Some TED food products and food preparation ideas:

Pear:

• Looza pear nectar is yummy when cold!  Found in some groceries - maybe in the health food area rather than the juices – and in health food stores.  In a tall skinny bottle.  (Pear puree, water, sugar).
• Gerber pear juice (baby food aisle).  (Pear juice from concentrate, ascorbic acid (vitamin c)).
• Fresh pears.  Try different types for variety.
• Canned pears.
• I haven’t tried this, but I would think one could make some “pearsauce” with pears (applesauce instructions at http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Canning/apple-steps.html).
• I haven’t tried this either, but I would think one could make dried pear bits (like other dried fruits).  Instructions are at http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2006/11/poires_sech ees.php. 

Rice:

• Rice Dream rice drink (or other brands of rice milk).  Found in most groceries in the refrigerated milk or in the health food area.  I like the Enriched Vanilla.  It has other ingredients than just the TED things, but most moms seem to use it.  I guess it is up to you.  (Filtered water, brown rice, expeller pressed high oleic safflower oil, tricalcium phosphate, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors, sea salt, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, vitamin B12).  *I tried another brand of powdered rice milk and it was frustrating to make and didn't taste as good.
• Erewhon Gluten free Crispy Brown Rice whole grain cereal.  Like Rice Crispies.  Found in some groceries in the health food area and in health food stores.  (Organic brown rice, organic brown rice syrup, sea salt).
• Arrowhead Mills Organic Rice & Shine hot cereal.  It is an acquired taste, but these rice grits have turned into my breakfast staple.  I deviate from the TED in that I add brown sugar and cinnamon.  When you make it with at least 50% rice milk, it is sweet and creamy – especially with brown sugar and cinnamon.  One mom uses it as a dessert.  Found in health food stores.  (Organic brown rice grits.)
• Rice cakes – various brands.  Just make sure to read the labels.  I don’t find them too tasty, but they are a convenient “I’m in the car and starving and the kids are crying and there is nothing else I can eat until I get home” snack.
• Rice flour.  Found in health food stores.  Use for thickening gravy and breading turkey nuggets before deep frying them.  There is apparently a difference between white and brown rice flour, but I haven’t researched it yet.
• Rice pasta.  Found in health food stores.
• Rice.

Squash, Zucchini, Sweet Potatoes, White Potatoes:

• (Self explanatory).  If you are not limiting the squash to simply yellow summer squash, your choices could include butternut squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkin, and other winter squashes.
• Lay’s potato chips are made with 100% sunflower oil.  (Potatoes, sunflower oil, salt.)

Lamb:

• (Self explanatory).

Turkey:

You have to be careful of the additives to the fresh and frozen turkeys.  Some moms say that their babies can’t handle the additives but yet other moms say that their kiddos are OK with them.  I contacted a couple of manufacturers.  Here are the responses I got.

Jennie-O brand

“Ground Turkey Ingredients:  turkey, natural flavorings (rosemary)

Turkey Cutlets Ingredients:  Just turkey no additional ingredients added.

Turkey Drumsticks Ingredients:  Turkey, Solution (Solution Ingredients:  water, potassium lactate, dextrose, sodium phosphate roast turkey concentrate (turkey broth, yeast extract, salt, flavorings), salt, sodium diacetate, flavoring.)

Turkey Wings Ingredients:  Turkey, Solution (Solution Ingredients: water, potassium lactate, dextrose, sodium phosphate, roast turkey concentrate (turkey broth, yeast extract, salt, flavorings), salt, sodium, diacetate, flavoring.)

Whole Turkey Ingredients:  up to 8% solution of: turkey broth, salt, sodium phosphates, sugar, flavoring.”

Honeysuckle White brand

“Thank you for contacting Honeysuckle White.  Actually, our frozen turkeys do contain a basting solution that consists of turkey broth (turkey juice and water), salt, sodium phosphate, sugar and a natural flavoring that is an allergen free, non-dairy butter flavoring.

The product is MSG, gluten, soy and dairy/casien free.

Our Shady Brook Farms whole turkeys may also be available at Winn Dixie.  Ask the meat manager if he/she could order one for you.  The FRESH Shady Brook Farms whole turkeys do NOT contain any added ingredients.”

