Since beginning my elimination diet 5 weeks ago, I have discovered that there are many kinds of elimination diets…or rather, different foods that are or are not eliminated! I found this out as soon as I started looking for recipes, as soon as I had to figure out just what I was going to eat for the next 4 months!
Many AIP or Autoimmune Protocol recipes will still include ingredients like tomatoes and peppers. Those are out for me for now which means no Mexican and until recently, curry. But for curry, I just found a tomato-free curry recipe! I actually combined recipes from 3 sources and it turned out splendidly! But I’m getting ahead of myself.
My Parameters for the Next 4 Months
For my elimination diet, my “avoid” list includes a LOT of foods. For this post, I started putting the full list in so you could see the extent of it but it was going to make this post absolutely too long! I thought that instead, I’d highlight ones that I am particularly unhappy about eliminating as well as share what I can have. So here goes…
Grains: There are virtually no grains allowed, at least the ones I normally eat – uh, wheat and corn. So it’s a ‘no’ to toast and yummy roast beef sandwiches. I’m not allowed the processed beef anyway. (Did you see my post about “default meals”?)
Vegetables and Fruit: For me eggplant is NOT a problem to say No to because I never say Yes to it! BUT these are ones I’m sad about not having for the next few months: tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. Also out are oranges and strawberries....
ah, strawberries… I can’t have any these, either…..sigh….
Sweeteners:
Also out is every sweetener conceivable but I have decided that I am allowing myself a little honey, seeing that it is anti-inflammatory (one of the things I’m addressing with this diet). So far in the first 5 weeks, I’ve only had maybe 2 tsps total so it’s not a big deal.
Beverages: One of the biggies for me is my coffee in the morning. I have seen some elimination diets that allow coffee, black coffee. Much as I wish I liked black coffee, I’m a cream and sugar gal (….‘guess I need recharging in the morning! LOL). But in consultation with my Naturopath, I decided to stop coffee because of my troubles sleeping, in order to see if it may be part of the problem. As it is now,
I’m not so sure it is because I’m still having trouble getting to sleep. But for now, I’ll continue to skip my java. When I start bringing foods and drinks back in, I may see about trying it black at that time.
Another biggie that is out for me is wine. I quite like it. Red is good. White is good. Sparkly is good. It’s just good. But, no wine for me. And I may whine about that because I am missing it, too, but I am foregoing it. For now. Well, for 3 more months. (I didn’t mention rum and coke and well, you know, that's a definite No, too.)
Snacks and added ingredients: Snacks like I normally have are also a very big NO due to the wheat and corn restriction: cheezies, popcorn. But also included on the ‘no’ list are added flavours, colours, preservatives and “anything unrecognizable”
on the label. Which basically means that when I walk through the grocery store, I can't eat most of what's on the shelves! Most of it is processed and has all kinds of added ingredients. It was an odd feeling to realize that when I was shopping one day shortly after starting the diet.
One other snack I really like but cannot have for now is chocolate. I only ever eat dark chocolate which I really like and has helpful nutrients. But for now, no chocolate of any kind including cocoa.
Protein and dairy: Finally in the realm of proteins, it’s ‘no’ to eggs, pork and processed meats. No legumes except one I’ll mention below. And, dairy is also a ‘no’. I didn’t used to have a lot but I liked the cream in my coffee. Oh wait, I did like cheese, yogurt and ice cream! (I guess I like dairy.)
Is There Anything Left to Eat?
Most meats and LOTS of veggies! So let’s get into it.
Protein: For meats, pretty much everything is ‘game’ though this comes with the recommendation of grass fed and finished or wild caught in the case of fish. I haven’t been trying for grass fed as yet, though I do seek out wild caught seafood. Consequently, I’m essentially still sort of eating corn because most animals are “finished” on a corn diet. It fattens them up but isn’t really what they should be eating.
I can also have many different nuts and seeds but not cashews or peanuts – I miss my peanut butter. And, as mentioned above, one bean that, according to my Naturopath, doesn’t typically trigger much reaction in the body is garbanzo beans, so they are in. I’m glad about that because they are good in curry and hummus!
Vegetables and fruits: Except for the ones mentioned in the ‘avoid’ list above, most vegetables and fruits are okay for me to have.
Grains: A few grains that I can have are rice, quinoa and buckwheat. So far I’m just having some rice but will experiment with the others soon enough. I’m glad about rice as Basmati rice is great with curry!
Condiments and such: From this realm, olive, coconut, ghee and flax oil are okay for me as is avocado oil. I’d never used avocado oil before – heard of it but not used – but we bought it recently for the very first time and I like working with it.
