for ds1 dairy=eczema, need ideas

[elisheva]

As much as I haven't wanted to admit that it was food related, dairy seems to be causing ds1's eczema flare ups. Over Pesach he basically had no dairy and his skin got 150% better. Now I'm trying to go dairy-free but I keep doing boneheaded things like buying cookies for a snack while out and realizing several hours later that they contain dairy. I've seen the difference even a small amount can make. We tried goat's milk on Shabbos and now he has flare-ups behind his knees and elbows

The problem is that dairy (mainly yogurt but also cottage cheese) were such a *major* part of our diet - my kids practically lived on plain yogurt and bananas. I also worry about the lack of probiotics since we've cut out yogurt. I can sometimes get them to munch on wedges of plain cabbage but he's hit-or-miss with fermented veggies (both good sources of probiotics). Another complicating factor is that we don't eat a ton of bread or other simple carbs and I found myself last week turning more and more to bread for something to fill their tummies We don't do soy.

I'm open to any ideas that those of you who are dairy-free have. I'm planning to make this today and try it at breakfast tomorrow http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=13007.0 - at least it will be some protein to start the day

[RachaelLeah]

Elisheva, so sorry that you're having this struggle. It's hard work to nourish children with sensitivities.
Can you try EFT for the dairy intolerance? It worked for us.
One thing I found my kids LOVE is fermented carrot sticks. I put carrot sticks, onion strips, and rosemary in a jar, cover with a brine (2 ½ – 3 tablespoons of unrefined sea salt to 1 quart water), let sit for 5-7 days, delish! My dd, who normally won't go near a carrot, loves them.
Baked sweet potatoes is my go-to portable snack food, I bake a bunch almost every day, put it in the fridge, and give it to my kids when they're hungry in between meals. They're sweet, nutritious, filling, and my kids love them. And I love seeing my kids munching on sweet potato at the playground, amid the rice cakes, bamba, and white sandwich bread .
Do you do nuts? Natural peanut or almond butter on sweet apple wedges is a yummy filling snack. Hard boiled eggs in the fridge are also easy to pop open and eat on the go. Bananas and other fruits, too.
Hatzlacha Raba!

[elisheva]

Thanks RachelLeah for the ideas. We def do nuts - I make my own nut butters (right now almond-hazelnut) and I tend to put ground almonds in tons of baking (not that my kids always enjoy that... I made almond milk tonight and am experimenting with making cashew cream for Akiva to have with his bananas tomorrow. I'm def going to try the brined carrots and my kids love apple slices with nut butter. How do you serve the sweet potato? Is it finger food or do you have them eat it with a utensil?

[Yehudis]

One of my girls used to be dairy sensitive. She mostly grew out of it, but still gets eczema sometimes. We used homeopathy very successfully. (That's after I spent years on crazy elimination diets!) Other than that, we actually do lots of chicken and turkey. My kids like that, and there are ways to get creative -- meatballs, meatloaf, stuffed vegetables, etc.

[elisheva]

It's funny, Yehudis - we tried homeopathy before I finally gave in to the crazy elimination diet It wasn't working and every time I turned around (or made a phone call like "we've been on this remedy for x amount of time and have seen no change") the homeopath wanted another massive amount of money. As he was also the remedy dispenser, I started to feel like I was being taken for a ride I'd had high hopes for homeopathy being the answer.

It was only since we didn't do dairy this Pesach (too hard to get anything other than plain milk here so not worth it) that I saw the huge improvement.

DH also has issues with dairy (though not eczema - stress triggers his eczema) so there's likely a genetic component. I'm hoping ds1 will grow out of it. In the mean time, his skin looked AWFUL. Red and bleeding/scabbed behind his knees and in the creases of his arms at the elbow. The rest of the skin on his torso felt thin and was very dry and scaly to the touch. On really bad breakouts he would scratch his torso and buttocks and be a bloody mess in the morning I was seriously considering steroid cream just to get a handle back on the situation (though I know how horrible topical steroids are especially for children). We also have been doing bleach baths about once a week and have seen his scratches healing more quickly since then. I personally think he picked up some kind of nasty staph on his skin when he was in the NICU but there's no way to prove that obviously.

Since Pesach, his skin feels and looks more hydrated and the redness is gone at his knees and elbows. I'm watching some residual scratches heal but there hadn't been anything new until I accidentally gave him something with dairy on Friday then we tried goats milk on Shabbos (the only day of the week my kids get to eat cereal) and his knees were a WRECK Sunday morning

Constant inflammation is sooooo bad for the body, I just want to get him to a place where part of his little self isn't always battling his "ticklies" (as he calls them). Then I guess I can look at underlying issues (which I know homeopathy says is the root).

[ruthla]

We don't do a lot of dairy meals at all. We've been following the blood type diet, and for Os (me and both daughters) that means practically no dairy. My type B son can have milk though.

I make almond milk for DD1 to pour on cereal. Can your son have almonds? I also make rice milk for myself, but I just use about an ounce a day in tea or hot cocoa- it's not a nutritional replacement for milk, just something creamy to add to hot drinks. DD2 and I don't really eat cereal at all. DS eats a lot of oatmeal with honey, and he can get a small amount of milk to make it creamier.

If eggs are good for your family, you can make cheeseless quiches (aka kugels) by combining thawed frozen veggies with eggs and spices, then baking. I also add goat milk cheese or sheep milk feta to these milkless quiches, but it would work without the cheese as well.

Canned fish makes for easy protein sources, as do all kinds of beans. Add cold beans to salads, smush beans into dips for vegetables or sandwich spreads. You can even make "creamy" sauces with pureed white beans as the base.

Dinners in our family usually consist of meat, plus a green veggie (salad or cooked), an orange veggie, and a grain. I usually have a veggie/bean soup on the stove for lunch or after school snack. Cut up root veggies, roast them with olive oil and salt, then add water, cooked beans, and spices and let simmer.

It shouldn't be too hard to avoid dairy, since you're already familiar with kosher cooking and shopping. You need things that are pareve or meat.

I often pair up fruits with nuts for adding protein and fat to the meal. Why not bananas and walnuts or bananas and almond butter, rather than bananas and yogurt?

[thalia]

My daughter also has very bad eczema, and aside from taking dairy and soy out of my diet I tried Shaklee Baby Massage Oil on her and it worked amazingly! I was first using lotion on her and then got the massage oil after taking a class on baby massage and noticed right away how much it helped her eczema. I use it as a moisturizer and put it on her after her baths.