General hint: if it tastes sweet (carrot is probably the upper limit of acceptably sweet), I probably shouldn't eat it.
| Food group | Allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Vegetables | green leafy vegetables, asparagus, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, French beans, runner beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chicory, courgettes, cress, cucumber, garlic, herbs, lettuce, green chillies, green pepper, marrow, mushrooms, onions, radishes, spinach, potatoes, aubergines, root ginger in moderation, most beans (not young sweet), chick peas, peanuts, lentils | sweeter pulses, peas, root vegetables, carrots, parsnips, turnips, tomato, all tomato products, beetroot, sweetcorn, swede, red chillies, red pepper, |
| Fruit | olives | all fruit |
| Nuts | Brazil nuts, walnuts (Shona can’t eat walnuts, though), hazel nuts. | all other nuts — but not a really serious problem; small quantities of most are OK. |
| Meat & Meat products | any fresh meat, ham and bacon unless sweet cured, sausages/burgers: check for other ingredients | most canned meats and meat paste because of other ingredients |
| Fish & Fish products | fresh and frozen fish, tinned fish (check label!) | pre-prepared fish paste (because of other ingredients) |
| Fats and oils | all types of pure fat, but see dairy products | |
| Cereal & Cereal products | rice, flour, cornflour, sago, pasta, pastry (if made with suitable fat), tapioca, bread (2-3 slices only per day), crispbreads, corn, barley, oats, rye, wheat | sweetened bread, cakes, biscuits, sweet pastries |
| Seeds | most seeds are probably OK. Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds | |
| Dairy products | egg,
ghee,
Suma Sunflower margarine,
Some other margarines (check ingredients),
oatly (an oat based milk substitute),
coconut milk,
goat’s milk yoghurt, some (ie non-sweet) goat’s milk cheese, sheep’s cheese. So non-cow cheese, but only in moderation. |
milk, butter, margarines containing whey or buttermilk, cream, cheese, yoghurt , soya milk, |
| Sweeteners |
xylitol—probably OK, saccharin (blech) |
sucrose, fructose, glucose, maltose (malt extract),
lactose, laevulose,
fruit sugar, invert sugar,
honey, sugar, syrup, molasses,
treacle, jam, marmalade,
caramel, lactose, galactose,
dextrons, sorbitol, sucron.
Watch out for the above things as extra ingredients in pre-prepared foods. |
| Condiments | some (usually light) soy sauces that don't contain sugar, some fish/shrimp sauces—again, check for sugars, Yorkshire hemp sauce, spirit vinegar, other vinegars in moderation (probably not balsamic), chilli oil | Almost all others |
| Alcohol | all alcoholic drinks — but much of the trouble is the sugars, so the sweeter it is the worse it is; a dash of dry sherry in the sauce isn't going to cause too much trouble. | |
| Other beverages | Chicory, Mineral water, cocoa if you want me to stay awake until the wee small hours. | tea, most sweet drinks, drinks containing caffeine |
| Other | unsweetened plain chocolate (eg Plus Noir que Noir, or Michel Cluizel Noir Infini), cocoa nibs, but see note with cocoa above | sweetened and dairy chocolate |