Healthy Recipes

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Introducing Solids to a Breastfed Baby

Being a parent is really a huge responsibility. You have to be very careful in everything related to your newborn. Though there are doctors and elder members for guidance, even small things may confuse you. The same happens with food too, as breast milk is the only food recommended for newborns. But sooner or later, you have to introduce solid foods to your breastfed baby.

When to Start Solid Foods

Most health experts suggest only breast milk, and no other solid foods for babies, till they reach the age of six months. Usually, a baby’s diet for the first six months consists of breast milk only. In some cases, doctors may extend this period of exclusive breastfeeding. This delay (up to six months or more) in introducing solids to a baby is to reduce the risk of food allergies, to protect from illnesses, to enable the digestive system of the baby to get mature, to avoid future obesity, and to make it easier for the baby to get adjusted with solid foods. Introducing solid foods to a breastfed baby does not mean that you have to stop breastfeeding. You have to understand that even if you start solid foods for your baby, breast milk continues to be his/her primary source of nutrition, and it has to be continued till his/her first birthday, or even beyond that.

First Solid Foods

Most parents start with rice cereal, which is considered less allergenic (as it is gluten-free), when compared to other foods. Take two to three spoons of dry cereal, and mix it with breast milk or formula. Some of the cereals have to be cooked before giving to the baby. Then it is better to use water, rather than using cow’s milk for cooking. The cereal should be semiliquid in consistency. Breastfeed the baby, and then give him the cereal. Start with a very small quantity. Use a rubber-tipped spoon, and let the baby taste the cereal. Let him get adjusted to the idea of solid food, and once he gets comfortable, feed him slowly. It is not advisable to use the baby’s bottle to feed him solid foods. You may also give mashed bananas or other fruits, and cooked vegetables, to the baby. It is better to delay introduction of foods, like fish, eggs, nuts, soybean, dairy products, and wheat, to reduce the risk of food allergies. You may gradually include other solid foods in your baby’s diet.

Feeding Tips

While introducing solid foods to a breastfed baby, you can start with once-a-day feeding. Make it sure to give him solid foods, when he is in a good mood. The food intake of the baby may vary from time to time. If he turns his head away, or keeps his mouth shut, understand that he is no more interested in the food. Sometimes, he may take time to swallow the food, and keeps his mouth shut. Give him enough time to swallow the food, and try to feed him. Initially, he may not show much interest in solid foods, but you have to be patient in this task. Once he gets comfortable with this diet, he may increase the intake. If there is an increase in his intake, you can gradually thicken the consistency of the foods, or start adding new foods to his diet. According to health experts, solid foods should not be more than 10% of the baby’s diet, for babies in the age group of six to nine months.

Introducing solids to a breastfed baby is not a complicated task, but it can be surely ‘messy’. You must consult your baby’s pediatrician before giving him solid foods. He will be in a better position to advise you about the various aspects of introducing solid foods to your baby.

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Healthy Meals for Toddlers

A total delight for the parents, a toddler tends to be the apple of everyone’s eye. There’s only one thing that stops them from being your dream babies – their eating habits. They enjoy some foodstuff on a given day, but the other day, they wouldn’t even give it a second glance. This is bound to get any mother frustrated.

This situation is nothing out of the world, is it? Most people have given their parents a fair amount of trouble in their childhood, when it came to eating. Healthy meals for toddlers is a very dodgy issue. Here are a few tips that might help.

Healthy Meals for Preschoolers and Toddlers
Careful planning and analysis of your baby’s likes and dislikes is required to chalk out a nutritious meal plan. The following pointers would give you a fair idea as to what to consider while preparing meals for your baby.

Avoid Processed Stuff: Curb the use of processed and precooked food, in the food you prepare for your baby, as far as possible. Although there are claims that some food products are organic, that is not really the case. For babies, food should be cooked from scratch, using raw material to retain its optimum nutrition value.

Usage of Whole Foods: While preparing meals, it is always a good idea to use whole foods as ingredients, like fresh fish, cheese, plain/raw chicken breasts, or drumsticks. Amongst vegetarian ingredients, brown rice, whole wheat bread, unskinned potatoes, and fresh fruits top the healthy foods chart.

Keeping Tabs on Fats: To come up with healthy meals, inclusion of good fats is important. They are required for proper growth of the babies. Dairy products, untrimmed meat, and eggs are the most effective options to include proteins and good fats in a meal. Non-animal fats should also be a part of the food.

