Behold, cranberry muffins that even those with gluten intolerance, histamine intolerance, oxalate overload, and SIBO can eat!

I’m not going to be entering them into any Bake Off contests – they may not be worthy of a Parisian patisserie, but they taste good and they won’t make me sick.

Rather than keep this for myself, I thought I’d share it with those who like me are limited by the constellation of food intolerances that are the hallmark of a dysbiotic gut.

Oh bless you, cranberry! Even on a super restrictive diet, I can (thank the food gods!) eat these deliciously tart berries: they are low oxalate, low histamine, and in small quantities, low FODMAP.

Lucky for me, cranberry is one of my absolute favorite foods to cook and bake with, especially in fall and winter.

I love using this ingredient in my cooking so much that I have been guilty of buying up extra bags of cranberries when they’re available in the supermarket in the fall, and freezing them so I’ll have a supply all year.

And perhaps quite obviously, one of my absolute favorite ways to use this New England native fruit is in muffins.

I’ve had to give up a lot of foods over the past year as I discovered that I was suffering first from histamine intolerance, then SIBO, and finally oxalate overload. But as my selection of “safe” foods shrank, I never gave up experimenting with baking.

Baking has been one of my pleasures since I was a child. Dealing with a bundle of food issues seemed like it was going to take away this deep-rooted part of my identity, but no matter what new limitation I encounter, I keep experimenting with whatever ingredients I can.

I will bake, no matter how few ingredients I have left!

So this recipe uses some ingredients I never would have used before – like potato starch. (I recommend using the organic kind.)

I have had to adapt, and if you’re reading this, you probably have had to as well. I feel for you, this is not an easy food path to be on. (Let’s hope it’s temporary.)

So here’s a recipe that ticks all three of those boxes: low histamine, low oxalate, and SIBO-friendly. They’re also gluten free, corn free, nut free, and dairy free.

If, heaven forbid, I were to present these to Paul and Prue, what would they say? Well, they would probably say that these are a little bit stodgy. They would also note that they are a bit crumbly and are best eaten from a small bowl with a spoon, preferably with butter.

If FODMAPs aren’t a problem for you, these would be lovely smeared with some apple butter.

Substitutions

If you can handle a little histamine, use 4 whole eggs instead of 6 egg yolks. The whites will make these less crumbly.

These are just barely sweet. Feel free to double the amount of sugar if you want a sweeter treat – or leave it out entirely for something slightly more wholesome.

Vanilla powder can be more tolerable to those with histamine intolerance because it doesn’t contain alcohol. If histamine intolerance isn’t an issue for you, go ahead and use vanilla extract.

Sticking to a restrictive diet with multiple food intolerances or sensitivities can be quite the challenge. Sometimes you just want to eat something that feels comforting and familiar. If you’re on a restrictive diet like I am, I hope this recipe will help expand your menu a bit!

If you try it out, let me know what you think!