Protein Options

They do go through phases.... it sounds like he's still getting a fair amount. I would also try hummus and/or tuna. Likely he'll start eating the things he once liked again :)

What about tofu? You can crumble tofu or cut it into small blocks and mix it with a casserole, and it takes on the flavors of that food......

There are different types of tofu... different firmness. You might have to experiment a bit to see what works best for him.

http://vegobsession.com/smoothie/

Here is my dil's website. They are Vegan and she KNOWs how to keep the protein up without dairy or any other animal food. I use hemp and chia seeds in my smoothies every morning, a great way to add in protein. Kids only need about 16 grams a day, it's not that hard if you set your mind to it and introduce colorful, flavorful things.

He's likely just going through a phase. Kids often do this and boomerang back to liking things they previously "boycotted".

I would just keep offering him different things, but not to the point you are making special meals just for him. That could really backfire on you and it's not a habit you want to start this early.

Living on the West Coast, fish is a staple here. We love it!
How are you preparing your fish? Some is more "fishy" tasting than others.
Tuna steaks wrapped in bacon and grilled with apple chips is to die for.
Salmon either smoked or baked with soy sauce and brown sugar is heavenly. Cod is a wonderful, flaky, white fish with a mild flavor.

Tofu is also great, but it's pretty flavorless so you want to get some flavor to it.

Serve your son what you eat, as much as his dietary restrictions will allow, and try mixing things up in case he is getting bored with certain things. He's still pretty little and over the years, the things he "likes" will change. Just expose him to a well rounded variety and have fun with new recipes in the meantime.

Best wishes.

Oh that's hard. The smoothie suggestion was good if you think he'd be into that. Heck even soy ice cream milk shakes with protein powder might work. I know you can get dairy free protein powder at Whole Foods and probably at like GNC or someplace too. It might be a lot of money to spend if you're not sure it will work though.

Other than that, I do probably agree that it's likely a phase. That doesn't help you at all, but probably he'll get over at least some it. My kids go through food phases all the time and sometimes I wonder how they are going to survive on pasta alone when the next week comes and all they eat is fruit and veg. You just never know. Keep offering him and serving him the other stuff even if he doesn't eat it.

My kids LOVE hard boiled eggs with no yolk. I'm not sure if it's a texture thing or just a weird thing but as long as I take the yolk out they will eat them up!

Eggs-and you can always put ham in it.

We used to add some food coloring and make the green eggs and ham-looks gross but the kids ate it.

See a nutritionist or dietician. You not only have a picky eater, which is normal at this age, but you have allergies and need to be careful. Perhaps a vegan diet?

There's a great children's supplement that is non-dairy, non-gluten, nut-free etc. Delicious and in a shake form, with DHA for brain function plus tons of nutrients in a comprehensive formula. Happy to help you with that. It's balanced so it's not all protein but also has key vitamins and minerals in an absorbable form - great for immune system bolstering. You get great support from the company in terms of a nutritional consultant (and an extended team) to help even with recipes, ways to tweak it to get him to drink it (although with vanilla and chocolate it's not too hard!), and fine-tuning the amounts. You can buy it on line but have to connect through a consultant/distributor (free).

You could try the PediaSure or PediaSure Sidekicks. We use the Sidekicks; they're a little pricey, but I always have coupons. They are in the paper, and if you sign up on their site, they will email you coupons all the time. Our 3-year-old absolutely loves them. Chocolate is his favorite but he likes strawberry pretty good, too.
These help get the nutrients to our little ones aren't getting them through their (picky) food intake. LOL

They do make 'fake' hot dogs- Morningstar brand makes them out of soy, they are pretty good!

Here's what I used to do with tofu when my DD was your kiddo's age. I cut the extra firm kind into cubes, then froze them. Once they were frozen (or as I needed them) I would use them in whatever. The texture is much better if you freeze it first. But I would take some of the frozen ones, roll them in graham cracker crumbs, and bake them. Then I'd let her dip them in yogurt (you could use a soy or coconut yogurt if they are dairy free). She LOVED them. For extra umph, you could add flax seeds and/or wheat germ to the graham cracker crumbs.

Good luck!

what about making him a smoothie and put some protein powder in it? I had to do that with my daughter when she decided she didn't like meat anymore. Thankfully she does now though :) Hopefully this is just a phase for your son and he will out grow it.

I have a little guy who can't have soy or milk/dairy because of the protein, so we have been using Neocate Junior from WIC. It has made a huge!! difference. Maybe see about that if you get WIC, otherwise, I know you can buy it, but its expensive, but not so bad on like amazon.

My pediatrician said to be careful of soy, especially for little boys because it can mimic estrogen in the body and boys shouldn't have too much of that.

I personally use a lot of hotdogs and lunchen meats, but we buy the new oscar meyer and hormel nitrite/nitrate free ones.Apple gate also make lunch meat and bacon.

I would talk to a pediatric dietician. I met with the one at our pediatric doc's office and it was amazing~ we are doing so much better now. Especially since my guy doesn't really want to eat anything, or very little anyway.

Good luck! I know its hard, but in the end, they will not starve, and he will eat what his body needs, at least that's what they say anyway. Oh, you can make or order pizza without cheese on a slice or two. Papa murphy's makes them for us when we want pizza.

Children must get their vit A from animal fats. They cannot covert beta carotine (the A in fruits/vegs) to retinol like adults can. Try some different ways to get that meat hidden.

On the other side, perhaps he is not clearing iron or protien correctly in his system. The body will always tell us what we need in a craving. People with high iron will have an aversion to meat. Those with anemia will crave meat. Get his iron levels checked. Is he taking a multivitamin? With iron in it? Getting fortified foods or formula w/iron?
If so you should consider reducing or eliminating this drastically. Humans cannot rid the body of excess iron and children can get a buildup much faster.. It builds up in tissues/organs and becomes toxic.
Eating dairy will cause less absorption of iron, so being dairy free means he is able to absorb more iron.

Yipes! Ask your ped to give you a referral to a dietitian. Your needs are pretty specific. I have a picky eater but no allergies. It did help the pickiness when he had a vitamin everyday.

Have you tied things like homemade tacos, pizza, casseroles, etc. Meals where meat is IN things, not just on the plate? My son will not just eat meat, so we have meals where meat is not separate. His favorite is any kind of tacos. (You may have to help him out a little with the taco, my son is still a bit messy with them.) I also make chicken nuggets from chicken breast tenders. He enjoys those.

What about a protein fortified cereal, like Kashi Go Lean?

I am wondering if he is too young to have a dash of protein powder thrown in his milk, might be something to ask the pedi?

What about all of those meat substitutes out there now? Have you tried any of those?