Question: For those of you who are mildly lactose intolerant, do you find that you can't eat Goldfish crackers, but can tolerate regular homemade cheese crackers instead? I'm wondering if their cheese is more like Velveta or American cheese (so over processed it's barely cheese anymore).

Reason for asking: My son loves the taste of goldfish, but a handful gives him bad, painful diaper rash. He is mildly lactose intolerant. He can however tolerate some real cheddar cheese. I wanted to try making some, but not sure if it would be better/worse. Thoughts?

i checked out the ingredients and they don't look super scary as far as a lot of weird ingredients -- but I don't know how it would affect lactose intolerant peeps -- the list of vitamins in the flour is 'the enrichment' they put in there -- it is in the majority of our white (wheat) flours -- but the cheddar cheese looks pretty straight forward --

so overall it doesn't seem like a good idea to give him cheese crackers of any kind -- make him something with carrots -- cut carrots into planks and cut out  a few goldfish from there and steam them so they soften enough that he can handle them

Thanks K8. I did see the ingredient list. I have a similar problem where I can eat any kind of cheese but american, velvetta, fake cheese, etc. So was wondering if anyone had a similar reaction to Goldfish but no (or just a little) reaction to regular cheese. Hence the question about homemade ones since he can tolerate some cheddar cheese, but not a handful of goldfish.

Wish I could get him to eat carrots, but he only does soft pureed or thin crunchy (muffins and scrambled eggs seem to be the exception, ha ha). He doesn't like to feel individual bits unless it's cracker like. I know it's a stage, but I'd rather not go bald, wouldn't look good on me. :-P

idk if this is a good idea but it's an idea anyhow -- bread the softened carrot goldfish in panko and bake them a bit?

idk i'm glad my kids survived those years -- it always seemed like by the time i got one thing figured out they were over it and on to the next --

but a change of direction here a bit --  i saw these on tv as a business that is getting investment funding to go bigger --

http://www.incredipops.com/pop-flavors.html

if i understand this correctly they are only marketed in her area (socal) as of now but i am really interested in these -- also if i felt like experimenting i could maybe come up with something too but i usually don't feel like it ha! but still a very cool thing she has going there -- there's no sugar or corn syrup or anything weird just fruit & veggies

and back to the original conundrum -- what about dried crisps like kale, zucchini and brussels sprout leaves, roasted carrots are amazing -- apple crisps they say you can make in the microwave --

best to you!

Speaking as someone with some crazy food allergies/intolerances, I'm guessing the rash is a sign of a sensitivity to something other than lactose.  All of my life I've had horrible eczema and rashes.  Lots of doctors did the typical allergy tests and I wasn't allergic to the typical offenders, or at least did not get an anaphylactic reaction.  They all told me it was too hard to be tested for everything that I could be allergic.  However, as I got older I realized I had reactions to atypical foods.  I get skin reactions (rash, itchy, swollen eyes, etc) from corn, potato, and dairy (biggest offenders for me).  I also find a little is okay, but if I eat too much during a short period of time (2-3 days), I get a pretty bad reaction.  My current allergist explained it like filling a bucket.  As long as the bucket doesn't overflow you are okay, but once the bucket overflows you get the reaction.  I do get pretty bad GI reactions (usually intolerance) to raw tomato, avocado, lactose, casein, and a whole host of other foods you would never guess cause problems (cauliflower, spinach, wheat, etc).    Most allergists don't have specific tests for this, although there are blood tests that can be done, but I found an elimination diet is what helped me figure out what worked and what didn't.  Tough with a little one, I know.  What might work best is if you keep a simple journal of what he's eaten in the last 2-3 days when he's gotten a rash.  Perhaps a pattern will emerge.  Just keep in mind that ingredients aren't always as they seem.  For example, I have a reaction to some products that contain things like citric acids, maltodextrin, msg, and natural flavors while others I'm fine with because SOMETIMES these ingredients are derived from corn or potato.    Yes, it is totally as annoying as it sounds.

Good luck!

frosted moon -- oh for sure 'elimination diet' i've been that route with my son who grew up adhd and is now a vice president by the grace and mercy of God -- i would check with my doc about putting little jr who's so young on one though -- idk my boy was already several years old 4-5 i think -- idk -- i mean at the still in diapers age he might just grow out of some things being a trigger do you think?

fm -- and i love your dr's word picture about the bucket -- perfect example -- my son could eat a problem food that triggered him once without incident but the second helping (like a leftover) would find me pulling him off the curtain rods or down off the roof or getting him unskewered from the fence post -- and iced tea, the official drink of the south was a trigger so it was banned -- omg how did i survive 

apples were a no no -- my sweet mother-in-law would make him pear cobbler when we all had apple -- she was so sweet --

having support is vital

@FrostedMoon  Yep, we are sure it's dairy, he has the same reaction if we give him regular milk. He does fine on lactose free milk. I agree about the bucket thing. He is fine with some cheese, but more than what I put in his eggs he gets bad diaper rash and painful gas. I guess I'll just hold off on putting anything cheesy in anything but his eggs. I have no problem with dairy, but I have a love-hate relationship with cheezits and those powdered "cheeses."

@-K8memphis  I think the sugar in the tea was probably the culprit on that one. True southern tea is VERY sweet because that's how we like it! :) That and mix it with a bit of pink lemonade. We've held back on giving him sweet stuff, he gets a little bit, but not much. I offered him a piece of chocolate cake once, he picked it up and put it back in my hand. Then he pushed my hand away like I was offering him carrots or something, ha ha!

Those pops look interesting. He drinks veggies, so maybe if I made them into popsicles, but he doesn't want anything to do with ice cubes, but it's worth a shot!

Well, time to go make some veggie muffins! At least he eats those....

oh no not sugar -- i carefully painstakingly over months and months isolated salicylates and the specific foods, tea, tomatoes, apples etc. as the culprits -- i made pizza sauce out of beets for him -- there were tons of modifications made for him -- i was able to keep him off medication all the way through school -- 

i did not allow iced tea at all because it was easier than regulating it -- he could have a small glass of it like once a week -- but who drinks a small glass of iced tea -- 

What's a small glass of tea? I thought they only came in large and xtra large..... I did decide against making him anything with cheese (minus his scrambled eggs). I did make some homemade crackers the other day. I tweaked the recipe a bit because I didn't have rye flour, but he loved them (as did the hubby). So I'm going to play around with it some more and add some veggie puree to it next time. Can't wait for the next O.T. visit, she specializes in kids like him.

I would love to know how you made pizza sauce out of beets! My kiddo hates tomatoes. Did you just cook and then puree?

i can't believe i found it -- i used this over 20 years ago -- it was good 

http://www.karianna.us/reviews/2008/07/fourth_of_july_the_feingold_wa.html