Perdue brand

Another mom had this information about Perdue brand:

“I am also unable to get range fed turkey-- can't find it close enough and very expensive here in upstate New York . I have found Perdue ground turkey and Perdue whole fresh turkeys that read minimally processed and no artificial ingredients work for us. (These are abundant right now because of Thanksgiving so we are stocking up.) Perdue’s turkey burgers, fresh not frozen are also okay. So far, these are the only three kinds I've found that don't contain soy, rosemary, broth, etc. Many companies unfortunately inject pepper and rosemary along with soy into their turkey. I always call the 800 number and check, but even then my son has sometimes reacted to certain ones. Perdue is the only one I can trust so far.”

Louis Rich brand

Another mom had this information about Louis Rich:

“I wanted to let everyone know that Louis Rich makes a frozen ground turkey "Pure Turkey" they call it. It is ground thigh and leg meat and I called and they have not injected it with anything, no solution. “

Range-fed turkeys

Another mom had this information:

“I get range fed turkey at Whole Foods. If you don't have one close by, look into the possibility of a local farm that sells organic meats in your area. Happy eating on the TED (eat often!)”

Turkey breakfast sausage

Another mom had this information:

“TED moms: I found a product in the organic food store that I just tried today. I am hoping my daughter tolerates it well! It is Shelton's turkey breakfast sausage links, made with free range turkey. Ingredients include the turkey, turkey fat, water, seat salt, spices, and collagen casings (which are derived from beef). I called to confirm that spices did not include any hidden milk/soy/egg/corn/wheat/etc, and I am told it does not. We have not trialed beef yet, but I would be surprised if the collagen casings caused any real problems. Anyway, I just devoured five of them, and it is nice to have a little FLAVOR in this turkey and rice diet. Bonus: They are 150 calories and 13 grams of fat per link--and taste pretty good. I really need more fat in the diet, so I am very hopeful this will be ok to continue eating.... Maybe others can try them also for a little variety.”

Other brands of turkey

There are a number of other turkey brands, but I haven’t contacted them at this time.

Other info from another mom:

Regarding sea salt:  “I think the difference between the sea salt and regular salt is iodine in the regular salt and I have also heard that soy can be somehow used during the processing of regular salt. I could be wrong, but I know Sears says sea salt only so I went with it.”

Regarding lamb:  “Lamb, as long as you get it fresh rather than frozen, usually comes free of additives. Stay away from anything frozen or any packaged foods as there are always additives and preservatives that can cause a reaction in MSPI/MFPI babies.”

Her schedule:  “I usually shop on Sunday and cook a turkey for the week. It is a bit if work, but so worth it. The rest of the week, I can just cook the squash and sweet potatoes as needed.”

Medicines:  “My son, who is Multiple Food Protein Intolerant, is extremely sensitive and reacts even to soy oils, sorbitol, and many other additives. We even have his medicine compounded because he cannot tolerate the sweeteners.”

I tried these products, but wouldn’t bother with them again:

• Powdered rice milk
• Lundberg Hot ‘n Creamy Rice Cereal – has the smell, texture, and taste of cardboard!
• Hol-Grain Crackers Brown Rice with a light touch of salt – again like hard cardboard.

Here’s what I’ve been eating (Strict TED except for sugar/brown sugar, cinnamon and canola oil):

Breakfast:  Rice grits (with brown sugar and cinnamon - and sometimes made with rice milk), pear nectar.

Snacks:  Fresh sliced pear, rice cakes, pear nectar, cold sweet potato fries (I happen to think they’re yummy), Lay’s potato chips.

Lunch:  Leftovers from dinners (no cooking needed – just reheat!), leftover squash/zucchini (steamed, sauted, deep fried, or baked), sweet potatoes (cold or hot), white potatoes with turkey broth to moisten, fresh sliced pears.

Dinner: see food preparation ideas below

Bedtime snack:  bowl of Crispy Brown Rice with sugar and rice milk.  (It’s not ice cream but it is a little sweet and gives me the hand-to-mouth action I want.)  Other dessert options are rice pudding, blueberry “cobbler” and pear crisp all mentioned below.

