Becoming Food Allergy Mom: A Coconut Milk Experiment

Luca’s increased mobility and insatiable desire to explore his world have brought new stresses. In addition to the normal first-time-mom worries—that he’ll fall on something sharp or bonk his head—I’m obsessing about food.

Will someone leave a plate of veggies with Ranch dressing on a low coffee table at a party? Will a child drop cookie crumbs or Goldfish crackers at a playgroup? Will a parent or child offer to share a Gerber puff at the playground?

Now, I don’t have it nearly as bad as many mothers: Luca’s food allergies have shown no indication of causing anaphylaxis. Of course I watch for it when I introduce new foods, and I’m not going to give him peanuts to test it out at this point. The memory of Luca’s hospitalizations is still poignant; I remember well how horribly his skin can react.

Of course I hope he’ll grow out of his allergies. Of course I hope he can savor a real cookie someday. Drink real milk, even. Eat eggs.

But for now, I’m joining the hoards of Food Allergy Moms who seem more and more prevalent as the years pass. Who are hesitant about or avoid daycare or church nurseries. Who compulsively (and—I’m sure—awkwardly) pick up crumbs friends’ children have dropped.

Who search and search for substitutions to make sure their child gets enough vitamins while avoiding basic ingredients.

Since Luca turned one year old a few weeks ago, I’ve gotten more aggressive with trying new foods to be sure he gets the nutrition he needs. It’s a challenge. Luca gets rashy when he catches a cold, or when he sweats too much in the carseat (which is likely when it’s 90 degrees with 72% humidity), among the myriad reasons we don’t know. Food was clearly the trigger for his severe eczema breakouts last winter, but at this point, it’s hard to know whether his (mild) itchy rash comes from an addition to his diet or from a cold. Twice now I’ve suspected a food (chicken, then quinoa) only to find out Luca caught a cold. But, still, I tuck the food away for a later trial. Just in case.

Since cow’s milk is such an essential part of most toddlers’ diet, finding a suitable substitution is my current mission. As I google and read blogs and research products and talk about food trials with all my friends (who graciously listen), I realize I’m becoming that mom.

The Food Allergy Mom.

I can’t help it. And here’s where I’ve really crossed over: I made my own coconut milk.

Luca started with rice milk since he’d eaten rice with no problem, but it’s my goal to give him a combination of coconut milk and flax milk, since both are far more nutritious than just rice. We tried coconut and, success!! No issues.

Except for the fact that it is not easy to get good coconut milk here on a military base in Seoul. The Commissary only sells the canned (BPA-filled) kind you wouldn’t drink straight and a shelf-stable box of very sweetened vanilla So Delicious coconut.

And, honestly, I have concerns about some of the ingredients in the boxed coconut milk. While I research vendors who will ship shelf-stable milks to Diplomatic Post Office boxes, I figured I’d better at least try making my own. Here's how it went:

I drilled a hole in one of the eyes and let it drain, saving the water.

I put each coconut in a ziplock and got out the hammer.

Luca was confused about why I was hammering the brown ball. During the second coconut smashing, he giggled uncontrollably.

They really smashed beautifully.

Ahh, the fun part. Getting the meat out is no small chore, even with a pairing knife and veggie peeler. I had to stop and finish it the next day.

I put half the coconut meat and coconut water along with 2 cups boiling water in the blender...

...and the other half in the food processor, which leaked a lot.

I poured the results into a nutmilk bag in a pitcher, and squeezed the milk out of the bag.

Yum!

The pulp is currently drying in my oven to become coconut flour for baking!

Two coconuts made about a liter and a third.

My experiment was fun, and the resulting milk is yummy... but it separates (which I expected) and developed some chunks as it cooled (which I did not expect). I may blend it one more time tomorrow.

Scraping the meat, however, out took way too long for this to become a part of my routine. Unless I buy a special coconut-scraping tool and figure out why my milk is clumping, this will be Luca's one and only batch of homemade coconut milk.

Next up: homemade flax milk!

UPDATE in case you (or I) want to make this in the future: The next morning, the milk was separated into liquid and very solid. I put it in the blender, which helped, but the milk was way too thick to drink straight. I added water--enough to double the volume--and also added two tablespoons of good quality vanilla (one T per coconut). The result is delicious, and Luca likes it!