Through The Fibro Fog

  • Summer Recipes
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Ebooks
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Summer Recipes
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Ebooks
  • Subscribe
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Summer Recipes
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Ebooks
  • Subscribe
×
Home » Low Histamine Resources

Low Histamine Meal Prep (Tips and Recipes)

Published: Mar 13, 2023 by Claire · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases · 2 Comments

Meal prep is often a very helpful way to save time and energy, and make some tasty food that's easy to use on a busy day. But is low histamine meal prep possible? And how can we go about it?

Before we go on, I'll give you a key tip for meal prep - use your freezer!

This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or dietetic advice in any way. Always consult with a dietician for your dietetic needs. Histamine build-up on food and sensitivity to it is likely individual and working with a qualified dietician for your specific circumstances is best.

labelled low histamine meal prep tips and recipes with chicken fillets and rosemary sprigs.
Jump to:
  • 📖 Why meal prep can be problematic on a low histamine diet
  • 💭 How can you meal prep on a low histamine diet?
  • ⏲️ What do you need to meal prep?
  • 📋 Meal prep ideas and recipes
  • 🥣 Soups
  • 🥘 Stews
  • 🐓 Chicken and turkey
  • 🥕 Vegetables
  • 🥭 Fruit
  • 🌿 Pesto
  • 🥥 Coconut milk
  • 📋 Foods not suitable for freezing
  • 📖 More low histamine resources
  • 💬 Comments

📖 Why meal prep can be problematic on a low histamine diet

As a dietician said to me many years ago, when it comes to a low histamine diet, fresh is always best. We want to use fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and other produce. It is the case, as the Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance describes, that 'freshness is often a decisive factor that determines whether a food is tolerated or not'.

Using fresh ingredients is a key aspect of this diet then, but so is the duration of their storage. As the SIGHI explain, 'the longer food is stored, the more time microorganisms have to form histamine'.

Histamine formation means that preparing a meal with fresh ingredients, but keeping it out on the kitchen counter or in the fridge for long periods of time is problematic. The level of histamine will increase on your food.

Therefore, meal prep in the sense of making meals for the week ahead and keeping in portions in the fridge is likely problematic for those with histamine intolerance or mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS).

Note: as the SIGHI describe, 'histamine is heat stable. It cannot be destroyed by either cooking or freezing'. Therefore, heating or freezing food that has already formed histamine by being left out will not destroy it.

💭 How can you meal prep on a low histamine diet?

It is possible, to an extent, to meal prep on a low histamine diet by freezing food. In their advice on food storage, the SIGHI describe:

Good cooling at 0 to 5 °C slows down the growth of microorganisms. Freezing at -18°C slows down these processes even more, but cannot stop them completely. For this reason, frozen foods should not be stored for an unnecessarily long time.

Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance

Freezing food then, appears to be a possible way to meal prep, as long as food isn't in the freezer for too long. On this point, I want to flag up that the SIGHI note that 'too much histamine can also build up in frozen fish within a few weeks'.

And it's important to read their guide on freshness, shopping tips, food storage and leftovers for full information. Freezer times given below are guides for the general population, and may be too long for those with histamine intolerance or MCAS.

Tolerance to histamine formation, even on frozen foods, will be individual. It's always best to work with a dietician to assess your personal circumstances and sensititivites.

broccoli zucchini soup in two white bowls on a beige cloth next to a bowl of fresh mint and garlic cloves.

⏲️ What do you need to meal prep?

If you are cooking a big batch of soup or stew, you simply need freezer-safe bags or containers. Once cooled, ladle your food into the containers and freeze in portions.

📋 Meal prep ideas and recipes

Now meal prep is often used to save time, money and energy. And if you have a chronic illness, then all three are important! On days when you have a bit more energy, then you may want to prepare or cook extra ingredients or meals for a day when fatigue is high.

Some foods and recipes I meal prep often:

🥣 Soups

Now anyone on my Low Histamine Kitchen Instagram will know that making soup and my quinoa vegetable soup in particular, is my go-to easy lunch! I make it in big batches and freeze into portions.

The exception to freezing soups is those that contain cheese or other dairy such as cream. They don't freeze well. The same is true of soup with pasta in it, it just doesn't do well unfortunately.

Instead, I stick to vegetable soups including my root vegetable soup, celery leek soup and parsnip ginger soup. All healthy and tasty options for an easy lunch!

🥘 Stews

Making a batch of stew is always nice on a weekend, and you can freeze the stew itself (not combined with the rice, if that's how you are serving) into portions for a weeknight meal. My turkey stew without tomatoes is one idea to try!

spicy turkey stew and white rice in a light grey bowl with a blue rim next to a small bowl of garlic.

🐓 Chicken and turkey

If you've bought one too many packets of chicken or turkey, they can easily be frozen as they are (still in sealed packets) in the freezer.

To freeze cooked chicken, Taste of Home recommends to place the chicken in an airtight container immediately and, once cooled, placing in the freezer. They suggest that cooked chicken can be frozen for up to four months.

Recipes such as my air fryer chicken thighs, rosemary chicken fillets and Italian herb chicken will all freeze well.

As Taste of Home mention, you cannot freeze all cooked chicken. For example, a chicken salad cannot be frozen due to the mayo, which would separate.

This post on freezing cooked chicken has more information on safely reheating and cooking frozen chicken. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture gives timings for safe duration of freezing different preparations of chicken.

