AIP Diet Plan – Week 1 –My experience of the first week of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet – with paleo friendly beginner recipes and ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks & sweet treats.
The first week following the AIP Diet Plan has flown by. I’ve already shared how I planned and prepped for the AIP Diet and my experience of day 1.
Today I’m sharing the meals I enjoyed through week one and how I’ve physically been feeling on the elimination diet.
You may be following the AIP Diet to address health conditions such as leaky gut, crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, joint pain or any number of autoimmune conditions or autoimmune disorders.
Whatever your reason for following the protocol, this post will provide you with heaps of meal inspiration as well as an idea of what the experience of the first week is like when you’re making significant lifestyle changes such as working through the elimination phase of the AIP Diet.
The AIP Diet aims to achieve significant changes in the long term by addressing symptoms of autoimmune diseases, while improving gut health, the digestive tract and chronic inflammation.
AIP Diet Recipes
This is definitely a tough, challenging diet to follow. SO much is taken out of your regular diet and initially it was tricky to come up with good option, satisfying meals that are AIP meal plan approved.
But, after a few days of hard work I got the hang of it and over the week found myself enjoying a couple of the same meals again and again because I enjoyed them so much. (Though I was careful to rotate my meals to enjoy a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods and help my healing.)
Here are the meals, snacks and sweet treats that I enjoyed through my first week of following the AIP Diet Plan.You’ll note that these recipes are also paleo diet and celiac disease approved while also cutting out dairy products until the reintroduction phase.
AIP Diet Breakfast
Most mornings I put together a breakfast hash. I started the week with vegetarian breakfasts which included a selection from: sweet potatoes, leek, onion, garlic, broccoli, zucchini, apple, avocado, spinach, cooked in plenty of coconut oil or olive oil and served with my homemade broccoli pesto and plenty of salt.
Just steer clear of nightshade vegetables including peppers, potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants, which have been known to trigger an autoimmune response, so are best left until you’re further along with the autoimmune diet. (Here’s more information about nightshades from Dr. Sarah Ballantyne.)
As the week progressed, I began to experiment with more meaty breakfasts full of healthy fats. Over the weekend I had a lamb loin chop each morning, along with plenty of vegetables.
I also sometimes had a bowl of soup or bone broth to complete my breakfast meal and to help keep me full until lunch.
More Breakfast Inspiration: 10 Easy AIP Diet Breakfast Ideas.
AIP Diet Lunch
Through the week I enjoyed the following lunches:
- Egg Roll In A Bowl (Here’s the recipe.)
- Mixed plate with smoked salmon, avocado, tigernuts and sauerkraut
- Honey Garlic Salmon & Mushrooms
- Pumpkin Soup – brown onion and garlic in coconut oil then add chopped pumpkin and chicken stock. Cook until done and then puree to a smooth soup.
- Tuna with Homemade Broccoli Pesto
- Liver Pate on Cucumber– you’ll find that the AIP Diet focuses on including organ meats in your diet and I found that liver pate is a great intro to the world of offal.
AIP Diet Dinner
Dinner was a real revelation. I found that this diet pushed me creatively and I mostly made meals I hadn’t before.
Each meal was better than the next and you’ll notice only 5 and not 7 items listed below, that’s because I made the Shepherd’s Pie and Irish Beef Stew twice through the week! (You can expect the full recipes soon – they are too good not to share.)
Try to get hold of the best quality ingredients you can, ideally including grass-fed meats and elimination inflammatory foods wherever possible.
So, over the week for dinner I had:
- Honey Roasted Chicken Thighs
- Sweet Potato Shepherds Pie – the first time I made it I prepped the whole pie the day before, chilled and stored in the fridge so that I could pop it straight into the oven the following day for dinner when needed.(Here’s the recipe.)
- Irish Beef Stew
- Steak with bok choy, spinach & broccoli pesto
- Roast Chicken, Carrots & broccoli pesto (I saved the bones to make more stock)
For more meal inspiration, here are 15 easy AIP Diet Recipes.
AIP Diet Snacks & Sweet Treats
Through the week I enjoyed plenty of snacks as I adapted to the AIP way of eating. I found that as the week went on I felt less hungry between meals, so had less snacks.
Be sure to carefully read the nutrition panel on any packaged snacks you purchase, keep a close eye for food additives, vegetable oils and other ingredients that are not allowed when following a strict AIP Diet.
Nevertheless, here are plenty of snack ideas for you that I enjoyed all through the first week:
- Mango and Coconut Milk – simply blend together frozen mango and canned coconut milk for a frosty, sweet treat.
- Fruit & Vegetables – cucumber, grapes, banana
- Dates, Sultanas, Dried Apricots & Dried Figs – which I found to be so incredibly sweet as the week progressed.
- Tigernuts – sparingly
- Soup – a cup of homemade soup
- Cassava Chips
- Orange Ice Lollies/Popsicles – I bought popsicle molds and just squeezed a couple of oranges into the molds and froze them for refreshing, frozen snacks.
- Sauerkraut
- Panna Cotta sweetened with honey or maple syrup
- Gummies – I bought lego molds and made berry gummies with gelatin to snack on.
Physical Symptoms – Week 1
As I’m following the AIP Diet to address my sun allergy (Solar Urticaria), I paid close attention to how I felt after each sun exposure through the week. I was amazed at how much better I felt.
Where usually I’m exhausted, overheated and a bundle of pain following each time I get any (and I mean any) sun, I actually felt ok. Only my skin itched a bit, without the horrible headache/overheating discomfort. But, being only a week into the diet I call that a HUGE success and significant improvements.
Other than that, after a couple of days on the diet I noticed I was incredibly bloated and my(usually clear-ish) face broke out in pimples/spots. That all cleared by the end of the week and my face has never felt smoother.
I found that I was more tired/exhausted than usual through the first few days. My energy levels did start to pick up towards the end of the week.
And now, the beginning of week 2, I feel full of energy – more so than before starting the diet. I’ve even noticed a small weight loss over the course of the week.
Overall Experience
Overall, I found the week to be a positive experience. It took a couple of days to get the hang of meals and learn what I can and can’t have through the elimination phase of The AIP Diet.
I’d say that the key to success on this diet is to prep as much as you can ahead of time and make HUGE meals so that you can enjoy leftovers at any time of the day.
I cooked some dishes that I haven’t made before that the whole family adored (Honey Roasted Chicken Thighs, Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie and Irish Beef Stew being the favourites) and they now will become a part of our regular meal roster.
AIP Meal Plans have been a real life saver with helping me come up with compliant meals – you get sent weekly AIP Meal Plans and a shopping list to make it easy to shop, prep and cook AIP Diet meals. Click here to learn more.
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Disclaimer – this post is meant for informational post only and should not be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your health professional before making any dietary changes.
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