TED food preparation ideas:

• Turkey cutlets cooked on the stove in olive oil w/salt, pepper.  Cook with diced potatoes and then add sliced squash/zucchini towards the end.  Add a little water and cover to add some moisture also.
• Turkey drumsticks in the crockpot with sweet and white potatoes and water (save for gravy or use to make soup).
• Turkey drumsticks coated with a little rice flour, salt/pepper and browned on the stove.  Then cover and put in oven with some sweet potatoes and roast till done.
• Ground turkey browned but still with some moisture in the frying pan.  Add the cooked meat (and the moisture) to a pot of rice when early in the cooking process.  The rice gets a little extra flavor and the ground turkey doesn’t get too dry.  Throw in some cut up squash and zucchini and let them cook at the same time, if desired.
• Turkey burgers – Jennie-O premade frozen patties have just turkey and rosemary in them.  Easier than getting messy making burgers sometimes.
• Turkey soup – the drippings from the roasted turkey and the liquid from the crock pot, pieces of turkey, rice pasta, possibly cooked pieces of potato.  While simmering, add thick chunks of zucchini and yellow squash.  (Also you can boil the bones as part of the broth-making process to get the flavor, nutrition, and anti-inflammatory benefits of a bone broth.)
• Turkey nuggets – bits of turkey coated with rice flour, dipped in rice milk, and rolled in crushed Crispy Brown Rice cereal, then deep fat fried in canola oil.
• Baked Turkey in Foil – My grandmother always did this with chicken and veggies like tomatoes, peppers and onions, but works well for TED foods too.  Here’s the modified recipe: “On a large piece of heavy foil place 3-4 T rice (she said Minute Rice works best), 1 T oil poured over rice, veggies (squash/zucchini), a piece of turkey (breast, thigh, etc.), a bit of liquid (water or pear juice maybe since you don’t get the liquid from the tomatoes), salt/pepper/1 T. oil over top.  “Freezer wrap” the foil to seal to seal top and ends tightly.  Bake on a cookie sheet 1½ hours at 350° F.  Be careful opening foil; steam is extremely hot.”  When I made this recently, I didn’t add any other liquid and found the rice to be too crispy and dry in places.  I also didn’t add enough salt and pepper to the rice itself and it was rather bland – especially since the veggies are also rather bland.  The advantage of this recipe is that you are making foil packets that can be customized for each family member yet you are all having the same dinner.  Some family members might want chicken instead of turkey with the original veggies (tomato, green pepper, onion) and maybe the kids would do better with green beans or peas as their veggies.  The original recipe also called for fresh or canned mushrooms and green pepper strips to be a decoration on top of the meat before closing the packet.
• Lamb chops – Per “Joy of Cooking” cookbook:  “Sear the chops in a hot dry skillet.  Reduce the heat and cook slowly until done.  Allow for well-done 2-inch chops about 20 minutes, for 1 ½ inch chops about 16 minutes.  Pour off the fat as it accumulates in the pan.  Season the chops with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Serve very hot.”
• Steak fries, potato chips, shoestring potatoes – white potatoes deep fat fried in canola oil (or some other oil).
• Oven fries – Another mom shared this recipe:  “Cut 6-8 white potatoes (I use russets) in half, then cut each half into quarters to make wedges.  Toss wedges in 3 T of olive oil, 1 t salt, a dash of pepper and I add a couple dashes of cumin.  Bake at 450 or 475° F for about 30 minutes.”
• Pan fried potatoes – My husband made these for me the other day and they were such a nice change of pace and good flavor.  If I understood him right, he heated olive oil in the cast iron pan and got it very hot, then placed in thick slices of potatoes and fried them till they got a nice crispy edge.  He turned them over and fried the other side. Then I guess he turned down the temperature a bit and let them cook through.  At the end, he actually added bits of turkey cutlet and zucchini/squash at that time to sauté them all together.  I think the potatoes would have turned out a little better if we would have boiled them for a few minutes first.
• Sweet potato fries - deep fried – YUM!  Recipe found on:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_ 23982,00.html?rsrc=search.  I have been using the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt coating (but I haven’t added the cayenne since I don’t like it anyway).  I would think you wouldn’t even have to use any coating if you didn’t want to deviate from TED.
• Sweet potato chips – baked - (From another mom):  “I thinly slice sweet potatoes or yams and put them in a ziploc bag- pour in some olive oil and shake to coat. spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake at 425 until crisp.”
• Veggies – steam them, sauté them in olive oil, bake them or (I haven’t tried this yet) deep fry the zucchini substituting rice flour for all-purpose flour per this recipe:  http://pizzatoday.com/makeline_articles.shtml?article=NTY5MX N1cGVyNTY4OHNlY3JldDU2OTU= , other ideas at http://www.ortizranch.com/recipes/Squash.htm. 
  
