Eating Giraffe Food

It was a traditional British Bank Holiday Monday - wet. 

"Why dont we go to Milton Keynes?" said The Hub. I didn't take long to agree - my jobs could wait (again). After all, we live in quite a small space so we needed to get out - for Baby's sake. So off we went. On arrival it was lunchtime and busy, so although The Hub had scoped out the eating places on line and decided on our usual, once we spotted the queues, we thought, 'Perhaps not!'. Then we saw Giraffe. We'd not tried Giraffe before, and as the queues were slightly shorter, and we'd heard that they could cater for certain allergies, we decided to go somewhere different for a change.

First impressions: 

Busy! Funky artwork all over the wall. Urban chic? The staff gave the impression of being efficient and friendly. I didn't get to test their food knowledge, however, as The Hub had been busy perusing the online menu, whilst we were queuing outside. 

It would probably have been better to have followed my own advice and prepared ourselves in advance. I wouldn't advise doing what we did, if you have multiple allergies - viewing the online allergies menu on a smart phone screen. If you do, make sure you access the main website rather than the mobile one as the mobile one doesn't appear to have links to the allergy information. That said, I liked the online allergy menu - it was clearly laid out and easy to read as long as you're not using a smartphone! 

We were given a normal menu whilst we were waiting to be seated which indicated which dishes were gluten free but didn't indicate other dietary needs except vegetarian. I could have asked for allergy information and grilled the staff, but Baby had just woken up and she isn't known for her patience when she's hungry! Not knowing how long it would take for the food to arrive, I thought we'd better just get on with it. 

In fact, once ordered, we didn't have to wait long for our food to appear at all and in the meantime, Baby was kept entertained by the noise of the bell - dinging from the service hatch whenever food was ready to go out. Oh, and the colourful activity mat and pot of crayons (decent ones at that).

Our Choice

Baby's lunch

There wasn't a huge amount of choice for dairy free children. Basically, apart from a hot dog or steak, you could have anything that came with mash, but with fries or rice instead. So for Baby we chose chicken fingers and fries (bearing in mind she had rice for dinner the night before). 

Baby's crispy chicken fingers had a nice crunchy coating (according to the Hub - Baby was too busy tucking into the fries). It was at this point that I reflected that it's a good job we don't eat out all that often as otherwise Baby might only ever eat fries. 

Fortunately, having dispatched her fries and generously redistributed her 'leaves' (salad to you and me) in Daddy's direction, she decided to turn her attention to the chicken. She grabbed one of her generously sized chicken fingers in both hands and munched quite happily away. Although, at one point she wanted to dip in Daddy's pot of sauce (not dairy free as far as we knew). Battle was avoided, by supplying her with a decent splodge of ketchup.

The Hub's Choice - Chicken Burger

The Hub likes a good burger from time to time; he selected the 'Rodeo Chicken Burger'. It came with a cute little pot of some dip. It wasn't a huge burger but a reasonable size. The Hub enjoyed it and there was enough, together with the Sweet Potato Fries that he ordered, to keep him going throughout the afternoon.

My choice was the 'Simply Grilled Salmon'. Funnily enough, requiring food which is both gluten and dairy free, I usually end up with salmon. This salmon came with a salsa which gave a gentle kick to the beautifully grilled fish. I could have had fries 'with skins' or salad, but chose the sweet potato fries instead. It cost an extra pound to do so, but I fancied something a little bit different. They which were light, crispy and probably saturated with cooking fat, but they were tasty!

My Choice - Simply Grilled Salmon

There were starters and a desert menu, but we don't usually have any room for these, so we gave them a miss. There were several suitable starter options, from which I could have chosen but don't expect any desert of the dairy free kind, unless you like sorbet.

Drinks

There was a reasonably varied drinks menu - a mix of different kinds of hot, cold and alcoholic drinks. I wasn't wild about the choice of non-alcoholic cold drinks - there seemed to be an awful lot of smoothies and cranberry and pomegranate on the menu. I just wanted a good old-fashioned Sprite or lemonade to quench my thirst.

What about the price?

The prices, pretty standard for a chain restaurant, were as follows: 

• Simply Grilled Salmon £12.95 + £1 extra for ordering the Sweet Potato Fries (rather than  having their standard fries)
• Rodeo Chicken Burger £10.95 + £1 extra for ordering the Sweet Potato Fries (rather than  having their standard fries)
• Freshly Breaded Chicken Fingers £4.95
• Luscombe Cranberry Organic Crush £2.95
• Diet Coke £2.25

Be warned! Whether you like it or not (I personally don't - even though we tip, I don't like to feel that it's expected) service charges are automatically added to the total bill - it's an opt-out, rather than an opt-in arrangement.

