Protein Ideas for 11 Month Old

My son alway has dairy and egg allergies. We found out when he was under a year. I live by this cookbook:

http://www.dairyfreeeggfreekidpleasingcookbook.com/

Also, I have a huge list of foods that don't contain dairy or egg, if you would like it, please just send me a PM. Plus, becareful about the soy milk you find. If it's been in the presence of dairy, you can't give it to him. The only two brands I have found that don't have the presence of dairy is Meijers Organic Soy milk and Rice dream soy milk, both found in the baking aisle at Meijers.

If you have any questions about any foods or anything else, let me know :) Oh one more thing, I also have a 3 year old daughter and my whole family now eats without dairy or eggs and they are all happy with it!

Silk Soymilk - Unsweetened, (Provided he's not allergic to soy as well) has 7g of protien in an 8oz serving, which is nothing to shake a stick at, considering how much milk little guys will go through. Perhaps once he's hit his 1 year milestone that will be an option for you next month.

He's only 11 months? I didn't start feeding my kids solids until 8 months. At 11 months, my kids were eating baby food and cereal. Then they ate Eden organic pasta noodles (great protein), soft chunks of sweet potato, avocado (great protein and good fat). Eggs were good for them, perhaps try a little here and there, scrambled but ONLY ORGANIC. He may be having the reaction not to the eggs but the steriods, antibiotics and hormones that are in the non organic eggs. My daughter has a reaction when she drinks milk from school, but not what I buy, free of all the junk! My kids didn't eat meat until about 1 1/2. It seemed right to me. They are smart, happy and healthy. No need to hurry. 11 months I'd say is too young for hamburger. You have to chew that with teeth. By continuing to nurse him, he will get great nutrition! I nursed mine until 2, as the World Health Organization recommends. Both hardly ever get sick and are incredibly smart. Keep that up for as long as you can and you can be rest assured he is getting what he needs.

Hi
What about mashing up some red or white kidney beans. My daughter loves them (she eats them whole). Also try some sting cheese, cottahe cheese. Also Morning Star makes great soy based products, you coule try the veggie burgers or "chicken nuggets". she loves Turkey and beef meatballs.

Hi A.,

If you mix a cereal and a legume you will be building complete proteins. Same quality than egg or meat; of course without the toxins, hormones etc. Cereals are oats, rice, corn, barley, etc. Legumes are lentils, beans, chick peas, etc.

It is important to feed him both kinds of food (cerel and legume) at the same meal.

Blessing,

M.

Hummus is loaded with protein. It is pureed so you can give it to him as a dip. My baby dips mini pretzels in it. The Greek flavor is really good. Also beans, split pea soup. My baby loved to eat beans. She would pick them out of my moms bean soup. She loved it. You could also try whey protein. Add it to a smoothie. Try mixing fruit, protein powder, ice and yogurt in a blender. Yogurt is almost always tolerated by people who have milk allergies. It is the probiotics and enzymes that are in it that break down the lactaid in it and it is digestible. Most natural health practitioners will tell you to eat yogurt because it can cure you of lactose intolerance later down the road. Good luck.

You have received some great ideas! I smiled when I read about the tiny food grinder because I had one for my kids and used it so much. Their favorite thing was beef stew ground up- it looked gross-like dog food- but they gobbled it up.
If you need a protein powder to add to things that he might eat, Shaklee makes a great non-GMO soy protein powder. It comes unflavored or chocolate or vanilla. You can add this to your baked goods, stir into food, or mix in a shake or drink. This is a high quality protein and is water washed and minimally processed. Let me know if you need help finding a Shaklee distributor.
Hugs,
M.

My 3 yr son has milk protein allergies and our GI doc recently told us to replace his soy milk with "Bright Begginings Pediatric Soy Drink". It's similar to Pedisure and can be used as a complete nutritional supplement for those that need it. My son just needs the extra calories and protein! Meijer is the only place around here that carries it and it's a bit pricey, but tremendously better in terms of its content. As an aside, my doc did not want my son using the protein shakes. He only wants him on things made specifically for toddlers/children.

