Meal ideas

This is a selection of ideas to help you decide what your child can eat on a diet free from cow’s milk.

Breakfast

• Fruit juice or grapefruit.
• Cereal, such as wheat biscuit, bran flakes, cornflakes with soya milk or other alternative milk/formula or fruit juice.
• Add fruit such as sliced banana, peaches, strawberries or raisins.
• Toast with milk free margarine with jam, marmalade, honey or peanut butter.
• Cooked breakfast, for example poached egg on toast, grilled bacon, tomato, mushrooms and baked beans.

Light meals

• Sandwiches, bread rolls, pitta bread, bagel or ciabatta bread with milk free margarine. Fillings could include:
  • hard-boiled egg
  • tuna with cucumber or sweetcorn
  • cold roast meat and salad
  • corned beef and tomato
  • peanut butter.
• Homemade rice or pasta salad with cold meat and salad on the side.
• Bacon in a roll with tomato.
• Hummus with oatcakes and raw or cold cooked vegetable fingers.
• Plain pizza base with cheese-free topping, such as tomatoes, onions, herbs, meat or fish and drizzle with olive oil.
• Baked potato with tuna, mashed hard-boiled egg, baked beans, bolognese sauce and salad.
• Homemade vegetable or lentil soup with bread roll.
• Omelette with tomato, mushrooms, potato and onion.
• Grilled fish fingers (milk free), peas and potato wedges.
• Grilled beef burger (milk free) and salad in a bun.
• Fresh fruit, fruit salad, soya yoghurt or carton/tin of fruit and jelly.

Snacks

• Fresh or dried fruit.
• Plain crisps.
• Nuts (if over five-years-old).
• Toast, sandwiches or crackers – with milk free margarine, jam, peanut butter or yeast extract.
• Breakfast cereal and alternative milk/formula.
• Plain popcorn.
• Plain breadsticks, rice cakes or oat cakes.

Main meals

• Chilli con carne, boiled rice and salad.
• Roast chicken, beef, lamb or pork with gravy (milk free), boiled potatoes and selection of vegetables.
• Shepherd’s pie with vegetables.
• Stir-fried vegetables and meat or fish with noodles.
• Vegetable, meat or fish curry with rice or pitta bread.
• Chicken, mango and vegetable kebabs, with boiled rice and ratatouille.
• Chickpea and vegetable casserole with boiled potatoes.
• Fried fish in breadcrumbs (use egg only coating) with chips and peas.
• Homemade meatballs with tomato sauce, pasta and vegetables.
• Chicken and vegetable risotto.

Desserts

• Fruit crumble made with milk free margarine and custard made with alternative milk.
• Baked bananas.
• Tinned fruit or stewed fruit with milk free custard.
• Soya yoghurt/dessert.
• Jelly and milk free frozen dessert.