Anything else to add?

It's great that Giraffe is a chain which has branches all over the UK, as it means that I know know that I can access food that I know I can safely eat, more or less wherever I go.  However, as per usual, it would be nice to have a bit more choice available. 

Also, I noted that cow's milk was available, at Giraffe, as a children's drink. On the adult menu you can order a 'Soya Capp'  as an alternative to a cappucino. I couldn't help thinking how nice it would be, if they were to offer soya milk or even soya milkshakes (as an alternative to cow's milk) on the children's drinks menu.

On a more general restaurant rant, it would be fantastic, if chain restaurants offered gluten free bread. They must have a fairly decent footfall and I believe they'd get custom from doing so. It wouldn't even have to be baked by them. Genius make some pretty good gluten free pitta bread  right now - their tomato and herb flavoured pittas would be perfect for dipping and can be stored in a freezer. 

Pushing the boat out a little bit more, it would be so nice to see something else on a restaurant dessert menu (suitable for those with milk allergy) other than fruit or sorbet. If they can keep sorbet in the fridge, why not dairy free ice cream? It's just a thought! And, as they say, it's the thought that counts!!

Have you been to Giraffe? What did you think?

Related Posts
Dinner with Leon
Eating out -Mission possible

Weaning the Dairy Free Baby - The Battle of Baby's Brekkie

One of Baby's favourite bowls!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it? I'm constantly learning just how much of a wonderful thing it is, as I continue my journey of weaning Baby. When I first set out on this journey, I naively assumed many things and certainly had no idea of how much a battle it might prove to be. 

Getting Geared Up

Baby being our first (and, at the rate we're going, potentially our only) The Hub and I were eager to get geared up properly for weaning. The Hub's idea of getting geared up was choosing a high chair! 


Gleefully, one  morning, he announced that whilst I'd been sleeping (I slept a LOT when I was pregnant) he'd bought a Baby Bloom on ebay, for half the price! Bargainous! We also bought the bowls, spoons etc. of course, as every parent does. However, dairy being my main concern, we also wanted to start by getting the right advice, especially as Baby was still unable to tolerate dairy. So I asked the GP to refer us to a dietitian, which (much to my relief, because for some people it's a real battle) he duly did. 

The Hub chose the high chair

Preparing for Action
In the meantime, not sure how long it would take to see the dietitian, and wanting to get Baby off to a good start (not being fussy, but prepared to eat a good range of fruit and veg) I eagerly devoured a few (short) books as well as articles in parenting magazines and online. 


Just for good measure, I consulted Gina Ford's book on weaning, as I was still prepared to give her a go, despite our 'failed' attempts to raise a 'contented baby' the Gina Ford way (she is contented - just not in the approved Gina Ford way).  I also dutifully attended a weaning session at a local Mum's and Baby's group, which was led by our Health Visitor. 

At this stage, I just thought that if we put the 'right' stuff in front of Baby, she would eat it - and would continue to eat it quite happily throughout the rest of her life. Looking back now, I scoff at my naivety - there were quite a few things I was yet to learn... the hard way!


I definitely should have taken more notice, during the Health Visitor-led discussion on weaning, when one Mum volunteered her top tip re. fussy eating. She said of her children, that if they didn't eat something, she left it on the table. When next they complained of  hunger, she would sit them back at the table and place in front of them the meal they'd previously refused.


I did wonder (at the time) at what tender age this treatment began. I also wondered whether the youngest, was accustomed to seeing her two elder siblings treated this way and therefore just 'towed the line'. At the time, I thought this approach sounded rather draconian, but it's a tactic that I've been considering myself recently, particularly this morning, after yet another breakfast battle.

For some reason, our battles over food, at the moment, all involve breakfast. Lunch is pretty well set and so is dinner, although we've had our battles over these too. Breakfast, as it's often considered the most important meal of the day, I try to get in before we go anywhere. The operative word here, of course, is 'try'.


She could, I suppose, be refusing breakfast because she's still quite full from the night before, or because she has a monumental number two clogging up the system which needs to be cleared. Sometimes, when she has been refusing food, this has proven to be the case. With food allergic children, constipation is always a possibility (it could be signs of a reaction to something else). Other times, refusing breakfast has been a sign that she's a bit off colour, however, more recently, it just seems that one determined young lady seems set on thwarting me.


