Meal prep for a histamine intolerance

You probably know this situation too:
Your colleagues go to a restaurant for lunch or quickly grab something to eat from a snack bar or bakery. But with histamine intolerance, this can turn into stress, as you often don't know what's in the dishes – and naturally, you don't want to get a "histamine shock." Especially not during work – or while traveling.

That's why it's best to always have your own low-histamine food with you. Because even hunger can promote histamine release – or tempt you to "sin" after all. And that's what we want to avoid in this case!

Now comes the catch: even meal prepping can sometimes be a real challenge with histamine intolerance, as there's always the risk that you won't tolerate it as well after a few hours of storage.

To relieve some of that stress, we've compiled a few practical tips on meal prepping – that is, preparing low-histamine food for later consumption – for you below.

Many delicious low-histamine recipes suitable for meal prepping can also be found on our website at histafood.eu/blogs/rezepte. Please always make sure they are vegan. You'll learn why in a moment.

Which foods are suitable for meal prep recipes?

Vegan or plant-based foods are best suited for meal prep. They contain fewer histamine-producing bacteria.

❗️ The food itself does not produce histamine; instead, it's the bacteria on the food. That's why it's always important to wash all food thoroughly; histamine is water-soluble!

Grains, pseudocereals, and meals with antibacterial or antioxidant foods are advantageous.
These include, for example:

• Carrots
• Bell peppers
• Cucumber
• Celery
• Onions
• Garlic
• Acerola juice
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Sage

Which foods are definitely NOT suitable for meal prep, even if they are otherwise low in histamine?

You should avoid dairy, meat, and fish products here as much as possible. These products have more bacteria and form even more histamine-producing bacteria when stored for longer periods. They are therefore unsuitable for meal prep.

Can I heat food and eat it later?

With purely plant-based, low-histamine foods, you can also reheat your meal. We follow the 24-hour rule: you can usually eat your food up to 24 hours later. You'll read more about reheating below.

The most important point here is definitely your individual tolerance level! This is even more varied in this area than it already is. There are some sufferers who can't tolerate any or only certain reheated foods, and there are others who have hardly any problems with it.

How to store your food correctly:

To slow down the process of histamine formation, proper storage is crucial. We would like to give you a small guide:

1. Let your food cool down slowly after cooking. Leave the lid on the pot and you can, for example, put it outside until it reaches approximately room temperature.
2. Then seal your food airtight. Normal, sealable containers work very well for this, preferably made of glass. Try to store and transport it as cool as possible.
3. Point 2 also applies when you are at work or in another facility: try to keep your food cool.

Reheating food:

As you've already read, some foods are generally well-suited for reheating. However, your individual tolerance level is again important here, as not everyone tolerates reheated food.
Here are our top tips:

• It's best to quickly reheat your food in a hot water bath or pot.
• Keep the lid on the pot.
• The food should reheat within a few minutes.
• Make sure your meal is thoroughly heated (above 60 degrees Celsius) so that bacteria die and do not continue to form histamine.
  By the way, you should avoid the microwave for this reason!
• Suitable recipes can be easily prepared in the morning or the evening before, filled warm into a thermos container, and enjoyed up to 24 hours later.

With the right ingredients, meal prepping with a low-histamine diet becomes much easier. If you are looking for suitable organic products for your everyday life, our HistaStarter-Set might be just right for you. It contains a selection of our most popular products and helps you prepare varied, low-histamine meals with ease.

Suitable recipes for meal prep with histamine intolerance:

Finally, we would like to give you some ideas for low-histamine meals you could prepare. More recipes, as always, can be found on our website under the tab "Recipes".

Breakfast to go is also advantageous; porridge or muesli, for example, are very suitable for this.

An example of this is the apple-grape muesli: Apple-Grape Muesli

Even homemade bread or rolls work well, perhaps with our Organic Fruit Spread Apricot?

For heartier meals, especially for lunch or dinner, these recipes are suitable:

• Rosemary Vegetable Pan
• Pumpkin-Millet Patties
• Rice salads, such as this one or an Asian Rice Salad
• Spelt Spirelli with Colorful Vegetables
• Colorful Vegetable Pan

Smoothies are also great for on-the-go and can be filling. Whether a lighter smoothie for breakfast or a power smoothie for lunch that gives you plenty of energy.