Just starting out with my 1yr old - help please!

[townreb]

Hi, I have a one year old son that has had recurrent ear and throat infections. I have finally discovered that the possible reason for this is dairy - i know - it took me a while!
So now i need some help - where do i start?

I cook all of his food from fresh, organic produce already but i know little about keeping his intake at the right levels for good fats, protein etc.

I want to stay away from soy and soya products as i have been advised that they are not good in terms of oestrogen levels etc.

I need to know how to give my son a good milk alternative for his bedtime bottle and on cereal. And how can i give good protein at lunchtime to ensure a good nights sleep?

Any help would be great.

Rebecca

[pixiemammy]

Hi Rebecca,

I'm not much use to you as my daughter is only 9 1/2 months and still mostly breastfed, but I have found good info on:
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_diets_for_children.html

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/people/lifestyle/families/parenting/vegan_children/ (http://www.vegansociety.com/html/people/lifestyle/families/parenting/vegan_children/)

Bookswise, I can recommend Feeding your vegan infant - with confidence by Sandra Hood, The Vegan Society’s Consultant Dietician (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeding-Your-Vegan-Infant-Confidence/dp/0907337295/ref=sr_1_1/202-9098715-4999035?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184956745&sr=8-1) , I think that may only be available from UK Amazon or the Vegan Society UK but it's worth a read.

I'm staying away from soy until DD is a year old, but after that she'll be having it in moderation. We do have fortified rice milk in Ireland which has calcium, b12 etc. in it, that's suitable after 6 months, but not as a main milk until they're older. And oat milk if he's not sensitive to gluten?

Hopefully someone else will have more info for you, I hope this will give you some ideas anyways! Good luck :)

[PikkuMyy]

Hi Rebecca,

The problem with the non-soy vegan milks is that most of them are very low in protein so make sure that he is not drinking more than a cup or so a day and eating lots of solid food. I like unsweetened almond milk the best as rice is pretty high in sugar naturally, and is very watery if he is used to cow's milk.

For good fats, make sure he gets stuff like avocado, coconut, good oils like olive and flaxseed, which you can put into foods you are cooking for him or into smoothies. You can sprinkle ground flax on foods or sneak it in right before serving.

For proteins, try a lot of different types and ways of serving beans. Many kids like stuff liks white bean spread on toast, hummus to dip veggies in, and you can put beans like lentils into veggies and serve together. Dal is also a nice soft bean dish that's quick to prepare (yellow or red lentils) since lentils need no soaking before cooking.

[townreb]

Thank you,

I am just wondering what kinds of food i could give him for breakfast if i am cutting out the almond milk? I would keep the almond milk just for bed time.

Rebecca

[kjmckenzie]

You may want to do a bit more research on soy before you rule it out completely, there is alot of negative stuff out there but it is regarding isolated soy protein and modified soy. From what I have read, soy in its pure state is fine, i.e. edemame, tofu and soy milk, it's when companies found it to be a miracle food and started changing it around and adding it to everything that it became a potential problem. There is a good article on this website in the archives about soy.

FYI-My son is 2 and 1/2 and we supplement breastmilk with soy milk in moderation and have never had any problems.

As for non soy milk breakfasts...toast and hummus, toast and baked beans, breakfast burritos, oatmeal, other cooked whole grains, fruit, you could always have dinner type foods too-who says breakfast has to be "breakfast" foods!

Good luck!

[kjmckenzie]

Also, I believe I read somewhere that plant estrogens are fine, it is the ones found in meats and birth control pills i.e. synthetic estrogens, that are not fine. I either read this in Dr. Barnard's "Breaking the Food Seduction" or in John Robbins' "Diet for a New America" or both. I'll have a look but hopefully someone else can confirm this.

[townreb]

Hi Krista, thank you so much - that is all really helpful. I will look into it more.

Rebecca