Cool Skin Kitchen

the idea

Two answers, one small body

Both our girls got the same red, hot, itchy skin read two ways: eczema from the West, and damp-heat from the East. Each came with its own food advice, low-histamine for the one and damp-heat-friendly for the other, and the two didn’t always agree. So we built the book we kept wishing for: one to flip open for everyday cooking, where every recipe passes through both lenses at once.

Low-histamine

What to take away

The Western lens. We lower the histamine load so a sensitive, eczema-prone child isn’t reacting to what’s on the plate.

Damp-heat

What to cool & drain

The TCM lens. We choose foods that cool and drain the damp-heat pattern behind the flare, instead of feeding it.

The sweet spot

Where the two frameworks overlap, low enough in histamine and cooling in the TCM sense, is where we cook most nights. Where they disagree, we tell you.

Not a cure, and not a substitute for your GP, dietitian or TCM practitioner.

the sweet spot

The foods at the heart of every recipe

Most of the book is built from the middle — foods the low-histamine world and Chinese medicine both say yes to. Here’s what lives there.

The sweet spot · both frameworks say yes

Zucchini
Cucumber
Celery
Lettuce
Watermelon
Asparagus
Pears
Apple
Blueberries
Rice
Millet
Sweet potato
Pumpkin & squash
Carrot
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Green beans
Peas
Winter melon
Daikon
Bok choy
Choy sum
Watercress
Kale
Wombok
Barley / coix
Mint
Dill
Parsley
Turkey
White fish
Egg
Pork
Legumes (modest)
Flaxseed

Low-histamine only · warming or damp

Chicken
Ginger
Garlic
Onion
Leek
Coconut
Mango
Banana
Peaches
Oats
Basil
Chives

Damp-heat friendly only · watch histamine

Mung bean
Adzuki bean
Bitter melon
Green tea
Seaweed

Build meals from the middle. The outer groups aren’t off-limits — just where one framework says “go easy.”

where this book began

From the hardest weeks to a whole new baby

Before I’d ever heard the words damp-heat, my own body was already trying to tell me something. My pregnancy with G ran hot and itchy in a way her brothers’ never had, and I believe it passed quietly to her.

For a while she thrived. Then her skin began to speckle, and the speckles became a relentless, never-ending itch. Our GP said eczema. The steroid cream did nothing. So I went down every rabbit hole there is, until I found a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor in Sydney.

We left his office with a damp-heat diagnosis, herbal baths and two small creams. By the next morning I could see a difference. Within two weeks she was a whole new baby: clear, glowing, happy. I couldn’t find a book that joined the dots between histamine, eczema and damp-heat, so Despina and I wrote the one we needed.

A baby’s face during a severe eczema flare, red and inflamed — Her skin at its worst.

The same baby, months later, smiling with clear, calm skin — Two weeks later.

Take what helps, leave what doesn’t. And remember, you aren’t doing this alone, we’re here too.

With love, Lily-Mari

what’s inside

Built to test, not just cook

More than a recipe collection. A whole system for finding what settles your child’s skin.

Two-lens ingredient bible

Every ingredient listed and explained through both its histamine and damp-heat status.

●●

A merged food list & sweet-spot map

A traffic-light list and a Venn diagram that shows exactly where the two frameworks of low-histamine and damp-heat-friendly ingredients meet.

✓

A tracking page per recipe

Every dish has its own flare-tracking page, plus a full Food & Flare Diary at the back.

⌂

Beyond the plate

A whole-home guide covering bathing, water, damp & mould, laundry, and the many other factors that touch the skin and senses.

⍝

Cooling Waters

A drinks chapter of gentle, cooling brews for itchy, hot, inflamed little bodies.

🔍

Finding the trigger

A simple food-detective method to help you spot what’s setting the digestion, immune system or skin off.

coming soon

Choose your kitchen

Here’s what’s on the way: an instant digital download in two editions, to cook by hand or straight from your Thermomix. Join the list to be first in line for founding-price access.

Single Edition

Standard or Thermomix

$22 AUD

The full book, one edition
65-entry ingredient bible
Tracking page on every recipe
Whole-home ‘beyond the plate’ guide

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Founding price at launch

The Complete Kitchen

Both editions: Standard + Thermomix

$33 AUD

Both editions, one purchase
65-entry ingredient bible
Tracking page on every recipe
Cooling Waters + Finding the Trigger
Free updates as we add recipes

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Prices shown are the planned launch prices. The founding price is reserved for our launch-week list, so join below to lock it in.

a note from two mums

“This book started with two little girls and two worried mums. We couldn’t find the book that did both, so we made it.”

Both our daughters have eczema, and both ended up with the same skin read two ways: eczema from the West, damp-heat from the East. We kept standing in the kitchen trying to hold both in our heads at once, with a hungry, itchy toddler pulling at our legs. This is the book we wished we’d had.

Despina & Lily-Mari

good to know

Questions

When can I get it?

Cool Skin Kitchen is launching soon. Join the list and you’ll get first word the moment it’s live. It’ll be an instant digital download, no waiting or postage.

What’s the difference between the two editions?

The recipes are the same. The Standard edition is written for any kitchen; the Thermomix edition rewrites every method for the Thermomix. The Complete Kitchen gives you both.

What format is it?

A beautifully laid-out PDF that reads well on your phone, tablet or laptop, and prints cleanly if you like a hard copy on the bench.

Is this a cure for eczema?

No. It’s a food-first, whole-home framework to help you eat and live in a calmer, cooler way. It’s not a substitute for your GP, dietitian or TCM practitioner.

My child has a diagnosed allergy. Is this safe?

Always follow your medical team first. If your child has a diagnosed food allergy or any risk of anaphylaxis, check every recipe against their plan before cooking.