Written by Larissa Stanley, a volunteer at Calgary Family Nutrition. For more information, you can see her bio here.
Nutrients that dairy provides
With children’s tiny tummies, they typically get a lot of important vitamins and nutrients from dairy products. The biggest of these are calcium, vitamin D, protein and fat.
- Calcium and Vitamin D are very important for keeping your child’s bones and teeth strong and healthy.
- Protein is responsible for building, repairing and maintaining the tissues in our bodies. This becomes extra important in children since they are growing so much.
- Fat is important for overall health. It also contains a lot of calories for a small amount, which makes sure your child is getting the energy they need to grow.
While dairy products are often recommended as a source of calcium, there are still many ways to have a diet rich in vitamins and nutrients without them. For example, fluid milk can be replaced with a few different alternatives. Check the last blog post for what the alternatives provide.
Cooking dairy free
I want to share a delicious dairy-free meal with you that is still packed with protein, fat and calcium. The other night I planned to make salmon cakes from canned salmon as a quick meal before a sports practice. Canned salmon, with the bones in, is a really great source of both calcium, fat and protein. Thinking about this I thought I would try to jam pack the recipe with as many non-dairy sources of calcium as possible. Served with a side of rice or roasted potatoes and some veggies, you wouldn’t even think twice about this meal not containing any dairy.
For vegetables, I added some high-in-calcium kale into the cakes. I personally buy frozen kale as I find it easier to add to recipes, but you could also add fresh. I thought they turned out really well!
As for the lemon dill sauce, I tried a tahini sauce. Tahini is a sesame paste that is high in calcium and fat, much like nut butter in texture but made from sesame seeds. It can really help to add a creamy flavour into dressings and sauces that milk and creams typically add. I would recommend looking in the international aisle in the grocery store when buying tahini as I have noticed that it tends to cost less.
Salmon Cakes (Modified from https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9401/salmon-patties-i/)
Dairy Free Salmon Cakes
Calcium rich salmon cakes with added kale and tahini sauce
Salmon Cakes
- 1 can Canned Salmon
- 1/4 cup Diced onion
- 1/2 cup Kale (thawed from frozen) (You can use fresh kale here, just increase to 1 cup)
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 cup Whole Wheat bread crumbs
- 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
Tahini Lemon Dill Sauce
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Tahini
- 2 Tbsp Water
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups Dill, fresh, packed with stems removed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Salmon Cakes
Drain the salmon and add onion, kale, egg, bread crumbs and garlic powder. Mix until combined.
- Form into 4-5 patties with hands.
Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Place patties in pan and brown each side. Serve with vegetables and potatoes or rice.
Tahini Lemon Dill Sauce
- Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. If you are using dried dill you could likely just mix in a bowl. Serve with salmon patties, warm in a sauce pan if desired. To add a more traditional lemon dill flavour, you could add some Dijon mustard.
If you are interested in other ways to make sure your child with a milk allergy is getting all the nutrients they need while still eating tasty food, consider booking an Allergy Consultation with Calgary Family Nutrition.