The Protein Intolerant Kitchen: Ingredients, perspectives and insights shared by Amanda

Skeptical about being able to create something with only one or two ingredients?

Cooking is just like art--- you can paint a sunset with many colors or you can paint a black and white sunset with shades of one or two colors. It is may look different but it is still a sunset, and it still can be just as unique and just as beautiful. The same thought applies to baking for your child with PI!

There are always variations and substitutions to be found but here is a basic list you may seek to build for your cooking endeavors. Please keep in mind (as you all know!) the most important ingredients are your child's safe foods and foods that are nutritionally helpful to your child's diet. That said, there is a special place for the “goodies”--- with so many PI kids having varying feeding issues, it is important that we give them as many options for texture, taste, and variety to help stimulate normal feeding development.

Oil
Find a safe oil. Nutritionally, oils add fat, sometimes they can be healthy Omega fats. And typically our little ones need some extra fats in their diets! From a baking standpoint, oil helps to bind ingredients and to keep the finished product from being too dry. Aesthetically, oil adds flavor and dimension to a recipe. Safflower oil may add a nuttier flavor (a great substitute for recipes calling for peanut oil!!) whereas canola oil adds a buttery flavor, one of the reasons why canola is so often preferred in baking. And of course, there are oil substitutions, depending on the recipe, such as fruit purees and alternative shortenings (such as palm shortening.)

Flour
A flour does not have to come from a grain!! Repeat with me. . .
There are many types of flours out there-- coconut flour, buckwheat flour, almond flour, garbanzo bean flour, seed based flours . . and that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are grain based flours of course-- wheat, corn and the like-- but for those little ones who cannot tolerate grains or might simply not be ready for them, there are countless alternatives.
When selecting your flour, learn a little bit about it. Read recipes that use the flour-- even if you have no intention of making the recipe-- the ingredient list alone can tell you how that flour reacts and interacts with other baking ingredients. Coconut flour recipes, for instance, when coconut is the only flour, typically require several eggs for leavening purposes as well as for binding purposes. Also, be aware of the taste. Quinoa flour is quite strong for some and using certain spices or different types of sugars can help to balance out the flavor.

Sugar
There are so many out there-- you just may have to do some digging!! “Regular” white sugar isn't the only option-- there is organic cane sugar, beet sugar, maple sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, honey, agave nectar. . .

A key element in choosing your sugar again lies in how the sugar will react/interact with the other ingredients. For instance, when making a sauce, I discovered that coconut sugar boils and breaks down differently than “typical” brown sugar. Also, coconut sugar adds more sweetness to a recipe than honey or granulated white sugar, so you will use less for the recipe. Maple sugar also requires alterations for best use. Some sugars will make a recipe seemingly more moist whereas others can make it seem a little drier. I personally enjoy using a combination of sugars but whatever is best tolerated by your little one is the best sugar (or combo of sugars!) for you!!!

The (typical) Freebies
Every little one is different and if your little one is particularly sensitive, you may find yourself wanting to trial the “freebies” as well. You know you child better than anyone and should determine what truly can be trusted for your child. That said, many children can tolerate standard baking chemicals such as salt, cream of tartar and baking soda (baking powder can contain corn, although there are corn free versions!).

Some people consider the starches to be freebies because they are not supposed to contain any food protein, therefore, based on this, the child should not react to them. That said, there have been reports of parents on internet boards stating that their child has reacted to one or more of the starches. So same as before, know your child and tread a little more cautiously here than you might with something like salt, for instance. Of the starches, arrowroot has been historically used with people who have GI issues or poor health in general. Because of this, we felt confident trying it with B. Not only is is a helpful baking ingredient (for binding), but it is also helpful in putting weight on these little ones when added to the ingredient list.

Fruits and Veggies-- Beyond Purees!
Fruits and veggies are great additions to recipes! I like adding B's two safe veggies to baked goods because they are easier for her to digest when she eats them this way. Plus, it makes her baked goods even that much healthier. Purees can be used as oil substitutes, egg substitutes, and simply to add flavor to an existing recipe. Generally, when I add a puree to a recipe NOT as a substitute for an ingredient, I simply wait to add in the water/milk required by the recipe after mixing in the puree. The puree adds a little bit of liquid to the recipe, so it may not require as much liquid from the water or milk source.

Liquids
Most recipes specify a type of liquid but that does not necessarily mean it is the only type that will work in a recipe. Milk is commonly called for in recipes. Sometimes you can substitute water or juice in place of milk-- it depends on what purpose the milk serves in the recipe. You can typically use alternative milks interchangeably, with some minor adjustments occasionally needed. Breast milk can be used in recipes in place of dairy milk. Also, in some recipes, formula may be substituted-- the key here is knowing what temperature(s) the formula can tolerate. Can it be frozen and used for ice cream? Can it be baked in a cake? Always contact the manufacturer when in doubt and when you cannot find this information on the label. And like everything else, you will discover the best results through trial and error!


I hope these ideas can get you started in the kitchen. It is so rewarding to create something that your little one (finally!) can eat, especially when it is a special treat for a special occasion. Just remember-- like most everything else in the life of a parent of a PI little one-- trial and error is really the best way to discover safe, tasty treats! Happy baking! Feel free to post any questions for me here and be sure stay tuned for the third and final part of the PI Pantry series!!!