Which foods are allowed, limited or forbidden in Nidam al-Tayyibat?

aged version only; young Gouda is best avoided

Gouda (“flamank” in Egypt) is allowed by the system when aged; the method advises against young versions and vacuum-packed slices. It is oft…

Dairy and cheese

In moderation, plain and unsalted

Almonds are allowed in moderation, preferably plain and unsalted; they garnish Mawlid sweets and sweet rice.

Nuts and seeds

Preferably peeled

Apple is allowed, preferably peeled, following the rule the method applies to fruits with skin.

Fruits

Apricot is among the fruits allowed without restriction by the system.

Fruits

Banana is allowed and is one of the everyday fruits in the method.

Fruits

Black pepper is used freely in the method to season meats, rice and stuffed dishes.

Condiments and spices

pure cane molasses; often mixed with tahini

Blackstrap molasses (‘asal iswid), a by-product of cane sugar, is allowed by the system as a natural sugar; it is traditionally mixed with t…

Sweets

This is the only exception allowed among bakery products: an industrial sandwich loaf made with wheat bran, which replaces bread at breakfas…

Grains and starches

The system allows bulgur as cracked whole wheat, just like frik. It is used in stuffings, kibbeh and stuffed quail.

Grains and starches

In moderation, plain

Cashews are allowed in moderation, plain rather than roasted in an industrial oil.

Nuts and seeds

Cheddar is one of the aged cheeses the method encourages, preferring long-aged versions. It is the system's typical breakfast cheese.

Dairy and cheese

Cherries are allowed without condition.

Fruits

Chocolate is allowed, dark, milk or white, despite the system's strict position on liquid milk, presumably by the same logic that allows pro…

Sweets

Chocolate-hazelnut spread is allowed by the system, which has even cited it as an example of an acceptable sweet.

Sweets

in small amounts, in desserts and tea

The system tolerates cinnamon in rice-and-sugar desserts and in sweetened infusions; it is considered a “mild” spice. The sources set no fre…

Condiments and spices

Whole coconut is allowed as a fruit; coconut milk, on the other hand, a processed drink, is excluded by the system.

Fruits

Without milk or creamer

The system accepts coffee provided it is drunk without milk or powdered creamer: since fresh milk and its liquid derivatives are excluded, b…

Drinks

Corn on the cob, boiled or grilled, is allowed; only its flour and cornbread are ruled out.

Grains and starches

For frying

The method reserves corn oil for high-temperature frying, olive oil remaining its choice for cold use.

Fats and oils

Crab is allowed, unlike shrimp and squid, without the method stating the criterion behind this difference.

Proteins

Cumin is at the heart of the Egyptian dishes the system allows: sheep's trotters, head meat, stuffings. No limit is set.

Condiments and spices

Date molasses is allowed as a natural sweetener, classically paired with tahini at breakfast.

Sweets

1 to 6 a day according to the system

Dates are one of the system's five daily pillars; it recommends one to six a day. They also count among the allowed dried fruits.

Fruits

Dried apricots, raisins, dried figs and dates are allowed by the method; they recur in its traditional sweets and Ramadan snacks.

Fruits

fresh, on protein days; canned version not documented

Fresh sardines fall under the system's “sea fish” heading, and are therefore allowed on protein days. The sources say nothing about canned s…

Proteins

Frik is allowed despite its gluten: whole grain, not milled, not kneaded. It is used to stuff pigeons and quail or cooked in lamb broth.

Grains and starches

Fruit juices are allowed by the method, which even prefers certain fruits as strained juice rather than whole. Citrus juices are only tolera…

Drinks

Ginger is allowed in cooking and in hot drinks.

Vegetables

Grapes are among the fruits allowed by the system.

Fruits

Without milk

Green tea is the system's reference hot drink, drunk without milk. It replaces black tea, which the method rules out.

Drinks

Seeds removed

Guava is allowed, preferably with the seeds removed, whole or as juice.

Fruits

Gummy candies are allowed by the method.

Sweets

Lamb's head meat, simmered in its broth, is allowed; a traditional winter dish served with rice and soup.