Let's talk Tactics
I have tried various tactics, some of which have worked for a short time, others only once, before losing their charm. These have included:

Baby loves hearts!

• Using cute cutlery/plates/bowls with her favourite characters on them (eg. Gruffalo).
• Funny faces - arranging food into faces.
• Saying things like: 'I bet (insert name of fave person/tv character) loves eating this!
• Cutting food into fancy shapes (eg. hearts, stars etc.) with food cutters. 
• Leading by example - eating the food that I'd like her to eat.
• 'Pinching' her food - this works if she like it and is just being a little bit slow.
• Letting her 'pinch' our food - this works, if The Hub's eating Bratwurst.
• Refusing anything else she asks for, until she's eaten properly eg. biscuits, cake, chocolate, boob  etc.
• Going without (taking snacks instead). However, she rather likes this approach and ends up  grazing through all the snacks in my bag (eating the kinds of things that just leave you wanting more and refusing the 'healthy options').
• Veiled threats - 'When you've had breakfast, you'll be able to go out,' ie, 'If you don't eat breakfast we won't be going anywhere!'
• Choice - asking her to decide from a range. However, even when she chooses, she may steadfastly refuse the rest after only one mouthful - no matter how many times the food is placed back in front of her!
• I've also tried variety - being Dairy free, does not mean you have a completely restricted diet (unless you have other foods to which you are also allergic). 

However, all to no avail! Although, to be fair, it's not that she hasn't been eating anything - it's just that she hasn't been eating as much of anything as she used to, and not enough to keep her going through the morning. Which gives the impression that I'm not quite hitting the target (as far as she's concerned) but it's not for want of trying, as we have experimented with a fair variety of foods.

So what ammunition have I been using?

To begin with:

• Baby formula and baby rice/cereal - her first breakfast. This worked well until Hipp stopped manufacturing her favourite (dairy free) blend and then she went off Nutramigen altogether.
• Fruit breakfast with granola (made by Plum, but it looks like it's no longer available).  We alternated between two flavours, however, it was always a bit touch and go, as to whether she'd eat them. 
• Fruit purées of various kinds.

Next:

• Eggy bread. I cut it into tiny squares, so she could chew them. At this stage (having no other milk than Nutramigen, or breast milk) I could hardly offer her cereal, as the Health Visitor's Assistant had insisted we should. However, I reasoned that bread was made with a cereal and egg was a good source of protein and iron, and contained some Vitamin D,* so it wouldn't be too bad for her. Also, in this form the egg wouldn't be too dry, and yet, would be properly cooked. This worked quite well for a while... then she went off eggy bread.

Since then we've tried:

Scrambled egg & toast

• Fried egg on toast - using olive oil. She couldn't manage to eat all of it, so I concentrated on getting her to eat the yolk - that's the bit with all the iron and Vitamin D.
• Scrambled egg on toast - using Pure Dairy Free Margarine
• Poached egg on toast - mainly when she's had a tummy upset and can't take anything oily. We use Delia's method, as it's pretty fool proof, but you do need a timer!
• Cereal and milk - mixture of Cheerios and Rice Krispies with Alpro Junior Plus 1 (not keen on the sugar, but...)
• Fish Finger (Youngs Free From, but Sainsbury's also do a free from fish finger) and a Hash Brown (Mc Cains)
• Toast with honey/jam
• Porridge made with Alpro Junior Plus 1
• Pancakes (made with coconut milk) - only the once to be honest (with some mixture left from Shrove Tuesday - see previous blog on pancakes). Despite a smiley face made of banana and chocolate buttons (which I thought would be a winner) pancake went down like a lead balloon (although she ate the chocolate drops)! So that idea was quickly abandoned.

What now?
Well I'm not completely stumped! I have a few more breakfast ideas up my sleeve.
Further Weapons in my Arsenal:

• Waffles - I've steered clear of these, so far. Partly because making them is a bit involved (no suitable ready mix available that I know of) and partly because of the washing up! Cleaning waffle iron a bit of a faff too!
• Scrambled eggs with additions - I could add smoked salmon or bacon chunks but I'm a bit worried about salt content of these.
• Healthy Muffins - steered clear of these so far as they're a bit too much like cake (in my opinion) and there's a bit of extra effort and washing up involved.
• The Hub's Breakfast - he doesn't always have breakfast, but at the weekend, he sometimes treats himself to sausages. Baby loves Daddy's Bratwurst!! I have to admit, there's nothing like the smell of cooking sausages to get those gastric juices working! However, I'm not sure that she should have those every day of the week!!