Old Wine, New Bottle: Take the same ingredients, and see if you can create different dishes using them. You would know which is the most favored dish for your little one.

If your kids are picky and finicky, you might consider altering your meal planning. Here are a few tips for the same.

Tips for Dealing with Picky Eaters
Dip, Spread, and Top the Foodstuff: Kids, according to experts, like to dip and smear things. So having a tasty dip made of cheese, peanut butter, and similar food products is just perfect. As far as spreading is concerned, have the kids spread the peanut butter, jam, or cheese on crackers, bread, toast, and the likes. Another way to ensure nutrition in a meal is to add healthy toppings on not-so-nutritious foods.

If not Solids Then?: If your kid is giving you a tough time while eating solid food, alter the strategy. Include semi-solids and liquids in your healthy meals for children. Smoothies, milk shakes, juices, eggs, honey, peanut butter, and yogurt would do the trick.

Variety is the Spice of Life: Apart from dipping and spreading, kids love to nibble on things. So, prepare a nibbler tray having small amounts of everything, from cereal to fruit, and dairy items to veggies. Keep it somewhere easily accessible, where the kid can notice it while going around the house.

Share the ‘Grub’: To put across a good example, if possible, have a neighborhood friend, who has no eating problems, come over at meal time. That child should like to eat so that your kid catches up with him/her. In this case, you could have a rough menu of a healthy meal for two, so that it becomes easier for you to prepare the food.

Let Them Have Their Own Way: If kids want to eat a particular thing at the time which is usually not the time for it, let it be. It is anytime better than not eating anything. For instance, if your kid asks for something like a sandwich or burger for breakfast, and cereal for lunch, it is fine. It would be a change for all the family members as well.

There are many more things like the presentation of the food, the seat while eating, and so on, which have an impact on your kid’s eating habits. However, these things are better left to those who are already in that zone. Eventually, the objective is to make the kid eat, no matter what tricks and tactics you use.

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Goat’s Milk for Infants

Goats are four legged, herbivorous animals that provide loads of benefits to their owners. Goats are one of the oldest pet animals to have been domesticated for their milk, meat and in some cases even for their fur. While a goat’s meat is a popular food in various countries, its milk has been used as a nutritive food since ancient times.

Nutritive Differences Between a Cow’s Milk and a Goat’s Milk
For a long time, goat’s milk has been compared with that of cow’s milk and there has been an ongoing debate on the effectiveness of goat’s milk for infants. One school of thought says that goat’s milk is an effective and ideal baby food, while the other says that goat’s milk is not as beneficial as has been hyped by media and milk product companies. Let’s discuss the differences between a cow’s milk and a goat’s milk.

Varied Fat Content
Goat’s milk contains 10 grams of fat per 8 ounces of milk, 2 grams more when compared to the 8 grams in cow’s milk. But cow’s milk also contains agglutinin, that clusters the fat globules and makes it a bit difficult to digest. Goat’s milk does not contain agglutinin and so it is relatively easier to digest. Also, goat’s milk is supposed to contain some essential low fatty acids, like linoleic and arachidonic acids, that are believed to be good for digestion.

Proteins Variations
When we drink milk, the stomach acids act on the protein content in the milk and form a compact mass, called the protein clumps. In the case of goat’s milk, this clump is softer or in other words, it means that goat’s milk forms a softer yogurt. This helps goat’s milk easily transfer through an infant’s stomach, who would otherwise eject cow’s milk. This is why many mothers who’d rather not see their babies regurgitating cow’s milk, prefer goat’s milk.

Allergies
It has been found through scientific studies, that both, cow’s milk and goat’s milk contain almost similar amount of allergic substances. However, casein protein or alpha-S1, an allergic protein is only found in minuscule traces in goat’s milk unlike in cow’s milk. When it comes to allergic reactions in infants, both cow’s milk and goat’s milk are almost equal in the allergies they cause.

Lactose Differences
Goat’s milk has 4.1% lactose content whereas cow’s milk has 4.7% of it. Lactose intolerance in babies may lead to symptoms of colic, loose stool, ear infections, eczema and gases.

Various Minerals
By and large, cow’s and goat’s milk, contain the same amount of minerals. However, goat’s milk is found to have calcium (13% more), vitamin B-6 (25% more), vitamin A (47% more) and potassium (134% more). Goat’s milk contains 10% less folic acid and brands of goat’s milk fulfill this deficiency by supplementing goat’s milk with folic acid.

