Elimination Diet: Getting started & a week of meals

Welcome to my blog! Today’s post is about successfully implementing the elimination diet. First, please refer to my last blog post to read all about what an elimination diet is, who it’s for (and who it isn’t for), how long it lasts, and when to see a doctor about it. Now, if you’ve spoken with your doctor and they recommend the elimination diet, where to begin?

Plan Ahead:
Successfully implementing the elimination diet will require a bit of advanced planning. You want to pick a date that allows you a full week of planning ahead. You’ll get rid of foods that are not included in the diet, plan a week of meals, and do some grocery shopping to increase your chances of completing the diet over the next 3 weeks. If you drink multiple cups of coffee or other caffeinated beverages per day, this is the time to wean gradually. Dan was doing this, so he cut his caffeine intake in half for a few days, then reduced to 1 cup for a few days, then off completely. This is also your time to see if other household members will try the diet as well (my partner was curious and did it with me, which was so helpful) or think of ways to stay on your personal 3 week path while they continue to eat foods that are not included in the elimination diet. We were partnered with a functional health coach for 5 sessions, and my coach and I met beforehand to plan the diet and identify any potential road blocks. I found working with a health coach to be very helpful throughout the process and would recommend it to anyone trying the diet. You can ask me or use this website to find a coach near you.

modified HBH chicken noodle soup

Check labels:
This diet requires you to check the labels of your storebought foods to make sure there are no added ingredients that are not included in the diet. We found a lot of vegan foods would have added corn, soy, or wheat products. Happily, by checking labels, we did find quite a few brands that do not add in potentially triggering ingredients at our local Whole Foods and City Market.

olive oil baked salmon with fresh herbs and lemon peel about to go into the oven

Meals to try:
It can feel a bit overwhelming to meal prep and plan if you’re not doing it regularly already. Keeping a few options on hand for super easy meals (rotisserie chicken and frozen vegetables or salad greens, a can of lentil veggie soup, etc) helps when you had one of “those” days and just can’t bring yourself to cook dinner.
*Note: I prepped the oats in a batch of 4 and lunches either the night before or Sunday evening.
*Snacks every day: granola from Uproot Kitchen (seriously the best granola ever), veggies & hummus, roasted & salted almonds or other nuts, rotisserie chicken
Monday:
Breakfast: steel cut overnight oats with berries and almond butter, Dandy Blend coffee substitute
Lunch: chicken quinoa salad from IFM’s Elimination Diet Guide (you will get this if you partner with a functional medicine doctor who recommends the diet to you)
Dinner: olive oil baked salmon with broccoli and riced cauliflower
Tuesday:
Breakfast: Steel cut oats, berries, almond butter
Lunch: Cookie & Kate chickpea salad
Dinner: turkey chili from Dr. Weil’s “Fast Food, Good Food” cookbook. If you are looking for a wonderful, anti-inflammatory cook book chock full of easy weeknight recipes, this book can’t miss. We love it. We had some seed crackers (Mary’s has some diet-compliant versions) for a crunch.
Wednesday:
Breakfast: Here’s the thing, I get really tired of having the same thing for breakfast every day, especially if it’s sweet. Dan does not mind at all and had overnight oats literally every day for a month. I sometimes swapped a green smoothie or dinner leftovers for a more savory breakfast. If you’re like me, have some leftover chili. I promise it makes a good breakfast!
Lunch: chickpea salad
Dinner: Half Baked Harvest chicken noodle soup. I modified this by simply pulling out all of the dairy (sub olive oil for butter and eliminate cheese) and using gluten free brown rice noodles. This was so yummy and comforting. I love it because I could throw everything in the instapot and let it do it’s thing. She has stovetop & crockpot versions as well.
Thursday:
Breakfast: steel cut oats, berries, almond butter
Lunch: chicken quinoa salad
Dinner: vegan rice pilaf (sub olive oil for butter and veggie stock for chicken stock), ground bison, vegan tzatziki (storebought - remember to check your labels!), dill, and lightly dressed lemony greens
Friday:
Breakfast: Steel cut oats, berries, almond butter
Lunch: leftovers (soup, chili, or from the night before)
Dinner: mujaddara with shatta and almond yogurt
Saturday:
Breakfast: green smoothie or leftovers
Lunch: leftover mujaddara
Dinner: olive oil baked salmon with broccoli and riced cauliflower
Sunday:
Breakfast: Hot regular rolled oats with nuts, seeds, almond butter and berries
Lunch: Leftover mujaddara
Dinner: warm roasted winter salad bowl from Oh She Glows (be sure to check the mustard label to avoid added sugars)

ground bison with vegan rice pilaf, vegan tzatziki, dill, lemony greens, and vegan feta

As you can see, making food from home produces a lot of leftovers! I included the leftovers as meals, but you still may find that you don’t need to make all of these recipes to have a full week of food. We also bought a rotisserie chicken to snack on or just throw on a simple salad for easy meals if we didn’t feel like cooking. For dessert, I was surprised at how satisfying an apple with almond butter or granola with homemade nut milk (more on this later) felt for me. If you typically drink alcohol, I recommend having an interesting drink or activity to sub for alcohol in the evenings. Oftentimes, alcohol marks a transition point from day to night, work to relaxation, so having sparkling water with a bit of fresh organic fruit juice (we like it with lemon and lime), playing a favorite album, taking a walk outside can be a nice indicator to yourself that it’s time to relax for the evening without having an alcoholic beverage. Let me know what you think!