Beans from a can. Chic Peas are common but you can get cans of kidney and black beans and increse his iron too. You can mush them with your figures. I used to just open the can and and serve them right onto the high chair. No suprise now that both my kids are big chilli eaters!

Hi A.,

Our family doesn't eat meat, dairy or eggs, so our kids ate soy beans, kidney beans(just plain), refried beans, Lentils, tofu (my youngest loved tofu cubes, soy beans and kidney beans)My niece liked veggie burgers and she eats meat. I have also heard of a lot of people blending the families typical food, so the kids could get use to the taste and get the nutrients before they were completely ready for the texture. good luck

It seems like you have a lot of great responses...but what works/worked for me are in the tofu and beans family. I have a now almost 3 year old who has just always elected to leave meat on her plate with the exception of the occasional hot dog or chicken nuggets (gross). She also likes really great steak...strange! Anyway, my sister is a vegetarian so I always am asking for protein ideas. I made a great tofu mac n cheese with silken tofu...we also made a lot of tahini and jelly sandwiches before she was old enough for pb and j. There's a lot of peanut butter substitutes out there as he gets better at finger foods. I also have a 7 month old and I'm just holding off on introducing meats until he's to the finger food stage, so we're doing the whole chick peas and what not with him at this point as well.

Good luck! Super baby Food by Ruth Yuval gives a great nutritional guide to your infants and toddlers with a lot of unique food ideas. Having kids has definitely introduced my husband and I to some new yummy and healthy foods!

There are a lot of great ideas here, but I just wanted to say that if you stay away from the hamburger and go with ground round or ground sirloin (<10% fat) it is just as healthy as most other meats.

You might get ideas by seeing what vegans eat. We are big meat-eaters but one of my grandsons refused meat for a long time - also a gagger. There are so many ways to do chicken, turkey, things with beans, tofu, peanut & other butters, soups - I'd skip the baby foods and just experiment.

In my family we have pretty bad beef/dairy allergies. My son's is the worst of all of us. Instead of making myself nuts and trying to buy him dairy/beef free food, I bought a baby food mill. It is a plastic tube with an insert to smash the food and a hand crank to grind big chunks. I bought the Kid Co. brand because it was small and easy to use (I could even through it in my diaper bag to take anywhere). I could grind him up anything! Turkey breasts, chicken, pork or ham, even ground turkey. Sometimes I would add fruit or veggies to soften up his food but for the most part he was happy to eat his meats plain. Eventually he want to eat more and faster so he will grow out of disliking texture. In the meantime, I'd just grind it up for him.

How is he on soy?

I marinated tofu over night and then cut it into chunks and baked it for my little ones. Brings it up to a safe temp and it's still pretty soft.

At 11months old I would be concerned about his gagging and choking...Perhaps it would be a good idea to have a swallow test done to see if there is a structural or muscular problem going on.

It is also possible that he is just not ready for solids yet. This could be true if he was preemie (even a late term preemie ie. born prior to 39wks) If that is the case I would just continue nursing him and offer him food at regular meal times but not worry about him eating.

I have found that babies will get food when they are ready for it. And it WON'T be pureed food...they will just lean over one day and start eating your sandwhich LOL

Rice and beans are great complete protein. Also tofu, you can season it to taste like anything and its soft texture is easy to chew up. As he gets older you can bake it in strips or fry it, crumble it like scrambled eggs (add tumeric and it looks more like the real thing). Also things like peanut butter - once he's old enough. :) Vegetables like broccoli have lots of protein in them as well. What about tuna? There are also lots of soy based imitation meats that are more healthy, but have textures similar to processed meat - things like sausage, burger, hot dogs, chicken nuggets... You can find them in the freezer section of any grocery store near the breakfast stuff. Also dairy has quite a bit of protein, so things like cottage cheese and yogurt are good too.