Goat’s milk definitely has various advantages over cow’s milk, one can conclude that it is good to include goat’s milk in one’s diet. However, having said that, I would also like to mention a very obvious fact, that breastfeeding is the natural and most effective option to feed an infant. No other milk or milk product can replace the benefits provided by mother’s milk. No doubt, if there are some complications and emergencies, wherein the mother is unable to feed her baby, then on a pediatrician’s advice goat’s milk can be taken. Do visit your pediatrician before you think of any other option than mother’s milk. For infants, goat’s milk is not quite a popular choice in the United States, as it is in the other parts of the world. However, it is growing in popularity as studies report several health benefits of the goat’s milk.

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Food for Toddlers with Diarrhea

Similar to diarrhea in adults, toddler diarrhea is also a common health condition. You can easily identify whether your kid is suffering from this condition or not, based on the nature of stool and the frequency of bowel movement. For example, if your child is passing watery stools at least three times a day, then he is experiencing loose motions. It is estimated that more than 1 billion toddlers seek medical help every year because of diarrhea.

Causes

Diarrhea in toddlers can be caused due to several reasons, out of which the most common are infections by bacteria and virus, food allergies, food intolerance (like lactose intolerance), and introduction of new foods in the diet plan. Very often, toddlers are diagnosed with stomach flu (gastroenteritis), in which, the bacterium strain, Salmonella, and other viruses cause inflammation of the stomach and intestinal lining. It is estimated that rotavirus alone is responsible for causing about 10 percent cases of diarrhea in kids.

Good Foods for Toddlers with Diarrhea

Since children are more susceptible to dehydration, diarrhea should be treated as soon as possible. Treatment for diarrhea in toddlers mainly involves preventive measures and combating dehydration complications. Most mothers are very worried about how to treat diarrhea in toddlers. It is to be kept in mind, that an episode of loose motions in children may last for about a week. Nevertheless, with effective medical intervention and incorporation of healthy food, the duration can be as shortened to about 2-3 days.

Feed Plenty of Fluids
Drinking ample amounts of fluids is the key to preventing dehydration in toddlers, who are suffering from diarrhea. In fact, you cannot find effective alternative food for a sick toddler, other than giving him plenty of fluids and water. You can replace apple juice and cherry juice, that contains high amounts of sorbitol, with grape juice. Doing so helps in keeping your child well-hydrated and fresh. If the condition is associated with vomiting, then sipping clear fluids also helps in stopping regurgitation.

Incorporate Easy-to-Digest Foods
Do not feed your kid immediately after a bowel movement, rather let the gastrointestinal tract rest for a few hours. After that, have your kid eat easy-to-digest foods, like, strained bananas, rice, applesauce, and mashed potatoes. Ascertain that you serve in small sections, so as to ensure complete digestion. Feeding large meals at a time increases indigestion, which, in turn, worsens the diarrheal condition.

Give Rehydration Fluids
If the child is very weak and shows signs of dehydration and increased tiredness, then the doctor may recommend rehydration fluids, which are sold in pharmaceutical stores. Make sure that you check the reliability of the brand and expiry date of the fluids before feeding them to your kid. Feeding your child with such oral rehydration fluids will not stop diarrhea, but will surely aid in replenishing the lost electrolytes (specifically potassium and calcium).

Foods to Avoid

Besides these, there are certain food items that should be strictly avoided while treating your toddler against diarrhea. For example, if your kid is intolerant to lactose and milk protein (casein), then avoid milk and dairy products, as they trigger loose motions. In addition, foods containing complex carbohydrates and sugars are difficult to digest, thus worsening the condition. Hence, you can exclude such food items from the diet, until your child recovers fully from the health condition. Also, remember that over-the-counter medications for diarrhea are strictly not recommended for kids.

Since the main trigger for diarrhea in young ones is consuming foods and drinks contaminated with diarrhea-causing pathogens, you should be very choosy about the foods and keep a strict watch regarding your child’s diet. If diarrhea and vomiting in toddlers continue for more than 24 hours, then it is advisable to seek immediate medical attention. Call the doctor if the child manifests dehydration symptoms like dry mouth, sunken eyes, and abdominal irritability. By introducing healthy food and following the doctor’s advice, you can combat the risk of developing chronic toddler diarrhea.

