Breakfast cereal: a quick and easy ready to grab breakfast when doing the FAILSAFE (Royal Prince Alfred Hospital -RPAH- elimination) as well as an easy snack.
As a quick recap: the RPAH elimination diet eliminates salicylates, amines, glutamates and certain food additives from the diet, and challenges to identify if these are causing food symptoms. FAILSAFE is the strict level of the RPAH elimination diet.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY: BRAND NEW Dietitian led Facebook group: Amines, Salicylates and Glutamates: The Food Intolerance Dietitian for great information and community support.
There are a number of suitable choices depending on whether you are eating wheat or gluten or are wheat/gluten free.
Although it is worth noting that the more substantial cereals such as porridge (if tolerate oats or gluten free: from rice or quinoa) can set you up better for the day than the lighter brekkie cereal options.
BREAKFAST CEREALS (if wheat/gluten is ok) low in salicylates, amines and glutamates
If you tolerate wheat/gluten, there are a number of suitable plain wheat based cereals and oats.
These cereals tend to also be high in fibre which is an added bonus!
Sanitarium Weet-bix, Vita-brits and other plain weet flake biscuits
Uncle Toby's Weeties
Kellogg's Allbran
Rolled oats, plain quick oats (porridge)
LOW FODMAP NOTES
As these cereals are wheat based, they are high in FODMAPs.
The exception is rolled oats (rather than quick oats) which are Low FODMAP for normal serve sizes
Lower fibre cereals:
Kellogg's rice bubbles. This cereal does contain small amounts of wheat so is not suitable for those with Coeliac Disease.
Kellogg's Special K
LOW FODMAP NOTES
Kellogg's rice bubbles is Low FODMAP.
BREAKFAST CEREALS (wheat/ GLUTEN FREE) low in salicylates, amines and glutamates
There are a limited number of GF supermarket cereals that are low in chemicals
Gluten free weet-bix (fibre: sorghum).
Gluten Free Special K is another quick and easy choice- made from wholegrain brown rice. Useful for crumbing meats as well.
Brown Rice Puffs, Buckwheat Puffs, Sorghum Puffs, quinoa puffs: Source these at health food stores.
LOW FODMAP NOTES
All of the above are also Low FODMAP.
Gluten Free grains grains can be made into porridge such as rice porridge made from ground rice or quinoa porridge made from quinoa flakes.
Mix different GF grains such as rolled rice and quinoa flakes and millet to make a mixed grain porridge.
Gluten free puffed grains such as puffed rice, puffed millet and puffed millet or puffed buckwheat make a great muesli (see below) with dried pear (check no sulphites), poppy seeds and raw cashews for extra taste.
LOW FODMAP NOTES
Gluten free grains (as above) are low in FODMAPS
Exception: puffed amaranth is only low for 1/4 cup, legume flours
Dried pear is high in FODMAPS
Cashews are high in FODMAPs
MAKE YOUR OWN PORRIDGE low in salicylates, amines and glutamates
Easy!
Mix 1/2 cup rice flakes or quinoa flakes with 1 cup of water or tolerated milk.
Simmer for at least 5 minutes.
Top with tinned pear and pure maple syrup to taste.
LOW FODMAP NOTES
Dried pear is high in FODMAPS
MAKE YOUR OWN GF MUESLI low in salicylates, amines and glutamates
Combine a range of GF grains such as quinoa flakes, puffed rice, puffed quinoa, and store in an airtight container to keep them crisp and ready to use.
Turn this into toasted muesli by combining 3-4 cups of the GF muesli with 2 TBSP rice bran oil & 2 TBSP golden syrup and heat in an oven (180 degrees C) on lined baking trays for 5 minutes or until lovely and golden. Quick, easy and yummy.
LOW FODMAP NOTES
Golden syrup would need to be reduced to Low FODMAP amounts (1 teaspoon = 7g) and the remainder made up with pure maple syrup/ brown sugar
TOLERATED MILK: low in salicylates, amines and glutamates
Whatever your cereal of choice, partner with tolerated milk, whether it is cow's milk or alternatives such as calcium fortified rice milk. Rice milk and other alternative milks do not naturally contain calcium so it needs to be added 120mg per 100ml to act as a dairy alternative.
Other milk alternatives such as almond and coconut milk are high in food chemicals and oat milk will be too concentrated for those avoiding gluten or who react to oats.
LOW FODMAP NOTES
Choose lactose free milk, or soy milk made from soy protein and not soy beans (often home brands are suitable), rice milk or up tp 1/2 cup oat milk in a sitting.
SWEETEN TO TASTE: low in salicylates, amines and glutamates
Low chemical alternatives to honey are sugar, rice syrup golden syrup or pure maple syrup (not flavoured as high in salicylates).
LOW FODMAP NOTES
Choose pure maple syrup, white or brown sugar
Limit golden syrup to 1 tsp (7g) in a sitting.
CEREAL TOPPERS: low in salicylates, amines and glutamates
The infamous low salicylate, amines, glutamates and additive toppers:
Cashew nuts (note limit on daily cashew intake for strict elimination = 10 raw or lightly toasted nuts or 2 teaspoons of home made 100% cashew paste).
Dried pears (no additives, especially sulphites). Dried pears are harder to find these days, especially without sulphites. If you have a food dehydrator, an dry your own (no skin). Again a limit of 2 pears on the strict chemical elimination diet.
Poppy seeds
LOW FODMAP NOTES
Cashews and pears are high in fodmaps.
So whatever you preference and dietary needs on the low chemical elimination diet, there is a breakfast cereal that should meet your needs.
REFERENCES
Food Intolerance Network website (Sue Dengate). https://fedup.com.au/information/information/short-failsafe-shopping-list. Accessed 24/06/18.
RPAH elimination diet handbook: with food and shopping guide. Anne Swain, Velencia Soutter, Robert Loblay, 2019 (revised edition).
Monash University low FODMAP app. Version 2.0.9. Accessed 24/06/2018.
FODMAP FRIENDLY app, version 3.7. Accessed 24/06/18