# pediasure substitute?



## goodheartedmama (Feb 1, 2007)

is there an organic, all-natural substitute to pediasure available? Or does someone have a recipe they use to make one?


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## wendy1221 (Feb 9, 2004)

Organic toddler formula? I assume you're not nursing anymore. But if I'm wrong, pumping to start making extra milk would be ideal, and you can add it to things if she won't drink it. There are also dietary alternatives. My oldest ds lost a lot of weight, went down to the 4th %ile for weight, after I weaned him at 15 mos and I started putting oil on all of his food. Coconut and extra virgin olive are the best. Salmon has good fats in it, wild is best. Avocados are high in fat. Fats are key for kids under 2.

Sorry, I'm assuming you mean for your baby, but I think it still stands for your older child as well.


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## goodheartedmama (Feb 1, 2007)

It's for DS, who is 20 months. He doesn't eat anymore. Nothing. He eats every few days, sometimes going a week without eating more than a piece or two of fruit. We're dealing with some health problems with him...the main one being the fact that he is drinking 100+ oz/day. So it's not as simple as putting oil in his foods. He used to eat anything and everything, and could have outeaten an adult. Things changed overnight, and he won't eat anything at all (obviously because he's drinking so much). We're in the middle of trying to get a DX for him, but until we can get something and treat it, I'm stuck trying to give him nutritious liquid. I may try formula, but I don't think he'll drink it.


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## tbone (Dec 17, 2006)

Will he drink smoothies? You can really throw alot of healthy food items in a smoothie. Raw egg yolk, kale, carrots, celery, fruits, a nut or sesame seed butter if your dc doesn't have any reactions, a dollop of heavy cream, coconut oil, etc. I would also give him some cod liver oil and a good multivitamin/mineral formula.

We went through something similar with ds1, he would eat anything until around 14 months old. He was dx as Failure to Thrive. He's 3 now and is eating better, but I still put a dollop of cream in his milk.


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## umsami (Dec 1, 2003)

DS2 is like this. If he's drinking regular milk... you can enhance it with some powdered skim milk as well as maybe blending in a banana, peanut butter, or some fruit. Heck, I even think that Carnation Instant Breakfast looks better than the Pediasure ingredients.

What about milkshakes with a high quality ice cream or frozen yogurt? Then give him a vitamin (our kids like vitamin jelly beans)... and you'll probably be better off than the pediasure.









Pediasure Ingredients:
http://www.pediasure.com/pedia_info.aspx

Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream:
Fresh cream, skimmed milk, sugar, egg yolk, natural flavouring : vanilla.


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

I think I'd give him goat's milk, maybe add a touch of vanilla to it if he doesn't seem to like it without. And also 100% fruit juices.


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## Mirzam (Sep 9, 2002)

How natural do you want to go? If he can tolerate dairy, here is what I would feed him if he were mine. A blend of raw milk kefir, raw cream, raw eggs, unsalted raw butter, a small amount of fruit, ie 1/3 of a banana, or some berries etc, sweetened with unheated honey. I give similar smoothies to my DS, to which I also add some raw chocolate powder. I would also try and hide some raw liver in the drink if possible. I realize this sound gross, but raw fats and raw meat are very easily digested and ultilized by the body. It will not make him sick. I have fed my children raw animals fats for many years and they have *never* gotten sick from them.I also make my own ice cream from raw cream, raw eggs, unsalted raw butter, unheated honey and either raw chocolate powder or fruit. If you add papaya with a little vanilla extract, it tastes just like French vanilla.

ETA: I forgot to meintion coconut cream. I often add this to smoothies if I have made some fresh, I wouldn't use canned, but that is just me. I would use a very high quality coconut oil, ie Wilderness Family Tradions brand as a sub though.


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## wendy1221 (Feb 9, 2004)

I agree with the smoothies. See if he likes coconut milk. It's very high in fat and calories, tastes yummy, and is good for you.