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Healthy Recipes for Toddlers

People having a toddler know exactly what it takes to feed them with food that is healthy enough with adequate nutrients through each of the meal and snack that they eat. It is a quest to try to provide them with enough of fresh fruits and raw vegetables along with the other nutritional food items.

Kids deny foods that we find healthy. Well, one thing that can be done is to give them the important and nutritional food in a disguise! Try cooking the following dishes that will look tempting and that are tasty.

Easy Recipes
Here are some ideas that you can implement for making good food for your child.

  • Mixture of honey oatmeal and raisin can be a great choice for the kids. A mixture of yogurt and granola can also be a huge hit.
  • Raw vegetables like peeled cucumbers, carrots, beetroot, fresh berries (especially blueberries), seasonal fruits, apples, grapes, cantaloupe, watermelon, mango, kiwi are very good choices.
  • Tortillas, quesadillas, vegetable cookies, pita halves, etc., are some relatively easy options.

Breakfast Recipes
Breakfast is the most essential meal of the day. Eggs, fruits, and milk are the best when it comes to breakfast. It is important to remember that kids naturally get attracted to the appearance of the food that you are serving them with. Hence, try to decorate the dish that you are creating, in such a way that will attract your kid.

Toasted Egg Smiles
Ingredients

  • Bread slices
  • Egg, 1
  • Milk, ¼ cup
  • Cheese and butter

Procedure

  1. Prepare a skillet with butter or a nonstick spray.
  2. Take a bread slice and cut out two circles (for the eyes) and a shape of mouth (below the eyes).
  3. Butter one side of the bread slice and place it on the skillet with the buttered side down.
  4. Scramble egg and milk together and spread it over the frying bread.
  5. Flip the side of the bread only when the egg starts to show up firmly and then form the cuts of the eyes and mouth.
  6. Before taking the bread out from the pan put a cheese strip over the ‘eyes’ of the bread and serve.

Applesauce Pancake
Ingredients

  • Egg, 1 (beaten)
  • Flour, 1 cup
  • Applesauce, 1 ¼ cup
  • Milk, ½ cup
  • Butter, 1 tablespoon (melted)
  • Vanilla essence, ½ tablespoon
  • Baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon
  • Salt, ¼ teaspoon

Procedure

  1. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
  2. Mix butter, egg, and milk well in another bowl.
  3. Mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture, along with applesauce and vanilla essence.
  4. Beat the mixture extremely well, until you get a fine and clot-less texture to the batter.
  5. Place the batter in a small greased griddle and bake in the oven.
  6. Your applesauce pancakes are ready!

Dinner Recipes
Toddlers generally don’t enjoy the dinner as their hunger is less active at the night. Coming up with good dinner recipes can put you to worry a lot at times. Let me assure that you don’t have to worry much, as you have provided your kid with enough nutritional food throughout the day. There is no need to prepare separate dishes for the children as well.

Meat and Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients

  • Chicken broth, 2 cups
  • Eggs, 2 (beaten)
  • Rice, ½ cup (cooked)
  • Lemon juice
  • Pepper and salt

Procedure

  1. Mix the chicken broth and cooked rice well and bring it to boil.
  2. Add the beaten eggs and continue stirring the mixture, until the eggs get thoroughly cooked.
  3. Add meat cubes, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to it.
  4. You can also thicken the dish up with using less amount of chicken broth.
  5. Serve this meat and egg drop soup with some vegetables and bread!

Chicken Sticks
Ingredients

  • Chicken breast
  • Plain yogurt
  • Crushed wheat

Procedure

  1. Make thin strips of the chicken breast and roll them into the yogurt.
  2. Coat the chicken strips with crushed wheat (you can use cereal of your choice, for instance honey oatmeal, cornflakes etc.).
  3. Place these coated chicken sticks on a greased baking sheet and bake over 400ºC until done.
  4. Serve these chicken sticks, dipped in a sauce or some vegetables.

Healthy recipes for toddlers can be even better if you try to be a bit innovative while cooking them. It is very important to introduce various healthy options, so the kids can adapt and develop good eating habits of their own, in the later stages of their lives.

