As I’ve mentioned before, cooking healthy wholesome meals for little ones can be a task in its self! Throw allergies into the mix and for some, it can be very daunting and stressful.
I’ve weaned all my boys on dairy-free diets due to confirmed cows milk protein allergies (Read up on the symptoms etc here in my blog ‘What is a CMPA? ) so I have spent a fair amount of time studying ingredients labels and trying to come up with dishes that taste good and that also give the boys the additional nutrients they need. When living a cows milk/dairy free life, it’s important to ensure a good amount of calcium is still being added into their diets. As it’s not coming from regular cheese or cows milk its important to find alternative sources. It’s still needed to promote strong bones and teeth so as they continue to grow I always try to get a source of calcium into the dishes somehow. (I try, although sometimes I just keep it super simple)
Here’s another tasty dairy-free meal for kids.
This dish and a number of my other dairy free recipes ( See this Recipe: Simple Dairy free tomato, chicken and veg pasta – perfect for weaning) contain alternative products that are fortified with vitamins and calcium to ensure they get that added boost (alongside their ‘milk’ drinks). (If you haven’t already check out My 5 must have dairy free food staples to make sure you have the right cupboard staples in before you start!)
Children aged between 1-3 need around 500 milligrams of calcium per day (The equivalent of approximately two cups of normal milk).
Most fish contain omega-3 fish oils, vitamin A (good for vision, immune system and helps vital organs work properly), vitamin D (which helps regulate the amount of calcium in the body) and vitamin E (an antioxidant).
I hope yours enjoy it as much as mine do!
Dairy free ‘cheesy’ peasy fish pasta – Ingredients
- A good-sized handful of your chosen pasta
- Approx two dessert spoons of sweetcorn
- Approx one dessert spoon of peas
- Fish source – either frozen salmon fillets (boneless) or 2 x fish fingers (birdseye are dairy-free)
- A couple of scoops of Flora free butter
- A pinch dried parsley
- A couple of spoonfuls of flour
- Cup of Oatly milk (enough to make a sauce consistency)
- Grated alternative cheese (I like the Tesco free-from smoked cheese)
Method
- Boil the pasta for the required amount of time in a pan
- Steam the salmon either in the oven or in the microwave according to the box instructions. (Alternatively, grill the fish fingers if you are using those.)
- For the sauce, melt the free-from butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Stir in the flour. Whisk in a little of the oat milk at a time, stirring continuously until you have a smooth, slightly thick sauce.
- Add the dried parsley
- Add in the alternative cheese – (You may need to add a splash more oat milk depending on how much cheese you use so that you can keep the sauce consistency.)
- Add the peas and sweetcorn to the sauce to heat through (all on low heat)
- Once the pasta and the fish are cooked, combine together in the pan until all the ingredients are mixed in together.
- Add the grated cheese and stir until melted.
Simple and tasty with a nice amount of calcium*! Just what kiddies want when they are dairy free!
*Be sure to check if the alternative cheeses and milks that you use are fortified with added calcium. Some are however some aren’t so be sure to check!
I make this for all my boys, even the ones that can tolerate dairy as it’s really tasty – they love it!
You may also like :
Simple Dairy free tomato, chicken and veg pasta
5 treats that are accidentally dairy free
Whilst this recipe is dairy free, make sure however that you consider the following…
*…If you have severe allergies some of these products may not be suitable due to manufacturing methods. Please be aware that all products are subject to reformulation at any given time. Consequently, it is recommended that you always check the ingredient lists on the packs of all products prior to purchase to determine product content.
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