Antihistamine Maple Ginger Chicken Recipe

Who doesn’t love a low histamine chicken dinner? Or, better yet, an anti-histamine chicken dinner!

These chicken thighs are a taste sensation for the whole family to enjoy. Everyone will love them and best of all they will not aggravate your histamine intolerance symptoms.

Chicken has to be one of the most versatile protein ingredients. With it's mild taste and diversity of forms (ground chicken, chicken breast, chicken thighs, etc.), it can be used in so many different ways and served with any number of side dishes. Grilled chicken fillets, saucy casseroles, yummy pastas, crispy fried chicken, crunchy salads or barbecue wings. It’s enough to get your mouth watering.

Everyone has their favourite part - wings, breast, thighs or drumsticks. 

The thighs are full of juicy flavour. And this recipe takes that flavour to the next level.

The Antihistamine Ingredients

Most of the ingredients in this recipe are low histamine foods, meaning they do not cause a histamine response in your body (1). Yay!

The other ingredients are antihistamine foods. 

Wait… say what? Yes, antihistamine ingredients are real. These ingredients actually help to block the effects of histamine (2). They may not be as strong as an over-the-counter medication, but when eaten as part of a low histamine diet, your symptoms can be dramatically improved.

Which are these magical ingredients I hear you ask? Garlic, ginger and apple juice. 

By now you know that histamine is a compound in the body that triggers allergy symptoms such as sneezing, hives and itchy eyes (3). When you are intolerant to histamine, you have high levels of histamine in your body (4). 

A huge source of histamine comes from foods that contain histamine, and those that cause your immune system to release histamine. On top of that your body may not be able to effectively deactivate the histamine if you don't possess enough diamine oxidase enzymes, which are responsible for degrading histamine. Histamine builds up and you find yourself having an allergic reaction to almost everything - or at least, that's how it feels (5).

So, eating a low histamine diet, combined with some antihistamine foods offers some relief from your persistent discomfort. To be sure you're eating a low histamine diet while eliminating histamine-releasing foods as well, get the free low histamine diet guide below.

 

 

In this recipe the chicken, salt, pure butter, maple syrup and the herbs are histamine-neutral ingredients. They shouldn’t provoke a histamine response.

The garlic, ginger and apple juice are the antihistamine ingredients.

Garlic and apples contain a compound called quercetin. It is a strong antioxidant that has been shown to inhibit the release of histamine (6). Including more quercetin- rich foods in your diet such as onion, watercress, fresh peppermint and most vegetables, is the best way to go about increasing your quercetin intake. If you struggle, you could try taking a natural antihistamine supplement that contains quercetin.

Ginger is such a fantastic ingredient for hsitamine intolerance. In fact, it has been shown to be as effective as a popular antihistamine drug, Loratadine, in reducing allergy symptoms (7). Used in cooking, as an extract or steeped in hot water as a tea, ginger may just be your best friend.

 

Additionally, if nausea is a common symptom for you (histamine-related or not), ginger is well known for preventing and reducing nausea. My mom actually used to take ginger capsules when she would get badly seasick on cruises, and had no need for any other meds to resolve the issue!

If you want to learn more about antihistamine foods you can check out my antihistamine foods list. Alternatively, if you want a full guide to doing the low histamine diet in the best way possible, get my free low histamine diet guide by clicking below.

 

 

But for now, let’s get cooking.

Antihistamine Maple Ginger Chicken Recipe

Serves: 8

Calories: 264 per serving

Carbohydrate: 10g per serving

Protein: 19g per serving

Fat: 16g per serving

Ingredients:

• 8 fresh chicken thighs
• Salt to taste
• 3 tbsp pure unsalted butter
• 3 cloves or garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup of apple juice (freshly made)
• 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped

Method:

1. Season the chicken thighs with salt.
2. In an oven-proof skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Place the chicken skin-side down into the skillet. Fry until the skin is brown.
3. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
4. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter into the skillet.
5. Stir in the garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes until fragrant.
6. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the maple syrup, apple juice and fresh herbs.
7. Return the chicken to the skillet. Turn to coat it to coat it in the sauce. Once coated, place the chicken thighs all skin-side up.
8. Place the skillet in a preheated oven at 400℉ / 200℃. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
9. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve alongside your favorite low histamine side and enjoy!

 

 

References

1. Reese I. Nutrition therapy for adverse reactions to histamine in food and beverages. Allergologie select. 2018;2(01):56-61. 
2. Park H, Lee S, Son H, Park S, Kim M, Choi E et al. Flavonoids inhibit histamine release and expression of proinflammatory cytokines in mast cells. Archives of Pharmacal Research. 2008;31(10):1303-1311. 
3. Thangam E, Jemima E, Singh H, Baig M, Khan M, Mathias C et al. The Role of Histamine and Histamine Receptors in Mast Cell-Mediated Allergy and Inflammation: The Hunt for New Therapeutic Targets. Frontiers in Immunology. 2018;9. 
4. Schnedl W, Enko D. Histamine Intolerance Originates in the Gut. Nutrients. 2021;13(4):1262. 
5. Comas-Basté O, Sánchez-Pérez S, Veciana-Nogués M, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou M. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art. Biomolecules. 2020;10(8):1181. 
6. Mlcek J, Jurikova T, Skrovankova S, Sochor J. Quercetin and Its Anti-Allergic Immune Response. Molecules. 2016;21(5):623. 
7. Yamprasert R, Chanvimalueng W, Mukkasombut N, Itharat A. Ginger extract versus Loratadine in the treatment of allergic rhinitis: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 2020;20(1).