Good luck, if you research proteins you'll be surprised how many things have it. Even fruits have a bit.

I did the Bradley Method of natural childbirth and part of their program was eating between 80-100 grams of protein a day. As a vegetarian that made me more conscious of where I got it from. I have a list of all the basic foods that contain protein and could email to you if you're interested.

Best wishes! :)

Good Morning A.! I commend you for doing what you and your baby need. Please don't pressure yourself with someone else's standards about what and when for your child's development.

Have you ever heard about balancing protein sources when you don't use meat? Nuts seeds and beans need to be balanced or else the protein is incomplete, ie., refried beans and rice (use the least processed you can...we can talk about that more)and gradually you can serve it chunkier. Do you have a baby food mill so that you can customized the texture he needs and adjust it as he is ready? If you want more detail let me know.

Since he is eating a limited number of foods, what is your strategy to get him all the nutrients he needs? Is that something you'd like information about?

blessings, M.

My son loved avocado - has tons of great stuff in it and its naturally mushy. We just cut it up and he was able to pick it up and chew on it!

Check out Harvest Health Foods for some options. They have a ton of non-diary products. The staff is super helpful also. I believe they have three stores in the GR area; Kentwood, Eastern(downtown) and Hudsonville.

I fed my kids tofu at that age. I remember using a few recipes from baby cookbooks, and they ate it! I used silken tofu in some recipes and used the firmer tofu just like I would have used meat.

Hi A.
Looks like you got some great ideas from fellow moms.

Are you open to adding a superb protein shake for kids to his diet which in addition contains all essential nutrients kids need for optimum body function, health, and growth incl. brain function and skeletal development?? Patented by the government. I took them while pregnant and nursing and still do. You can put it in his bottle or sippy cup, like I did for my boys from the day they weaned off nursing. The boys are 12,7,and 3 yrs now and as a result they have a very strong immune system. I don't remember the last time I had to take them to the doc for a sick visit.We have been on the shakes for 8 yrs now! I have friends who's kids have food intolerances and allergies and did great on these shakes. One friend's boy was lactose intolerant and is no longer since taking these shakes! They seem to give the cells of your body the building blocks needed for regeneration, repair and ability to heal itself in some cases.

Just a suggestion. Maybe it's not for you, but if you want to find out more give my a jingle ###-###-####.It's up to you! I'd be glad to help you as this is what I feel called to do!
Blessings, C. W.

my 16 month old gobbles up lentil soup that I make... She also loves all other kinds of beans, straight out of the can, and I cut them into small chuncks.

Since he has such sensitivities, try your own homemade hoummus. the authentic hoummus sold at markets has tahini in it, which is sesame paste from ground sesame seeds.It is often manufactured in a facility that also makes other nut/peanut butters.

If you have a mini food processor/reg food processor or blender, combine garbanzo beans or white beans (or really any canned beans) that have been drained and rinsed. Add lemon, olive oil, garlic/garlic powder (go lightly so it doesn't upset his tummy, salt, cumin and a splash of tabasco (this will not add heat as much as another flavor layer. Whirl it up and keep in your fridge for about 5 days. Serve with bread for him since it sounds like pita chips may be too ambitious. With white beans, a little olive oil, lemon, red wine vinegar (little), garlic (little), salt/pepper and some basil/oregano make a yummy Italian bean dip. You can add cumin, garlic, lime, oregano, salt to red/black (or white?) beans for a mexican dip. Lentil soup/salad is another idea that is delicious. Peas can be pureed too with bread dipped in.
As he grows, try to introduce him to the whole pea or bean so that he can start getting used to chunkier food.
Beyond legumes/beans/etc., cooked ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef or a combination) is a great option simmered in tomato sauce (saute garlic cloves in olive oil til golden, add tomato puree, oregano, basil, little salt, pepper and then simmered for hour(s). This will be even better reheated and can easily be frozen in small portions for him.
Taco meat is another great option. The key is to get the ground meat broken down well.
Beef stew usually produces meat that falls apart and is delicious too.
As far as soy is concerned, it is just my opinion that the jury is still out on whether it is a health benefit or a risk to hormonal development (due to soy's phytoestrogens). They say that if it is fermented (miso, tofu) as opposed to just processed (ie soy milk, soy protein incereals, etc), fermented is fine. But personally, I still would avoid it since there is so much controversy.

