What are salicylates? Good question. Most of us have never heard of them - Sally certainly hadn't but she was completely over feeling off-color all the time. Runny nose, sinus issues, headaches, puffy eyes, overwhelming fatigue. Medical people tried to help but most had little experience or knowledge in this area.
Sally consulted several naturopaths, but many of their suggestions actually made Sally feel much worse. Eventually her GP suggested an immunologist and this is the first time salicylate had been mentioned. Many months had gone by. Sally was very scared at the immunologist's suggestion of an 'aspirin challenge' as by now she knew that salicylic acid (aspirin) is part of the salicylate chemical family. She was already feeling so unwell, the thought of loading her body with salicylic acid to ascertain her maximum reaction level, was unacceptable. What were her options? Not many, in fact the only workable one was a longterm food diary. She bought a thick notebook the same day and started. The first thing she had to find out was all the foods that contain salicylates. Very difficult because salicylate occurs naturally in various levels (nil or low, moderate, high and very high), in most vegetables, herbs and nuts. It is a protectant for the plant against attack by fungus and bacteria.  It can also rise and fall depending on a plant's maturity levels. Because of this, lists can change from time to time as more testing of salicylate levels is done, so Sally's food diary became her personal story - what worked for her. Her exhaustive diary covered 18 months with some food items being deleted and others added. Gradually the tone of Sally's notes changed from feeling unwell most of the time to feeling well most of the time. The casualty was her food choices and menu options. She thought 'I can't live like this, but what to do?' Clever Cooking was born. Over 2 years in the putting together and testing, the menu choices in the book, although of necessity less spicy, are still healthy and tasty, and gave Sally back her love of cooking, experimenting and eating.