  If you don’t like the texture or taste of the squash or zucchini, you could cut them really thin (like matchsticks) and then “bread” them with the rice flour before frying them.  Then you would taste the coating and oil more than the flavor of the veggies AND the texture of the veggies would not be such an issue.
• To get the value of the vitamins from the squash or zucchini without the texture (if you can’t stomach the veggies any other way), you could boil them and then use that water for making rice.
• Pumpkin Seeds – Here’s a recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds (if you are including pumpkin).  You’d have to substitute oil for the butter.  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Pumpkin-Seeds/Detail.as px
• Fried Rice – I diced up some zucchini and squash, cooked them in some oil in a large skillet, then added lots of cooked rice and some diced up turkey, and then fried it all till the rice got brown.  It turned out tasting pretty good – the rice got kind of nutty and crunchy. 
• Zucchini Boats – You could modify the recipe found at Cooks.com using cubed turkey or ground turkey for the beef and leaving out seasonings that you aren’t using on the TED.  You could make this for the whole family or make two batches of fillings (one for TED and one for full menu).  http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1850,137181-226200,00.html. 
• Rice Pudding - I saw a blurb on TV about it and tried it...YUM! In a saucepan put 1 part rice to 3 parts (rice) milk, 1 tablespoon sugar for each cup of rice, add cinnamon or other spices if you want and simmer until thickened. (It took quite a while to simmer, so plan ahead.)  It was nice to have a warm sweet dessert - and my husband fondly remembers eating his mom's rice pudding cold, too.
• Pear Crisp – Another mom shared this suggestion for apple crisp.  I would think it could be done with Pears, but I haven’t personally tried it yet.  “Apple crisp - slice & layer apples, drizzle oil & sugar, scrinch up together sugar, a little oil, and some rice flour or I'd think sweet rice flour might be better, dump topping on and bake.”

I try to always keep baked sweet potatoes in the refrigerator since I like them hot or cold.  I don’t personally eat too many cooked white potatoes, as I don’t like them without butter all over them (although I have been eating more of the little red potatoes lately as they microwave in just 3 or 4 minutes).  I use sea salt on the veggies and meats and the soup to “liven” up the flavor.

About sea salt v. table salt:

Because I have been on TED for so long, I started worrying about my own nutrition.  (I can't take vitamins or a calcium suplement yet.) I knew I needed some iodine, so I switched to table salt instead of sea salt.  BAD MOVE: here is what I found out.  Table salt contains Dextrose which is a corn sugar (we don't tolerate corn) and calcium cilicate is a caseinate which is a milk derivitive. Within two days, my son was sleepless and irritable.  I had changed nothing else in my diet, so I knew it had to be the salt change.  Just thought I would share!

Dorothy

Here is a modification to my list above:

Rice:

• Rice flour.  Found in health food stores.  Use for baking, thickening gravy, and breading turkey nuggets before deep frying them.  There is apparently a difference between white rice flour, sweet white rice flour, and brown rice flour, but I don’t know what it is.  I’m guessing that it might only be relevant if you are baking with rice flour. 
  
  Check out www.bobsredmills.com for a lot of great recipes for cooking with rice flour.

 And here are some additions to my list above:

Squash, Zucchini, Sweet Potatoes, White Potatoes:

• Vance's DariFree Fat-Free Non-Dairy Milk Alternative from Potatoes.   Found in some health food stores and online.  (Maltodextrin (from potatoes), Potato Starch, Natural Flavors (no MSG), Crystalline Fructose, Calcium Carbonate, colored with Titanium Dioxide (an inert mineral), Carrageenan, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Tricalcium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Lactic Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Vitamin A Palmitate, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin K1, Thiamin mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Biotin.)
  
• Potato starch.  Found in health food stores.  Use for baking (mix with rice flour or other flours).  “Potato Starch is used as a thickener for sauces, soups, and stews. Potato starch tolerates higher temperatures than cornstarch when used as a thickener. It's a natural way to add moistness to many baked goods.” (Info found on www.bobsredmill.com.)
  
• Potato flour.  Found in health food stores.  “Potato Flour is used in bread, pancake and waffle recipes or as a thickener for smoother sauces, gravies and soups. Also used in gluten-free and allergy cooking. A flavorful recipe for potato soup is on the label.”  (Info found on www.bobsredmill.com.)
  
  Check out http://www.alamoceliac.org/actipspotatoflour.html for an explanation of the differences between potato flour and potato starch.

Here's some more links to other threads to keep this information all together for new moms down the road.

Snack bar made only from Pears
http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7872&a mp;PN=1

5-ingredient or less (for expanded TED)
http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7920&a mp;PN=1

-----

Also, consider millet, quinoa, and amaranth if you are looking for other grains as a breakfast cereal or as flours to bake with. 

Millet Breakfast Cereal
http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7628&a mp;PN=1