Proteins

made only with white sugar and natural butter, without milk or cream

The system's “typical” dessert combines two Fundamentals: caramelized white sugar and natural butter, sometimes over white rice or dates. Th…

Sweets

Without milk

Cinnamon, anise and other herbal teas are accepted by the system, always without milk. They serve as evening drinks or to accompany meals.

Drinks

Jam is allowed at breakfast, on bran toast or with an aged cheese; it contains neither white flour nor egg.

Sweets

Karkadé, hot or iced, is allowed without restriction as long as no milk is added. It is a traditional Egyptian drink that the method readily…

Drinks

An aged pressed cheese, kashkaval is allowed without condition.

Dairy and cheese

Lamb liver is allowed, unlike poultry liver.

Proteins

Preferably as juice

Mango is allowed, and the method prefers it as strained juice rather than whole.

Fruits

Lamb intestines stuffed with rice and spices, simmered then browned, are an Egyptian dish allowed by the system.

Proteins

Mint tea is allowed by the method. In Morocco it is traditionally made with gunpowder green tea, which naturally places it among the accepte…

Drinks

homemade, without chili; watch salt tolerance

Mish, a cheese fermented in brine for months, is allowed by the system by virtue of its long fermentation. The method nevertheless asks peop…

Dairy and cheese

Mozzarella is allowed by the system, useful for oven dishes and homemade pizzas on an approved crust.

Dairy and cheese

Cooked

Mushrooms are allowed cooked.

Vegetables

Butter is one of the system's five daily pillars: allowed for cooking and at breakfast, even though milk is excluded, because the method con…

Fats and oils

pure cream with no thickener; small amounts

The system allows natural cream (eshta), which it treats as a dairy fat close to butter, provided it is pure and free of starch or additives…

Dairy and cheese

Honey is allowed as a natural sweetener.

Sweets

Olive oil is allowed, especially cold: on olives and preserved lemon, or as a marinade for grilled fish and meat.

Fats and oils

Parmesan, one of the longest-aged cheeses, is fully allowed by the method.

Dairy and cheese

Preferably peeled

Peach is allowed, preferably peeled, like the method's other thin-skinned fruits.

Fruits

Preferably peeled

Pear is allowed, preferably peeled.

Fruits

Peeled

Persimmon is allowed, peeled.

Fruits

Pigeon, grilled or stuffed with rice or frik, is the system's reference bird and the intended alternative to chicken on protein days.

Proteins

Pine nuts are allowed; they go into pigeon, quail and vegetable stuffings, and garnish rice.

Nuts and seeds

In moderation

Pistachios are allowed in moderation; they garnish the traditional sweets accepted by the system.

Nuts and seeds

Preferably as strained juice

Pomegranate is allowed; the method prefers it as strained juice.

Fruits

Popcorn is allowed as a snack.

Sweets

Potato is one of the system's five daily pillars: allowed in every form, boiled, fried, baked or mashed, but cooked without onion or garlic.

Grains and starches

Chips are allowed by the system, like the potato they come from.

Sweets

Preferably as strained juice

Prickly pear is allowed, preferably made into juice to remove its seeds.

Fruits

The system allows processed cheese, on the principle that processing alters the structure of casein.

Dairy and cheese

Qechta is the system's reference cream for cold uses and desserts; it is allowed without restriction.

Dairy and cheese

Quail is allowed, like pigeon, among the few birds accepted.

Proteins

Rabbit is presented as one of the best alternatives to chicken: a lean white meat, stewed, grilled or stuffed.

Proteins

Rice is the system's central starch and one of its five pillars: allowed in all its forms, it replaces bread at almost every meal, cooked wi…

Grains and starches

Roasted pumpkin seeds, an Egyptian street snack, are allowed.

Sweets

An aged Egyptian cheese, allowed by the method, which advises choosing a naturally aged version.

Dairy and cheese

Salt is one of the system's basics; it prefers natural sea salt to industrial iodized salt.

Condiments and spices

Preferably grilled; fried without flour

All sea fish are allowed, preferably grilled; if fried, they must be fried without a flour coating.

