Any suggestions on what I could offer her instead of toast at lunchtime? I thought about rice cakes but think rice is constipating too?

[creations]

If you are preparing veggies at another time of day how about making extra and saving them for her lunch the next day?  I used to give mine cold veggies he wasn't bothered.

You could serve the insides of the sandwich without the toast perhaps, soup sounds good on it's own.  I would make it chunky then you can drain off chunks of veg for her to eat with fingers or fork, if it's a smooth soup or broth perhaps she can try it from a cup or with a straw? Mine ate hummus with a spoon or straight into a pile of it with his hands, he wasn't bothered if there was bread or toast to go with it.  Other sandwich fillers such as cheese, meat, fish or pate can be served without the bread too.

It might help to vary the type of bread, so for instance a pitta bread, tortilla wrap or chapati is less 'stodgy' than a piece of white sliced and might not be as constipating.

You could offer a prune at the same time as the toast to keep things moving - I used those soft ready to eat prunes, DS loved them, had to limit him though or he would have eaten too many!

One thing to keep in mind is that some veggies can also cause constipation, mine would get firm (or too firm) with carrots so I either served prune at the same time or on the same day.  It was useful to know he got firmer with carrots and looser with prunes so really whatever else he ate I could balance out his poop with one or the other being added to his next meal.

If she is constipated and only passing small hard poos I would visit the doc. You don't want this to continue. Maybe try a day with a couple of prunes and if it doesn't resolve seek medical help, she may need some meds to help her.

[Scottishmummy]

Thanks creations, pears & prunes are on the menu for breakfast tomorrow! She has been constipated a couple of times since starting solids and tinned prunes seem to sort her out each time but yes I will take her to GP if they don't work this time.

I have been offering smooth soup dipped in toast but hadn't thought of chunky veg from soup on its own. Wil try as she enjoyed the veg sticks from tonight's lasagne on their own.

Spoons are tricky as she gets too distracted by them. She used to take pre loaded spoons but now often turns the spoon around, drops the food off & chews the end!

I'll do some cooked veg sticks though, that sounds good.

Not tried other breads - we offer wholemeal sliced but maybe should mix it up a bit..it would give the rest of us some variety too!

Thank you for the quick reply & great suggestions xxx

[creations]

Not tried other breads - we offer wholemeal sliced but maybe should mix it up a bit..it would give the rest of us some variety too!

This might be part of the problem.  It is advised that LOs are not given whole grains.  As you are only giving a small portion then perhaps it isn't such a big deal but generally for baby you should use white bread, white pasta, white rice etc.  The whole grain can be hard to digest and can also fill them up too much leading to not taking in as much of something else (water, milk, veggies etc).
I actually did give mine the odd bit of whole grain bread because that was the staple slice loaf in our house but I limited it, he wouldn't have had it every day.  Everything else here was white not whole grain, if you're giving other whole grains (brown pasta for instance) this might be adding to the problem. I also bought white tortillas, white pitta etc.  It's possible to freeze bread if you need to buy a separate white something for LO and just defrost on piece at a time.
Just mentioning in case.

Those little American/Scotch pancakes were a good staple here for a carbsy snack or addition to a meal, really easy to make a batch and freeze them (layer with baking parchment so they don't stick together then you can defrost one or two as needed), you can whizz in very ripe banana, prune, sultanas too, to help keep things moving.

[weaver]

We use potato bread as an alternative to toast. You might find it in shops as "potato slims" ha ha marketing, but the good ones have a v high percentage of spud, some wheat flour and not much else.  Something else that's good is seeded tortilla wraps, lots of extra nutrition in there. Maybe when he's a wee bit bigger.    Totally agree with creations about using veg and fruit as your base as well. The key thing is to not get stuck eating the same or too similar every day.

[Scottishmummy]

I didn't know that about whole grains..I thought I was giving her the healthier option. Thanks for the heads up.

Weaver- In Scotland that's a "tattie scone" Love them! Would be very happy for an excuse to buy them but some brands can be quite salty

[weaver]

Oh I know tattie scones! Yum! Maybe shop around and see what you can find. 