Hmm! Maybe I've hit the nail on the head here - with The Hub's breakfast. I have been considering recently whether, as parents, we have been setting her the best example - Hub rushing off to work, each morning, without his breakfast; me eating mine by the laptop, as I catch up on the latest...


Maybe, we should try and get back to sitting round the breakfast table together, but you should see our table - covered in my never-ending washing-to-be-sorted pile!! Speaking of which...Ho! Hum! Back to the grindstone...


Meanwhile, if you happen to think of any other ideas, maybe you could pass them our way??

*Update! Eggs have recently been found to contain twice as much Vitamin D as was previously thought! Meaning they contain two thirds Vitamin D daily requirements, so they make a really great breakfast!!

Related Post

Weaning the Dairy Free Baby - First Steps!

Further Reading:

Neocate Weaning Guide
Neocate Food Allergy Cookbook
Feeding Tips for Toddlers: from One Year (Nutramigen)

Allergies - Reasons to be Cheerful?

YAY! It's Friday! And a Bank Holiday weekend type of Friday, at that! Even I can see the positive in that! Now there's a reason to be cheerful, all by itself!

Half empty? Half full?

Are you a 'glass half full' or a 'glass half empty' type of a person? Me, I'd like to be the glass half full type, but it just doesn't come naturally to me. Instead, I have a tendency to look for the problems in life, so I can be fully prepared to deal with them when they happen to me.

Hence, a few years ago, when it looked like I was going to miscarry at six/seven weeks, I drove The Hub mad, by investigating websites about miscarriage. But you see I just had to know - to be prepared for the worst when it happened. And it did. So I sort of felt vindicated, in my approach.

I wasn't prepared, in that way, for Baby's cow's milk protein intolerance. Nothing had prepared me for that one! It's not like it's in the family, or anything.

When Baby was first diagnosed I have to admit, there was a big screaming, 'Nooooooooo!' inside me. There's been a fair few old times since, when I've asked the question, 'Why?'

'Why me? Why us? Why Baby?' And then I've had to stop myself and think, 'Well, why not? Statistically, for whatever reason, it seems it had to happen to someone, so why not us?' And then it seems to me to have been a bit selfish to have wished it on someone else instead. 

Baby, another reason to be cheerful!

Of course, those thoughts don't stop me wanting Baby's intolerance to go away, of course I want her to be 'better'! I love milk, cheese, cream etc. etc. - the more the merrier! It would make life so much easier not having to examine every food label or go to one shop for one thing, another for something else, the next town's health food shop, for something I can't just pick up at the Supermarket - it's a non-stop juggling act. Just don't even get me started on eating out!

But now, it seems that there might actually be a reason for it! Some professor has come up with the wacky idea that allergies are actually a blessing!?! Now don't get me wrong - I'm not saying, 'Bring it on!' especially as the theory doesn't seem to be completely proven (as yet) but it does give me a slight sense of 'Oh!' (in a 'light suddenly dawns' kind of a way).

It reminds me of a story of a Dutch lady, who was sent to a concentration camp during the Second World War. She was kept in the worst kind of conditions imaginable. Yet she learned to be thankful for the fleas that infested her bunk house. It was these that kept the Nazi guards from coming in, conducting searches and confiscating the prisoners' few remaining possessions. This lady's most treasured possession was her Bible.

I don't think I am quite in that place where I'm ready to be thankful for the 'fleas' in my life - the things that irritate and disturb me, make life difficult and get me down (such as allergies) but I am grateful for a whole lot of other things, and one of those is freedom - to think, speak, be silent, go here or there. What a reason to be cheerful today!


What are your reasons to be cheerful, today?


Why am I writing about this? I read Mummy From The Heart's Blog Hop and felt inspired to join in!

Anyone for Almond Milk?

OK, I confess, the bad weather has been getting to me. I know we need the rain, but... it has driven me to lots of comfort eating, which I really should be avoiding with the summer (hopefully) just around the corner  - especially if I intend to be seen in a swimming costume! Ho hum! Anyway, the bad weather has finally caused me to give Almond Milk a go!

I bought the Alpro version, a few months ago, but was feeling cautious about trying it as, these days (with my stomach having been quite temperamental) I'm not anxious to take too many risks! 

Also, I've had the odd reaction with nuts in the past - sometimes, as with cashews, gut related (stomach cramps and diarrhoea) sometimes, as with almonds, affecting the lips and mouth (itching/soreness). Then I discovered that Almond nuts are not nuts at all, but are related to the peach and merely the stone part of a fruit. 'Oh well, that's alright then,' I thought.

