Brussels Slaw with Creamy Cashew Dressing

I love my pear coleslaw when I want a refreshing salad dish. For some variety, I wanted to make a more creamy salad, which I thought would also go perfectly with raw Brussels sprouts.

Using cashew butter, I made a creamy, salty and slightly sweet dressing, which pairs well with the Brussels sprouts and pears. You can use the dressing with other recipes if you wish. I also use the same recipe with cabbage instead of Brussels sprouts from time to time, which is also lovely.

Brussels Slaw with Creamy Cashew Dressing

Print recipe

Vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, low salicylate, The Eczema Diet-friendly

Prep time: 10 minutes
Rest time: 30 minutes

Salad ingredients:

• 7-8 cups shaved Brussels sprouts
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 pear, peeled and cut in small cubes
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 2 green onions, green parts only, sliced

Creamy cashew dressing ingredients:

• 2 tbsp raw cashew butter
• 2 tsp pure maple syrup
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil (or oil of choice)
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 pinch garlic powder

Directions:

1. Put shaved Brussels sprouts in a bowl. Add salt and massage the Brussels sprouts. Set aside for 30 minutes so the Brussels sprouts soften (alternatively, you can also put in the fridge overnight).
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the salad.
3. Make the dressing by whisking all ingredients together and mix into the salad.

Quick & Easy Vegan French Toast

I’ve made several french toast recipes in the past, vegan or not. I won’t lie and say the one I am sharing is the best one – my favorite is actually from Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Kitchen cookbook (the recipe is available here). The combination of almond butter, vanilla, nutritional yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg and maple in that recipe is simply amazing and I highly recommend the recipe (I didn’t make the amaretto creme). It’s already quite sweet, so you don’t actually need to eat them with syrup.

However, that recipe does require several ingredients, is more expensive, and is not an option for many food sensitivities, including to salicylates and nuts. I’ve been able to keep my severe eczema at bay with The Eczema Detox. For people following a similar diet – being dairy free, low salicylate, low amine, and low glutamate does not mean you can’t have French Toast! You can actually make some quite easily.

You can make french toast with just bread, milk and flour. I add a bit of maple syrup for a very slight sweetness (but drizzle some more after), and add pea protein since I think it gives some of the more savory flavor you would usually get from eggs.

Use any bread and non-dairy milk you found you can have. If you haven’t found these items in stores, you may make bread and/or milk at home (for bread and milk recipes when following The Eczema Diet, check out this list). The recipe makes enough for a loaf of bread in my case (I use spelt sourdough from Berlin’s Natural Bakery), but the number of bread slices you can make will vary slightly depending on the denseness of the bread you use.

Quick & Easy
Vegan French Toast

Print recipe

Vegan, soy-free (choose milk accordingly), gluten-free (choose bread and flour accordingly), oil-free (if using a non-stick pan), nut-free (choose milk accordingly), low salicylate, The Eczema Diet-friendly

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of non-dairy milk
• 4 tbsp spelt flour (use oat or rice flour for gluten-free option)
• 2 tbsp pure pea protein powder (or more flour)
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 loaf of bread

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk milk, flour, protein powder and maple syrup until well combined.
2. Heat a skillet or crepe pan over medium heat (note: I use a non-stick crepe pan which does not require any oil, use oil if your skillet requires it to avoid sticking).
3. Dip a slice of bread in the batter. If your bread is light and airy, remove right away so it does not get soggy. If your bread is very dense, leave for a minute so it absorbs the batter.
4. Transfer the bread slice to the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until lightly browned, then flip. Cook again for 4-5 minutes, until lightly browned. You can do 2-3 slices at a time depending on the size of your skillet.
5. Repeat until you have the desired number of french toast. If using oil, add more between batches (note: you can make the number of slices you want and keep the batter in the fridge to use the next few days, or use up all the batter and keep the french toast in the fridge or freezer).
6. Serve with your desired topping (ideas: maple syrup, poached pears, pear compote, vanilla cashew creme).

No-Tomato Ketchup

Whether you are avoiding salicylates, amines, glutamates and/or nightshades, tomatoes are out of your diet. Because of the many different food chemicals in tomatoes, they are also considered part of the “Itchy Dozen” for eczema. Avoiding them can be difficult as tomatoes are the base of so many of a regular diet’s staples, including pasta sauce, pizza sauce… and ketchup!

People on a low salicylate, amine and glutamate diet often find that they have few choices for flavourings and condiments. Although ketchup is usually tomato-based, it is possible to make one without tomatoes. Many recipes are already available, but most still use salicylate-containing fruits and vegetables, as well as spices. Low salicylate options often include canned pears and highly refined sugars, which is not an option for everyone.