Proteins

Sesame halva, made from tahini and sugar, is allowed at breakfast, on its own or with cheese.

Sweets

Sheep's trotters, simmered at length into a gelatinous broth, are a classic allowed by the system, served with rice.

Proteins

Clarified butter is the system's preferred cooking fat: it withstands heat and flavors rice, grilled meats and stuffed dishes.

Fats and oils

Cooked

Squash is allowed cooked: soups, cream soups, stews.

Vegetables

Strawberry is allowed by the system without condition.

Fruits

Sugarcane juice, a classic street drink in Egypt, is allowed by the system, consistent with its very permissive stance on sugar.

Drinks

In small amounts

This is the only vinegar explicitly allowed by the system, in small amounts on pickles or as a marinade for grilled meats. Cider vinegar and…

Condiments and spices

For frying

Like corn oil, sunflower oil is allowed by the method for frying.

Fats and oils

Sweet potato is allowed by the system.

Grains and starches

Tahini is allowed; the method favors the dark variety, made from unhulled seeds. It serves as the base for sauces and sheep's trotter dishes…

Condiments and spices

Tamarind, a traditional Ramadan drink, is accepted by the method.

Drinks

Cooked

Taro is allowed cooked, in soup or stewed.

Vegetables

In moderation, plain and unsalted

Walnuts are allowed in moderation, plain and unsalted.

Nuts and seeds

still water; sparkling water not documented

Still water is the system's basic drink, with no restriction. The sources say nothing about sparkling water or flavored waters, which fall u…

Drinks

5 to 15 tablespoons a day according to the system

Sugar is one of the system's five daily pillars, along with rice, potato, dates and butter: the method recommends 5 to 15 tablespoons of it …

Sweets

cooked (boiled, stuffed with rice, in tomato sauce); never raw

Zucchini is the vegetable most often cited as tolerated in the system, always cooked: boiled in broth, stuffed with white rice or in tomato …

Vegetables

Occasionally, version without egg or yogurt

The system tolerates store-bought basbousa because it contains neither egg nor yogurt, unlike other Middle Eastern pastries.

Sweets

Once a week, share split with buffalo

Beef shares a single weekly allowance with buffalo: once a week in total, one or the other. The method prefers to boil it before browning ra…

Proteins

counted within the weekly beef share; without onion or garlic

The system allows beef liver as an organ meat, within the beef/buffalo quota, provided it is prepared without onion, garlic or bell pepper. …

Proteins

long-simmered broth; within the weekly beef share

According to the method, trotter and bone broth (kawari') is a preparation valued for its collagen, served with white rice; it still counts …

Proteins

Once a week, share split with beef

Buffalo and beef share the same allowance: once a week in total.

Proteins

Twice a week, share split with lamb and goat

Camel shares the weekly allowance of lamb and goat: two meals a week divided among the three. Preferably boiled, then browned.

Proteins

Cooked only

Raw carrot is ruled out along with raw vegetables, but the method allows it cooked.

Vegetables

Only in dishes cooked hot

The method tolerates cooking cream only in hot preparations, never cold; for cold uses, it points to qechta.

Dairy and cheese

very rarely, healthy adults and children; without milk or vegetable oil

Dark chocolate and cocoa are placed in the purple zone (very rare) by one source, while another lists “chocolate” as generally allowed witho…

Sweets

Cooked only

Eggplant is allowed cooked in most recent lists, notably stuffed or in moussaka; one reference source, however, classed it among the exclude…

Vegetables

peeled; limited frequency

Part of the sources cite fresh fig as tolerated in limited amounts, peeled; in the system's eyes its sweetness brings it close to the date. …

Fruits

freshly squeezed at home, strained, small glass; industrial nectars forbidden

A documented exception in the system: whole mango is forbidden, but a small glass of fresh strained juice is tolerated. Industrial nectars (…

Drinks

freshly squeezed at home, small glass, not on an empty stomach; packaged juices forbidden

As with mango, the system tolerates a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice while forbidding the fruit itself; it advises against dri…

Drinks

brine of salt + water + sugarcane vinegar only; no garlic, chili or white vinegar

The system allows homemade lacto-fermented pickles (cucumber, carrot, turnip) made with salt and sugarcane vinegar, in the name of fermentat…

Vegetables

Twice a week, share split with lamb and camel

Goat is grouped with lamb: two meals a week to be shared among lamb, goat and camel.