Don't drive yourself nuts with the whole protein thing. Try to fit it in whenever you can with the balance of his meals, but if he is growing well and getting his vitamins somehow here and there, I think he will be fine. I would worry more about getting him past his 'texture' issue if possible. Once he can better tolerate appropriate sized "chunks" of food, the more options you will have to feed him.

P.S. A great thing to try are some dehydrated apple and pear slices in the snack food area of Costco. I was ranting about these earlier this week because they first feel crunchy but quickly 'melt' in your mouth. They were a great transition to finger foods for my daughter when she was 8/9 months old. She still loves them because they have such a sweet taste.

Good luck.

Perhaps beans would be a good idea.

He's only 11 months.. I wouldn't worry too much about it. You're nursing so he's getting some nutrition that way.. just continue to give him things to try however he'll try them, he'll eat more foods as time goes on.

I've heard however that babies will food allergies will wean naturally later and it's great to nurse as long as you can to help with the allergies.

You can scramble tofu and season it (or just cut it in chunks)...you can give him cooked beans. Both are great sources of protein.

Beans are a great source of protein. YOu can "over" cook them so that they are mushy.

You can make a High-Protien porridge from the book "super baby foods" by Ruth Yaron. It is 1/8 c. dry legumes (lentils, soy grits, split peas, adzuki beans, garbanzo beans, etc), 1/3 cup whole grain (brown rice, millet, old fashioned oatmeal etc.) Take the dry beans and grains and grind them to a very fine powder in your blender or coffee grinder. Boil 2 cups of water on the stove. When water is boiling, whisk in the dry bean-grain powder and continue whisking. Then turn the heat down to med-low and cook 10 minutes stirring often. Allow to cool before serving. It has a bland taste and smooth texture. You can mix in anything you want to improve the flavor and enhance nutrition like mashed bananas and cinnamon, his favorite jarred baby food, sweet potatoes, natural applesauce, yogurt, juice etc.

When whole grains are combined with beans or legumes in a 2:1 ratio, a complete protein is formed that is as high a quality as protein from meats or eggs.

You can make this porridge and feed him it every morning . It makes 3 servings so store in air tight container in fridge and make again every 3 days. This porridge lasts 3-4 days in the fridge.

Here is a list of high protein toddler foods. While I understand that your child has dairy allergies, some of these may not be appropriate, however, there are several options for dairy. Your child more than likely has a casein allergy, which is dairy from cows milk. Try other alternatives such as products made from goats milk. A trip to your local health food store can usually be a source for these options. Not to mention the people who work there possess a vast knowledge of food allergies and great substitutions. As for the texture problem, within time, your child will adapt! Best of Luck!

Sliced turkey

Chopped chicken moistened with gravy or milk

Chicken nuggets

Fish sticks

Beans and rice (moist)

Meatballs with or without sauce; made with ground chicken, turkey, or beef

Cottage cheese

American cheese (cubed)

Yogurt

Boiled egg

Canned beans (rinsed); try kidney, pinto, cannelini, or chickpeas

Macaroni and cheese, ravioli, tortellini

how about chick peas (garbanzo beans) or pork & beans (they sell them in small cans)?

Have you tried some of the vegetarian items like the boca burgers? They would have a protein subsitute in them like soy but are healthier then hamburger. I am not sure if they have any dairy content. Our daughter has a rare disease and can't eat any protein and I know these are some of the items high on the "do not touch" list.