This ketchup recipe uses only low salicylate, amine and glutamate ingredients. It uses fresh fruits and vegetables (no cans), and maple syrup as a sweetener. A tart flavour is obtained through pure ascorbic acid powder, a form of vitamin C (look for it in the supplement section of your grocery store, pharmacy or health food store). It is not bright red like store-bought tomato ketchup, but thanks to red cabbage, it still has a lovely dark red color. You’ll be surprised how close it is to regular tomato ketchup!

---

No-Tomato Ketchup

Print recipe

Yields 2 1/2 cups
Vegan, soy-free, nut-free, oil-free, gluten-free, low salicylate, The Eczema Diet-friendly

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 pears, peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
• 1 small-medium leek, white and light green part only, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cups finely chopped red cabbage
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 to 2 tsp ascorbic acid (pure powder, no additives)

Directions:

1. Put pears, garlic, leek, celery, cabbage and maple syrup in a medium pot over medium-high heat.
2. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let cook (it should remain a slow boil) uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.
4. Put in a blender, add salt and ascorbic acid (start with 1 1/2 tsp and adjust to taste), and process until smooth.
5. Refrigerate.

Adapted from Fedup

---

Savory Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup has always been a classic to me, one my grand-mother would make. Thick and filling, I’ve always loved it. I always think to myself I’ll make some, and then never do. Until I made this recipe!

I wanted to make a split pea soup that would be really flavorful, but safe on all stages of The Eczema Diet and The Eczema Detox programs (as long as there isn’t any additional sensitivities).

Thus I used most flavor enhancers on the diet, including celery, leek, garlic and parsley. But one addition which I rarely used in salty recipes added depth to the flavor of the soup, and I name carob powder! The soup would still be good without it, but I highly recommend including it if you can!

vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, oil-free, low salicylate, The Eczema Diet-friendly

Print recipe

Serves 4
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 2 hr

INGREDIENTS

• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped in small cubes (see note)
• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 1/2 head green cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 pound dry split peas (green or yellow), rinsed
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp carob powder
• salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add a few tbsp of water to a large pot and place over medium heat. Add carrot, celery and leek and cook until soft.
2. Add cabbage, split peas, water and garlic powder. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, cover and let cook for 90 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Add parsley and carob powder and cook for another 30 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and season with salt to taste.

NOTES

• Skip the carrot if making the recipe on the FID program of The Eczema Detox, or if you are on a low salicylate diet.

Adapted from A very good split pea soup

Saffron & Pear Iced Tea

Many people following The Eczema Diet want some options for flavorful drinks or tea. As such, I’ve been wanting to make a recipe for a delicious beverage that anyone would enjoy, but would also be safe for those following The Eczema Diet or Eczema Detox. However, I never got to it. So when Moscow Muled contacte me to try out their mugs, I thought what a perfect occasion to force myself to make that recipe!

Moscow Muled is a 2-year-old company making copper mugs. As I’ve seen copper mugs popping up everywhere, I was interested in learning more about them from the company’s owner, Jessica.

Copper mugs look good and can be great for hosting and to keep beverages cold for longer in style (no thermos here!). However, 100% copper mugs can actually be unsafe as copper can leak into beverages that are acidic.  This is why if you want to get copper mugs, you have to make sure they are lined with a safe material. Moscow Muled copper mugs are one of the safe options as they are fully lined with nickel, which I really appreciate.

Copper mugs are traditionally used for moscow mule, a cocktail made with vodka, spicy ginger beer, and lime juice. However, they can really be used for any cold drink! I decided to make a flavorful iced tea.

This Saffron & Pear Tea is spicy, sweet and invigorating. It does have an intense saffron flavor, so only make it if you like saffron! If you prefer hot tea, you can also have this one hot, although I really prefer it’s flavor cold. Saffron is on the more expensive side, so this is a special occasion treat for me. If you want to have this more frequently, it would also be good with less saffron, but you would get a more mild flavor.

Want to make this into a flavorful cocktail? Add a shot of vodka!

vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, low salicylate, The Eczema Diet-friendly

Print recipe

Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 30 min

INGREDIENTS

• 0.3 grams saffron (about 1 tsp)
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1 pear, peeled and chopped in cubes
• 1 liter water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 20 more minutes.
2. Strain. Refrigerate the tea until cold.
3. Optional: place the strained cooked pear cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer. When ready to serve, use the pear as ice cubes.

 

Note. This post was written in partnership with Moscow Muled Copper Mugs. Moscow Muled provided mugs free of charge for review, but did not sponsor this post. The recipe and opinions in this post are my own.