Proteins

Once a month

Green beans are limited to once a month by the system.

Vegetables

Stuffed and cooked only

Green bell pepper is only tolerated stuffed and cooked, never raw.

Vegetables

Within the weekly meat share

Ground meat is allowed within the weekly share of the meat it comes from.

Proteins

peeled, small handful; spreads forbidden

Hazelnuts follow the same regime as almonds: tolerated in small amounts, peeled, according to the two primary sources; tanja7 forbids them. …

Nuts and seeds

Twice a week, share split with goat and camel

Lamb is the system's preferred meat. Lamb, goat and camel share an allowance of two meals a week.

Proteins

Except malban, foulia and nougat

The traditional sweets of the Mawlid are tolerated, with the exception of malban, foulia and nougat.

Sweets

Once a month

Mloukhia is limited to once a month by the system.

Vegetables

with lamb, within its weekly share

The system allows mutton fat (liya) as a natural animal fat, eaten with lamb and therefore subject to the same frequency. The method strongl…

Fats and oils

cooked in tomato sauce with meat; no garlic

Part of the sources cite okra as tolerated, cooked in a tomato stew with lamb or beef, without garlic or fried coriander. The frequency is n…

Vegetables

In small amounts

Olives are allowed in small amounts, often drizzled with olive oil to replace raw vegetables.

Vegetables

The system's position on peanuts is contradictory: some lists allow them in moderation, others exclude them as a legume. We place them among…

Nuts and seeds

In small amounts

Salt-preserved lemon is the only form of citrus tolerated, in small amounts, to season dishes and pickles.

Vegetables

no coating oil or sulfites; small amounts

Raisins are tolerated in small amounts, in line with seedless grapes and dates; the system requires raisins that are unoiled and untreated. …

Nuts and seeds

Preferably cooked, in sauce

The method prefers tomato cooked, in sauce, rather than raw in salad.

Vegetables

counted within the weekly beef share

Veal does not appear as a separate heading in the lists; the system groups it with beef (same animal, same tier), so it uses up the same wee…

Proteins

Alcohol is never itemized in the system's sources, whose religious framework rules it out from the start; it is therefore forbidden by defau…

Drinks

A Moroccan specialty absent from the Egyptian sources, culinary argan oil is not listed by the system and therefore falls under the white-li…

Fats and oils

Sweeteners are among the system's most insistent prohibitions; it presents them as “poisons” and sets natural white sugar against them. “Sug…

Sweets

Avocado is among the fruits the system excludes, alongside kiwi, papaya and orange.

Fruits

Beet appears on none of the system's positive lists and is therefore forbidden by default; one secondary source cites it among the excluded …

Vegetables

Colored bell peppers are excluded, raw and cooked alike.

Vegetables

The system rules out black tea, though it is ubiquitous in Egypt, citing the effect of its tannins on mineral absorption. Green tea is the i…

Drinks

Broccoli is excluded by the system, always cited with cauliflower among the ruled-out vegetables.

Vegetables

Counterintuitively, the system rejects brown rice and only allows polished white rice: it considers the grain's outer layer irritating and l…

Grains and starches

Cabbage is excluded, even cooked in stuffed leaves, its leaves being classed among the ruled-out greens.

Vegetables

Squid is excluded along with shrimp, while crab and sea fish remain allowed.

Proteins

Although the system encourages sugar, it forbids industrial candy because of colorings, flavorings, gelatin and high-fructose corn syrup. Th…

Sweets

The system rejects industrial canned goods (vegetable oil, additives) and canned tuna appears on no positive list; under the white-list rule…

Proteins

Cauliflower is excluded by the system, along with broccoli.