My ds had a lot of food alergies, which was his main problem. He also quit eating, I think b/c so many things made his belly hurt. Once I got the food allergies straightened out, he started eating well.


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## crissei (Oct 17, 2004)

Sometimes my ds gets in 'moods' about food and I make him a smoothy
I don't really have a recipe, but this is what I use.

milk (raw goats milk)
eggs
banana
plain protein powder (not the body builder type)
fresh baby spinach
peanut butter
carob powder


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## Mamato3wild ponnie (Jan 6, 2007)

Was he vax'd during this change period? Just wondering why the sudden change.


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## goodheartedmama (Feb 1, 2007)

he hasn't been vaxed since 6 months. The thought keeps coming back to diabetes, which he's tested negatively for. We're going to an endo soon. We're thinking diabetes insipidus, but who knows? He's definitely not autistic. He's a little slow on speech, but advanced physically, is very social, can communicate. He's perhaps on the spectrum, but not autistic if that makes sense. It could perhaps pertain to some of the vaxes he got before I educated myself. It's all very complicated right now and a long drawn out story. Anyway, we need to get him to eat something. He does eat occasionally, and will still eat the things he's always eaten, but only if the mood strikes him. Today he's eaten more than he's eaten in a few weeks combined. He had about 1/4 cup yogurt, mixed with acai juice, 1/4 cup applesauce, 5 green beans, and 10 great northern beans, and some dried cranberries. He did eat about 1/2 scrambled egg one day this week, and an orange on another day. He ate black beans one day, and some O's that same day. It's not a texture thing.

He's a big kid-37 inches and 30 pounds. However, he has only gained about 1/2 pound since 12 months, and he's now 20 months.

He's always been a big drinker. He was FF (I know, I know














and would drink 60 oz as a 4 month old. His doc at the time said it wasn't a big deal, and I naively believed her. It's stayed at about 60 oz, though, and then all of a sudden it was 100-120 oz.

If you have any more questions and you think you can help, please ask!


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## wendy1221 (Feb 9, 2004)

Is it possible to try cutting dairy out of his diet to see if that helps? If that's ALL he eats, it's not worth the risk w/out having allergy testing done first, but cow's milk is the most common food allergy, and it's a common symptom that the favorite food of the person who is allergis is a dairy product.

Have you had him tested for food allergies?


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## wonderwahine (Apr 21, 2006)

I dont have any advice on the pediasure, but if I were you, I wouldnt worry about the all or mostly liquid/ formula diet........

ds (nearly 25mths) has SID/SPD and up until this week, barely touched food if at all. Hes 21lbs and 32inches tall, and still very healthy. I'm sure your little one will get through this and come back to food when he is ready. Just keep offering food, and give liquids and add vitamins etc if you can.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

What exactly is he drinking 100+ oz of right now?

I'd probably look for some kind of "homemade infant formula" recipe and adapt it for a toddler. If he can handle milk then I'd spike that with things like nutritional yeast, cod liver oil, and blackstrap molasses. Maybe add extra cream if he needs more fat. If you suspect a cow's milk allergy maybe try him on goat milk instead? I'd also try to get a multivitamin into him somehow- perhaps a liquid version blended into one bottle/cup per day?


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## goodheartedmama (Feb 1, 2007)

he drinks mainly water, with some milk


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## Jojo F. (Apr 7, 2007)

Yup, agree with the smoothies. Something else too is hemp milk, it is soooo nutritious.


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## wonderwahine (Apr 21, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *goodheartedmama* 
he drinks mainly water, with some milk

ahhhhh I see, yeah, that would be a concern.

I agree with trying some of the smoothie recipies posted by pp's, hemp milk, goats milk, you could even try making a homemade formula and seeing if he would accept it.