What they say:
Alpro say, '...it tastes heavenly...' (Hmm! Let us be the judge of that!) '...it's also a source of of antioxidants, calcium and vitamin E... low in saturated fat... sinfully good.'

What does it contain?
Well this will depend on the brand. Alpro's Almond Milk contains: Water, Sugar, Tri-calcium Phosphate, Sea Salt, Stabilisers (Locust Bean Gum & Gellan Gum), Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin), Vitamins (Riboflavin (B2), B12, E, D2). The actual almond content is 2%. 
I notice that Ecomil's Almond Milk has less ingredients, but no added calcium or Vitamin D. Alternatively, you could make your own Almond milk, with just Almonds, Water, Vanilla and Syrup! There are plenty of recipes online.

Daily allowances (adults)
One serving (200ml) of the Alpro Almond Milk contains the following: 
30% of your RDA Calcium Riboflavin (B2), B12, E, D2.
7% of your RDA Sugar
3% of your RDA Fat
4% of your RDA Salt

Allergy advice

There is no soya, but the carton also says that it may contain traces of nuts - so nut allergy sufferers beware! 

The Intial Taste Test

It wasn't unpleasant. The almond flavour definitely came through, although it was not overpowering. I detected some sort of tang that you wouldn't get with cow's milk, but I was prepared to try it with cereal.

Further trials

There's not a lot of cereal in our place at the moment, but I managed to find a packet of puffed rice - stale. The Almond Milk seemed OK, but there was still a bit of a tang of something. 

Frothing the Almond Milk, for coffee, went quite well - in that although it didn't froth as well as cow's milk, it frothed better than previous attempts with rice milk. The Hub's verdict was that it was OK and tasted similar to soy. Further prodding elicited the comment that the nutty flavour came through. 

Not wanting to waste the rest of the carton of Almond Milk, I had a brainwave! 
'OK,' I thought, 'I'll make some porridge!'  I've been longing to give that a go for ages, and it's just what I need, with all the rain that's been around.'

Oats sourced, porridge cooked, it tasted yummy!! 

Any indication of suitability for young children?
Yes. Alpro have been at this game a long time now and know what we want. It's not suitable as a main milk drink, for children under the age of three, but can be used 'as part of a healthy balanced diet' (so in cooking) from the age of one.

Verdict

My sister-in-law, who has also tried it, thought it was quite nice. The Hub (a man of few words) thought it was OK - similar to soya milk. Obviously, it was no good for me in its 'raw' state. Not only was there the reaction, I preferred it cooked anyway. 

Update 2015: Blue Diamond Almond Milk is also now available in the UK. Both Alpro and Blue Diamond produce an unsweetened version, and a 'fresh' version as well as the original version. Tesco have also recently produced their own brand of almond milk.

Almond milk also tastes nice in custard, although it doesn't thicken so well as some other dairy free milks, like coconut. It also looks slightly grey in colour. My Dad thickens it by adding more custard powder to the mix, but this makes it a bit powdery for my liking! 

I've also used almond milk for making fish pie and I really like using it for this, but if the sweetness is not for you, you can now buy unsweetened almond milk to use instead.

Related Posts

There are alternatives - milk substitutes

Weaning the Dairy Free Baby - First Steps!

There are so many things that I wish I'd learned at breastfeeding school! We only had one session and they made it appear all so easy-peasy and although I'd like to stress that I am a big fan of breastfeeding, I definitely feel that they left a few things out. One of which was when to stop!

First Step - When to stop the Breast?

The way they talked about it, I was left assuming that once you had finished your six month stint, Baby was onto solid food and off we all went - sailing into the sunset with nary a backward glance. Well they didn't necessarily give that message, but no-one discussed when or how you 'gave up' breastfeeding! 

Obviously now I know that when you give up breastfeeding is a personal choice. How you give up, I'm still not sure about - because I'm still breast feeding Baby at a time when most mothers have long since kissed goodbye to the whole affair. I did read Gina Ford's advice about replacing breast feeds with bottle feeds one at a time, but having switched to feeding on demand (in order to keep the milk flowing) I'm a bit clueless as to how you stop a demand fed baby from requesting a feed. 

Mind you, I'm not fretting over it. The reason I'm still going, is partly because I still feel I have something to give her that she can't get elsewhere; partly because she definitely still wants it and finally because I have the luxury of being at home with her. If I'd had to go back to work, it wouldn't have been so easy.

