# Wanna go low-FODMAPs but can't figure out what to eat? Here's a week or two's worth of recipes. Vegetarian but easy to fudge with meat or vegan :D



## Kate Miller

I felt the need to make this post, because I would have found this post invaluable when I first started on this diet. After a month on this diet, I'm still feeling my way through, but here's some easy options that are so versatile that you can use this longer than just one week.









Also, most of the ingredients listed should be available at any grocery, even the tiny ones without specialty items. If your local grocery doesn't have gluten free flour or pasta, try amazon. Or just, ya know, use other things. The only use I mention GF flour for here is roux, wherein you could easily use cornstarch or meal. Spelt flour should be fine if you're not gluten sensitive, and GF pasta can be replaced with strips of safe veggies for a healthier meal anyway.









*Meals*


Potato pancakes

Eggs and mashed potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, or whatever herbs and spices you'd like other than garlic/onion. I find these to be a satisfying dinner, though they would be excellent as a side dish as well. If you're using instant potatoes, you can toast them in the pan before adding water, though this will turn your mashed potatoes orange. I like the added flavor, personally. For sweet pancakes, omit seasonings and add syrup after cooking. My attempt at making them with instant potatoes and sugar added turned more into crepes, though, so that's a great option if you want crepes! Make sure to only use small amounts of safe fruit and/or cornsyrup-free jam of safe fruits. Careful not to eat too much jam, though, or you'll get overloaded on fructose.


Gluten free pasta

Real butter(not margarine) should be safe, or use olive oil instead. Add herbs other than garlic/onion to taste. Go for fancy and saute it with the oil and herbs! Parmesan is safe if so desired, but I recommend waiting until after sauteing to add it. Be very careful not to overcook the pasta! I like to use garlic-infused olive oil, but it's not necessary and should be avoided during the elimination phase.


Home made macaroni

GF macaroni, rotini, whatever kind of noodle you feel like. For the sauce, make a roux(essentially fried flour) with GF flour and lactaid or nondairy milk(coconut, rice, etc), add cheddar(or other hard cheese of choice), black pepper, salt and a bit of mustard seed. The mustard is essential! You can use prepared mustard if you don't have seed on hand, just be careful not to use too much. You can use Italian spices and parmesan instead of aforementioned spices to make it an alfredo instead.

if you fridge the mac n cheese, keep the pasta and sauce in separate containers so the pasta doesn't get soggy. The sauce is theoretically freezer safe, but I haven't tested this. I must recommend against freezing GF pasta.

Here's how to make a roux sauce- http://www.food.com/recipe/basic-white-sauce-roux-31540 Just replace with GF and lactose-free options then dump the cheese and seasonings in after it's thickened properly.


Salads!

Based with spinach or lettuce, absolutely avoid cabbage and onion. Check for safety with other veggies, of course. Store-bought dressings are iffy, but you can make a delicious vinaigrette pretty easy.http://blog.katescarlata.com/fodmaps/fodmap-friendly-salad-dressings/ is a good resource for dressing options. Want a creamy sauce? Add some mayo!

Alternatively, you can do a safe egg/potato/tuna salad with prepared mustard and mayo(check to make sure they're safe, but they should be), and vlassic's KOSHER dill, specifically kosher, pickles should be safe. Make sandwiches with GF bread, wraps in lettuce leaves, eat it straight up, add it to a normal salad, whatever. Super simple, pretty tasty. I like putting a little smoked paprika in mine.


Tofu!(or other protein of choice)

Baked, breaded, pan-seared, cooked however you want. I like mine sauted with a little bit of infused oil, soysauce and ginger. For meat eaters, pan-seared chicken, fish, whatever kind of meat you like is super simple. I can't specify what's good with meat because I'm vegetarian, but you can use a tiny bit of lemon juice or zest, herbs and spices, maybe bread it with cornmeal/starch and bake it..... If you use fruit juice, keep it less than 100ml(about 1/3cup) per serving, because more than that could be a fructose overload. Seitan should be safe if you make it yourself, though I would recommend not adding it during the elimination phase.


Stir fry!

Rice with tofu or protein of choice, you can safely use bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, carrots, green beans, bok choy... check the veggies you use, but it's pretty versatile and easy.


Soup

One of my personal favorites! Here's a vegan potato soup recipe I like to use, you can use any mashed potatoes not used in the potato pancakes, or make this before the pancakes and use leftover soup and/or leftover unused potatoes for the pancakes. If you're meat tolerant, I'm told that "better than bouillon" has a fodmap-safe chicken option.

Other soup ideas: use one of the aforementioned broths to make a minestrone with GF pasta, no-garlic tomato paste, and veggies of choice. Add meats if desired, or make it a stew, maybe some kind of chowder, or try for a chili instead with beef, tomato paste, cumin, and cayenne powders(haven't experimented with a veg* alternative for chili yet, sorry!) Absolutely do not use chili powder because it has garlic added! Maybe try making a pumpkin, carrot, or vegetable based soup instead if you're avoiding nightshade family plants, though one of the primary ibs meds (levsin) is based on the nightshade family.


