What is the 30-Day Challenge?

The challenge is simple enough to describe, but more difficult to put into practice. Over thirty days, our challengers are going eliminate all sources of gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine (green tea is acceptable), alcohol and processed foods from their diets. So what exactly does this mean they can't eat?

Gluten - All sources of wheat including breads, cereals, pasta, pastries and other baked goods. Gluten is also found in barley, rye, oats (although you can find "gluten-free oats" in health food stores), spelt, kamut, couscous and bulgur. Also watch food labels for these ingredients as well as "graham" or "malt."

Dairy - All milk, cheese, cream, yogurt, kefir, sour cream, butter (ghee is acceptable). Watch for things on labels like casein, lactose, milk solids, whey, or curds.

Sugar - All table sugar, maple syrup, honey, corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, date sugar, beet sugar, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, granulated sugar, icing sugar, powdered sugar, agave or xylitol. Watch ingredient labels for anything ending in "ose" (eg. fructose, dextrose), any reference to "cane".

Caffeine - All coffee including decaf, black teas (including chai and earl grey), sodas, guarana, yerba mate, and chocolate. Watch for coffee or chocolate flavouring, guarana, yerba mate or kola nuts.

Processed Foods - This one's a little more difficult to describe and requires a little judgment on your part. Almost all the foods we buy these days have gone through some form of processing to a certain degree. What I mean by processed foods is anything that's been prepared in some way. So buying frozen blueberries is OK, but buying blueberry jam is not. A can of beans is OK, a can chili is not. What you're really after here are whole foods that have not been altered or prepared from their original form. You're really going to have to scrutinize food labels to see about additional ingredients that have been added - if anything on the label is unrecognizable or didn't grow in the ground, it's off limits. What you're trying to avoid with processed foods is the hidden toxic additives in the food and even inherent in the food packaging itself. The more you're cooking from scratch, the easier it is to avoid these things.

Why are we eliminating these foods?

It's tough for us to reason why things we've always thought of as healthful, like yogurt, whole grains or bran cereals are suddenly being eliminated from our diets. The idea here is to eliminate things from the diet that are likely causing inflammatory reactions and toxic buildup. While on paper some of these foods may look healthy, in reality they may be having detrimental effects. Although a full elimination diet is needed to find possible foods you're reacting to individually --in this case you would also eliminate soy, corn, nightshade vegetables, eggs, some fruits and nuts and red meat in addition to the foods listed above -- for the purposes of this challenge, we chose just the foods that are the worst offenders.

So what can we eat during the challenge?

Everything else! Although this challenge can be tough due to the fact food processors have seen fit to include wheat, dairy and sugar in just about everything we eat these days, these ingredients are, for the most part, unnecessary. Everything that you're cooking yourself you have full control over, so I encourage you to do as much cooking from scratch as is possible. All vegetables, fruits and meats are acceptable on this plan as are rice, quinoa, millet and buckwheat (not related to wheat) for grains. That leaves so many possibilities for meals. After a couple of weeks you'll wonder why you ever struggled.

Meal Suggestions

Breakfast - If you've got a blender, a smoothie is a great way to get going in the morning. Throw some berries, a carrot, celery, greens and other fruits into a blender and you're good to go. Try using water instead of juice to keep the sugar content lower. Add in a protein like nut butters, nuts (soak them overnight for best results) or protein supplements like rice protein, spirulina or chlorella to sustain you until lunch. Other breakfasts could include gluten-free oats, quinoa or eggs.

Lunch - If you're used to having sandwiches, explore the many options in gluten-free breads you can find in health food stores. Stir-fry some veggies and serve them over rice and lentils. Make a soup from scratch - it doesn't take long and it could serve as your lunch all week if you make a big pot. Leftovers are your friend! Big salads make for great meals but make sure you include protein such as meat, nuts or grains to sustain you until dinner.

Dinner - If you're a meat eater, meat with rice and vegetables is a good option. One pot meals like curries, chilis or soups are easy to prepare (a slow-cooker could be of use here). Again, a big salad can serve as a meal if protein is included. Some brands of rice pasta are almost indistinguishable from wheat pasta so try some experiments.

Snacks - Rice crackers with nut butters or hummus (preferably homemade), popcorn with ghee or olive oil instead of butter, nuts or trail mix, fruit.

Tips

- The health food store is your friend! You can find a wide variety of gluten, dairy and sugar-free foods at your local health food store or healthier supermarkets. Check for rice pasta, gluten-free breads and alternative gluten-free grains. Watch though - not everything sold in health food stores is actually healthy, so keep an eye on ingredient lists.

- Eat lots of veggies!

- Hot water and lemon in the morning is a perfect way to start your day. It aids in morning elimination, getting rid of everything from the previous day and getting you ready to take on the current day.

- Plan your meals! Nothing is more likely to make you break the challenge than being hungry with no idea what to eat. Write out a week's worth of meal ideas before you go grocery shopping and then stock your fridge and cupboards with what you need.

- If you can, remove "forbidden foods" from your home, or at least make them less accessible.

- Make large amounts of staples like rice or legumes so that you can eat them if you're pressed for time. Leftovers are great in a pinch.

- Try modifying your favourite recipes to be healthier. Buckwheat, rice or quinoa flour can often sub in for wheat flour where a lot of rising isn't necessary (like pancakes, muffins or other dense baked goods) or for other applications. Coconut milk can serve as a good dairy alternative for cream sauces over pasta.

NOTE: If you plan on participating in the 30-Day Nutrition Challenge, be sure to check with your health care practitioner first.

More posts on the 30-Day Nutrition Challenge:

30-Day Nutrition Challenge: Can you eliminate gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol for 30 days?

How to wean yourself off coffee and start eliminating the other items.

Recipes and resources to get you through the next 30 days.

The Healthy Foodie is Doug DiPasquale, Holistic Nutritionist and trained chef, living in Toronto. Doug specializes in private in-home holistic cooking lessons. You can email him with inquiries or questions for the blog at dougthehealthyfoodie@gmail.com.