Vegetables

Chicken is excluded in all its forms and all its parts, factory-farmed or free-range, grilled or boiled, meat, liver or gizzards, in the nam…

Proteins

Coconut oil is not allowed by the system, which retains only olive oil among vegetable oils; it is forbidden by the white-list rule and one …

Fats and oils

Industrial cookies are forbidden in the system for the same reasons as pastries: white flour, palm or vegetable oil, powdered milk and addit…

Sweets

Corn flour and the bread made from it are excluded as bakery products, while the whole cob and popcorn remain allowed.

Grains and starches

Couscous, made from refined wheat semolina, is explicitly excluded by the system along with pasta and quinoa. This is a major break with the…

Grains and starches

Fresh milk and all liquid dairy products are excluded by the system, which bases this position on its reading of casein.

Dairy and cheese

The system forbids all cured and processed meats, including those made from beef (pastirma, sogo'), because of the additives, nitrites and s…

Proteins

Duck is excluded along with all farmed poultry; only pigeon and quail are allowed among birds.

Proteins

Eggs are excluded in all their forms, hard-boiled, fried, as an omelet or in chakchouka, as the method judges egg white hard to digest. They…

Proteins

The system groups energy drinks with sodas and industrial beverages: excluded in every brand and every format.

Drinks

Farmed fish are ruled out by the system, which distinguishes them from wild sea fish because of the feed given in fish farms.

Proteins

Flax seeds fall under the general exclusion of seeds and fiber supplements decided by the system.

Nuts and seeds

Creamy fresh cheeses are excluded by the method because of their high proportion of fresh milk.

Dairy and cheese

Fresh lemon is excluded like all citrus fruits; only its salt-preserved version is tolerated, in small amounts.

Fruits

Fresh fromage blanc, though low in fat, is excluded by the method, which classes it with unaged white cheeses.

Dairy and cheese

Garlic is excluded raw and cooked; the method explicitly asks for rice and potatoes to be cooked “without onion or garlic”.

Vegetables

The system does not distinguish goat's milk from cow's milk: all fresh milk is forbidden. Goat meat, on the other hand, is allowed.

Dairy and cheese

Goose is excluded along with chicken, duck and turkey.

Proteins

Grapefruit is forbidden along with all citrus fruits; the sources do not grant it the “juice” exception that orange and mango enjoy.

Fruits

Peas are forbidden because the system treats them as a legume, a category excluded wholesale (lentils, fava beans, chickpeas, dried beans). …

Vegetables

Hot pepper is forbidden in all its forms (fresh, powdered, harissa, chili sauces): the system considers it irritating to the stomach and liv…

Condiments and spices

Ice cream is excluded because most recipes contain fresh milk and eggs, two ingredients the system rules out.

Sweets

Ketchup and bottled sauces are forbidden in the system: industrial tomato paste, synthetic vinegar, glucose syrup, spices and preservatives.…

Condiments and spices

Kiwi is excluded by the system, which classes it with orange, papaya and avocado.

Fruits

Fermented milk is excluded by the system just like all liquid fresh dairy products.

Dairy and cheese

All legumes are excluded by the system in the name of its reservations about their fiber: fava beans, dried beans, lentils, chickpeas. This …

Vegetables

Lettuce and all salad greens are forbidden: the system bans raw leaves, which it describes as indigestible and laden with agricultural resid…

Vegetables

Like other fresh citrus fruits, lime is ruled out by the method in favor of preserved lemon.

Fruits

Mandarin is forbidden as a citrus fruit; unlike orange, the system mentions no juice exception for it.

Fruits

Margarine is excluded by the system, which treats it as an industrial hydrogenated fat to be replaced with butter or smen.

Fats and oils

Mayonnaise, industrial or homemade, is forbidden: it combines two of the system's major prohibitions, egg and vegetable oil, plus mustard an…

Condiments and spices

Melon is excluded by the system in the same way as watermelon; several reference lists name it explicitly among the ruled-out fruits.

Fruits

Middle Eastern pastries made with white flour are excluded: kunafa, zlabia, and by extension Moroccan dough-based sweets such as chebakia or…

Sweets

Milk chocolate and industrial bars are forbidden: powdered milk, vegetable oils, emulsifiers and flavorings pile up the hidden ingredients t…

Sweets

Mustard is forbidden in the system: according to the method, an industrial condiment made with synthetic vinegar and irritating seeds. It ap…

Condiments and spices

The system rules out oats in all forms, classing them among the excluded cereals, contrary to their reputation.

