My Favorite Allergen Friendly Recipes
I get asked quite a bit, “Dr. Shannon, what do you and your family eat” We talk about food in the office, and I’m not one to tell people to eat or not eat certain foods, and then to not follow that advice myself. So I always appreciate when folks want to know what we eat.
There are a few statements that I’m known for saying, and they both relate to food.
“The skin is a reflection of the gut”
“You are more than what you eat. You are what you eat, and digest, and absorb, and assimilate, and create new tissue from”
So both of those statements really hone in on how important the food that we eat can be.
Why does my family eat an allergen free diet……because the skin is a reflection of the gut. My youngest has eczema tendencies, and so we look at blood and skin allergy tests, we supplement with gut healing herbs and nutrients, we limit inflammatory foods (he’s gluten and dairy free), he gets adjusted regularly, and we support his ability to detox chemicals and toxins.
At the beginning of the year, my family and I did Whole 30 for the entire month of January. Partly because my son, as I’ve mentioned is already gluten and dairy free. The rest of the family is mostly gluten and dairy free, but I also wanted to see if I could actually go without adding cream to my coffee. You’ll be happy to know that the whole family did it, and we all felt so amazing. Amazing enough to want to continue this diet long-term. But let’s be honest, what we’re talking about here is a lifestyle change (which I’ve written a previous blog post about this too!) I wanted to hit the reset button for my digestive tract. I wanted to eliminate some allergy prone foods from my diet and see if it changed how I felt. And boy did it. Better mental clarity, more restful sleep, clearer skin, and improved running endurance are just a few of the changes my family and I noticed.
So I wanted to share with you some of my favorite allergen friendly recipes (and 2 of my favorite cookbooks. These are recipes that I have actually made for dinner as well! My food may not have looked just like the picture on the websites 😉 but these have been a hit with my family. Yes, I mean that my kids have eaten them and have not complained.
Cauliflower Pizza Bites: It’s true, if cauliflower can be made into pizza, you my friend, are capable of anything!! This is a super easy recipe, and you can add all kinds of toppings that you want to the mini pizza bites. When I’ve made this recipe, I’ve done a “meatless Monday” version so I’ve added extra veggies.
Cauliflower Fried Rice: Again, cauliflower to the rescue! This has been such a good substitute for fried rice (yes, rice can be gluten-free however, when doing Whole 30, there’s no grains allowed). To give this dish the same flavor as fried rice, you add coconut aminios (this ingredient becomes a staple if doing Whole 30), and makes the dish taste wonderful.
Paleo Meatballs (gluten/dairy/egg free): Yes, it’s possible to make amazing meatballs without eggs! I love this recipe because it is so flavorful. I do follow the recipe by cooking them in the skillet for just a bit before baking them, so that does add a little bit of time, especially since this can make enough for leftovers. I have made this by baking them in the dish with the pasta sauce, but I’ve also just baked them plain without the sauce and both versions are great.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are a staple in our family. And my favorite way to cook them is to roast them. I typically just use olive oil and garlic salt and call it a day, but this recipe is wonderful because the spices and flavor are so good! Time saver – you can buy pre-cut sweet potatoes too 😊
Spicy Bison Sweet Potato Skillet: Skillet meals are a super simple way to cook dinner. No, you don’t have to use bison for this, but it really does make the meal perfect. Plus, you get to use leeks and pepitas, which is not something I typically cook with. Only thing I did leave off was the tabasco peppers (we like spicy, but I also want the kids to eat it) Top it off with the fried eggs, and this is a wonderful dinner.
Chili Chicken Burger Bowls with Avocado Pesto: I can’t tell you how much I absolutely love this recipe. It’s a go-to for my family because guess what, everyone eats a salad!! It’s a burger on top of sweet potatoes on top of spring mix…..and the avocado pesto sauce is a perfect topping. I’ve used pepitas instead of pine nuts, and it’s still great! I use the left over pesto sauce as a dip or even on another salad the next day.
Easy Paleo Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: Again, sweet potatoes to the rescue. One reason I love sweet potatoes is that they are not part of the nightshade vegetables (like regular potatoes ) and nightshades can be pro-inflammatory. You could even do a meatless version of this meal and just stuff the potatoes with vegetables. Side note: Daiya makes a great vegan cheese substitute which we use for my youngest!
Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets (gluten/dairy/egg free) : Want to make some chicken nuggets at home that taste like Chick-fil-A……well this is the recipe for you. I’ve used coconut flour instead of almond flour, and there have been no complaints. This can be super simple too if you buy pre-cut chicken.
I also have two favorite cookbooks:
Whole30 Fast & Easy: This has become my go-to resource when coming up with meal ideas. I have several recipes marked like the apple, fennel, pork radicchio wraps, the zucchini-basil chicken hash, the southwest breakfast for dinner bowls, and the chorizo and sweet potato skillet. These meals really are fast and easy, and definitely work trying!
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Action Plans: This is the first healthy foods related cookbook that I bought. It is a great resource because it offers 4 different action plans: paleo, Mediterranean, vegan, and time-saving. I have definitely used the chia breakfast pudding recipe as well as the, roasted sweet potatoes and pineapple, roasted root vegetables, sweet potato hash, and chicken curry.
And to connect this to chiropractic……we talk about neurostructural dysfunction in the office – vertebral subluxation – which is when there is improper nervous system function as well as improper motion in the spine. Well what can cause that? Thoughts…..Traumas……Toxins. And some of those toxins can come from the food we eat and the water we drink! And remember, we are more than the food that we eat. If we are eating chemical laden food and pro-inflammatory foods, then our body will regenerate using those same toxins.
Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t always eat non-GMO, organic, allergen-free, sugar-free, grass-fed items for every meal however, I make an effort to be very aware and cognizant of the food that I am putting in my body as well as what I feed my family. And those two statements I’m known for saying are why I’m so focused on that 😊
So what’s for dinner? Next time you’re in the office for your adjustment, let me know if you’ve made any of these dishes or if you and your family have a favorite recipe.
Disclaimer: There are no affiliate links in this blog! There’s no kickback from any of these sites I have linked. I’m sharing them because I love their recipes!
~ Dr. Shannon