1 Year Old with Peanut and Other Legume Alergies

My nephew is deathly allergic to peas, peanuts, and soy; however- he can handle foods "made in plant that processes" those things. He is now in 7th grade, but when he was little, his parents had to make most of his food from scratch. As he got older, they let him try things that had a little bit of soy in them, like soy sauce, and he has been fine. Pure products still make him feel sick to even smell them, but he could likey have a little and not be harmed at this point. (I have no intrest in testing that theory!)

Chances are that as he gets older, he too will be able to eat your general legumes like green beans and pintos and such, but if it is a severe allergy (the kind they give you an epi-pen for)then peas, peanuts, and soy are forever off the menu.

My son's allergist told us to just stay away from soy anything, at least until he is a year old and then we recheck his allergies then. However, I was thinking about the Enjoy Life products. Those are allergen free and made in a "safe" allergy free environment. Now, do the food taste good? I like the snickerdoodle but didn't cake for the rest. I would suggest you trying it out for your own tastes. It's not a complete line but they have granola, bagels(i think), cookies and breakfast bars.

As far as the soy is concerned I would just stay away from it period. You don't want to take chances on such a young child. The peanuts and legume i know is difficult. I have a friend who is very allergic to all kinds of nuts and I have learned to alter recipes for him. There is plenty of protein in chicken and about 100 ways to make it. My son favors grilled chicken or chicken nuggets. you can also feed him eggs. if your concerned about fat, the egg beaters should be ok. Make sure he is offered a variety of veggies to give him the vitamins he needs such as carrots, broccoli and spinach. I find it best to make 2 list, one of the foods he can eat, one he can't. this way i can stare at the foods and come up with a recipe. Good luck!

Hi H.,
my 3 yr old is also allergic to peanuts and soy. The allergist told me that soy oil, soy lecithin, etc. are ok, and so far he's been correct. I've given my son food that contain this stuff and he's had no reaction to them. As long as it doesn't say "soy protein," it will probably be ok.

As far as food ideas, you and I are in the same boat. I'm sure my son is tired of grilled cheese, steamed veggies and macaroni and cheese. I'll be watching out for other mom's response to your post, too :)

Oh, and I also found that when the warning label says "processed in equipment that processes peanuts (or something like that), I find that it's also ok. But, of course, that's up to you and what you are comfortable with.

My daughter has a soy protein allergy and I had to eliminate all soy products from my diet while breastfeeding. I had no idea that soy was in practically every processed food on the market. I had really good luck with Jimbo's and Whole Foods. Both stores list all ingredients in their prepared foods and also offer a wide variety of dairy/soy/peanut free options on their shelves. Most people with a soy protein intolerance can handle soy lechiten and soybean oil. Check out

http://foodallergyfaq.blogspot.com

This website has food avoidance lists that tell you what your son can and can't eat.