When we first discovered that Baby had a cow's milk protein allergy, at the end of her first month, I was given the option. The paediatrician was perfectly willing to write the prescription. I could there and then have switched straight onto hypo-allergenic formula and indeed Nutramigen AA was prescribed, as I was encountering problems with breastfeeding. 

However, my main reason for continuing with breastfeeding was that I was concerned about Baby's main or even only source of nutrition being some manufactured formula, which I soon discovered (when I was using it as a supplement) left strange tiny little white bumps all over the skin on her face. 

Another good reason (the way I saw it) was that I was aware that breastfeeding until six months was advised as a way of preventing food allergies arising, and, as she had one major food allergy already, I certainly wanted to do my best to prevent the development of any others!!

I had hoped that Baby would be one of the lucky ones, who grew out of her allergy fairly quickly. So I aimed to breastfeed her, until six months or until that happened. Unfortunately not having reached that particular milestone, before the magic age of six months, it was back to the special formula we'd been given, in order to introduce her to solids. 

Fortunately, we already had a formula to turn to. If you need a special formula, you will need to see a Doctor in order to be prescribed an alternative. There are several out there and professional advice is required in order to work out which is the best one for your baby. Unfortunately, finding the right formula is only the beginning, as babies can develop ideas of their own and reject it! I have heard that it can be flavoured with strawberry Nesquik, but never got around to trying this myself.

Next - Moving onto solids

To begin with, Baby seemed okay with Nutramigen mixed with her favourite baby cereal or with baby rice. There was no sign of the tiny bumps that had appeared when she had been bottle fed. I thought all was going swimmingly, until Hipp Organic thoughtlessly discontinued manufacturing her favourite cereal!! 

After that, Baby didn't seem to take to any others and eventually I gave up, as she would steadfastly refuse to accept a single mouthful! Stumped, all we could do was to offer Baby vegetable or fruit purées instead - fortunately discovering one that was bulked up with a bit of granola, which made it a bit more filling. But I was concerned that Baby might be missing essential vitamins/minerals that were only available through cow's milk and I knew that I really needed a little more professional help/advice.



Getting professional advice

Not having weaned a Baby before (let alone one that couldn't have what everyone else seemed to be having) I wanted to ensure that I was properly prepared for weaning, especially as she was still unable to tolerate cow's milk. I knew that this was still the case, because of breaches in my diet that had led to a return of the familiar symptoms. Thankfully, our GP responded swiftly to my request to be referred a dietitian. Unfortunately, some people seem to have real problems with this process and have to battle it out.

In the meantime, I read books, magazines etc. and attended local Health Visitor led sessions. I did wonder (as some people advocate baby led weaning) whether we needed to be in too much of a hurry, but it was from the Health Visitor that I learned (shock, horror) that breast milk did not contain sufficient iron for a growing Baby! 

In fact the iron content of breast milk drops from the age of six months. Formula milk is specially fortified, of course, but the ideal thing is to get them onto iron-rich foods, like meat, fairly quickly. Something else, then, that they neglected to tell me in breastfeeding school!

However, the Health Visitor was, unfortunately, not all that well equipped to help much with the dairy free aspect of weaning. I was a bit disappointed with the Health visitor's lack of knowledge, especially when you think that 2% or 3% babies will experience problems with cow's milk. In fact, there were at least two other woman in our village (whose babies were the same age as mine) who also suffered from the same problem.  It was just as well, therefore, that Baby and I had the appointment with the Dietitian lined up.

The Dietitian was excellent, she offered advice on weaning Baby, but didn't neglect me as a breastfeeding mother. The Dietitian was also able to offer me another alternative, when I mentioned Baby's lack of enthusiasm for Nutramigen. She told me that babies start to develop the ability to detect bitter tastes around six months of age. This was actually very useful, when our ancestors were hunter gatherer types, because bitter plants are often poisonous. However, breast milk is very sweet apparently and Nutramigen not so. No wonder Baby rejected it - she's obviously inherited my sweet tooth! 

The Dietitian's answer was to try another formula. This one, PaediaSure Peptide, I plucked up the courage to try myself. It was vanilla in flavour but left a dry chalky feeling on my tongue and made me feel thirsty. Not surprisingly, Baby rejected this one too! For her, only breast milk would do! 

Alpro Junior Plus 1 has a lot in it!

More recently, this has begun to change - now she's that bit older we have introduced her to Alpro Junior Plus 1. I was hesitant at first, partly due to my own intolerance to soya milk, but also because there have been health concerns about soya milk. Baby enjoys this as a milk drink and has had it on cereal, although she prefers her cereal dry! As it is fortified with essential vitamins and minerals, there is less worry about lack in her diet. However, she still really prefers the Boob!

