Lehner - Elimination diet 101: a cookbook and how-to guide with helpful advice and 80 easy, quick and delicious recipes to test for food allergies and sensitivities

By Jennifer Vasch Lehner

Smashwords Edition

Text copyright 2012 by Jennifer VaschLehner

Smashwords Edition

Photographs copyright Erin Seyfried

Photograph of Author copyright JessicaTibbels

Design by Christine Williams

Edited by Mike Lehner

ISBN-13: 978-0-9885624-1-7

This book is also available in a printededition.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personalenjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away toother people. If you would like to share this book with anotherperson, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Ifyou're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was notpurchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.comand purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard workof this author.

All rights reserved. Published by EliminationDiet 101, Seattle, WA.

www.EliminationDiet101.com

Information found in this book, whether providedby Elimination Diet 101, its contributors, licensors or users, isfor informational purposes only and is not intended to be asubstitute for professional medical or dietary treatment. Everyperson is unique and a diet should reflect that. Always consultwith your physician or a qualified health care provider beforedeciding on your diet.

Table of Contents

If you enjoy this book, it is in no smallpart due to the fabulous group of people who inspired, shaped, andedited it. Elimination Diet 101 truly represents the time,enthusiasm, and generous help they gave, and I would love for youto know who they are and how much I appreciate them. My heartfeltgratitude goes to:

My amazing husband Mike, foreverything. Fouryears ago someone had the audacious idea to write this book. Ihonestly dont remember if it was him or me, but thats a sign ofhow integral hes been to the entire process. Had he not cheerfullytaken on so much of what I normally do in order to allow me thetime to research, test and cook recipes, and write to my heartscontent, this book would never have happened. His faith in myability to complete a project of such magnitude is only slightlymore remarkable than the 10 round-trip flights he took with our sonto give me recipe weekends alone and the countless hours hedevoted to the unloved but vital task of editing. He never oncecomplained or allowed anything but supportive words to escape hislips. For always encouraging me when the task felt too great andcontinuing to love me when I was so completely absorbed in my ownwork, I am eternally grateful.

My loving parents, Janet and David, who havesupported every endeavor Ive ever undertaken. Looking back on mychildhood, its clear just how instrumental those healthy familydinners were that we shared every night! No matter where I go orwhat I do, Im always my parents daughter and I hope that thisbook makes them proud.

My wonderful in-laws, Pam and Chris, who havebeen such enthusiastic cheerleaders of the book, but moreimportantly, of me in general. I am so grateful for their supportand for encouraging me to be confident in myself and my owntalents. Oh, and also for their eagle eyes - readers will neverknow how many typos they didnt have to suffer through thanks totheir editing efforts.

Christine Williams, my skilled designer, whostepped up at crunch time and so flawlessly translated my visiononto paper. Her design skills and many sensible suggestionsregarding text, format, and flow vastly improved the presentationof this book - readers will benefit from her great work.

Erin Seyfried, whose photographic talentscaptured each recipe in such appetizing fashion. I am incrediblygrateful for her support, steady hand, and long hours workingside-by-side.

Kelly Morrow and Dr. Todd Born, who encouragedme to move forward with this book when it was still just a wishfulconcept. Both conducted thorough reviews, verified recipes foraccuracy, and provided insightful comments that added great valueand depth to the final draft. I am so thankful to be able toincorporate into this book some of the knowledge and wisdom theyhave gained in their many years of naturopathic experience. I amhonored by the time they have invested and I hope that this book isa valuable resource for their patients.

And finally, my little Luke, whose laughter andsmile puts everything in perspective. I cant say that he made thisproject easier, but he certainly does make me a better person everyday and I love him so much. All this cookbook stuff is fabulous,but being Lukes mom is what fills my heart with joy.

It only took four years for this book to reachfruition and each of these lovely people was invaluable to me alongthat journey. We made it! Thank you all, so very much!

Im so happy that you discovered the EliminationDiet and are ready to give it a try, and Im even happier that youfound my book! Why? Because I wrote it for you! I know firsthand that new journeys -particularly this one - can seem overwhelming at first, and I wantto support you and reassure you that you can do this!

Every body is unique and our stories are alldifferent, but we have found ourselves at the same place. We are inpain, we are uncomfortable, we may have been to countless medicalappointments, tried weird medications, and still havent found asolution. We are frustrated and know that something isnt quiteright, but we dont know exactly what it is, and we want to feelbetter.

The vision for this book emerged 4 years agowhen I was suffering from explosive skin rashes and intense bodyaches without any significant sign of serious illness or cause. Iwas poked, examined, x-rayed, and CT-scanned to exhaustion bymultiple doctors of various specialties, only to be told that therewas nothing physically wrong with me except for a mild case ofpsoriasis.

I trusted my doctors, but I knew deep down thatthey were wrong. I wasnt sure where to go next or what else to do,and I thought I had exhausted all of my options.

Then a good friend recommended that I visit anaturopathic doctor (ND). I had no idea what an ND was or what theydid, but the recent psoriasis diagnosis had me very concerned aboutthe prescribed lifetime of intensive steroid treatments that laybefore me. After my first round of steroid treatment, I knew that Ididnt want to continue exposing my body to those hormones - theremust be another way, a better way....

At the first appointment, the ND recommendedthat I do the Elimination Diet to see if food sensitivities mightbe causing my symptoms. My first reaction was total surprise - ithad never occurred to me, nor been suggested to me, that food (?!)might be the problem. My second reaction was mild devastation - Ilove food and, next to growing it, cooking it and eating it are mygreatest passions. The ND gave me a small handbook of informationabout what not to eat along with a few sample recipes, asked me tomake a follow-up appointment for the next month, and sent me on myway.

Flipping though the handbook on the bus ridehome, I panicked - no wheat, eggs, dairy, tomatoes, potatoes,citrus, soy, sugar? What exactly am I going tobe able to eat? Will my husband, Mike, be willing to eat the samefood as me, or will I have to cook two separate meals everyevening? The handbook's recipes looked interesting, but therewasnt much variety. They required a lot of prep time and exoticingredients that I was unable to realistically handle while workingfull-time. Can I actually do the Elimination Diet?, I askedmyself.

I jumped off the bus and ran home, headedstraight for the kitchen, and pulled my big binder of favoriterecipes off the shelf. I spent the next several hours siftingthrough them to find Elimination Diet-friendly recipes and recipesthat could be modified to be Diet-friendly.