This past week of my low-histamine trial was not quite as successful as the first week. I had a few more symptoms (the return of some faint abdominal pain and some sinus congestion), and I suspect that it might have been the carob, which I found conflicting opinions on. As such, this week I'm taking it back to the basics!
Breakfast: Protein Shake // 1 scoop Vanilla Build protein by PureWOD mixed with Native Forest Simple Coconut Milk, Bulletproof Brain Octane, and 1 cup frozen blueberries, cherries, or peaches. This is a slight change from last week, because I'm leaving out my favorite collagen peptides to see if they also might have been a factor. Gelatin is generally regarded as safe on a low-histamine diet, but some people do react to it. Since I use it almost daily, I decided I should try leaving it out and see if it makes a difference.
Lunch: Ginger Scallion Chicken Meatballs with Bok Choy, Zucchini, and Roasted Roots // Meatballs are so convenient because they cook up in a flash! To make these, I started with 1# of ground chicken from US Wellness Meats, added in about a cup of chopped green onions, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 cup of chopped fresh ginger. I used my 1 ounce cookie scoop to make meatballs and baked on parchment paper at 425 for 12 minutes. At the same time, I sautéed about 1# of bok choy on the stovetop with more scallions and ginger, and also roasted about 1.5# of zucchini (in ghee) alongside the meatballs. When all of that was done, I portioned it out into single serving containers and immediately chilled before transferring to the freezer. Next up: the roots! I sliced about 2# each of carrots and parsnips into coins, tossed with a generous amount of ghee and salt, and roasted until golden at 400, then added them to my pyrex containers and froze. (I like these containers the most because they work perfectly with my Hot Logic Mini!)
Dinner: Sweet Potato Soup with Pumpkin Seeds // I basically made up this soup recipe on the fly. I started with about 2 cups each of carrot, celery, and onion, and sautéed those until soft in some ghee. At the same time, I peeled and chopped up two large sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes and roasted them at 425 until tender and golden. (I roasted them for the depth of flavor, but you could also just throw them into the pot with everything else.) I added about 1# of chopped organic yellow squash and a can of full fat additive free coconut milk, then let everything simmer until soft before blending until smooth! Normally I would add two scoops of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides as the protein, but since I'm testing a week without it, I'm using pumpkin seeds. It's a lower protein meal than I'm used to, but the fat should keep me satiated!
Snacks: Artisana Coconut Butter // I'll also keep a Primal Kitchen Macadamia Nut Sea Salt bar (definitely my favorite of the four flavors!!) on hand just in case. These bars are overall pretty low in histamine, but I'll only be using them as a backup this week as I test the absence of collagen/gelatin.
Here's to another week of learning which foods work for me. This process takes planning and patience, but it's so worth it!!