Prepared to support my decision to breastfeed, the Dietitian quizzed me carefully, to find out how often and for how long Baby was breastfed. She checked to make sure I was getting enough calcium and then she dropped another bombshell - Breast milk contained very little Vitamin D and therefore baby was going to need drops. Why didn't they teach that one in Breastfeeding School?

We were recommended to use Abidec - they produce vitamin drops for infants as well as children and are quite widely available. However, be warned! The infant drops are made with peanut oil and although the manufacturers remove the protein, Baby seemed to develop a reaction to them. 

It took some time to for the reaction to develop and longer to work out what was causing the problem. This reaction is, I believe, most unusual. Now that Baby is over the age of one, we could use Abidec's other drops which are fish-based, but we haven't tried those  just yet. It was just as well that we heeded another piece of advice, which was to completely avoid nuts altogether, even peanut butter, which was just as well considering what was to come further on down the line. 

The problem is, if a baby has a food allergy, there is the possibility that there may be more lurking. I had been warned to be careful to introduce one thing at a time - even with spices. Each new food was to be given four or five days in a row, in case it took a while for an allergic reaction to develop. 

Concerned that Baby might not get enough calories, as she wasn't having cow's milk, the Dietitian advised adding an extra spoonful of oil to Baby's portion of food. To be honest, I didn't really follow that piece of advice, too much, because Baby has a healthy appetite and apart from her first month of life has never particularly looked like she was wasting away!

In fact, Baby has done so well that my only other concerns have been over the fairly limited diet that Baby preferred to stick to, for quite a while and the fact that she wasn't eating her five-a-day. For ages, Baby only seemed to like fried egg for breakfast and lunch - not a whole one (I hasten to add) we mostly stuck to the yolk, as that was the bit she liked! However, the Dietitian was able to run through Baby's diet with me, was happy that she was getting the right nutrients and told me not to worry too much about that famous five-a-day. Babies, it seems, need much less fibre than adults. 

Only fried egg would do!

Knowing that has made me able to relax and discover that Baby, (given time, and provided with good healthy options) is actually fairly instinctive about what she needs - if she majors on one food group at one meal, she usually stocks up on others later. When a cold is brewing, like me, she suddenly craves juice! So apart from the early stages, when food needed to be introduced carefully, we have tended to go with the flow. 

We've gone for more of a 'Baby-led Weaning' approach - we tend to prepare food for ourselves that we know is suitable for her (avoid sugar and salt, as well as dairy, if you do this) which means much less stress all round. The only problem is, anything that's ours, is now fair game for her. 'I'm very clever at sharing,' she said happily the other day... as she helped herself to my lunch!!!



Update! 

Eggs, it turns out are even more brilliant than I realised. Researchers have recently found that eggs contain twice as much Vitamin D as was previously thought! Meaning they contain two thirds Vitamin D daily requirements!! Great news, for those who can have it!

These more recent posts may be useful for anyone wondering which dairy free milk is best:

Which dairy free milk is best?

Finding the perfect formula for the Dairy Free Baby


Further Reading:

Neocate Weaning Guide
Neocate Food Allergy Cookbook
Weaning and up to One Year
Feeding Tips for Toddlers: from One Year (Nutramigen)
Cow's Milk Free Weaning Diet (Norfolk NHS)

Dinner with Leon

The Hub wanted to go shopping this afternoon and who was I to refuse? Ever the man for logistics, The Hub had it all planned out - coffee and cake at Starbucks and dinner out, with Leon.

What is Leon? Leon is basically a fast food restaurant. Just like McDonald's, there's no waiting staff, it's counter service only and food comes in boxes. It's  unlike any fast food restaurant I've been in, though, as  the decor is ecletic - retro Latino (I think) and kind of funky and the food is fresh and healthy! They pride themselves on sourcing food responsibly and seem to have garnered some excellent reviews.

Why Leon? Well, if you've never heard of Leon  (and you might not unless you live or work somewhere around London) they actually make it possible to eat out without having to ask too many awkward questions, because handily their menu can tell you at an instant(ish) if something is gluten or dairy free.

It is possible to view the menu online before you go, or grab a menu at the door (it looks something like a newspaper) so you can choose what you want before you go in, although you may change your mind, when you set eyes on the specials listed above the counter.

