The challenge is to provide tasty Xmas food while keeping the salicylates, amines and glutamates low.
Made trickier if also avoiding dairy, soy and wheat/gluten and maybe even going low FODMAP! Check out some of the following ideas for some XMAS INSPO!
JOIN THE COMMUNITY: BRAND NEW Dietitian led Facebook group: Amines, Salicylates and Glutamates: The Food Intolerance Dietitian for great information and community support.
ROAST MEAT + ROAST VEGGIES
While turkey is high in amines, roast chicken, lamb or beef are great substitutes.
Just use the following tips to keep the amines low:
Use fresh lamb or chicken: freeze and quickly defrost before using or pick up fresh on the day
Try and keep cooking time to a minimum
Try not to over brown
Can cook with skin on the chicken but remove before eating
Cook on a rack so not sitting in meat juices (= amines)
Roast veggies on a separate tray and brush with low chemical oil (eg rice bran) and can add some cloves of garlic to roast for a flavour boost
For low FODMAP: use home made garlic infused oil instead of garlic
Check out this recipe for a roast chicken using an oven bag followed by a great Xmas dessert: click here (Credit: Gluten Free Nutrition)
Low salicylate roast veg: roast potato (white fleshed, peeled) + roast swede (peeled) + roast Brussel sprouts. Note roast swede tastes a bit like parsnip.
Moderate salicylate roast veg: roast beetroot + roast parsnip + roast carrot (all peeled).
Roast beetroot by peeling, cutting up and wrapping in foil, drizzle with oil and fully enclose.
Team up with some steamed green beans, and if moderate salicylates allowed some sautéed asparagus, zucchini (peeled), and peas (peas contain moderate glutamates).
Make a potato bake using home made chicken or vegetable stock + oat milk (if gluten tolerated) or rice milk + leek + salt + Organ egg replacer (if egg not tolerated). Click here for recipe but replace the onions with leek, and the seasoning with salt.
Low FODMAPs note: keep Brussel sprouts to a maximum of 2, fresh beetroot to 2 thin slices (20g), zucchini to 1/3 cup, green peas to 1 TBSP, use leek green tips only and avoid asparagus.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts (adapted from Food Network)
Preheat oven to 200 deg C
Cut of the brown ends from the Brussel sprouts
Mix in a bowl of rice bran oil and Himalayan pink salt/ normal salt
Place on a lined tray and roast for 35-40 minutes until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside
Shake the tray from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly
Serve immediately
Low FODMAP: keep to 2 sprouts per serve
Gravy
Commercial gravy is not recommended, as meat juices are high in amines.
Instead make a leek sauce: click here (Credit: Cooking for Oscar). For low FODMAP just use green tips of the leeks.
Alternatively make a leek white sauce using Nuttelex Original and gluten free cornflour (eg White Wings) to make a roux and slowly adding some tolerated milk, stirring while cooking over a medium stove.
Christmas Chicken Roll: DF, SF, GF (Credit: Failsafe Foodie)
Click here for recipe. Recipe is dairy free & soy free and can be gluten free depending on which bread crumbs are used.
Includes pear and raw cashews in the stuffing
For the crumbs can use Casalare rice crumbs or Organ crispi rice/ quinoa/ buckwheat bread crumbs if gluten free or crumb tolerated bread
Shallots mean spring onions (ie has a skinny white bulb, not the onion looking white bulb)
Low FODMAP: uses spring onion green tips, omit pear, raw cashews are low FODMAP for 3-4 in a sitting.
Yorkshire Pudding (Credit: Real Meals): includes dairy, wheat and eggs.
Click here for recipe. For gluten free could try GF flour and for dairy free use tolerated milk. This also makes it low FODMAP. Win!
CHRISTMAS SALADS
Pear & Quinoa Salad with Maple Dressing: DF, SF, GF
Click here for recipe.
The red quinoa gives it a very festive look!
Recipe is not suitable for the low FODMAP diet.
Wombok Salad + Salad Dressing: DF, SF. GF
Click here for recipe (Credit: Gluten Free Nutrition)
Includes 4 bean mix
Shallots refers to spring onions
Instead of dressing could use homemade low chemical chive mayonnaise (contains egg)
Not suitable for the low FODMAP diet.
Coleslaw: DF, SF, GF, moderate salicylates, low FODMAP
Grate 4 large peeled carrots, 1 head cabbage (1/2 head red and 1/2 head green but not savoy) shredded, handgun green tips spring onions, sliced
Mix through with low chemical chive mayonnaise (contains egg).
Potato Salad: DF, SF, GF
Use white fleshed potatoes, home made mayonnaise, with sliced spring onions
Also add sliced egg if egg tolerated
Low FODMAP: use only green tips of the spring onions.
XMAS DESSERTS & TREATS: contain dairy and/or wheat
Salted Caramel Fudge
Pear Mince Pies (contains wheat, dairy & egg)
For recipe: click here (Credit: Domestic Diva)
Not suitable for the low FODMAP diet.
3 Ingredient Shortbread (contains butter and flour)
For regular and Thermomix recipe: click here (Credit: Create Make Bake)
For low FODMAPs use low FODMAP flour or GF flour
For dairy free use Nuttelex Original.
Honeycomb Cheesecake (contains butter, cream, wheat)
For recipe: click here (Credit: Domestic Diva Unleashed)
Not suitable for low FODMAPs unless make own low FODMAP biscuit base, and lactose free Philly cheese.
XMAS DESSERTS & TREATS: DF, SF, GF
Ginger Cookies without Ginger
For recipe: click here (Credit: Kersten's Kitchen)
Suitable for the low FODMAP diet.
Carob Mousse: contains eggs
For recipe: click here (Credit: Simply Failsafe).
Not suitable for the low FODMAP diet as carob powder is high in FODMAPs for > 1 heaped teaspoon.
Xmas Wreath Biscuit: contains eggs & cashews
For recipe: click here (Credit: Gluten Free Nutrition)
If sensitive to too much vanilla essence, just reduce amount used
Suitable for the low FODMAP diet: carob powder is high in FODMAPs for > 1 heaped teaspoon and only contains 1/8th TBSP per biscuit.
Magic Bean Cake: contains eggs, can use Nuttelex Original instead of butter
For recipe: click here (Credit: Real Meals)
Not suitable for the low FODMAP diet (uses kidney beans).
XMAS Style Pudding: contains egg (Credit: Sue Dengate)
Ingredients: 2 TBSP butter or Nuttelex Original, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup tolerated flour (self raising wheat flour or GF flour), 1/2 cup tolerated milk, 4 TBSP golden syrup
Cream magazine or butter with sugar, add egg and beat well
Add flour alternatively with milk
Place golden syrup on bottom of a greased bowl, pour in batter, tie brown paper or baking paper over the top and steam in a covered saucepan with 2cm water for 1 1/4 hours
Serve with 'not brandy sauce' or tolerated ice-cream or tolerated custard.
Not Brandy Sauce (Credit: Sue Dengate)
Ingredients: 4 cups cold water, 1 cup brown sugar, 4 TBSP GF cornflour (eg White Wings), 100g Nuttelex Original, 1/2 cup plain whiskey
Mix cold water, brown sugar and cornflour in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until mixture thickens
Reduce heat and cook a little longer, add butter or Nuttelex Original and whiskey
Can make in advance.
Just a few ideas to get you started, so you can enjoy Christmas lunch or dinner without having to pay for it with symptoms (so you can enjoy Boxing Day as well!).
Joyeux Noel!