Thursday, August 12, 2010

What's for dinner?

I don't think I've mentioned it here but a few months ago we discovered that Raf is either allergic or intolerant to soy. As vegans this is a little bit tricky, not least because soy seems to be in everything! Seriously, it is in virtually everything... soybean oil is apparently very popular, and even something like bread is hard to find without soy showing up. We've been doing quite well, though, and as long as you stick with whole foods - which is obviously best anyway - it's fine. For things like yogurt we've been using coconut yogurt (I like him to have the probiotics and the B12), and on the few occasions he's had milk in something (other than mama;s milk) we've used almond milk... As luck would have it a new vegan - non soya - cheese is now available, and, seriously, it is yummy!!! Vegan cheese is notoriously terrible but this stuff (made with tapioca and expellar pressed oils) is delicious...

But Raf has also become a lot more fussy around food. He used to love fruits and veggies but he's been refusing to touch them lately. Broccoli florets, an old favourite, are left untouched, and his old fav, watermelon, is dropped on the floor. And, his beloved hummus is now a no- no, and he even spits it out! Still, we've been managing to get in some good nutrition. Here's a typical day:

Night/waking up: milk
Breakfast: sprouted wheat bagel with almond/cashew butter and apple butter, apple sauce mixed with a nut or seed butter and coconut yogurt.
Snack: milk
Lunch: French bread (usually the soft bit scooped out), with pasta sauce, chopped spinach, and vegan cheese sprinkled and melted. He gets to eat a lot of spinach this way! Yoghurt to finish.
Snack: Milk
Dinner: sweet potato slices with hummus spread on... though this is hit and miss lately. Corn on the cob (a new favourite). Mashed banana with nut butter mixed in.
Snack: milk



He has some new favourites. Today he tried plums, and he really seemed to like them. I was just excited he picked the pieces up after his fruit/veggie refusal of late. He also really gnawed the corn the other day, which made me very happy. His absolute fav, though, are snapea crisps. I'm not sure how healthy these are for him but he adores them.

Would love more suggestions!

4 comments:

  1. Sage loves those snapea things, too! :-) What fun to get a peek into Rafi's menu. It sounds like he is finding his own way. You are so good to give him such healthy choices. That's a total bummer about the soy, though! Sage goes through phases of liking and not liking things, so hopefully he'll be back on the broccoli in a few months. ;-) That photo is adorable!

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  2. Don't forget that Raf pesters you nearly every morning for some of your green shake (ice, banana, spinach, almond milk), so much so that we now set aside a small glass just for him!

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  3. SNAPEAS!!! Yummmmmo. I love those things, as you know. The soy thing is a real bummer. I doubt I have any better ideas than you for food, but you can be sure he's likely getting plenty of protein with mama's milk anyway and a good amount of good fats and a good mix of vits so you're good, I reckon! x

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  4. Everything looks perfect to me, Raf is getting all proteins,vitamis, carbohydrates and fat in his diet. Raami gets Rice and Lentil for a meal with different veggies. His favorites are no more favorites and these days it is challenging to make him eat as he prefers only Breast milk ugh!

    That pic of Rafi enjoying corn is very cute :)

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