You can find out whether a dish is suitable by looking at the codes listed underneath each item on the menu. WF means wheat free, DF means gluten free, and * means gluten free! Simple isn't it?

The only thing we found odd about the menu was that the children's menu wasn't listed - you had to look at the board above the counter for that. Also missing off the menu were  a range of fruit and nuts as well as cakes and biscuits. All were clearly labelled as wheat, gluten or dairy free, but sadly (for me) there were none that were all three, apart from a packet of nuts!!

Our choice

Baby's box of tricks

The choices for children were simple - chicken, meat balls, fish fingers or falafels with either rice or fries. Falafels were off the menu for Baby, but everything else on the children's menu was dairy free (they must make special children's sauces, because the meatballs and chicken were not dairy free on the adult's menu). Knowing baby well, we chose her fish fingers and fries with peas. 

The fish finger was a good solid chunk of fish. The fries, we discovered, were all coated, which was perhaps why they weren't wheat/gluten free. Some fires on offer that were uncoated might have been a good idea, because although Baby ate most of her fries, she would've polished off the lot at McDonald's!

The Hub's choice came from the specials board. Not having any special dietary requirements, he could have had anything, but chose a dairy and gluten free special - Moroccan Chicken Curry. It looked, and tasted, good (I tried some). The chicken was tender and the curry sauce was not too over powering.

The Hub's choice

Beside the special, there was only one choice for me, being both dairy and gluten free, and that was salmon with rice, in a 'hot box'. It's a good job I like salmon! I have to say, though, the salmon was perfectly cooked and the brown rice had a nice nutty texture and flavour to it. Accompanying the salmon was a tasty tartar sauce and a fresh and crunchy coleslaw.

My choice

The corn 'off the cob' I ordered as a side, was lovely. It wasn't bog standard but sweet and carefully flavoured. 

If you're a big eater, the portions weren't enormous, but we were certainly satisfied with what we had.

Drinks

I believe there's a different choice of drinks, if you actually get there after 6pm, but arriving early (in the interests of feeding Baby) we satisfied ourselves with the real lemonade, which was tangy and refreshing.

We didn't get round to sampling the coffee, but there's always a next time! 

What about the price?
Prices are not listed online, but to give to a rough idea of how much things cost, The Hub thought he paid a bit more than he would have paid for a meal at McDonalds. However he paid less than he would if we had gone to Wagamamas and was happy with that, especially as the food was good.

My meal broke down as follows:
Salmon Hot Box    £7.95
Corn 'off the cob' £1.95
Fresh Lemonade   £1.75

Anything to add?
Although we all had something to satisfy our hunger, a few more dairy free options on the menu would be welcome. And, personally speaking (as someone who is also gluten free) it would have been nice to have had the option of gluten free bread (at least to dip in the hummus) but it's good to know that if we are out and about in London, there's somewhere else that we can now go to eat.

Update 2015: 

Leon are ever expanding. they now have branches at Heathrow, Birmingham and next year should be opening some more outside of London. Huzzah!


Related Posts
Eating out - Mission Possible
Eating Giraffe Food

Anyone for porridge?

Anyone else woke up to another soggy, wet day? Just the day for trying out porridge, I thought! 

Beginning to thicken!

Porridge used to be a favourite of mine, when I went on camps as a young 'un. One morning some joker decided to add a special ingredient to the mix - one saucepan had green food dye and the other blue. A lot of porridge went to waste that morning, but not mine!

Well, this morning, I decided to give it a go with gluten free oats and almond milk. 

"I don't like porridge!" declared Baby, in disgust, when she discovered what I was up to. 

"That's alright," I replied, "because its not for you anyway!" 

"Hmph!" she said (she's developing quite an effective 'hmph' these days).

'Making porridge is really quite simple, even for me,' I thought to myself. However I DO recommend not decanting your oats into a smart jar, 'cos you lose the instructions for making porridge, as I found out this morning.

Et voila! The finished article! And it tastes YUMMY!

Once I'd located the recipe elsewhere, 50g of oats were poured into the pan, followed by 300ml  of almond milk. It was brought to boil and stirred but didn't thicken. This turned out to be because I needed more heat - I had erred too much on the side of caution following other culinary disasters.

Eventually the porridge thickened and I added my special ingredient - a good splodge of golden syrup! You should try it - it's much nicer than sugar!

"Mmm!" said Baby, when she saw my bowl of porridge. 'Woo hoo!' I thought, 'she's going to eat it and like it this time.' Then I saw the heavily laden spoon making it's way to my mouth. 'OK,' I resigned myself, 'maybe next time!'