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## goodheartedmama (Feb 1, 2007)

so the smoothie I made so far was not a hit. It was frozen peaches, whole fat plain yogurt, coconut milk, flax seed. He also would not drink a plain banana one. I'm going to try again, because you never know when he'll decide to eat. He's actually eaten 3 days in a row. Yogurt with acai juice, green beans, great northern beans, and dried cranberries on Saturday. Peas and carrots, applesauce, and a mixture of black beans, pintos, and kidneys yesterday, and some o's and yogurt this morning. This is such an improvement! Here's hoping that it will continue. I know it's not near what a child his size should be eating, but I'll take anything!


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## nichole (Feb 9, 2004)

i think some pickiness is normal. it is hard not to worry.

my boys will drink a smoothie with http://www.veganessentials.com/catal...-shake-mix.htm
this shake from peaceful planet. if you can get him to drink smoothies, you can gradually start adding some of this to it.

your smoothie sounds good. how much flax did you put in? we had to work our way up to that as well. i have some flax seed meal here that i sneak into stuff like oatmeal or pb sandwhiches.

the stuff he ate yesterday sounds really great. do you guys do meat at all?


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## tbone (Dec 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mamato3wild ponnie* 
Was he vax'd during this change period? Just wondering why the sudden change.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I've been trying to find some sort of written correlation of vaxes and refusal to eat. Ds1 started this after his mmr







:. I'm going to post this on the vax board if you have any advice.


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## umsami (Dec 1, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *goodheartedmama* 
so the smoothie I made so far was not a hit. It was frozen peaches, whole fat plain yogurt, coconut milk, flax seed. He also would not drink a plain banana one. I'm going to try again, because you never know when he'll decide to eat. He's actually eaten 3 days in a row. Yogurt with acai juice, green beans, great northern beans, and dried cranberries on Saturday. Peas and carrots, applesauce, and a mixture of black beans, pintos, and kidneys yesterday, and some o's and yogurt this morning. This is such an improvement! Here's hoping that it will continue. I know it's not near what a child his size should be eating, but I'll take anything!

It sounds delicious. Have you thought about having him help you make it?? Like he can cut up a banana with a plastic knife... or break it up with his fingers. That might encourage him to drink it.

It sounds like he's eating pretty well.









Have you tried a nibble tray?? Basically take an ice-cube tray and fill it with little bits of things he likes.

Also... have food always out and available for him. So he can graze when hungry.


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## goodheartedmama (Feb 1, 2007)

the 3 days of eating are rare. He is going days, up to a week without eating anything. This is a kid who's in 105% for his height and weight, and just stops eating one day. It's not like he's a kid who's always been like this. He just quit one day...this isn't just normal toddler pickiness


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## umsami (Dec 1, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *goodheartedmama* 
the 3 days of eating are rare. He is going days, up to a week without eating anything. This is a kid who's in 105% for his height and weight, and just stops eating one day. It's not like he's a kid who's always been like this. He just quit one day...this isn't just normal toddler pickiness









I'm sorry. I hope you find an answer soon. Have you thought about seeking out an ND? Or a Holistic Pediatrician? http://www.hpakids.org/


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## Ravin (Mar 19, 2002)

I'd follow the suggestions for smoothies, as well as goat's milk. DD bf'ed, but was a slow gainer and just didn't eat much until she was over 3, and goat's milk has more protein and fat for growth and brain development. Add a liquid vitamin to the milk/smoothie and you can probably do without the pediasure for a while.


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## ELTAZ (Jun 12, 2005)

Have you heard of Juice Plus+? It is 17 fruits, vegetables, and grains in a capsule, chewable, or gummie. If the kiddo won't eat gummies or chewables, how about opening up the capsule and putting the JP+ powder into the milk/water/juice/smoothie?

Juice Plus+ also has a smoothie-mix, called Complete. It is a great subsitute for Ensure/Pediasure/etc. It can mix in with milk/water/juice as well - I like it with orange juice, my son prefers it with almond-milk. We spruce up our Complete smoothies with frozen fruits... but that's not necessary.

Anyways... since nobody mentioned it, I thought I would. I hope that helps. You must feel at such a loss. ((hugs))


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