Nutritious, delicious, intolerance-friendly recipes and advice
finding the diet that is RIGHT FOR YOU is the key to managing food intolerance
I’d be surprised if you said yes! There aren’t many people who do. Some say chemical sensitivity is the only type of food intolerance, others say it’s all about IgG. When in truth, both exist and are very real for the people suffering from them. The key to the riddle is knowing how to test for each type.
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Deliciously flavoursome, a little sweet (from the pumpkin) and gently fragrant (from the basil). This easy risotto makes a lovely meal with grilled chicken or fish and some fresh greens. Only takes about 10 minutes to prep and throw everything in, then set and forget.
Works well with substitutions to keep the salicylates moderate. For the rest of us, it’s very sticky and rich and full of vegetable goodness….
Perfectly intolerance-friendly as is, or substitute one or all ingredients to make it how you like it
These little balls of love are perfect for entertaining or just savouring on the couch after dinner. They are loved equally by kids and adults and they’re easily adapted for various intolerances.
As always, they’re gluten and dairy free and can be made with low-moderate food chemicals. If you’re ok with cacao/cocoa – then please feel free to use it, but the great thing about these bliss balls, is they taste and smell like chocolate, without the chocolate. So if you’re intolerance to amines, or theobromine, or caffeine, you can enjoy a chocolatey treat without the reaction. The cocoa butter smells just like chocolate, so the blissful hormones are triggered before you’ve even taken a bite!
Mix and match with your favourite nuts and seeds and whole food sweeteners, or make just like me, with cashews, carob and rice malt syrup, so anyone with a salicylate or amine intolerance can enjoy a delicious treat, that’s also full of goodness and nutrient-dense. Please enjoy!
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Salads don’t have to be boring. It feels good to be healthy – both inside and out. And if you’re a foodie, you have to do it with taste!
Beetroot and pumpkin are delicious roasted – especially if you can get a little caramelisation on the pumpkin. Tossed through with a sweet balsamic and olive oil dressing, some fresh greens and salty goat’s cheese, it’s a delicious, warming autumn salad.
But which olive oil is best for you?
For anyone with an intolerance to salicylates or amines, extra virgin olive oil isn’t a great option….
I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a biccie. They don’t even have to be that sweet, but there’s something very comforting about a crunchy or chewy little morsel of deliciousness.
But being a nutritionist, my self-made mission in life is to turn tasty treats into healthy tasty treats.
These one cover off healthy – tick! – and also intolerance friendly – tick tick! They are packed full of fibre and protein from the chickpeas and more protein and zinc from the cashews, so they’re going to keep you fuller for longer and not send your blood sugar into a spike. They are also made with a whole food sweetener that’s also packed with vitamins and minerals (and not completely devoid of nutrients, like processed sugar). If you’d like a fructose-free option, that there too.
You can mix these up with different nut butters and seeds, but I’ve kept them low in salicylates and amines for those of us who need that. Stay away from those store-bought, sugar-laden biccies that are no good for you, and probably full of palm sugar too (which is leading to deforestation and the destruction of many beautiful animal species). Try these instead. As always, they are super quick and easy, and make the perfect after school snack with a piece of fruit :)…
Yummy and healthy weekend breakfast idea
Who doesn’t love pancakes??? These ones are packed full of nutrition and fibre, are gluten and dairy free and can be made with low – moderate salicylates and amines.
Whole grain flours such as buckwheat, sorghum and brown rice add fibre and B vitamins to your diet and keep you fuller for longer, maintaining even blood sugar (without the spikes you get from white flours). I use bananas for sweetness, and even more B vitamins and fibre, and carrots for a healthy serve of beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, which really does help your eyesight!
Choosing a whole food sweetener on top, such as real maple syrup, rather than refined sugar, gives your body nutrients too. Refined sugar is energy without nutrients, and too much causes a multitude of health problems. Limit your sugar intake for better health, and always choose an unrefined option, such as raw honey, maple syrup, coconut palm sugar or panela, or if you need a low salicylate or low fructose option, rice malt syrup is the best.
Enjoy these dense and healthful pancakes that the family will love….
a platter of salad is great to share – everyone can choose what they can eat. just add some complex carbs and protein for a balanced meal.
Finally, it’s nearing the end! We can almost say, so long elimination diet, but not yet. Not yet.
It’s a slow process getting back to health and finding the perfect diet to accommodate food intolerances with the right nutrients for you to thrive. Don’t forget that a few well chosen (prescribed) supplements can bridge the gap while your diet or health is lacking.
When we retested salicylates for Sofia, we discovered a clear connection with her eczema, especially the itchiness. So for the time being, we need to be really careful with those. We need to swap berries, onion and hidden spinach for lettuce, carrot, peeled cucumber and zucchini, pear, red delicious apples, bananas and the occasional piece of mango. Avocado is already the hardest thing to give up, but hopefully it’s just for a short time. We have salads or veggies at least twice, usually three times a day, to make sure everyone gets enough.
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So, to recap, an elimination diet is designed to help you discover food intolerances in a systematic and structured way. It allows you to determine exactly what foods are a problem, how much of that food triggers a reaction and what reactions occur. You can test gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, salicylates, amines or glutamates – basically whatever you like. It’s deliciously simple, but not all that easy, because it means being on a strict diet. The best thing is, once you’ve done it, life becomes a whole lot easier! Suddenly, you’re not guessing anymore. You can avoid the triggers or cut them down, depending what works. You can improve your gut, get healthier and enjoy all the delicious foods that don’t make you sick. Now, if it’s your kids, don’t you think they’d want that too?
Sofia’s elimination diet discovery mission is nearing its end. We’ve discovered soy and gluten (along with cow’s dairy) are the worst triggers of her eczema. Next we tested salicylates and amines, and I was a little surprised with the result….
Deliciously flavoursome, a little sweet (from the pumpkin) and gently fragrant (from the basil). This easy risotto makes a lovely meal with grilled chicken or fish and some fresh greens. Only takes about 10 minutes to prep and throw everything in, then set and forget.
Works well with substitutions to keep the salicylates moderate. For the rest of us, it’s very sticky and rich and full of vegetable goodness….
kiddie fish cakes – simple elimination diet
Happy New Year everyone! Hope you have all had a peaceful break and some wonderful family time. I’ve had a lot more time to play with my kids, and I’ve really enjoyed it. Less time to make up new recipes and write blogs, but that’s ok, it’s a good time of year just to be.
In light of my new, more relaxed attitude, I’ve kind of just winged the food challenges for Sofia, letting natural occurrences (like a sandwich at Grandma’s) become the challenge. Here’s what I’ve discovered.
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