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Benefits of Organic Baby Food

Every baby needs breast milk till it reaches a specific age of about 6 months. Most of the medical agencies of different governments and also, the World Health Organization, recommend that every baby should be breastfed till he or she becomes at least 6 months of age. It has also been advised by many medical experts that breast milk should not be substituted with artificial or foreign sources of milk. This is because the baby’s digestive and respiratory system are very tender and delicate and are capable of deriving nutrition only from breast milk. The first six months are thus considered to be very critical in a baby’s growth. After 6 months, the body of the infant becomes ready to consume more complex foods. Most of the time, canned or processed baby food is offered to the baby. Many of us do not realize that this food is not exactly very healthy. One cannot comment firmly or prove the unhealthiness of this food, however, at the same time, the fact remains that a lot of artificial nutrition in the forms of refined and modified sugars, chemical starches, and even preservatives are not meant to be digested by your infant’s digestive system.

Health Benefits

Organic food, especially the homemade variety is the best option as an alternative to canned and preserved baby food. The best thing about feeding organic food to your baby is that it is easily digestible and does not cause any harm to the baby’s digestive system. Here are a few basic advantages of organic food to your baby:

  • Nutritional Value: Canned baby food contains a generous amount of preservatives and chemicals that provide almost zero nutrition to the infant’s body. On the other hand, if an infant consumes organic food, then the nutrient content of the food is considerably concentrated and an additional advantage of fibrous matter and vitamins is also derived.
  • Elimination of Unwanted Additives and Preservatives: One of the best features of organic baby food is that the unwanted additives are reduced and the digestive system of the baby is not overworked.
  • Vitamins and Fibers: As it is freshly prepared, the vitamins and fibers that are present in the food and are required by the baby, are retained. In the process of canning and usage of preservatives, the vital nutrients, like, vitamins, proteins, and fibers are lost. The organic food that is prepared at home, contains generous quantities of these essential ingredients.
  • Hygiene:Organic food that is prepared at home is hygienic. As it is made at home, the level and standard of hygiene can be maintained. Packed baby food is made with the help of different machines and has specific measures of ingredients, that sometimes would be disliked by your toddler. However when you are preparing the organic food for your toddler, you can always use the ingredients he/she likes. The preparation at home also adds to the freshness of the food.

Homemade food is the best source of organic food for your little one. Books and the Internet provide a large number of baby food recipes. Regional manufacturers also are able to sell a variety of such products, like, leafy vegetable extract or sprout baby food. Sometimes, baby food diet is also prescribed by doctors for a healthy growth.

One of the best features of this baby food is that it is loved, relished, and adored by all babies. A point to remember here, that infants do not have sufficiently strong molars. Even if they can bite food, they won’t be able to grind it properly, hence mash or break the food properly before feeding your baby.

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Food Allergies

Ben had just started eating his lunch when his mom noticed him trying to scratch an itch in his mouth. After he vomited and began wheezing, his mom took him to the doctor. Ben was diagnosed with a food allergy — in this case, to peanuts.

Along with milk, eggs, soy, wheat, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish, peanuts are among the most common foods that cause allergies.

Learning how to recognize an allergic reaction will help you get your child the medical care needed if a reaction occurs. If your child has already been diagnosed with a food allergy, it’s important to know:

  • how to manage your child’s dietary needs
  • what emergency preparations to make in the event of an allergic reaction

About Food Allergies

With a food allergy, the body reacts as though that particular food product is harmful. As a result, the body’s immune system (which fights infection and disease) creates antibodies to fight the food allergen, the substance in the food that triggers the allergy.

The next time a person comes in contact with that food by touching or eating it or inhaling its particles, the body releases chemicals, including one called histamine, to “protect” itself. These chemicals trigger allergic symptoms that can affect the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, or cardiovascular system. These symptoms might include a runny nose; an itchy skin rash; a tingling in the tongue, lips, or throat; swelling; abdominal pain; or wheezing.

People often confuse food allergies with food intolerance because of similar symptoms. The symptoms of food intolerance can include burping, indigestion, gas, loose stools, headaches, nervousness, or a feeling of being “flushed.” But food intolerance:

  • doesn’t involve the immune system
  • can be caused by a person’s inability to digest certain substances, such as lactose
  • can be unpleasant but is rarely dangerous

According to the Food Allergy Research and Education network (FARE), 1 in every 13 children in the United States under age 18 have food allergies. They are less common in adults but, overall, food allergies affect nearly 15 million people in the United States.

Common Food Allergens

A child could be allergic to any food, but these eight common allergens account for 90% of all reactions in kids:

  1. milk
  2. eggs
  3. peanuts
  4. soy
  5. wheat
  6. tree nuts (such as walnuts and cashews)
  7. fish
  8. shellfish (such as shrimp)

In general, most kids with food allergies outgrow them. Of those who are allergic to milk, about 80% will eventually outgrow the allergy. About two-thirds with allergies to eggs and about 80% with a wheat or soy allergy will outgrow those by the time they’re 5 years old.

