This is probably the first question you will ask yourself once you have decided to start the Best Bet Diet. After all, eliminating Dairy, Eggs, Grains (Wheat Barley Oats and Rye) and legumes from your diet can be a daunting thought. Well relax. You will enjoy a varied, healthy yet interesting diet, that the whole family will enjoy eating. The key to a smooth transition is organisation. Check out the recipes on the website. Know what you are going to eat, and go shopping. Some of the following suggestions may not be available everywhere, but shop around for replacements.

What can I eat for breakfast?

Organic cornflakes (providing you are not sensitive to corn) Look for brands that do not contain sugar or barley malt. Whole Earth brand recommended. Millet porridge soaked in boiling rice dream. Rice Meusli (available at Health shops) Rice Milk. (Rice Dream have unsweetened and vanilla) Kiwifruit, grapefruit, bananas, or other fruit in season. Millet flakes cooked in boiling water is a good cereal to use. (¼ cup flakes to ½ cup of hot water, pinch of kelp, simmer 2-3 minutes until thickened). Nice with prunes which have been soaked in boiling water. Use the prune water on the millet too. High vitamin content. Rice Krispies. Meusli made out of a mixture of linseeds, organic puffed rice, sunflower seeds, millet, dried dates, raisins, hazelnuts and toasted pumpkin seeds. This can be adapted to your own combination. Try heating it up with rice milk to make an imitation of porridge. For a quick start to your day, add some fresh ginger. Gluten free porridge with fresh fruit. Toasted Rice Bread spread with honey or mashed banana.

Are there any mid morning/afternoon snacks I can have?

There are several good recipes for muffins on the website. Try Carol's banana muffins and Jules's ginger biscuits. Other snacks include almonds, dried or fresh fruit, rice crackers, rice cakes, natural popcorn. Fill a snackbox with Organic Natural Puffed Rice, combined with walnuts, raisins, etc to take to work to snack on. Look for good plain crisps, like Seabrooke crisps.

What about lunch?

Home made soup. Mixed Salad with canned salmon, tuna or sliced turkey. Or a rice pilaf, or GF pasta with onions, red and green peppers, mushrooms, and chopped turkey. A couple of slices of Rice bread toasted and spread with banana or honey. Muffins, fruit and nuts are a good take anywhere lunch. Be inventive.

Picnics?

You can take any of the above with you in containers. Tuna mixed with sweetcorn in one container, potato or rice in another, and salad in a third container. Remember to pack a fork!

And the main meal?

This is probably the easiest meal of all, as virtually all vegetables (except beans and peas) can be enjoyed, including potatoes. You can enjoy fish, and the white meat of chicken or turkey (the dark meat has a higher fat content). There are numerous recipes available on the BBD website. Salads can be enjoyed in warm weather. A hearty chicken casserole is great on a cold night, and recipes can be found on the website. Orgran have a great range of rice pasta's, which you can serve with your favourite sauce. Be careful not to overcook rice pasta.

Are Desserts out?

There are a few dessert recipes available using rice, fruit and other acceptable ingredients, but you will definitely have to by-pass the sweets trolley when dining out. Fruit salad is fine, and try freezing bananas for a healthy dessert treat. Kids love them! Check out the dessert section on the website for more ideas.

What about dining out?

If going to an unfamiliar restaurant it is a wise move to phone and check out the menu after explaining your diet restrictions. Most restaurants offer plenty of salad, vegetable and fish choices. You will lose the taste for rich sauces and calorie loaded desserts as you adapt to your new healthier way of eating..

Staying in hotels?

Pour the fruit juice on your cornflakes or rice crispies. Advise the hotel in advance of your diet restrictions.

How do I adapt my recipes that contain forbidden foods?

Substitute unsweetened Rice Milk (Rice Dream) for milk and cream. Get into the habit of reading the ingredients when you shop. Egg replacer for baking is available at most health food stores. You can make your own by mixing together 1-cup starch and 1/3 cup baking soda. Store in airtight container. Use 1-1½ teaspoons egg replacer powder to 1 tbsp water for each egg to be replaced. Use almond butter as a spread, or adapt Carol's Caesar Dressing: Blend 1 egg replacer, ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, ½ - ¾ tsp. salt, for a couple of minutes, then refrigerate until solid. Kelp is an excellent alternative for salt. Replace cornflour (if sensitive to corn) with arrowroot or millet flour. Use fruit sugar or rice syrup if available, or Stevia as a sweetener. Stevia is a Brazilian herb, natural and very sweet. Good in baking. Can be dissolved in warm water or used dry. Stevia is 100 times sweeter than sugar, so ¼ teaspoon gives a lot of sweetness. In a recipe calling for ¼ cup of rice syrup, dissolve ¼ tsp. stevia in ¼ cup warm water. (if rice syrup unavailable). Try to avoid artificial sugar replacements. For baking, shop around to find a suitable replacement for butter, avoiding dangerous hydrogenated fats. Oils can be used successfully in baking in place of butter. Make your own Gluten Free Banking Powder, by mixing together ¼ cup cream of tarter, 2 tbsp baking soda, 1 tbsp arrowroot. Store in airtight container. Orgran have a good range of gluten free pasta's, which are far superior to wheat pastas. Try replacing soy sauce (legume) with Worcestershire sauce. Chicory (available from Health Food Stores) is a good alternative for coffee. Alternative names for: Courgettes/Zucchinis/Zooks Eggplant/Aubergine Sweet potato/Kumara Kiwifruit/Zespri/Chinese gooseberries Capsicum/Green peppers, red peppers/Bell peppers Pumpkin/Squash/Gourd Turnip/Rutabaga/Swede turnip Spinach Beet/Silverbeet/Chard/Swiss Chard/Seakale Beet Tamarillo/Tree Tomato Chicory/Witloof/Endive.

How difficult is it sticking to the Best Bet Diet?

It is as difficult as you choose to make it. The support you can receive through the Diet Support Group is invaluable. If you tell yourself that the forbidden foods are poison to your body and embrace your new way of eating, you will adjust much easier. Read about all the success stories and remember that you will be joining those success stories. Finally remember, if you cheat, you are only cheating yourself. Let Food be your medicine.

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