So now that I’ve set up a blog page, what do I do with it? I know that I will use it when I am travelling, but that is only every so often. What about the everyday? I have spent a number of days thinking over what could be my first post – something profound?

Well thank you Claire for asking about some Elimination Diet recipes.

A couple of years ago, I had to go on elimination diet. They are extremely restrictive and you certainly need to get creative to avoid boredom. There are very few things you can eat that are not associated with allergies or intolerances.

The diet is broken up into two parts. The one where you eliminate all other foods from your diet and allow your body to rid itself of all the symptoms that got you to the doctor in the first place. The second phase is where you slowly add foods back into your diet, one group at a time to see what sets your symptoms flaring again. These are in a designated order. When you react to a food, you stop, re-balance your body and move onto the next one. If you don’t react to that food, well hallelujah you can add it back into your diet permanently.

For me it was dairy and red food colouring that set me off. I also found out just by accident that Cotton Seed Oil was an issue. (Google that oil by the way, why would you put that into your body?)
The following are some ideas that I came up with for the time going through the elimination and others for when you pass some of the individual tests. I haven’t written up specific recipes, but given ideas of things you can put together. These are based on the diet sheets that I was given by my doctor.

Shepherds Pie:
Premium Mince (Low fat), canola oil, potatoes, Nuttelex, rice milk, salt, cornflour (maize)
For a variation you could mash in swede with the potatoes. And if you like parsley add that in too.

Rice Bubble Slice:
Rice Bubbles, Nuttelex, White Sugar, Rice Malt.

Shortbread:
Rice Flour, Cornflour(maize), Nuttelex, White Sugar. I made this without the cornflour and it was too grainy just using the rice flour.

Spanish Omelette:
Eggs, Potato, Salt, Parsley, Rice Milk. Slice the potatoes into the omelette – like a quiche of sorts.
Again for a variation, you could replace potato with swede

Baked Pears:
Pears, Brown Sugar, Rice Bubbles. Halve the pears, mash-up the rice bubbles and sugar sprinkle on pears before baking in the oven.

Pear Crumble:
Rice Bubbles, brown sugar, pears. Cook the pears into mush. Mix rice bubbles & brown sugar, put pears into an oven dish and cover with the topping. Spot some Nuttelex on top and then bake in the oven.

Rice Paper Rolls:
Chicken, Bamboo shoots, steamed cabbage, julienne celery & julienne steamed swede & potatoes, rice vermicelli, rice paper circles. I made and ate these as I went, but they made a great lunch too.

Rice Bread Sandwiches:
Chicken, or egg & lettuce

Pears with meringues:
I didn’t make these, but I think you could put a meringue topping on cooked pear instead of the crumble.

Some of the food challenge ideas are:

Unpreserved bread:
Egg & lettuce, rice malt, steak, mince & cabbage

No wheat reaction:
Use Weetbix as a bread substitute. Use Weetbix to crumb potato balls, chicken etc

No cows milk reaction:
Ice cream, pears, brown sugar & rice malt
Pears, meringues & cream
Normal store-bought shortbread

No Salicylates reaction:
Rice paper roll additions – asparagus, capsicum, herbs & spices, carrot, cucumber.
Zuccini slice (Quiche)

Well Claire and anyone else who might have to venture the few months into the elimination diet territory, I hope these ideas breathe a bit of variety into the months on this diet.
If you have any ideas of your own, please share them in the comments.