Baked squash/veggies

This one's pretty self explanatory, and there's tons of recipes out there if you're not sure what kind to get or what to do with it. You could make it into a ratatouille-like dish if you wanna get fancy.


Omelets

Did I spell that right? I'm never sure. But omelets are easy, and so simple to customize. Add meat, veggies, cheese, whatever you want. Just make sure your veggies are safe and you're good to go. I like mine with cheddar, cumin, and cayenne.

*Snacks*


original flavor potato chips

avoid pringles, as they have wheat, but ruffles, kettle chips, stax, etc should be fine. Don't trust other flavors without checking, even black pepper flavor tends to have garlic.


tortilla chips

other corn chips like fritos are also safe, but check ingredients when unsure. You can make a queso to dip 'em in by making a roux and dumping in cheddar, cayenne, and cumin. Maybe some tomato paste too. For vegans, replace the cheddar with nutritional yeast. It's not exactly the same as cheddar, but as someone who frequently eats both, it's a fairly decent replacement for that cheesy flavor.

For meat eaters, browning some beef with tomato, cumin, and cayenne could make a good dip if you leave it liquidy or taco filling if you don't add much liquid. Still figuring out how to veg-ify tacos now that beans are out.


cheese sticks

Mozzarella isn't suitable for the elimination diet, but there's tons of cheddar, colby, etc cheese sticks out there too. Babybel cheeses(the tiny wheels wrapped in wax) should also be safe.


Rice

I know, rice can be a major pain to cook, right? But you can MICROWAVE it. Depending on what kind you buy and what your microwave is like, the water and timing can vary, but I get the normal long-grain white rice, put one cup dried rice plus two cups water in a 5-cup container(the extra space is VERY important if you don't want starch all over your microwave) and check it every 3-5 minutes of cooking. It's usually done between 12 and 15 minutes. Add some soy sauce, a little sesame oil, and BOOM tasty snack/light lunch. Make sure to be checking it every couple of minutes because you can burn things in the microwave. It is not pleasant.


French fries(frozen or home-made)

Most unseasoned french fries should be safe, I know for sure that ore-ida is. Check for wheat, garlic, and onion. Store-bought ketchup/catsup is unsafe but you can make your own by simmering tomato paste/sauce(go for the tinned ones that are just tomato, make sure you don't get the seasoned ones) with some sugar, vinegar, and just a dash of salt. Alternatively, go canadian with it and add gravy instead. Your imagination is the limit, cover them with cinnamon-sugar fries cumin and chili before baking if you want extra flavor.

Tater tots almost always have onion in them, so they're not usually an option, but I found some at whole foods the other day that were onion-less. I think it was the 365 brand. They're pricey, but a nice treat.


Cereal

This one can be tricky, because a lot of cereals are wheat based or sweetened with fructose. I know that name-brand fruity pebbles are okay, but not the walmart offbrand ones. Rice or corn chex are good unsweetened options if you prefer less sweet or to sweeten it yourself, but otherwise check the ingredient list. Enjoy with your preferred lactose-free milk or just eat it dry.


Leftovers

I know, everyone dreads the tupperwares. But it makes your life so much easier if you have something to grab-and-go for if you don't have time to prepare your lunch before work, or if you just feel too lazy to cook that day. Those potato pancakes are great for eating two or three at a time while I'm reading or working since they can be held.


Sweets?

It's best to limit sugar, of course, but if you're a fiend like me then of course you're not going to give it up entirely. Baking chocolate(go for semi-sweet, it's about 50% cocoa) is safe, and probably a healthier option than hersheys. Not all "dark" chocolates are vegan, so check for dairy and whether they're sweetened with honey or agave nectar. Dextrose-based candies like sweet tarts, smarties, and bottlecaps are all fodmap free, and nerds are so low in fructose that they should be safe too.


Pudding

NOT from a box! It's actually super simple to make pudding from scratch, there's loads of recipes online and they work just as well with lactose-free options.


Instant potatoes(unflavored)

Not as good as the real deal, but so easy to make and still pretty tasty. Throw in some butter, salt, pepper and yummm.


gelatin

Not a veg* friendly option, but there's no fructose so for those of you who are okay with meat, gelatin's an option. Check the ingredients, of course, I only took a cursory look at a strawberry jello box out of curiosity.


Soup

I know, soup's usually more of a meal, but the recipe I mentioned before uses instant potatoes, so it's super easy to whip up a tupperware of dry ingredients then just add a bit to water and garlic oil instead of actually cooking. This one only works if you can tolerate garlic oil or have boxed broth or safe bouillon on hand, of course.

But hey, there's over a week's menu plan right there. I apologize for rambling as I go, but it should make this more interesting to read at least. Feel free to message me on here or on reddit (my screen name is lunartigersong and I check it more frequently) if you have any questions or want to share a recipe you tried, I'd love to have even more options.


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