Other food allergies are harder to outgrow. Only about 20% of people with allergies to peanuts and about 10% of those allergic to tree nuts outgrow the allergies. Fish and shellfish allergies usually develop later in life and are even more rarely outgrown.

Food Allergy Reactions

Food allergy reactions can vary from person to person. Some can be very mild and only involve one part of the body, like hives on the skin. Others can be more severe and involve more than one part of the body. Reactions can happen within a few minutes or up to a few hours after contact with the food.

Food allergy reactions can affect any of the four following areas of the body:

  1. skin: itchy red bumps (hives); eczema; redness and swelling of the face or extremities; itching and swelling of the lips, tongue, or mouth (skin reactions are the most common type of reaction)
  2. gastrointestinal tract: abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
  3. respiratory tract: runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath
  4. cardiovascular system: lightheadedness or fainting

A serious allergic reaction with widespread effects on the body is known as anaphylaxis. This sudden, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction involves two or more of the body areas listed above. There also can be swelling of the airway, serious difficulty with breathing, a drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and in some cases, even death.

Diagnosing a Food Allergy

If you suspect that your child might have a food allergy, contact your doctor. To diagnose an allergy, the doctor will ask about:

  • your child’s symptoms
  • how often the reaction happens
  • the time it takes between eating a particular food and the start of the first symptoms
  • whether any family members have allergies or conditions like eczema and asthma

The doctor will look for any other conditions that could cause the symptoms. For example, if your child seems to have diarrhea after drinking milk, the doctor may check to see if lactose intolerance could be the cause rather than a food allergy. Celiac disease — a condition in which a person cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat and certain other grains — also can mimic the symptoms of food allergies.

If the doctor suspects a food allergy, you’ll likely be referred to an allergy specialist, who will ask more questions, perform a physical exam, and probably order tests to help make a diagnosis.

One of those tests might be a skin test. This test involves placing liquid extracts of food allergens on your child’s forearm or back, pricking the skin, and waiting to see if reddish raised spots (called wheals) form within 15 minutes. A positive test to a certain food only shows that your child might be allergic to that food — the allergist may do other tests for confirmation.

The allergy specialist also might do blood tests to check the blood for IgE antibodies to specific foods. If the skin test and blood test results indicate an allergy, no further testing is needed and the person is diagnosed with a food allergy.

If the test results are still unclear, the allergist may do a food challenge. (More often, though, this test is done to determine if someone has outgrown a certain allergy.) During this test, a person might be given gradually increasing amounts of the potential food allergen to eat while being watched for symptoms by the doctor. The test must be done in an allergist’s office or hospital that has access to immediate medical care and medications because a life-threatening reaction could happen.

Treating a Food Allergy

After diagnosing your child with a food allergy, the allergist will help you create a treatment plan. No medication can cure food allergies, so treatment usually means avoiding the allergen and all the foods that contain it.

You’ll need to read food labels so you can avoid the allergen. Since 2006, a new food labeling law has made this a little easier. Makers of packaged foods are required to clearly state, in or near the ingredient lists, whether the product contains milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soy.

Although there’s no cure for food allergies, medications can treat both minor and severe symptoms. Antihistamines might be used to treat symptoms such as hives, runny nose, or abdominal pain associated with an allergic reaction.

If your child wheezes or has asthma flare-ups (also called attacks) as the result of a food allergy, the doctor will likely recommend that a bronchodilator such as albuterol (which can be inhaled from a handheld pump device) be taken right away to reduce breathing difficulties.

But remember: If your child experiences an allergy-triggered asthma attack, it’s important to consider also giving epinephrine and seek emergency medical treatment immediately in case the asthma symptoms are part of anaphylaxis.

Epinephrine is often used to treat severe allergic reactions, or anaphylaxis. If your child has severe food allergies, your allergist will want you to have two epinephrine autoinjectors (commonly called EpiPens) on hand at all times in case of a life-threatening reaction. This will mean keeping epinephrine in your home, briefcase or purse, and also at relatives’ homes and your child’s day care or school.

Signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis that would require epinephrine include:

  • hoarseness
  • sensation of tightness in the throat
  • difficulty breathing
  • any symptoms from two or more of the body systems, such as hives and abdominal pain, or any other combination of two or more symptoms that affect different parts of the body

If your child starts having serious allergic symptoms, give the epinephrine auto-injector right away. Seconds count during an episode of anaphylaxis. Then call 911 or take your child to the emergency room so additional treatment can be given, if needed. Also, your child needs to be under medical supervision for at least 4 hours because even if the worst seems to have passed, a second wave of serious symptoms (called a biphasic reaction) often happens.

You and your child’s allergist should work together to develop a written food allergy emergency action plan to give to the school, childcare provider, and any other caregivers.

Reviewed by: Jordan C. Smallwood, MD
Date reviewed: September 2015
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Pizza

Prep time: about 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 12″ pizza base (a large Boboli shell is excellent)
  • 1 14-oz. can chopped tomatoes
  • fresh basil leaves, sliced finely
  • 2 or 3 pieces of prosciutto or Parma ham, sliced very thinly (you can find it at the deli counter)
  • 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
  2. Place the pizza base on a baking sheet and spread it with a layer of tomato.
  3. Sprinkle the basil over the tomato.
  4. Tear the prosciutto or Parma ham into small pieces and lay the pieces over the pizza. Sprinkle the pizza with the feta cheese.
  5. Drizzle the olive oil over the pizza.
  6. Cook in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the cheese browns and bubbles.
  7. Cut into 8 slices, share, and enjoy!

Serves: 4

Serving size: 2 slices

Nutritional analysis (per serving):

484 calories
24 g protein
19 g fat
58 g carbohydrate
0 g fiber
38 mg cholesterol
1765 mg sodium
350 mg calcium
2.1 mg iron

Note: Nutritional analysis may vary depending on ingredient brands used.

Suggestions:
Experiment with other toppings on your pizza: olives, peppers, broccoli, avocado, and whatever else you like!

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: November 2015
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Pretzels

Prep time: about 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp. yeast
  • ½ c. warm water
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • 1-1/3 c. flour
  • 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325° F (165° C).
  2. Put the yeast in a small bowl with the water and honey. Stir a little, then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
  3. Mix the flour and salt together in a medium-size bowl.
  4. After the 5 minutes is up, check on the yeast mixture. It should be bigger than before and a little bubbly. Add this mixture to the flour and salt mixture.
  5. Stir everything together. Use a spoon to start. Finish with your hands. The dough is ready when it’s still a little crumbly and flaky.
  6. Sprinkle flour on a cutting board. Put the dough on the cutting board and knead it like you are playing with clay. Knead it into one big ball.
  7. Break off a piece of dough that’s about the size of a big gumball or superball. Use your hands to roll it into a skinny snake.
  8. Twist the snake into a medium-size pretzel shape, and put it on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Do this with all the dough, making 12 pretzels.
  9. Bake your pretzels for 10 minutes. Let them cool and take a bite!

Serves: 12

Serving size: 1 pretzel

Nutritional analysis (per serving):

56 calories
1 g protein
0 g fat
12 g carbohydrate
0 g fiber
0 mg cholesterol
192 mg sodium
2 mg calcium
0.7 mg iron

Note: Nutritional analysis may vary depending on ingredient brands used.

Reviewed by: Allison Brinkley, RD, CNSC, LD/N
Date reviewed: November 2015
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Roasted Veggies

Prep time: about 1 hour

Ingredients:

  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 2 c. broccoli, chopped into florets
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 1 medium zucchini, sliced
  • 1 medium yellow squash, sliced
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium tomato, chopped
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • Feta or parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 degrees Celsius).
  2. Place all veggies and garlic in a large Pyrex (thick glass) dish or roasting pan.
  3. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle spices on top, and stir to coat.
  4. Cook for about 45 minutes or until veggies are tender when you poke them with a fork.
  5. If you like, sprinkle the mixture with feta or grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

Serves: 5

Serving size: 1 cup

Nutritional analysis (per serving):

124 calories
4 g protein
6 g fat
17 g carbohydrate
2 g fiber
0 mg cholesterol
16 mg sodium
66 mg calcium
1.5 mg iron

Note: Nutritional analysis may vary depending on ingredient brands used.

Suggestions:
If you don’t have olive oil, you can substitute vegetable oil. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, you can substitute Worcestershire sauce. Try serving this over rice or pasta for an easy and tasty meal.

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: November 2015

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