Elimination Diet Meal Plan for Babies

If you're facing an Elimination Diet for your baby (and possibly for yourself too) you're probably thinking that you'll be stuck on the same few meals day in day out... Thankfully, there are plenty of delicious recipes out there to see you all well fed (with satisfied tastebuds)! Below is a seven day meal plan to give you an idea of different snacks, meals and treats you can make to survive your Elimination Diet journey. You can do it!

You don't need to go out and buy lots of fancy (and likely processed) allergen-free alternatives and pre-packaged snacks. Yes there are a few key ingredients that will help you create more meals, such as coconut yoghurt as a dairy yoghurt replacement, and chia seeds as an egg replacement, but for the most part, you can use common ingredients available at mainstream supermarkets.

Before You and Your Baby Start the Elimination Diet

You will need to spend some time preparing and checking you have your meals and snacks planned. They key to a successful Elimination Diet journey is remaining one step ahead of your next meal or snack so that you're not left in a situation where the only available food contains an allergen. During my Elimination Diet experience (which I did with my baby while I was breastfeeding), I baked once or twice a week to ensure I always had some muffins, cookies or other appropriate snacks available. You can download my eBook: Allergen-Free Recipes for Babies, Toddlers and Breastfeeding Mothers for a range of meals and snacks to help you through you and your little one's Elimination Diet.

A Seven Day Elimination Diet Meal Plan for Babies

Day 1

You don't need to give up delicious bread on an allergen-free diet

Breakfast - Buckwheat Porridge with Coconut Yoghurt and Banana

Morning Snack - Sweet Pumpkin Fritters

Lunch - Brown Bread (see my recipe book) toast sticks with Berry Chia 'Jam' and fresh fruit (prepared appropriately for age) Afternoon Snack - Pureed fruit and yoghurt (served mixed in a bowl or reuseable pouch) and rice crackers (make sure they are allergen free) Dinner - Shepherd's Pie

Day 2

Magic Mousse is so deliciously versatile - it can be a breakfast, a snack or a dessert

Breakfast - Brown Bread with marmalade or honey (if baby is over one year old)

Morning Snack - Magic Mousse (see my recipe book) Lunch - Roast Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Soup and fresh fruit

Afternoon Snack - Pikelets with Berry Chia Jam (see my recipe book) Dinner - Gluten free pasta (make sure it's also egg free) with 'Easy Green Pasta Sauce' (see my recipe book) After dinner treat for mum - Chocolate Bark (see my recipe book)

Day 3

Soup is an easy, healthy and delicious meal that's perfect for the Elimination Diet

Breakfast - Chocolate Puffs (see my recipe book)

Morning Snack - Tiger Milk smoothie (see my recipe book) and rice crackers (make sure they are allergen free)

Lunch - Roast Pumpkin/Butternut Squash soup and fresh fruit (or a chicken salad with quinoa for Mum) Afternoon Snack - Fruit Jellies (see my recipe book) and a banana Dinner - Nachos (make sure corn chips are allergen free) topped with beef mince, guacamole (with optional dairy free cheese)

Day 4

Make like 2004 and treat yourself to a mug cake

Breakfast - Buckwheat Porridge Morning Snack - Carrot and Apple Muffins (see my recipe book)

Lunch - Spinach, Garlic and Mashed Potato Balls and steamed or roast carrot sticks Afternoon Snack - Leftover corn chips and guacamole Dinner - Chicken Sticks (see my recipe book) with roast vegetables After Dinner Treat for Mum - Chocolate Mug Cake (see my recipe book)

Day 5

This mild recipe is the perfect introduction to curry for babies

Breakfast - Chocolate Puffs Morning Snack - Tiger Milk smoothie and Carrot and Apple Muffin

Lunch - Leftover Chicken Sticks, fresh fruit and steamed or roast vegetables (with quinoa for mum - note: baby can have quinoa but it is a very messy experience)

Afternoon Snack - Rice crackers with homemade hummus (omit tahini which is made from seasame seeds) Dinner - Pea and Potato Curry (see my recipe book) served with rice (add chicken if you like)

Day 6

Baked Sweet Potatos are delicious and packed full of super powers

Breakfast - Brown Bread toast with jam, marmalade, sunflower seed butter, Marmite or honey (if baby is over one year old)

Morning Snack - Fruit Jellies and a banana

Lunch - Leek and potato soup (if your recipe has cream, swap this for coconut cream) Afternoon Snack - Caramel Muffins (see my recipe book)

Dinner - Stuffed Sweet Potato with Polenta Fries (see my recipe book) (Roast an extra sweet potato for the Black Bean Bites tomorrow)

Day 7

These little muffin morsels are refined sugar free so are perfect for little eaters

Breakfast - Magic Mousse Morning Snack - Caramel Muffins

Lunch - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Bites (see my recipe book) with fresh fruit

Afternoon Snack - Rice crackers with homemade hummus (omit tahini)

Dinner - Roast chicken with roast vegetables

Surviving the Elimination Diet with a Baby

As you can see, there are plenty of meals and snacks available on an Elimination Diet. There are so many meals you probably often make that you haven't yet realised are allergen free! The above seven-day Elimination Diet Meal Plan contains a few of the recipes included in my Allergen-Free Recipes for Babies, Toddlers and Breastfeeding Mothers eBook. This is a handy little resource to print out and keep in your kitchen's recipe holder to inspire you and guide you through your Elimination Diet experience.

If you've been on the Elimination Diet with your little one, I'd love to hear about your go-to recipes, snacks and meals! All the best with your journey :)