A Guide to Elimination and Challenge Test Dieting: Day 00-A

Over the next several weeks, I will be doing a special diet, to help me determine whether I have allergies (or intolerances or sensitivities) to specific foods. This kind of diet is called an “elimination and challenge test” diet—referring to the two phases of the diet, when you first eliminate most or all foods that are likely to cause intolerances, and then re-introduce these foods one at a time to see how your body reacts to each.

I have had health problems for years, which no doctor has been able to successfully diagnose or treat. Granted, I haven’t been through the rigorous testing that some people undergo along their journey of food-intolerance discovery, but nonetheless, it’s been a very frustrating situation.Every few years, I go through a phase where I feel almost constantly nauseated—I even remember getting this during elementary, junior high, and high school growing up. Most people asked whether I’d eaten breakfast that morning (most of the time, I hadn’t), but even that didn’t seem to solve the problem. Most of the time, I feel pretty great—but when this thing starts up, life gets really awful. I don’t want to eat, and when I do I still feel hungry; I don’t want to wake up in the morning; I don’t want to go anywhere or do anything. Frankly, it’s a miracle that I passed all my classes in graduate school, the last time it was really bad.

I recently cut out nearly all dairy from my diet. I’ve never especially cared for it in the first place, but I especially don’t like to drink milk and have a hard time using it up before it goes bad, even when I only buy a quart. So when my parents left (I’m staying in their house while they serve an overseas mission for two years), I started buying almond milk, since it’s shelf-stable and will keep much longer after I open it.

That’s what gave me my first clue—a little over a month ago, a friend came to visit from out of town, and I insisted that she try the ice cream from the local dairy. Of course, I had some with her—and about two hours later, felt much worse than I had for a while.

As a result of this experience, plus a few others, I’m almost certain that I have a digestive problem with dairy products. In addition, I’ve been paying a little more attention to how I feel when I eat wheat and gluten products, and I suspect I have a problem with that, as well. My doctor (a chiropractor who practices holistic medicine) also suggested recently that I may have problems with gluten. Since I’d already been considering doing this cleanse, I talked to him about it, and he agreed that it might be a good idea. To thoroughly test for a gluten intolerance, I have to eat gluten-free for at least six weeks, so I will be leaving that for one of the last things I test.

The plan I am following comes from the book Diet Wise, by Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby. He’s been arguing the reality, intensity, and ubiquity of food intolerances/allergies since the 1970s, and he’s treated hundreds of patients in the UK, where he comes from. But about ten years ago, he moved to the US and has started practicing the same principles here.

Basically, for at least five days I will eat nothing but meats, fruits, and vegetables. No grains of any kind (including wheat, corn, rice, and oats); no eggs, no chicken (the one big meat exception); no citrus fruits (the big fruit exception); no sugars or substitutes of any kind (including stevia, agave nectar, maple syrup, or any artificial sweeteners); no stimulants, no dairy products (neither one a big problem for me). All seafood is allowed, as are nuts and dried fruits, as long as they don’t have any added chemicals or preservatives.

So, I only eat these things for as long as it takes to clear everything else out of my gut—which, for most people about four or five days. It might take longer, up to two weeks. Once I start to feel better, that’s when I move on to the next phase: challenge testing. (If I don’t feel any better after eating this way for three weeks, then I have to start eliminating more foods from my diet—but we’ll cross that bridge if I get to it.)

More about the challenge test phase in about a week.

I plan to write on the blog every day during this whole thing, offering information about my own personal experiences and tips for success, including my daily menus and links to other blogs or websites with recipes. There is a wealth of information out there about cooking for sensitivities, but I found very little information about doing this kind of elimination and challenge test diet. And that’s what I hope to offer here.

Day 00-A

The last couple of days, I’ve been getting myself ready—both physically and psychologically—for the Big Experiment. Yesterday, I worked on creating a two-week meal plan so that I’m not just groping in the dark every day. And today I went out shopping and made a few recipes as basics. Below are my experiences with homemade almond milk, anti-migraine juice and gut repair tonic, and homemade vegetable stock.

Almond Milk

As I mentioned earlier, I have been using store-bought almond milk for a few months now, and I really enjoy it. I have to think through recipes that use milk (my #1 tip: don’t use as much as the recipe calls for), but otherwise, it’s been great. I mostly use it in smoothies for my breakfast, and it’s just wonderful for that.

