Yes, that is frost you see in my meal prep picture this week! As recommended by my ND, I am implementing a two week trial of a low-histamine diet. Histamine is a neurotransmitter involved in many processes within the body, including immunity, digestion, and nervous system communication. When we consume histamine, our body generally breaks it down within our digestive system, but there are certain genetic SNP's that can hinder this process, leading to a buildup of histamine in the body. Symptoms of histamine intolerance include headaches, digestive distress, palpitations, hives, itching, and more. Foods that are highest in histamine are those that are aged or fermented, as histamine is a byproduct of bacterial activity, particularly on proteins. Once created in a food, histamine is not destroyed by any method of preparation, so for those with histamine intolerance, the key is to limit the total intake by emphasizing fresh foods and consuming or freezing proteins immediately after preparing them. Though I was sad to give up my homemade bone broth, sauerkraut, chocolate, and many other high histamine foods (vinegar! citrus! bacon! spinach! fish sauce! COYO! cinnamon! EPIC bars!), I am interested to see if this might be a missing piece to the puzzle of my health. I took extra care to only include foods in my meal plan this week that are naturally low in histamine and froze them immediately after preparation. As well, since my food choices are further limited to low histamine foods, I am including more carbs in my diet this week (compared to my usual LCHF/keto approach) to increase variety.
Here's what the week will look like:
Breakfast: Protein Shake // 1 scoop Vanilla Build protein by PureWOD and 1 scoop Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides, mixed with Native Forest Simple Coconut Milk, Bulletproof Brain Octane, and 1 cup frozen blueberries.
Lunch: Lamb Meatballs + Roasted Sweet Potato + Radish/Cucumber/Parsley Salad // I started with 1# of ground lamb from US Wellness Meats and thawed it quickly in water. I mixed in about 8 minced cloves of garlic, 1 tsp Redmond Real Salt, a handful of fresh mint, and 2 cups of chopped fresh parsley. I formed 16 small meatballs and baked them at 425 for 15 minutes, then transferred them immediately to the fridge for 15 minutes before swapping them to the freezer. At the same time, I roasted some orange and purple sweet potato cubes in coconut oil and salt and added those to my frozen meatballs. The radish/cucumber/parsley salad I'll make fresh each day, but I did make little bags of the veggies for convenience and chopped the parsley. I'll dress the salad with olive oil and salt.
Dinner: Carrot Ginger Soup with Vital Proteins // This is a recipe from the AIP Instant Pot Cookbook. It's super simple to make (basically just carrots, parsnips, ginger, salt, and cilantro) and comes together in a flash! I left out the broth and replaced with additional coconut milk. I also added Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides to boost the protein (gelatin is approved for a low-histamine diet) and topped it off with some ginger scallion sauce that I toasted up in ghee. Delicious combination!
Snack: Soft Boiled Eggs + Coconut Butter // I'll boil the eggs each day to keep them fresh, and as usual, will stash a packet of Artisana's Coconut butter single serving packets in case I need it!
I think I need to invest in another freezer now :)
Have a great week!
-Tracey