Grains and starches

Onion is excluded; the method insists on cooking rice and potatoes without onion or garlic.

Vegetables

Whole orange is excluded with the rest of the citrus fruits; the method only tolerates a little strained orange juice.

Fruits

All juices in bottles, cartons or powder are forbidden: the system only recognizes juice squeezed at home, and only for a few fruits. Preser…

Drinks

Pasta is excluded along with all white-flour products.

Grains and starches

Cakes, loaf cakes and Middle Eastern pastries (baklava, konafa, chebakia) are forbidden: white flour, eggs, milk, vegetable oil and nuts all…

Sweets

Drained fresh cheese (qarish in Egypt, faisselle or petit-suisse in France) is forbidden like all unaged cheeses. The system recognizes no a…

Dairy and cheese

Pineapple is ruled out by the system along with other acidic tropical fruits such as kiwi and papaya.

Fruits

All plant-based drinks are ruled out by the system, which rejects industrial liquids made from oats, soy or nuts. Whole coconut remains allo…

Dairy and cheese

The system, religious in inspiration, excludes pork from the outset; it is never itemized because it is out of scope from the start. For a W…

Proteins

By extension of the milk prohibition, the system rejects powdered milk and condensed milks, which it moreover considers industrial products.…

Dairy and cheese

Psyllium is excluded along with all seeds and added fiber.

Nuts and seeds

Quinoa is excluded by the system, despite its superfood image, and named alongside couscous and pasta.

Grains and starches

Raw cucumber is ruled out along with all raw vegetables.

Vegetables

All raw greens are excluded by the system, which cites their oxalates; this applies to salad as well as to fresh herbs used as garnish.

Vegetables

milk version forbidden; rice with butter and sugar tolerated

Traditional rice pudding is forbidden because of the milk, despite the rice and sugar, which are fundamentals. Instead, the system offers a …

Sweets

wild salmon not documented

The salmon sold in France and Morocco is almost always farmed, and therefore forbidden by the system's rule on farmed fish. Wild salmon is n…

Proteins

All unaged white cheeses, feta included, are ruled out by the system in the name of its position on casein.

Dairy and cheese

Shrimp are excluded along with squid, while other seafood remains allowed, without the method giving the reason.

Proteins

All sweetened carbonated drinks are excluded by the system, whatever the brand or flavor.

Drinks

Soy sauce is forbidden: a product of wheat and soy (a legume), often with added caramel and MSG. The system rejects all imported industrial …

Condiments and spices

Soybean and canola (rapeseed) oils are forbidden like all refined seed oils. The system associates them with GMO crops and solvent extractio…

Fats and oils

Spinach is excluded by the system.

Vegetables

Stock cubes and MSG are among the system's most frequently cited prohibitions: refined salt, palm oil, flavorings and enhancers. The method …

Condiments and spices

Snacking seeds (Egyptian “libb”, pipas), sunflower and pumpkin alike, are forbidden in the system, which associates them with the seed oils …

Nuts and seeds

industrial paste forbidden; homemade tomato sauce tolerated

Canned tomato paste is forbidden by the system as an industrial preserve (citric acid, salt, sometimes sugar and starch), while sauce made a…

Condiments and spices

Turkey is excluded along with chicken and duck; the method points to pigeon, rabbit and lamb instead.

Proteins

Malban (Egyptian Turkish delight) and industrial fruit jellies are forbidden by the system: cornstarch, colorings, flavorings and often forb…

Sweets

Watermelon is the fruit most clearly excluded by the system, which cites the supposed difficulty of digesting its fiber. The lists diverge o…

Fruits

Chantilly is excluded by the system because of its fresh-milk base.

Dairy and cheese

All breads and pastries made with white flour are excluded by the system; bran toast is the only exception.

Grains and starches

Yogurt is excluded by the system for the same reasons as fresh milk.

Dairy and cheese