Resources for Moms Breastfeeding Milk/Soy Intolerant Babies Part 1: What to eat when it feels like you can’t eat anything
Here is a compilation of some ideas and resources that I have found along the way as I searched desperately for something to eat besides chicken and rice … Hope it will be useful to someone.
Wesley has trouble with lots of things not just milk and soy so it is extra difficult to find “safe” food for me to eat. I also have to avoid corn and chocolate. Furthermore, I am suspicious of coconut, cinnamon, citrus, pork and mushroom so I try to avoid those as well. Here is a list of things I found that I could eat.
(NOTE: Many resources say that soybean oil and soy lecithin are usually OK because they are fats and not proteins, but soy lecithin is definitely NOT okay for Wesley and I was never really sure if soybean oil was or not so I avoid it. If you find you can have these, you will have a lot more options available to you because soybean oil and soy lecithin are in nearly everything! This also makes it very difficult when reading allergen menu’s for fast food restaurants and such since they do not put a check mark in the “soy” column if the food contains soybean oil.)
SNACKS
- Back To Nature Honey Graham Sticks These are soooo yummy! (But pricey! - They are $4.49/box at Meijer. Sometimes they are on sale for $3.50 and I stock up!)
- SuperPretzel frozen soft pretzels
- Most brands of pretzel snacks are okay for me. My favorite is Snyder’s of Hanover Sourdough Nibblers.
- I LOVE these! New York Style Focaccia Sticks in Rosemary & Sea Salt Flavor are soooo yummy but soooo expensive. They are 3.99 a bag at Meijer and 4.99 at Giant Eagle. I haven’t been able to find them at other grocery stores. They are pretty new. (They work great as croutons on salads or as a snack just eaten by themselves.)
- You can make oatmeal raisin cookies subbing canola oil for the butter. I was suspicious that it wouldn’t turn out right but it does! I used the Quaker Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies recipe from under the lid of the Quaker Oats container. Since the recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter (1 cup) you should use only 3/4 cup of canola oil (source = http://www.canolainfo.org/media/pdfs/canola-transfat.pdf).
- Raspberry-Pineapple-Cranberry Jello The first time I made it I did it in the cupcake liners but it was a mess. The other 97 times I’ve made it, I’ve just used a large shallow glass dish — alot less messy that way. Sometimes if I don’t have time to peel and cut up the apple I leave it out and it still is yummy as can be!!
- I snack on lots and lots of fresh fruit - watermelon, cantelope, honeydew, pineapple, grapes, blueberries, apples, pears
- Applesauce
BREAKFAST
LUNCH/DINNER
Rice, chicken and vegetables are the grill is pretty much our staple meal.
- Rice: If you don’t already have a rice cooker, it will make your life a lot easier if you are going to be eating alot of rice. We started using jasmine rice because it has more flavor. We rinse the rice a couple times before cooking and then we cook it in chicken broth instead of water (or a mixture of chicken broth and water). Progresso, Rachel Ray or many store brand organic broths are safe. We also put salt, pepper and a couple tablespoons of olive oil into the rice cooker and the rice comes out so yummy! .
- Chicken: We keep bags of frozen chicken breast strips on hand at all times. We mix olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of chili powder in a small bowl and then use a brush to brush it on both sides while grilling the chicken. Kevin cooks them on the grill slowly on low heat so they don’t get dried out.
- Veggies: We keep the same olive oil, salt, pepper and chili powder mixture to brush on veggies (usually yellow summer squash and zuchinni) on the grill. We also do bell peppers or potatoes. I use a olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary mixture to brush on the potatoes
before wrapping them in foil.
- Baked Sweet Potato Sticks Cut sweet potatoes into “sticks” or “fries”, toss to coat with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Salad is pretty safe. I use baby spinach and romaine and put avacado, tomato, craisins and New York Style Focaccia Sticks in Rosemary & Sea Salt Flavor with Kraft Zesty Italian dressing. For months I had to eat salads without any dressing because I could not find one that did not have soybean oil in it then all of a sudden I found this Kraft one. I stocked up because companies change the oil they use all the time and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get it in the future. If you can’t find one you can also try those “Good Seasons” brand packets where you add your own oil and vinegar.
- Many pastas are okay. Sometimes I dice a tomato and use a little Kraft Italian dressing in the pasta. Other times I use spaghetti sauce. Not all spaghetti sauces are safe so you have to check labels carefully. My favorite “safe” sauce is Bertolli Vineyard Collection Marinara with Burgundy Wine.
EATING OUT
I printed out a lot of the fast food place’s allergen charts and put them in my purse so I’d have them if I was out and about and forced to try and find “safe” food. There isn’t much that is “safe” in the way of fast food. Fast food restaurants DO NOT have this info available in their stores so make sure you do your research ahead of time (which I don’t understand why they are not required to by law).
Fast food
Fancier Dining
- Red Robin has allergy menus available on request and is willing to take extra precautions to help prevent cross contamination.
- Steak N Shake
- California Pizza Kitchen has a chart on their website. They did not have it available in the restaurant when we ate there last month.
- Chili’s has allergen info on their site but there is pretty much nothing you can have if avoiding soy
- Denny’s
- Uno Chicago Grill - have to click on individual menu items to see allergens. They don’t have a chart.
ONLINE RESOURCES FOR RECIPES, ETC
I’m not much of a cook so I haven’t tried a lot of these recipes and such. Also, I have to avoid a lot of other things like corn so that rules out a lot of the recipes. Not being able to find butter/margarine that is soy free and dairy free is also a hindrance to being able to try many of these recipes.
