Which fruit and vegetables can I actually eat?

Good question. Very good question.

Well, the answer depends on another question:

What is your reaction to a little bit of citric acid?

No Citric Acid
The following fruits are safe to eat no matter your reactions, as they contain mallic acid instead of citric. Unfortunately this list is rather limited...

• Apples
• Pears
• Blueberries

On the veg side of things it is more promising. Vicky Clarke's page gives a list of things that will be off the menu. However, several things that are ok to go for are...

• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Peas, pulses and beans of all kinds (although be careful they are not in tomato juice - tomatoes do contain citric acid. Another note is that tinned varieties often add citric acid. Always read the label)
• Potatoes (which means chips, too, although with the frozen kind be aware of added citric acid. Label reading encouraged.)
• Carrots
• Cucumber and courgette (zucchini)
• Sweet peppers
• Leeks
• Onions and spring onions
• Garlic

Whether you class them as a fruit or vegetable, tomatoes are a no-go zone for those avoiding citric acid. Which also means no ketchup. 

Foods That Should Under No Circumstances Be Eaten 

The main culprits here are (pretty logically) your citrus fruits, such as lemons, limes, but also tomatoes; stone fruits such as cherries; and berries like raspberries and red currants are off limits if you don't want to ingest large amounts of my least favourite acid. Heed the voice of painful experience; raisins, sultanas, figs, dates...just don't go there. Other, more surprising, offenders include Jerusalem artichokes (can't say I miss those) and lettuce (cry, cry), although I am unsure about kale. I would steer clear, or at least let us know your results if anyone does try it!

Dried blueberries - an alternative to raisins

For once the title says it all.



Dried. Blueberries.

They are basically like raisins, certainly smaller, maybe a bit sweeter. Definitely a great alternative.

An important note, as always, is ALWAYS CHECK THE PACKET. The ones in Morrisons nearly caught me out - they add citric acid (Why????), but the ones from Tesco, they're good to go! Other stores are likely to carry the safe ones, too, but I can only vouch for places I've been.

Healthy (Breakfast?) Cookies

As a disclaimer, I did not create this recipe.

You can find the original here on Chocolate Covered Katie. 

I've tweaked her ratios and doubled the amount - her cookies must be tiny because I can never get as much out of mine as she does!

It is a good go-to recipe, as peanut butter never seems to contain citric acid. Obviously don't put raisins in, but some supermarkets sell dried blueberries that work just as well (ALWAYS check the packet on these). I've also found that chopped nuts work quite nicely.

Just a side-note, bananas DO contain some citric acid, so if you're dealing with anaphylactic reactions then you'll have to use the apple version I'm listing here.

Another point is that you'll probably have to make the applesauce yourself, as bought versions tend to contain citric acid. It is pretty easy to make, I just blitz an apple in the food processor with a bit of water and you're done! (Incidentally if your food processor is a wuss like mine, or you only own a smoothie maker, you can peel the apples and boil them until soft before blending. You can also add sugar to this if you like, but I don't bother)

So, what do I need?

• Cup oats
• Cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp dried blueberries (CHECK THE PACKET) or white chocolate chips or chopped hazelnuts
• Between 1 tbsp and 1/2 cup sugar, depending how sweet you want them

So, what do I do?

1. Preheat the oven to 160. 
2. Mix the applesauce and peanut butter, then add all other ingredients and stir, stir, stir.
3. Spoon out into cookie shapes on a greaseproof papered baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending how big your cookies are.

According to Katie's estimates you should get about 24 cookies from this, but on my sizes it is more like 14!

Protein Sources 101: Meat, Eggs and Tofu

Eggs

Not a lot to say about eggs. Totally safe. Convenient for the allergy restricted vegetarian.

If you are a fan of butter in your scrambled egg, remember to check the packet.

Tofu

Again, tofu itself is ok. Watch out for what it is packaged in. I know that the 'cauldron' brand is ok (you can get it in Tesco, Morrisons, and probably other supermarkets).

Soy sauce is good on this. I recommend this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie as absolutely delicious!

And, last but not least...

Meat

As you may have gathered from other places, most fresh meat is edible to someone even with the list of intolerances in my header!

As a rule, tinned meat is also ok. I can vouch for tinned tuna, spam, and that potted ham stuff.

One thing you do have to be careful of, though, is if you were ever a fan of those tinned/jarred hot-dogs that are basically plastic. Some brands are fine, while others contain (you guessed it!) citric acid.

I'm not sure what else there is to say on that one. If it is fresh you know you're safe.

If you are buying fish, though, be careful they have not already added garlic butter to it (some brands of margarine and butter contain citric acid) and that they have not added lemon!

Extra note: be careful of your gravy! The red and yellow bisto are safe, but you really need to check the packets as many are not.

And if you're serving up a joint, the cranberry sauce is out I'm afraid, as is anything lemon (obviously). I'm unsure about bread sauce, as I never liked the stuff. Apple sauce is ok if you made it yourself  but many supermarket brands add citric acid to help it keep longer. As I said, check the label.