Chocolaty Pear Crisp

Wanting to make a dessert I could eat for a potluck earlier this summer, I was trying to think of something I could make that I would like, but that would also be just delicious in general, making it sharing worthy. I’ve always loved crisps, so I thought – why not make a pear crisp? Fruity desserts are also perfect for summer!

I was first planning to make a plain pear crisp, using oil instead of butter or margarine. Still, I kept trying to think of other substitutes for butter. And then I thought – why not use cocoa butter?? It turns out, this delicious fat from the cocoa bean is low in amines, contrary to cocoa powder and chocolate – making it a suitable ingredient for those on low amine diets such as The Eczema Diet and The Eczema Detox.

I wasn’t totally sure it would be good, but since pears and chocolate usually do go well together, I thought let’s give it a try! And I must say it was a good thing I tried it – because it was delicious!

This crisp is sweet, juicy, chocolaty and full of flavor. It definitely hits the spot as an actual full-blown dessert. The cacao butter gives it a rich, chocolate flavor that makes even small portions very satisfying (and I am someone who could usually eat an entire dish of crisp). Definitely something I’ll make from time to time!

---

Serves 12
Vegan, soy free, nut free, low salicylate, The Eczema Diet-friendly

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Print recipe

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 12 cups diced peeled ripe pear (about 12 large pears)
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp spelt flour

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 2 cups spelt flakes (or rolled oats)
• 2/3 cup maple sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3/4 cup cocoa butter
• 1/4 cup rice bran oil or safflower oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Making the filling:

1. Add the diced pears to a 9 x 12 inch baking dish.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, vanilla extract and spelt flour.
3. Pour over the pears and mix well.

Making the topping and baking the crisp:

1. In a large bowl, mix spelt flour, spelt flakes, maple sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. In a saucepan, melt the cocoa butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the oil.
3. Pour over the dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon, then mix well with your hands until coated evenly and crumbly.
4. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the pears.
5. Bake for 1 hour, until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.
6. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes:
Cocoa butter and cacao butter are the same. Check that it is food grade, not the one used for making skin care.

---

 

Pear Oatmeal Cookies

I love the Anzac cookies from The Eczema Diet. Unfortunately, they are a bit too high in sugar for me, making me flare up every time I had them. Even for an occasional treat, I prefer something I won’t get a rash from. This led me to work on making a version with less sweetener. I opted to use pears to keep sweetness with less added sweetener, and also worked on finding a perfect amount of sweetener where they are just sweet enough to feel like dessert and not a healthy snack.

I love these cookies and have now made them countless times, so they are definitely well tested. If you’ve made the Anzac Cookies, you’ll see the ressemblance in the recipe, but the result is a completely different cookie, that is much more soft and cakey. So this is a great way to add some variety in your dessert options while on The Eczema Diet! I don’t use oats anymore, so I use spelt flakes in the cookies, but both work great.

vegan, soy-free, nut-free, low salicylate, The Eczema Diet-friendly

Print recipe

Yields 12
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 20 min

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup rolled oats (or spelt flakes)
• 1 cup whole grain spelt flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 cup rice bran oil, sunflower oil or safflower oil
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 ripe pear, peeled and diced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, combine oats and spelt flour.
3. In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup and oil and place over high heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture starts to bubble. Immediately add baking soda, mixing with the whisk until it foams. Remove from the heat.
4. Add the foaming liquid mixture to the oats and flour and mix until combined with a wooden spoon. Stir in the diced pear.
5. Make balls of dough and place on the baking sheet. Flatten the top of the cookies.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

NOTES

• For cookies higher in protein, substitute 1/4 cup of the spelt flour with pure pea protein powder. If the dough is too thick, add 1 tbsp water.

Adapted from The Eczema Diet

Pear Coleslaw

On my birthday this year, a friend was kind enough to make me dinner despite the very limited number of foods I eat following a restricted version of The Eczema Diet. I was pleasantly surprised as she actually made me dishes that were different from my everyday go-tos, with an appetizer, entrée and dessert.

For my appetizer, she made a coleslaw with pears that was absolutely delicious. I ended up recreating it and making it from time to time. I can’t take all the credit for this recipe, but it is definitely a keeper as an easy, salad-type dish that will be appreciated by both people following The Eczema Diet and others looking for easy recipes.

vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, raw, low salicylate, The Eczema Diet-friendly

Print recipe

Serves 6
Prep Time 15 min

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups thinly sliced red and green cabbage
• 3/4 tsp fine celtic salt or fine sea salt
• 3 green onions, green parts only, sliced
• 2 ripe pears, peeled
• 1/2 tbsp virgin sunflower oil (see note)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the cabbage in a bowl. Add salt and massage the cabbage. Set aside to soften for 5 minutes. Add the green onions, massage again and set aside 5-10 minutes.
2. Thinly slice 1 1/2 pear. Add to the cabbage.
3. Mash the remaining 1/2 pear. Mix in the oil. Pour on the salad, mix and serve.

