This is a typical lunch. Polenta with cheddar cheese topped with avocado, oranges, steamed broccoli, and a cucumber spear.I decided to write a blog about the way I feed Ali because it's something that I'm passionate about. I've always thought of the food I give Ali as what "grows her", similar to the way you would grow a plant. You don't grow a plant with soda and juice, the plant would quickly die.
Ali has always been an open eater. She eats most anything I put on her plate (kale, polenta, broccoli, cauliflower, quinoa, beans, ground turkey and of course she loves the pastas, cheeses, and fruits). We try to stay away from the sugars, she eats her daily amounts of fruits so juices aren't necessary, and as far as dairy goes she has begun to tolerate them better but we stick with almond milk.
When Ali was about 6 months old she had a reaction to yogurt that caused her to break out in hives and her mouth to swell, also known as an anaphylatic reaction. We took her to a allergist who performed a skin test to see if she was allergic to the cows milk protein, sure enough she was. We were advised to give her soy milk as a replacement and I continued nursing her well past the recommended 1 year mark because she was not drinking cows milk and I felt she needed the fat my milk contained. Around 17 months of age we start to notice her left breast was enlarging and asked her pediatrician about it. She told us that soy milk contains estrogen's in it, so she recommended that we give her almond milk instead. We've been giving her almond milk for about 3 months now and have noticed that the swelling has decreased. So for these reasons I'm stickler about Ali getting her vegetables as they contain calcium that she doesn't get from drinking a lot of milk. We have also slowly introduced cows milk into her diet with baked goods and cheeses. By incorporating small amounts of cows milk into her system her body has a chance to "get used" to the allergen without causing her to react to it. So far she has not reacted to the small amounts that we give her. However, I have not been brave enough to give her a glass of cows milk yet. When she turns 2 years old we will take her back to the allergist to have the skin test repeated. The main reason why I need to know if she can tolerate cows milk by doing these "tests" isn't because I think she needs the nutrients (she gets those from other sources), it's mainly because soon she will be around other children who like these things. I need to know that if she tries them, she won't have an anaphylatic reaction (which can be deadly).
More than anything I want Ali to have a healthy relationship with food. I want her to make healthy decisions and to nourish her body so that she can grow appropriately. I let her have a treat every once in awhile (cupcake, cookie, etc.), and she loves them. But my hope is that one day she will choose the healthier option on her own...that is the goal at least. :)
