Breakfast cereals

This has given me a lot of grief, I get sick of gluten free toast for brekky and most of the cereals seem to have added gluten. After forcing myself through a couple of boxes of Lowan Cocoa Bombs (nice but I'm less of a Cocoa-in-the-morning sort of person) I discovered:

Food for Health Life Food "The Fruit Free Clusters" in the health food section of Coles. They're gluten free, frucose friendly, dairy free, peanut free, and Australian owned and made. They're basically a mix of grains, which impressively includes Chia, and are the best muesli substitute I've tasted. At $7 a box it's not cheap, but better than the Whisk and Pin alternative at a whopping $15 a pop for a very, very ordinary gluten free experience.

Pizza? Yes You Can!

It's been a while since my last post, but I have been busy experimenting with recipes. And my friends, it's paid off. I bring you the Low FODMAP Pizza!

- Gluten free wraps (e.g. freedom foods)
- Leggos Sugo di Pomodoro pasta sauce
- Pizza cheese
- toppings of your choice (e.g., ham, capsicum, baby spinach, etc)

Use the wrap as a pizza base, add a generous amount of the pasta sauce on top, a light layer of cheese, followed by your toppings and then another light layer of cheese. Grill on a low setting until cheese is lightly browned.

Ok, Ok, so it only slightly resembles a pizza, but I promise you it's tasty :)

Eating out - where?

So the biggest thing I've been struggling with on this diet is where to eat out...! I had rather an emotional time thinking I could order lunch in a cafe that serves gluten free goodies, yet discovered that pretty much everything edible has onion/dairy/garlic of some form in it.

Here's my suggestions so far:

• Greek food! Haloumi and fetta are allowed, as is grilled meat and hot chips. Yippee! Just check before ordering if there are things that have been basted, sprinkled with, or marinated in garlic, and check the contents of any dressings on the salads. Also, make sure you eat around the onions!

My partner is pretty stoked about the greek food revelation as I'm pretty sure he's secretly Greek. He has been known to practical inhale Greek food by the plateful.

• Grill'd. The chips are fine, and you can manufacture a burger that doesn't contain fodmaps. Things to watch out for are the beef or lamb patties (they contain the relish, which subsequently contains onions), and the sauces. The chicken breast and steak is fine, and they have gluten free buns. If you are craving sauce on your horribly dry bun, the cranberry is also fodmap-friendly. I have found that the grill'd chicken salad (sans onion) and chips is usually the tastiest and easiest option.

I'm hoping to eventually add more to this list. Please feel free to post your discoveries!

Recipes - where??

Taste.com's new Low Fodmap recipe collection is certainly worth a gander, just be careful to eliminate all the things you can't tolerate from the recipe.

I tried the Gluten free self saucing pudding a few nights ago and I must say, with some minor tweaking to the cooking time and/or temperature it's definitely a winner. Here it is in all it's pudding-y glory.


I have a fan-forced oven and found the cooking time recommended in the recipe far too long (45 mins). Next time I think I'll either reduce the heat or reduce the cooking time, as my pudding came out looking more like a brownie (but was still delish, thankfully!).

There are also comments recommending the use of 2 tablespoons more cocoa, but I really think it's unnecessary as it's VERY rich.

I recommend serving it with lashing of lactose-free cream* and fresh strawberries.

*Side note: I tried to whip the lactose-free cream before realising that it simply does. not. whip. It came out looking more like a sorry babycino than any whipped cream I've ever seen (and I took to it with an electric whisk attachment, so manpower is not the issue). I'm wondering if lactose is essential for whippy-ness, can anyone confirm this?

What the heck are FODMAPs?

Dr Sue Shepherd, a dietitian at Monash University, found that around 70% people experiencing the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome had a significant improvement on the low FODMAP diet. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. They are in lots of foods like fruit, veggies, and processed foods.

Examples of high FODMAP foods are listed below:

Excess Fructose: Honey, Apples, Mango, Pear, Watermelon, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup Solids

Fructans: Artichokes (Globe), Artichokes(Jerusalem), Asparagus, Beetroot, Chicory, Dandelion leaves, Garlic (in large amounts), Leek, Onion (brown, white, Spanish, onion powder), Raddicio lettuce, Spring Onion (white part), Wheat (in large amounts), Rye (in large amounts), Inulin, Fructo-oligosaccharides.

Lactose: Milk, icecream, custard, dairy desserts, condensed and evaporated milk, milk powder, yoghurt, margarine, soft unripened cheeses (eg. ricotta, cottage, cream, marscarpone).

Galacto-Oligosaccharides (GOS): Legume beans (eg. baked beans, kidney beans, bortolotti beans), Lentils, Chickpeas

Polyols: Apples, Apricots, Avocado, Cherries, Longon, Lychee, Nectarines, Pears , Plums, Prunes, Mushrooms, Sorbitol (420), mannitol (421), xylitol (967), maltitol (965) and Isomalt (953).

This is a relatively new area and there is a lot of research happening. If you think that you may have problems with FODMAPS, please seek help from a doctor or a registered dietitian.

All information about FODMAPS was found on Sue Shepherds website www.shepherdworks.com.au. Please go there for any further information on FODMAPS and the low FODMAP diet.

Rhubarb muffins

Low FODMAP, lactose free*, gluten free

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup rhubarb, sliced thinly
• 150g butter, melted
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 1/2 cups gluten free self raising flour
• 1/2 cup lactose free milk (or lactose free plain yoghurt)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 Tablespoon rosewater
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat fan forced oven to 180oC and grease a 1/2 cup capacity muffin tin (this makes about 8-10 large muffins). Combine rhubarb, flour, and sugar in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the remaining ingredients and combine, but be careful not to over mix. add about 2-3 dessert spoons to each section of the muffin tin and bake for 15-20 mins, checking regularly. Muffins are done when they spring back when lightly touched on top. Cool before removing from the tin.

Muffins can be frozen in batches and reheated.

Enjoy!

*butter is acceptable for some on the low FODMAP diet. Please determine whether this is suitable for you if you are avoiding lactose.

Introductions

Hello everyone,

I'm a 28 year old girl with tummy problems. I have just seen a dietitian and I'm now on a low FODMAP, lactose free, gluten free diet. After leaving cafe after cafe hungry I have decided the best way to treat myself is to make some yummy goodies myself! I've decided to share my recipes and finds as there is not a hell of a lot out there that people like us can actually eat, and everyone deserves tasty food.

Feel free to comment or to add suggestions, this is a work in progress so contributions are welcome.

Enjoy!