For added flavours, I can have herbs and spices, vinegar, fresh lemon and lime juice along with salt and pepper. However, for the salt, it can’t be regular table salt. That has sugar added! Who knew? So instead I’m using Himalayan salt. Finally, mustard is okay IF it has no additives. (I just bought one I found that has no added ingredients and tried it but I didn’t like it. We’ll see if it can go IN a recipe rather than just garnish meatballs, as I tried it. Hopefully that will taste good.
Beverages: I can have filtered water, of course, and I've been drinking A LOT of that! I can also have herbal teas, though I never really liked them, (trying to now) and green tea on the weak side (it’s not bad).
There are “milks” I can have such as rice milk and nut milks but there are a couple challenges with them. I tried to buy some and spent a good half hour reading labels. They ALL have other ingredients from the “unrecognizable” category.
For instance Polysorbate 60. But what is polysorbate 60 anyway? Well, it apparently helps ingredients blend more easily as well as not separate in containers. AND, according to The Association for the Advancement of Restorative Medicine, Polysorbate 60 may “compromise proper gastrointestinal function”1. That’s exactly what I’m trying to heal! So, I didn’t know all that when I was shopping so it was a definite “unrecognizable” and I came away empty handed.
After failing to purchase any “ok milk”, I tried to make my own at home. I did it with almonds but it didn’t turn out so well and produced a lot of waste, though I may have just discovered what you can do with it. But I'm not sure our Ninja is up to it. Or, I had too much water in it initially and didn’t really do it right. I’m not sure and may or may not give it a-go again.
Finally, I can have fresh, unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices. While I have added some fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice to some sparkling water (allowed) and found it somewhat okay, I haven’t tried anything else as yet. As to vegetable juice, honestly, I’m not a big fan.
The last one on the ‘yes’ list is organic bone broth, preferably homemade. We are just making some as I type this (for the very first time!) and I hope I like it. They do say you can just drink it. We'll see about that. At very least, I'm hoping to make soup with it. It is supposed to be very, very good for you.
So What Have I Been Eating and Drinking?
A lot of the same thing! Well not quite, but almost.
In an earlier post (here) I wrote a little about my struggles with being in the kitchen (and some successes). Generally, I have preferred to be almost anywhere than in the kitchen cooking, though I am happy just washing dishes while my Partner cooks. But in order to be successful in this grand experiment called “elimination diet”, I knew I had to make friends with cooking. And, it’s coming along.
Back in March I started experimenting with recipes for my protein. While I did have one flop, two of the ground beef recipes worked out for me and I alternate eating them along with chicken, turkey and a little fish. I also eat a lot of different vegetables (some with hummus) and fruits, as well as nuts and seeds. Purchasing a CSA this spring has introduced me to some new vegetables and that's been helpful.
The addition of the curry flavours was a welcomed change of pace (Mmmm... see the photo for my first real success making curry that tastes like .....curry!).
For my beverages, can you say “water?”! Just mostly water.
Given the length of this post already, I will wait until my next post to go into much more detail about the types of meals I’m creating. I’ve come up with a few strategies that are really helping and I'll share those. Maybe you'll also find them helpful.
I’ll also cover the results I’m seeing so far. Somethings are changing and others not so much yet.
Final Thoughts
I’m just coming to the end of Week 5 and so far, it’s turned out to be not too bad doing this elimination diet. Yes, I definitely miss many of my usual foods; not only the flavours but, honestly, the convenience. I especially miss the coffee and the whine… oops.. wine…. Yes, I typed it that way by accident!
But my curiosity about what this change to my diet may be doing for my health is enough to sustain me through. It was time for a reset. My body was giving me enough clues that I just couldn’t let it go any longer. I’m 57 now and heading towards the big 6-0. If I want to age with good health long past 60, and I do, then it’s on me to make it happen. That goal makes it all worthwhile.
And You?
Have you ever done an elimination diet? How’d it go? Please let me know in the comments below.
Credits
1 https://restorativemedicine.org/library/monographs/polysorbate-60/
Photo Credits:
Featured Image "Diet Parameters?" image by D. Ford
Thinking Emoji by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
Burritos Photo by Ryan Concepcion on Unsplash.com
Strawberry Photo by Tetiana Bykovets on Unsplash.com
Cup of coffee Photo by Tim Foster on Unsplash.com
Wine glass Photo by Thomas Franke on Unsplash.com
Nuts and seeds photo by D. Ford
Water glass Photo by manu schwendener on Unsplash.com
Plate of curry and rice Photo by D. Ford
