When I first began to eat a low histamine diet, I didn't think it was possible to eat low histamine comfort food. After all, comfort food evokes thoughts of dishes like cheese-heavy lasagne, loaded pizza with all the toppings or, let's face it, take-out from the local Chinese. While I'm working on a low histamine lasagne recipe, we all know that take-out is unlikely to be SIGHI compliant!
At the moment though, with an international pandemic and many of us self-isolating out of fear for our already comprised health and that of others, I think a little comfort food is in order. Trouble is, many of us are also having issues with food supply, so we may be a bit light on certain items and eating pantry staples that we have a few bags or cartons of in the kitchen cupboards. I'm thinking oats, quinoa, rice, seeds and frozen fruits and veg, amongst others.
I've divided this into breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a couple of sweet treats. Of course, we may not have all the items for the recipe to hand but, for many of the recipes, different vegetables can be swapped in and out, frozen fruit used instead of fresh or cous cous or rice used interchangeably. I hope that you find something that works for you, or in the low histamine recipes collection itself.
Jump to:
Breakfast
Many breakfast recipes are what I would call comfort food, or at least healthy comfort food! Oats are warming and cosy, while chia pudding and smoothies with some added protein powder are good for filling you up. Most of these recipes focus on oats, seeds and frozen fruit which are always in my pantry.
Baked peach and coconut oatmeal
This is real comfort food if you ask me, and the kids in my family love it too! Hearty and warming, it's so simple to make. If you can't get hold of peaches, then I think it would work equally well with nectarines or apricots. Using gluten-free oats such as Bob's Red Mill organic rolled oats makes this recipe suitable for those with that dietary requirement.
A great recipe that can easily swap out fresh fruit for frozen. If you don't have apples, as I have heard from some friends on Instagram that these are difficult to get hold of for many people, then a handful or frozen blueberries would be nice. Forget the fresh basil if you don't have any, it will still be delicious!
For some reason, carrots seem to be available online and when I went this morning to a local farmer's shop, which was thankfully empty, it was one of the few items in abundance. Porridge is brilliant as comfort food as it is so warming and hearty, and you can add toppings such as nuts, seeds and fresh fruit that you have to hand. I really like to add chia seeds for their health benefits.
Some more ideas:
Apple and pumpkin seed granola
Blueberry smoothie bowl (use frozen fruit if you don't have fresh)
Maple chia pudding (use any fresh fruit you have rather than making jam)
Lunch
This soup primarily uses pantry staples, with rice, herbs and coconut milk. The veg can be easily adapted to those you have available. Don't have squash? Up the carrots. No fresh herbs? Then sub in dried ones. If you can get hold of veg, then making a bigger batch of soup and freezing would be a great idea for easy lunches or a light dinner.
With the weather turning warmer the past few days, salad actually feels like comfort food to me right now. This herbed quinoa salad focuses on quinoa, and I always have a huge bag on the go and another in my cupboards. While it has many salad vegetables and pomegranate, you can swap in and out those you have, and fresh herbs can be replaced with a sprinkling of dried ones. The dressing comprises pantry staples - oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper.
Dinner
Coconut turmeric quinoa risotto
There's nothing more 'healthy comfort food' to me than risotto, and I love to swap out rice for quinoa as it is easier to make! This coconut turmeric quinoa risotto comprises lots of pantry staples, with quinoa, dried herbs, coconut milk and bouillon powder (or use any veggie stock you have made and frozen), and the vegetables can be whatever you have available. Warming, comforting and hearty. Quinoa is a great pantry staple source of protein.
Baked chicken with apple and honey
I was on the fence about whether to include this baked chicken with apple and honey recipe as apples may be trickier to get hold of, but I also know a lot of people here in the UK at least have an apple tree in their back yard, so in a few months (let's hope we aren't self-isolating at that point, but it seems likely) may be able to pick their own. Plus hopefully stores will have better supplies, and people will stop panic buying . . .
This dish is simple to make, and takes a little initial stove-top cooking and then the oven does the work for you. Really hearty, it's a popular recipe here on the blog and you can pair it with cous cous, rice or potatoes for a solid meal for all the family.
This white fish with a pistachio herb crumb topping has comfort food written all over it to me. Using frozen fish, and lots of pantry staples it makes a good family dinner for weeknights or weekends. I was slightly hesitant as to whether people would have unsalted pistachios to hand, but you can always add them to your next online shop!
Some more ideas:
Cod and sweet potato fish cakes
Cheesy zucchini toast (swap out fresh herbs for dried if needed)
Brown butter and sage butternut squash pasta
Sweet treats
Pumpkin seed and coconut clusters
Well I think it's fair to say that we all need a treat right now. Made with six ingredients (plus a touch of salt) that I always have in my pantry, these pumpkin seed and coconut clusters are simple to make and go down well with kids!
Again, I wasn't sure due to the fruit-supply issue, but I'm hopeful that many of you can get hold of them. These crumble topped baked peaches are the perfect low histamine comfort food dessert. Other than the fruit, these use pantry staples that I always keep in stock! A warming and hearty dessert, and gluten-free too using appropriate oats.
I hope that gives you some ideas for low histamine comfort foods that primarily use pantry staples. I had been meaning to make a post like this for some time, and it's so sad that we are now often having to look to our pantry for meals right now.
Related posts
Low histamine teas (and coffee alternatives)
Thanksgiving recipes for a low histamine diet
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Please follow the advice of your doctor as to all medical treatments, supplements and dietary choices, as set out in my disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, and this post, as well as all other posts on this blog, are for informational purposes only.
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