But for some time now, I’ve been wanting to try making my own, in the Vita-Mix. I’ve looked at all kinds of recipes, from medieval cookbooks to the Vita-Mix recipe book, to healthy-eating blogs. I finally settled on the Vita-Mix recipe, but I was wonderfully excited to try out a tip from Lexie’s Kitchen. She suggested using either nut milk bags (and where the heck was I going to find one of those where I live?!) or reusable mesh produce bags to strain the milk, rather than cheesecloth. I’ve had several infelicitous experiences with cheesecloth in the past, so I was hoping that this would work out better. And did it ever!

reusable mesh produce bags

I managed to find a pack of three reusable mesh produce bags at Fred Meyer, with a little help from a clerk. After blending up the almond milk, I placed one of the mesh bags inside a pitcher, using a rubber band to make it more secure. Then I poured all the milk in, and alternately lifted and squeezed the bag (using both a wooden spoon and my own hands) to get the milk out while keeping the pulp in. Worked like a charm!

fresh almond milk

Helpful hints:

• If you feel bad about throwing your pulp out, there are a few recipes for using it: cookies, crackers. You can also dry it (in a dehydrator) and use it as almond flour.
• You don’t necessarily have to strain out the pulp, either. If you like it, you can just drink it with the pulp in—extra fiber never hurt anybody, right?
• You can also soak the almonds before making the milk, which supposedly helps the body digest it more easily. Soak for 6-8 hours—overnight works well.
• If you choose to soak the nuts, you might choose to pop the skins off, which also (supposedly) aids in digestion, and makes for less pulp. Personally, I find this too much work, but lots of people like it.
• When you’re finished with the mesh bag, just throw in the washer with your other kitchen items. All clean again!

Anti-Migraine Juice and Gut Repair Tonic

I bought a juicer today, along with all my groceries, specifically so that I could try out these juice recipes from Iris @ The Daily Dietribe. Honestly, though, I’m not so sure I’ll keep the thing. I mean, it works fine, and all. But after actually using and seeing what is really does, I decided I may as well use the Vita-Mix, along with my new mesh produce bags, to just blend them up and then strain out the pulpy bits. I think I’ll probably sell it on Amazon.com. If I do, I’ll post a link here for you.

Helpful hints:

• Iris didn’t post an actual picture of the anti-migraine juice. For your information, it’s a lovely, bright green (due to the effects of the cucumber). If you can get over the color, it’s not half bad. Have yet to test it for headaches, although I expect to probably get some (not migraines) during the first few days of the elimination phase, as my body goes through detoxification and withdrawal.
• Also, take note that the lovely dark purple color of the gut-repair tonic is due to the purple cabbage that Iris used. That’s right, purple. I honestly didn’t even think about this when I was buying the cabbage—although I only found green out there, anyway. Without that, it turned into a greenish-orange color. I plan on drinking 4 to 8 ounces a day as I’m starting the diet, in hopes of speeding the healing process.
• Although I made mine ahead of time and put them in glass, air-tight containers, you need to know that juice is most beneficial when it’s fresh. It’s best drunk within 15-20 minutes after being … juiced.

anti-migraine juice and gut-repair tonic

Vegetable Stock

I plan on making several soups during this cleanse, and since I can’t eat chicken, I won’t be using my favorite chicken stock. I thought about purchasing vegetable stock—Pacific makes a good, organic version—but I decided to just make my own, instead. That way, I know exactly what’s in it, including the spices and the sodium. And I should be able to easily use it up before it goes bad.

For this, I used a recipe from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Recipes. This particular permutation of the cookbook is made for a small-sized slow cooker, making recipes for 1-2 people—just right for me, plus some leftovers! I pulled out my mom’s old (and I mean old!) slow-cooker as well, and made a second batch in there, just to make sure I’d have plenty.

Although I really loved the recipe in this book, I don’t think you’d necessarily need one for it. Basically, take a bunch of aromatic vegetables and a couple others, throw them together into the slow cooker, filling it to the top, add a couple of spices (like peppercorns, a bay leaf, and/or allspice berries), and cook. High for 1 hour, then low for another 5-6 hours. Drain off and store in air-tight containers. Voila!

Helpful hints:

• If you want to, you can strain the liquid through a really fine mesh strainer, to get out the little bits and pieces of veggies that inevitably come out in the stock. This didn’t bother me, so I didn’t bother with the straining.
• Don’t use potatoes in this recipe—since they are starchy vegetables, they soak up all the liquid, rather than just leaking their aromatic goodness into it.
• Although my recipe said it would make 4-5 cups, it really made about 7. Just be prepared with plenty of air-tight containers!
• If you’re going to freeze the broth, be sure to leave a good two inches free at the top, to allow room for the broth to expand as it freezes (after all, it’s mostly water). I’ve heard that glass is not exactly freezer-safe, but I’ve frozen things in glass before with no problems—you just have to be careful about leaving room for expansion.

Oh yes, and one final helpful hint: fennel is frequently called anise in grocery stores (even though they’re not really the same plant at all). If you see something that looks like the picture below, with the root, stalk, and leaves all ready to be used, it’s fennel. Even if the produce guy tells you that it’s anise.

fennel

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