A banana-free smoothie that still tastes sweet, creamy, and packs a punch with magnesium (great for fighting fibro, article on the science behind that coming soon), copper, zinc, and iron. I never feel great after eating bananas, and although they’re meant to be medium-oxalate, I get that weird teeth coating (always a sign), bloating and a […]
beans – the green kind
Another confusing vegetable. Those pictured here are classed as high oxalate – fine french and/or string beans (French fillet in the US), whereas runner beans (Roma green beans in the US) are medium level, but only when boiled for 30mins (eugh!). Personally, I have never felt bad after eating beans, but I suggest sticking to a handful of the […]
chickpeas & saponins
Saponins are bitter, biologically active compounds found in chick peas, soybeans, legumes (beans) and alfalfa sprouts that foam up like soap suds in water. They are named after the soapwort plant (Saponaria), the root of which was used traditionally as a soap. Robb Wolf, in The Paleo Solution, is pretty scathing about them, explaining that they are […]
kale – high or low oxalate?
There’s a lot of confusion over whether kale is high or low oxalate, whether it’s OK to have it raw in a smoothie, whether it’s best to steam or boil, or even, as Bulletproof suggests, whether adding a calcium and/or magnesium supplement to your blender can reduce the oxalate content! Time to hunt down some facts. Kale is part […]
greens
Meet your new best friend! Spring greens, known as Collard greens in the US (though not identical), are your go-to replacement ingredient for any recipe that contains spinach, beet, Swiss chard or mustard greens – all high oxalate. Spring greens are part of the great green family of vegetables that also includes cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli — trendy kale is also […]
satisfying summer soup
Being part Euro, I love gazpacho and other cold soups (deemed ‘weird’ by my Brit husband). But gazpacho is really not fibro-friendly, with raw garlic, peppers and lots of tomato. Try this one instead, adapted from Madeleine Shaw’s brilliant Ready Steady Glow (buy it!). Chop up 1 spring onion/scallion. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan, and gently […]
pasta
Absolutely fine. But stay clear of the ‘healthier’ wholewheat, or buckwheat versions. The fiber in the wholewheat version irritates our gut lining, and frankly, it’s better to get your fiber from low-oxalate veggies instead. As I mentioned in the bread post, this is not a gluten free diet (hurrah!), but do eat it in moderation – […]
smoked salmon & crispy kale
How many good things are there in this one dish? The omega-3 rich eggs and salmon, iron & fiber from the kale and vit C from the lemony yoghurt. Great for a weekend brekkie or brunch. shred the kale (2 big handfuls per person), making sure you pick out all the woody stems. heat 1 tbsp flavorless coconut […]
sticky broccoli bowl
A warm, sticky and tangy Buddha-style bowl that takes only 10 mins to make, is full of fiber, yet low-oxalate. get a pan, fill with water and 1/2 tsp salt and get it boiling. in the meantime shred 1/8th of a red cabbage finely in a bowl. Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tbsp of maple […]
tea
What I wouldn’t give for a nice cup of tea. I am British after all, and as a nation, we believe in our very souls that there is very little that a nice cup of tea can’t fix. Unfortunately, not only does it not fix fibro, it also makes it much, much worse. Tea is high in […]