Each year ausEE inc. host the Top 8 Challenge on the 8th of August during National EOS week to raise money and awareness for EGID (or eosiniphilic gastrointestinal disorders). The top 8 challenge invites individuals to take the challenge to avoid the Top 8 (dairy, soy, egg, wheat, peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish) for one day.
To take part in the challenge, or donate to the cause click here.
Is it possible to avoid dairy, soy, wheat, egg, peanut, tree nut, shellfish and fish at each meal for a whole day that sounds like a lot of things to avoid?
It is possible but you can begin to imagine how challenging this can be. I’ve never liked the idea of people feeling left out and it’s part of the reason why Alternative Chef Kitchen was created and so when we were contacted by Sarah Gray from ausEE Inc. Asking us if we’d take on the challenge I said “Of course!”. We’re a cooking show for people who can’t eat what they make on other cooking shows, challenge accepted!
So we’ve put together a SPECIAL TOP 8 CHALLENGE episode ” Avoiding the top 8 for a day” covering:
- Breakfast – porridge
- Lunch – curried egg without egg including egg free mayonnaise and a BBQ meatless sausage
- Snacks – crunchy muesli bars without nus
- Dinner – lasagne with dairy, soy and gluten free bechamel style sauce
- Dessert – cheesecake without cheese, egg, wheat, soy or nuts (except coconut – if you can’t eat coconut check out the Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding recipe in The Chocolate Cakes Episode instead of the cheesecake (see link below) and replace the coconut sugar in that recipe with a sugar that is suitable for your diet.
Watch our TOP 8 CHALLENGE SPECIAL EPISODE: AVOIDING THE TOP 8 FOR A DAY now:
Click here to watch The Chocolate Cakes Episode.
The Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding recipe is the first recipe in that episode.
(As mentioned above – if you can’t eat coconut, replace the coconut sugar with a sugar that is suitable for your diet).
Please note, different countries have different rules regarding the classification and suitability of different foods. In Australia coconut is not considered a tree nut. So ALWAYS follow the advice of your doctor. If you’re at all uncertain as to whether or not a recipe or ingredient is suitable for your dietary needs though, always check with your allergy specialist first (and always check the labels on packaging).
2021 UPDATE**
We’ve now updated our cookbooks to include coconut-free options (where possible) for people who can’t tolerate coconut as well as other tree nuts.
