Ask The Savvy Vegetarian: How To Feed A Lactose Intolerant Child

Savvy Vegetarian News

Vol. 1, Issue 2, March, 2003

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Dear Savvy Vegetarian,

We just found out that our three-year-old is allergic to milk. She also refuses to eat most beans. At the moment her only protein source is eggs. Do you have any ideas how I can get more protein and calcium into my daughter?

Dear Anxious Mom,

Just so you know, you're not alone. Three year olds in general don't eat much - they're too busy playing. The foods they will actually eat can be counted on your fingers. My theory is that they live mainly on mother love and air. At least yours eats eggs! However, I doubt that's any comfort to you. Let's see what I can come up with;

How was the milk allergy diagnosis made? Through allergy testing, or through your own observation? If it was your own observation, please back it up with a health check up, and allergy testing. It could be something else, or she could have other allergies as well. Sometimes a child may have an environmental allergy, whose symptoms are aggravated by sticky foods like milk and cheese. According to Ayurveda, cold milk (as in ice cream - sorry!) is especially clogging. Milk with vegetables or fruit isn't a good combination.

Let's say you're right, and your daughter is allergic to cow's milk; can she tolerate goat's milk? A number of Moms I know have used that alternative successfully. It may take some patience to introduce, given 3 yr. old paranoia toward new foods. Try hard goat cheese, milk on cereal, sweetened yogurt, or other already accepted forms of dairy. Maybe in french toast, pancakes, or muffins.

Soy is packed with protein, but has sixteen known allergens, last I heard. The usual culprit is the soy meal left over from making soy oil. Most prepared soy based foods are made from that. Traditional forms of soy such as tofu, miso, and tempeh seem to be much more digestible. The most appealing way I know to make tofu for a toddler is cubed, sprinkled lightly with Braggs or soy sauce and browned in a dab of oil. Make sure you don't offend your three year old by mixing it with other foods! If your daughter doesn't like it now, try introducing it prepared that way, one bite at a time, over several weeks. Some kids like to eat tofu raw, which seems iffy to me, because when tofu is made, there is heat involved, but no actual cooking.

Use whole grains as much as possible. They are incomplete sources of protein, but in combination with whatever other protein you can get into your child, will boost her total protein. Spelt, amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa are high in protein, and even if your daughter won't eat them, a little flour can find it's way into things with no one the wiser. A bit of sunflower seed meal in the oatmeal or muffins is another tasty trick.

Your daughter doesn't like beans - no surprise. Whole beans are a little rough for a three year old's digestion. How about refried beans on a tortilla? Or a mildly spiced kitcheree with mung dhal & rice - it's a thin porridge consistency, and easy to digest. Small children have been known to eat it. Email me for that recipe if you're interested.

Unless your daughter is allergic to tree nuts, almonds are a good source of protein, but sometimes a challenge for a small child to munch thoroughly. Not recommended for children under three. They are easier to eat and digest when blanched: plunge in boiling water, turn off heat, wait two minutes, rinse in cold water twice, then slip off the skins. Make a game of chomping them up 'til all the crunch is gone. Almond milk or almond butter is another possibility, as is cashew butter. Nuts have good cholesterol, and are a great source of mono-unsaturated fat, which growing children need. Peanut butter has for many years been Mom's ally in getting protein into kids, but Ayurveda considers it completely indigestible, and it's also a notorious allergen. So go easy on the peanut butter.

Make sure that any dairy substitutes you use are fortified with calcium, Vit. D, Vit. A, B12, and folic acid. Calcim fortified OJ is available, and in organic, too.

Many foods besides dairy and eggs have protein and calcium. Like grains, vegetables and fruits. For example, an orange has 50 mg. of calcium and 1.23 mg of protein. It all adds up over the day, so don't panic - as long as she is eating a variety of wholesome food, your child will get some calcium and protein even if she doesn't drink milk or eat beans. Plus, calcium is more readily absorbed when it's not bound by the protein in milk. You can also give a children's vitamin supplement, but keep in mind that supplements are just that, and not a substitute for real food. Don't fret if your child isn't always getting the full RDA of protein and calcium. It's something to aim for, but not the end of the world if you fall short. As a safety margin, RDA's are 2 or 3 times higher than what our bodies need, or can absorb.

Anyway, do gently persevere in your efforts to get other forms of vegetarian protein into your daughter's diet, using games, or trade-offs, but of course not confrontations or punishments. It may take a while. Just relax, and you'll succeed. Remember that the gradual acceptance of new foods is part of growing up. I'm sure your daughter will thrive, because she has a loving Mom.

Please let me know how it goes.

Judy Kingsbury

P.S. The Savvy Vegetarian offers a 12 lesson course for beginning vegetarians, and also life coaching. If you're interested, click on these links for more information:

Index: Savvy Vegetarian News

Vol. 1, Issue 2, March, 2003

Article: Vegetarians, Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B12?

"When you're a vegetarian, some people, even doctors and nutritionists who ought to know better, will insist that your diet can't possibly meet all of your nutritional needs, especially your B12 requirements. If you don't know a great deal about nutrition, you may even start to worry that they're right."

Ask The Savvy Vegetarian: How To Feed A Lactose Intolerant Child:

"We just found out that our three-year-old is allergic to milk. She also refuses to eat most beans. At the moment her only protein source is eggs. Do you have any ideas how I can get more protein and calcium into my daughter? Anxious Mom"

Vegan Recipe: Quick and Easy Non-Dairy Cream of Broccoli Soup:

This delicious soup makes a great beginning to a meal, or the basis of a light meal, with bread and nut butter, hummus, or cheese.

Review: Green Peace Site - truefoodnow.org - Find Non-GMO Foods:

"This is a really useful site. If you're wondering which foods are GMO free, and safe to eat, or not, here's where you can find answers, in the form of long lists of brand name prepared and processed foods, basic raw foods, fruit and vegetables, etc."

Letter: Protect National Forest Wildlife Habitats

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