5 Food Substitutes for Christmas Dinner that are Just as Good as the Real Thing!

Find alternatives to your favourite Christmas dinner mainstays.

Christmas Dinner has got to be one of the ultimate nightmares for those attempting an elimination diet, such as those on the YorkTest Food Intolerance Programme. Particularly difficult if you have been invited out and aren’t control of the menu or ingredients. Dr Gill Hart, Scientific Director at YorkTest Laboratories www.yorktest.com has a few ideas for alternatives for that special day of the year!

Turkey

For those of you that have intolerance reactions to Turkey in your blood then there are lots of alternatives to discover. Why not try a lentil and mushroom bake, or try a traditional duck or goose instead?

Cow’s milk free?

The supermarket shelves are now awash with milk substitutes, but they are sometimes difficult to hunt out! You can usually find milk alternatives in the “Longlife or UHT Milk”, “Free-From” or “Fresh Milk” sections but how they are categorised does vary from supermarket to supermarket! Try alternatives such as oat milk (I like the one that is fortified with calcium and vitamin D), coconut milk (great for sauces) and of course soya milk. Rice milk and hemp milk have less substance to then and so don’t make such good Yorkshire puddings or sauces, but are great for porridge and on cereals. Have a look and see, but do check out hidden ingredients, for example may of the milk alternatives contain sunflower oil, which isn’t helpful if you have reactions to sunflower seeds as well as cow’s milk! Remember too that goat and sheep milk contains similar milk proteins to cow’s milk and so may not be suitable for you.

Brussels Sprouts

Not a problem for most of us who can easily manage without! A good percentage of people do have intolerance reactions to vegetables from the Brassica family so best to watch out!

Christmas Pudding

Try Sainsbury’s gluten, wheat and dairy free iced Christmas loaf cake and Tesco “Free-From” Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies. Goodness Direct do a great little 2 pack of gluten free Christmas Puddings that you could take along with you if you are with family or friends for Christmas meals.

Christmas Treats

Where can I start? What would your treat be? There are so many “Free-From” Christmas treats out there. Check out Celtic Chocolates who offer Advent calendars, mints and fine dark chocolates – all dairy, gluten, wheat and egg free available from Sainsbury and Waitrose. What about free-from sponge puddings, chocolate brownies and chocolate cake mixes ready to bake? Good quality plain chocolate? What about 9-bars, or some of the other delicious cereal bars such as the Nakd range? For the ultimate treat have a look at the new ranges from M&S and Waitrose; Caramel Crunch Squares, Lemon Sponge Cake, Orange & Polenta Loaf Cake, Almond Frangipane and Chocolate and Cherry Cake; here I come!

If you think that you have symptoms of food intolerance such as bloating, irritable bowel, constipation, diarrhoea, headaches, migraines, skin problems, joint pains, chronic fatigue, tiredness or rhinitis then YorkTest can help you from the comfort of your own home. Visit www.yorktest.com to find out more.

Dr. Gillian Hart is a Scientific Director for YorkTest Laboratories specialists in food intolerance testing that can help identify IBS symptoms among others. For more information on types of food intolerance and food intolerance symptoms visit www.yorktest.com.

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