DAIRY FREE ┃SOYA FREE ┃EGG FREE ┃GLUTEN FREE

So they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but for a parent of a child with allergies, it can be the most frustrating.

When you’re faced with a list of no gos which include dairy, egg and gluten, you realise that these are pretty much the basic components of all breakfast foods available on the market.

One of the most common things that people are searching for on my Facebook group is breakfast ideas for their little ones. It was definitely the hardest thing for me to plan for with my little boy. First thing I will say is throw your ideas of what breakfast should be out of the window and instead just think of it as another meal. My son quite frequently wants ham for breakfast and will pull it out of the fridge, and why not? I slice up some ham, put it on a plate with some chopped up fruit and it is the perfect breakfast as he will eat it happily. My son also loves sausages; I have yet to meet a child that doesn’t. I buy safe sausages specially for his breakfast – our favourite ones are Helen Browning’s Organic Speedy Sausages which take only 5 minutes to cook and aren’t full of nasties.

There are ‘Free From’ breakfast cereals on the market and of course a range of milk substitutes, but when I started examining the packaging, firstly for allergens, I noticed that many cereals are overloaded with sugars. For example, Asda’s Free From Choco Snaps contain 6.3g of sugar per 30g serving, which is about one and a half teaspoons. Do I really want to be offering my children that much sugar each morning? I know there are lower sugar cereals available and they do provide us with a quick and simple breakfast option but I have yet to find one my son will eat!

So I thought I would try and experiment a little and see what I could come up with that was quick, easy and something that my two young children would actually eat. I started to share them on Instagram and on my Facebook group and got a great response, so I thought I would compile them and create a simple week’s worth of child approved, allergy friendly breakfasts that don’t take long to prepare I hope you enjoy them.

DAY 1 – OWL TOAST

 

So this little cutey took very little time. Toast gluten-free bread (Fria Gluten Free bread is my personal favourite but we also like Asda’s Free From seeded bread too). I topped with Meridian chunky peanut butter as there is no added sugar or salt, then decorated with Nature’s Path Crunch O’s which are gluten-free. We used banana, blueberries, a strawberry and piece of apple for the beak. Both children loved this (and so did I).

 

DAY 2 – PANCAKE LION

Dairy, egg and gluten-free pancakes may sound like a time-consuming challenge, but I have found a way to have pancakes on the table in under 10 minutes.

How? I cheat! I have found a little gem of a cupboard staple from Orgran – these apple and cinnamon pancakes are not only ridiculously easy, but my children love them.

To make this breakfast delight, I simply whipped up a batch using the Orgran Egg Replacer and used grapes (which were halved for safety), blueberries and some cheeky Moo Free chocolate drops we had left over from Easter.

DAY 3 – PINK PORRIDGE

Yes, that’s right – pink porridge! When my daughter saw this, her eyes lit up. I made my normal porridge using gluten-free oats and our safe milk (which is KoKo). I also like to add Linwood’s Milled Flaxseed Almonds Brazil Nuts Walnuts & Co-Enzyme Q10. To make the porridge ‘pink’ I added beetroot powder, my newest fun find. Just a small amount is needed to achieve this gorgeous vibrant colour, and best of all, it’s natural! I topped it off with a mango heart.

DAY 4 – MAGIC WANDS

This breakfast was inspired by my daughter who asked for a magical breakfast – typical!

These are made using BBQ skewers which I loaded with Nature’s Path Crunchy O’s, blueberries, strawberries, physalis and topped with apple and melon stars. My daughter helped me make these and loved eating them.

You can obviously play around and use any fruit you have at home. This is also a great opportunity to get your child involved in making their own breakfast (also freeing you up to have a nice cuppa!)

DAY 5 – HONEY BEAR TOAST

What do bears love to eat? Honey of course!

This may have been the easiest breakfast of all. Gluten free toast with vegan butter and honey dressed up like a bear using slices of banana and 3 blueberries. How can something so simple be so cute?

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 6 –  WATERMELON PIZZA

My children love their fruit so we often have lots of left over pieces. I hate to see them wasted (often they end up in a smoothie – yum!). But this time I thought I would play around and ended up making watermelon pizza. Both of mine gobbled these up and requested more.

I used watermelon slices and topped with slices of banana, halved blueberries, some frozen red currents, pomegranate and slices of mango to look like cheese (ironic really as my son can’t actually have cheese).

 

DAY 7 – STRAWBERRY & COCONUT MONSTERS

I often make flapjack style snacks and breakfasts, but thought I would try something new. These started off as a bit of an experiement but are now a firm favourite with us. These are free from refined sugar and yet so sweet and moreish! I warn you, they won’t last long.

Ingredients 

• 150g gluten free oats
• 75g coconut flour
• 75g ground almonds
• 1 large tablespoon of chopped hazelnuts
• 1 handful of strawberries
• 1 handful of dried dates
• 1 tsp of beetroot powder (optional but makes them a really lovely pink colour)
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Desiccated coconut to roll

Method

1. Place all the ingredients (except the desiccated coconut) into a food processor and blend until the mixture has come together. You may need to add more strawberries or a splash of water if the mixture is too dry.
2. Form the mixture into small balls and roll in the desiccated coconut.

I used plastic eyes from Eats Amazing to turn these into monsters, but you could leave them as balls or use raisins to make little eyes.

 

Well that’s it, seven days of child approved, allergy friendly breakfasts. I hope I have given you some ideas or inspiration. If you try any of these out or come up with ideas of your own, I’d love to hear about them.

If you’re just starting out on your allergy journey with your little one – maybe you’re just starting weaning? – then why not join my Facebook group or follow me on Instagram. I have photos of some of the breakfasts I used early in my son’s weaning and am happy to share them if they would help you – feel free to send me a message.

Happy eating!