I'm going to add a couple of ideas in here for those on restrictive diets, only because I have had to have a very restrictive diet over the years.
Those who remove dairy products and other complex fats from their diet still need essential fatty acids. Good sources are seeds. For kids toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds offer a great alternative to snacks that they can't have like nuts or crisps,...not only that if you buy in bulk they are very cheap. I just toast them on a skillet or heavy frying pan and they are really yummy TV snack food as well as a tasty thing to add to salads and stir fries. I pop a wee tub of them into lunch packs as well. You don't have to toast them, I've a jar of (in the raw uncooked) sunflower seed sitting in front of the pooter, yum scrum.
There have been various mentions of Alpro products...in my view they are the very best of the soya products on the open market so far...I've been testing products for years and the great thing is that Alpro don't have a *niff* that puts kids off (and me for that matter).
Tuna to me is the best oily fish esp. for kids...I know there are some issues here with the way it is caught/toxins etc. each must weigh it up for themselves. Now, I mean fresh tuna (or Bonito) and not tinned. Most of the kids that I have given it have been unable to tell me that it was actually fish because it is so meaty. Big thing...NO BONES. I rub a bit of Chipotle Oil over it and griddle it...one meal that nearly all families can eat together whatever their allergies.
A fantastic form of gut gentle protein is sprouted beans and it is such fun for kids to sprout their own. Alfalfa and mung are our favourites.
For those who worry about using antibiotics there are quite a number of early ports of call that may save you from going down that route. Our most commonly used natural antibiotic is bee propolis. Bee Propolis is what the bees line the baby bee cells with, it is a natural antibiotic and antiviral that works both aerobically and anaerobically. The best that I have found is Forever Living Products but there are many very excellent other brands on the market.
Garlic is as someone mentioned an excellent cleanser, it has antiseptic and antiviral properties (from what I can remember), great for colds and flus. You can buy odourless garlic tablets.
Aloe Vera has wonderful properties that can help asthma and excema as well as reinforcing the immune system, you can buy it in various forms and I have found that the drink, although unpalatable on it's own, is most effective. I tend to mix it with apple jiuce.
Acidophilis will help to rebalance the gut of anyone who has had to take antiobiotics...it's the friendly bacteria.
I only offer these up as suggestions and I would suggest that anyone interested should research products and foods further before just taking them. Most of the information that I have had over the years has come from reputable homeopaths, naturopaths and nutritionalists.
Cait