Tip: mark the date that you placed the chicken in the freezer on your container. As above, SIGHI recommend that frozen food is not stored for an unnecessarily long time, so the above times may need to be shortened.

🥕 Vegetables

Let's face it, some vegetables are a little tiresome to prepare . . . I'm thinking of butternut squash for example, that's a bit of an effort to peel and dice. And it's often too much for one meal.

BBC Good Food recommends blanching vegetables, then open freezing them on a non-stick baking sheet until solid. The vegetables can then be placed in a freezer bag and frozen. Have a read of their article on freezing vegetables for more information, and types of vegetables that cannot be frozen.

🥭 Fruit

Fruit can also be frozen in the same manner as vegetables, as described above. I find this particularly helpful during blackberry season when we pick far too many to eat at once!

Do check out my post on low histamine berries to discover tasty fruits to add to your meals!

lemon balm pesto in a glass jar with a bowl of pine nuts and garlic in the background.

🌿 Pesto

Need an easy meal? Pesto pasta is always a winner in my home! Homemade pesto can easily be made in larger batches and frozen into portions in small tupperware containers (freeze the pesto only, not cooked with the pasta).

Perhaps you would like to try my pumpkin seed pesto or my macadamia nut pesto for a quick dinner as pesto pasta, or as a spread or dip!

🥥 Coconut milk

Many recipes call for half a cup of coconut milk, including my own broccoli and zucchini soup and vegetarian gnocchi soup.

If you've opened a can of coconut milk to make a recipe, you can simply transfer any remaining into a freezer-safe container and freeze for next time. Freeze It recommends only freezing coconut milk for two to three months.

📋 Foods not suitable for freezing

Certain foods are not suitable for freezing, including vegetables with a higher water content such as cucumber and leafy greens.

See the BBC Good Food page on tips freezing for food, for those foods not suitable for freezing. Please note that their list is not specific to a low histamine diet.

I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes and resources!

📖 More low histamine resources

Have a peek at my low histamine recipes collection - over 300 tasty meals and snacks to choose from!

To start the day, you may like to see my easy breakfast ideas post with so many healthy options, including smoothies, chia pudding, hot options, granola and more.

And for lunch and dinner, there so many delicious options in my low histamine chicken recipes round-up and cheese recipes post, as well as ideas for salad dressings, fun snacks, and cozy tea and coffee alternatives too!

  • diced vegetables, parsley, thyme and garlic in water to make vegetable stock in a pot.
    Low Histamine Vegetable Stock
  • collage of vegetable soup, salad, potato fritters and baked chicken recipes.
    Top 10 Low Histamine Recipes of 2024
  • collage of images of paprika chicken, beet salad, apple pear smoothie and potato fritters.
    Top 10 Low Histamine Recipes of 2023
  • wooden boxes of peaches and nectarines.
    20 Low Histamine Fruits and Berries (With Recipes)

Don't forget to pin the post!

rosemary chicken and rosemary sprigs on a wooden board with text low histamine meal prep tips and recipes.
Tweet
Share
Pin
Share

More Low Histamine Resources

  • berry porridge in a cream bowl next to a spoon and blackberries.
    Is Oatmeal Low Histamine? (with Recipes)
  • oil in a glass jar with a spoon in it next to garlic cloves and ginger.
    Low Histamine Oils (and How to Use Them)
  • turkey cranberry cream cheese sandwich on a wooden board next to an apple and jar of cranberry sauce.
    Low Histamine Sandwich Fillings
  • collage of apple smoothie, butternut salad, vegetable soup and rosemary chicken breast.
    Top 10 Low Histamine Recipes of 2022

Comments

  1. Detrick Snyder says

    September 26, 2024 at 4:46 am

    Very helpful article!

    One addition: cooked leafy greens freeze well, even if fresh don't.

    Reply
    • Claire says

      September 26, 2024 at 7:40 am

      Thanks for sharing!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hi, I’m Claire. After a diagnosis of MCAS I began to follow a low histamine diet, which has helped me manage my symptoms. Here I hope to show that a restrictive diet can still be full of flavourful meals, and help you enjoy being creative in the kitchen.

More about me →

Summer Recipes

  • baked rosemary thyme chicken on a white plate next to arugula.
    Baked Rosemary Thyme Chicken
  • chicken pesto pasta salad in a white bowl next to fresh basil leaves, radishes and salad servers.
    Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
  • apple and cucumber salad in a white bowl with a spoon in it next to red apples and mint leaves.
    Apple and Cucumber Salad
  • cucumber celery salad on a white plate next to fresh mint leaves and olive oil.
    Cucumber Celery Salad
  • brown bowl of tropical mango coleslaw with mint next to it.
    Tropical Mango Coleslaw
  • two glasses of peach honey mocktail.
    Peach Mocktail

Featured On

collage of featured in brand names including parade, finding vegan, feed feed, food gawker, msn, big oven and trivet recipes.

Popular Recipes

  • chicken thighs on a cream fluted plate garnished with herbs.
    Air Fryer Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
  • stack of grated potato fritters on a white plate with fresh herbs and glass of water in the background.
    Grated Potato Fritters
  • creamy paprika chicken in a light grey skillet.
    Creamy Paprika Chicken
  • cod fillet, roasted potatoes and vegetables on a white plate.
    Air Fryer Frozen Cod

As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Please see my disclaimer. I am not a doctor or healthcare professional. All posts are for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical or dietetic advice in any way.

veda ambassador logo.

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact Me

Copyright © 2025 Through The Fibro Fog