The potato bread has 1 g of salt per 100g (I just checked).  Or 0.6g per slice.  They've also started making mini ones which are lower in salt 0.6 g per 100g.  Interesting to compare these things.
http://groceries.asda.com/product/potato-cakes/rankin-irish-potato-bread-minis/910000020335

If you slice and roast individual slices of spud, that can make a good basis too. 

[Scottishmummy]

Excellent, thank you...DD only sucks a small corner of things at the moment so would probably be ok salt-wise.  I'll look out for those and shop around.

I feel guilty about the whole grain thing now. That's all we've ever given DS and he's been fine but NHS website says avoid whole grain until children are 5! Should I swap back to white for him too? He's always had wholemeal bread and it doesn't limit his appetite.  He had white rice and pasta though.

[creations]

Don't feel guilty about the whole grain issue - you are doing your best and feeding your kids what you believe is the healthiest option, it is very hard to remember every bit of information we are told and many things we are not told. I think I read it in the "birth to 5" book originally but not every area gives out those books and honestly when you have a new baby to care for who has time to read all that stuff?

I really think a bit of whole grain bread is not going to cause your DS a problem, mine also had whole grain when he had 'regular sliced' bread and white stuff for all the rest, bread rolls, tortillas, pitta etc.  Then I changed our regular sliced loaf to a 50/50 partly because our whole grain had 'lumps' (seeds etc) in it which DS found tricky, the 50/50 is smooth, I was also in the market for a low salt no added sugar loaf. Once I find a brand of something I tend to stick with it as I know it's 'safe' iyswim.

With the potato bread, you could make some at home with no salt, there are lots of recipes on-line such a as this one which only calls for a pinch of salt (although I would have left it out altogether if I was cooking for DS at 6 months)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/100506/irish-potato-farls/
I agree the regular shop-shelf potato cakes are high in salt, it does depend how much LO eats but the salt intake can quickly add up across the day if there are a few different bits and pieces being eaten.  Mine would have likely eaten an entire potato cake so I would not have given the regular sort with 0.6g per piece.

[lolsyb1982]

I never knew about the whole grain thing either. You think of white bread as being bad but shall be offering it more often now I know!

[Scottishmummy]

I went to a weaning talk from a HV and was given a book about feeding solid foods and I *think* both actively encouraged giving LOs whole grains to get them used to taste.  I may be wrong though. The NHS site definitely advises to avoid/offer only in limited amounts until 5yrs old.

Thanks for the recipe, creations, I'll give it a go.

[creations]

IME medical staff have often not read the NHS guides, I've come across many such instances where real life info is totally opposite to NHS web-site or pamphlet info.  I suppose they don't have time to read all that material as they are so rushed off their feet!

I went to a HV weaning talk where we were told BLW was really bad for baby, dangerous, bad bad bad, do not do it...but you much introduce finger foods at 6 months old. I politely asked the difference between the finger foods that are prepared for BLW and the finger foods that are prepared for the 'traditional puree route' and was told that BLW mums leave their babies to eat alone and choke. (Cringe)  As with anything some people are not well informed or have the right people skills to put across their thoughts.  I still did BLW and in other parts of the country HVs were telling new mums that BLW was the best way to wean.

Try not to worry about it, a little whole grain here and there won't do harm xx

[Scottishmummy]

Thanks creations, funny how advice varies so much isn't it?  In the end you have to just follow your baby. I started with purées both times but my both my kids have quite quickly rejected spoons & only wanted to feed themselves "real" food so BLW is the best option for us.

DD's BM have improved a bit with more fruit & veg, a prune a day and less bread. Although when I do offer it (tortilla wrap today) it's the first thing she goes for. Carb fiend like her mum!

[creations]

LOs do seem to like carbs don't they?
maybe try some pancakes or mini muffins, or those potato cakes, or roasted sweet potato wedges as carbsy alternatives to bread?
Mine usually goes for carbs first too unless the food is hot then he goes for the cold salad stuff first.

[Scottishmummy]

Good ideas, it's just trying to find time for home baking! I'll see if I can get DS (3yo) involved as a fun activity for him!