Guides for every stage
Clear, practical starting points for elimination eating, fertility and pregnancy nutrition, and feeding your little one.
What is an elimination diet?
An elimination diet is a short-term experiment. You remove foods that commonly cause trouble (often gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, legumes, nightshades, or added sugar) for a few weeks, then add them back one at a time while tracking how you feel.
It's one of the simplest ways to learn which foods agree with you. It works best with a clear plan, a food and symptom journal, and support, because the reintroduction phase is where you learn the most.
Elimination diets aren't right for everyone. Talk to your doctor first, especially for children, during pregnancy, or if you have a history of disordered eating.
The three phases
- Prepare. Stock your kitchen, plan meals, and start a symptom journal.
- Eliminate. Usually 3–4 weeks without your chosen trigger foods.
- Reintroduce. Add back one food at a time, a few days apart, and watch how you feel.
Nourishing yourself for two
- Build meals around protein, colourful vegetables, and healthy fats
- Eat plenty of folate-rich leafy greens, and take a prenatal vitamin as your provider recommends
- Choose low-mercury fish such as salmon and sardines, and cook meat and eggs thoroughly
- Steady blood sugar helps: eat regular meals with fibre and protein
- This isn't the time for strict restriction. Any elimination should be gentle and supervised
Age-by-age feeding guide
A gentle roadmap for your baby's first year of food. Every baby is different, so follow your baby's cues and your pediatrician's advice.
Tastes & textures
- Offer iron-rich first foods: tender meat, well-cooked egg, low-mercury fish
- Offer smooth purées or soft, finger-length foods
- Introduce common allergens early, one at a time, and follow your pediatrician's guidance
- Let baby explore. Mess is part of learning
Variety & self-feeding
- Move on to lumpier, mashed, and soft finger foods
- Aim for a vegetable, fruit, protein, and healthy fat each day
- Offer water in an open or straw cup
- Keep offering allergens regularly once they're tolerated
Joining family meals
- Serve small, soft pieces of the family meal
- Let them practise with a spoon and fork
- Keep salt and added sugar low. No honey before 12 months
- Avoid choking hazards: whole grapes, whole nuts, and hard raw veg
Seasonal recipes and feeding tips, a couple of times a month
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