NOTES

• Sunflower oil adds good flavour to this salad. You may substitute flax oil which will give a nutty flavour. If you can’t use either and are on The Eczema Diet, use safflower or rice bran oil.

Pear Pea Protein Muffins

Well, today is my blogiversary! Apparently, it’s already been 7 years since I founded Sweet Salty Spicy. A lot has changed since then, first going from vegetarian to vegan, then following The Eczema Diet. It has been a bit over 1 1/2 years now on the diet, and last year’s blogiversary was the first I did not post for. At first, I completely stopped posting when I started the diet, for two reasons. First, I was uncomfortable sharing anything about my eczema journey online. Second, I did not think I could share any recipes people would want to make.

After a while on the diet, I made some recipes I realized other people following the diet may enjoy. With the addition of a Facebook support group by Karen, I had a platform to share those recipes with those fellow Eczema Diet followers. And thus a new step in my blogging began as I started sharing recipes and tips specifically for The Eczema Diet. What I hadn’t expected is that I now feel like I have more of an impact as I believe I can now help people following this strict diet have more fun with food, and maybe help some follow the diet more easily.

Maybe someday I’ll be able to eat more foods or even a normal diet, but I am no longer waiting for that day to come. If it doesn’t, I would gladly stay on the diet to keep my eczema at bay, and if I get to eat more foods, well we’ll see another new phase on the blog :).

For now, let’s celebrate this blogiversary with my favorite baked good! I adapted Karen’s pear muffins to suit my personal needs, but also by adding protein powder, thus upping the protein content of the muffins, making them a bit more filling and complete – which is also useful on my vegan diet. They are now the only muffins I make.

I personally use barley malt as a sweetener which has a strong malty flavor that is amazing in the muffins. Rice syrup would also work, although it would not give the same malty flavor. Finally, maple syrup is an option, but the quantities must be reduced as it is sweeter.

vegan, nut-free, soy-free, The Eczema Diet friendly

Print recipe

Yields 12
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 20 min

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 1/4 cups spelt flour
• 3/4 cup 100% pure pea protein powder
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup barley malt syrup (my favorite!) or rice syrup
• 1 cup filtered water
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract or 1/8 tsp ground vanilla bean (optional)
• 1/3 cup virgin sunflower oil or rice bran oil
• 2 pears, peeled and diced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with 12 muffin cups.
2. Grind flax seeds and mix with 3tbsp water. Set aside until gelatinous.
3. In a large bowl, mix spelt flour, pea protein powder, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
4. In a blender, add syrup, water, vanilla and flax seed mixture. Blend until combined. Keep blender on low speed and slowly add in oil.
5. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until combined.
6. Mix in peeled diced pear.
7. Fill muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
8. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.

NOTES

• Maple syrup can also be used but in smaller quantities as it is sweeter (about 1/3 cup). You may need to adjust other liquids.
• I use Sunfood pure protein powder.

Adapted from Banana and Pear Muffins with Blueberries

Pear Oatmeal Banana Bread

Banana bread is an awesome baked good to make. It is easy, perfect if you have extra ripe bananas to use up, and it is a sweet treat that doesn’t need much sugar since the bananas are a great sweetener. Oats bring out the sweetness in recipes and also allow to use less sugar. Following The Eczema Diet doesn’t mean you can’t have banana bread! I only had to very slightly adapt my previous banana bread recipe to make this recipe The Eczema Diet-friendly.

Make sure your bananas are really ripe; there should be more black than yellow. That’s the secret to a good banana bread! This one is really easy to make, and is vegan, nut-free, soy-free and oil-free! It has pear for extra flavour, but if you want a plain banana bread, or don’t have ripe pears, it is also good without the pear.

vegan, oil-free, nut-free, soy-free, The Eczema Diet-Friendly

Print

Yields 1 bread
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 1 hr

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 cup whole spelt flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup maple sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 ripe pear, peeled and diced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a glass bread pan with parchment paper.
2. Make a flax egg: grind the flax seeds and mix with 3 tbsp water. Set aside until gelatinous.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, mix flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a whisk.
4. In a small bowl, mash bananas. Mix in the vanilla and flax egg.
5. Add the mashed banana mixture to the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until combined. Stir in peeled and diced pear.
6. Transfer mixture to the prepared bread pan and bake for 1 hour.

Adapted from Raisin Oatmeal Banana Bread