Through the calls I am doing with people interested in my low Fodmap coaching program, I see there is a lot of confusion about what teas you can and cannot drink on the low Fodmap diet, so I want to clarify that now. Safe Teas These are based on a 1 cup serve. Weak to medium black tea Weak chai tea Weak dandelion tea Weak green tea Weak herbal teas (fruit-based with chicory root) Peppermint tea Teas to Avoid Strong chai tea Chamomile tea Fennel tea Strong herbal tea(fruit-based with chicory root) Oolong tea Coffee, as long as it is drunk with lactose-free milk, is generally low in Fodmaps though it is a gut irritant so you should be careful with it. Hot chocolates made from cocoa powder (3 heaped tsp) are fine but made with carob powder, you could only have 1 heaped teaspoon of it. 2 heaped teaspoons quickly takes you into high Fodmap territory so it could be a good idea to avoid carob and use cocoa if you want a hot chocolate drink. The Recipe This recipe is from … [Read more...] about Jamie Oliver’s Quick Lamb Tagine – low Fodmap & gluten-free
Beef/lamb
Put Yourself First and Low Fodmap Beef Bourguignon
I get almost daily emails from women who are desperate to control their irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. They reach out because they have been in pain for years, often decades, but have lacked the knowledge and the time to help themselves. Unsure of what to do next, they get in touch with me. Women put their needs last Here’s what I’ve discovered after countless emails and many many phone conversations with them. Women put their own needs last in the family, far below those of their children and even farther below those of their husbands. I’ve discovered mothers and wives are simply not used to helping themselves first because they see time spent exclusively on themselves as selfish when the rest of the family could be in need. But what they don’t see is that their ill health is affecting everyone in the family. IBS causes you to be grumpy, often depressed or anxious and unable to fully engage in life’s little pleasures. Irritable bowel syndrome affects everyone in the vicinity, … [Read more...] about Put Yourself First and Low Fodmap Beef Bourguignon
Dinner Party Menu – gluten-free and low FODMAP
I have been having quite a few dinner parties lately and that has got me to thinking about putting some dinner menus together for those of you who have to watch what you eat. When you invite people to your own home for a meal, it may seem a little odd to cook from the restricted range of foods on your own eating regime. But why not? You don't want to sabotage yourself and who would even know any different, as long as you are a little smart with your choices. Many of your friends will already know about your food intolerances but I don't think it is necessary to make the dinner party in any way about that. Cook delicious food and no one will be any the wiser. You can even serve bread - I would recommend this gluten-free low FODMAP one which was a great success. How you present the food is what can take it from ordinary everyday food into the realm of something worthy of a dinner party. I have put together a menu which I am sure would be a big hit with your guests whether they and/or you … [Read more...] about Dinner Party Menu – gluten-free and low FODMAP
A Standing Desk and Dinner Last Night
This is what we ate last night – a deconstructed gluten-free burger with polenta instead of bread buns. No one in our family missed the buns. There’s no need for a recipe because polenta is made according to the instructions on the packet, the chips were baked in the oven, the salad was assembled in two minutes and the meat patty was just that – seasoned minced beef, though I did add some cumin powder and cumin seeds because I love cumin. If you have good minced meat, there is no need to add anything else except seasoning. This was a meal I could eat without any qualms and everyone was happy with it. I am starting to get the hang of this. When I visited the dietician following my food intolerance breath tests, she said that it was wise to take a holistic approach to my issues because of how much other factors like stress impact on the digestive system. So I have made a few changes and one of those is regarding my working position. I sit at a desk for up to 8 hours a day in front … [Read more...] about A Standing Desk and Dinner Last Night
Lamb Kofta & Potato Rosti – gluten-free and fructmal friendly
In my last post, I mentioned that fructmal is becoming more common maybe because of all the high fructose corn syrup which is added to most processed foods these days. John from Kitchen Riffs made a comment (in the comment section) which could explain why manufacturers are doing this when it wasn't necessary in the past. I am quoting John here: "Back in the 1980s, at least in the US, loads of people became very aware of fat in food, and tried to limit it. It’s at that time that most of the manufacturers started really adding sugar in all forms to things – when you remove fat from products you remove so much taste, so they substituted sweetness. One wonders if it’s at that time that fructmal started becoming a problem." Thanks, John for that wisdom. It sounds like a very valid explanation to me. Once again, the answer is to avoid processed foods as much as possible. Walk around the outside aisles of those supermarkets. But to last night's dinner - this is fructmal friendly but … [Read more...] about Lamb Kofta & Potato Rosti – gluten-free and fructmal friendly
Pita Bread and Mexican Spread – grain-free & fructmal friendly
I had the final food intolerance test today for lactose and I have been skipping all day - I had no reaction at all. Again they took my breath every 1/2 hour for 3 hours and I will hear officially in a couple of weeks but I guess I have my answers already. I am not lactose intolerant but I am fructose intolerant and that sucks big time. It's not like lactose or gluten intolerance, which are clear cut. You eliminate them from your diet and you live well. Not that either of those intolerances is easy but fructose! It is in everything healthy - fruit, vegetables, whole grains etc. It's impossible to eliminate it - you would die from malnutrition. So you manage it. Most people have the fructose in their food absorbed through their stomach walls and that's the way it should be. But we strange folk can't absorb it and so it goes on its way and the bacteria down there sees it as a foreign substance and goes crazy, causing a lot of unpleasantness. Our bodies can tolerate a little fructose not … [Read more...] about Pita Bread and Mexican Spread – grain-free & fructmal friendly
