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Low Fodmap Inspiration

Ideas and recipes for a happy, healthy gut

Reviews · April 30, 2018

IBS Awareness Month

As April is IBS Awareness Month, I thought I’d share my own diagnosis of IBS in the hope of helping others, and breaking the taboo of avoiding talking about bowels, bowel movements, stomach cramps, bloating, sickness, lack of energy – you name it, it’s all part of the package. For some reason, digestive issues are still not talked about enough, and I’ve experienced this first hand when introducing my blog to others. I don’t know how to describe it, I sometimes just say that I’m a food blogger, or instead I go along the lines of “I’m one of those annoying people who can’t eat anything or has lots of allergies so I write about it”, though I hate myself when I say this. It makes the diet for IBS trivial, as if there’s a choice to be made about what I can or can’t eat. I once went down the technical route, “basically I follow a low FODMAP diet for digestive health reasons which stands for low Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccarides….” at this point I realised I’d lost them. And then there’s the debate as to what actually is gluten or wheat and why can’t you eat it. I tend to just say my main issues are lactose, fructose and fructans, which are the main components of wheat, dairy, onion, garlic and some fruits. Oh and I’m allergic to nuts. Quite easy to explain really.
But anyway, back to the diagnosis stages… For as long as I can remember I have suffered with stomach issues. If I ever drank a glass of coca cola, I’d end up in another room with my mum and grandma while they encouraged me to walk it off while I was tears that I was going to be sick (at this point I couldn’t burp and had horrendous gas/bloating problems – sorry for TMI, but that’s the point!). Everyone just said I had a small stomach and I had to go careful. There were many family meals where I’d end up sat outside as I’d felt sick when faced with my meal. But this was all just put down to my age etc. and I’d grow out of it. I then went on numerous school trips (I was part of the school band where I played flute) and within the first trip or two I was aptly nicknamed “windy” by my friends. At the time I could laugh about it, it was true I did have a pretty unhelpful talent due to my poor digestion, but at the time I was vegetarian and I thought it was just part and parcel.

During my teen years, particularly my years at college I went down with a nasty case of the Noro Virus, which resulted in me vomiting 19 times (I counted) in 12 hours. This triggered a phobia of being sick, and I think this is where the IBS issues really began. I would struggle to go out for meals, I would have mild panic attacks whenever I felt the slightest bit sick, I was even known to actually be sick (sorry TGI’s Southampton) when the panic became overwhelming. I also had random bouts of being sick after meals, for example if I’d had a rich dinner (cheese souffle, followed by salmon in a white sauce and cheese and biscuits for dessert – pescetarian choices were limited) I went home and was really ill. Looking back with my knowledge of FODMAPs, this was probably due to overdosing on lactose! This patch continued through college and university, and even in employment. I did go to the doctor for my phobia of sickness and stomach aches, and I was told that it was constipation and I should eat more fruit. The rude, embarrassing, patronising and abrupt response to my first visit to the GP with stomach problems (which really should have highlighted the beginnings of IBS-C) really put me in my place and put me off returning to the doctors with any stomach problems. It also made me think that all my symptoms were just normal.

I’ve had a few jobs since finishing my degree, firstly as a vet nurse, then I spent four years in a the travel industry working for two different companies, which was predominantly office-based, but also involved opportunities to travel abroad. Looking back it was an incredible job, but for some reason I decided to go into teaching! I joke, but I do love teaching, it’s just incredibly hard work at the moment as I’m only in my Newly-Qualified Teaching year. I have a degree in Zoology, so decided to become a science teacher, but this involves spending a lot of time re-learning Chemistry and Physics, before planning and teaching these lessons.
Many of my stomach problems may have worsened during my time working in travel. Perks of the job included a number of unforgettable trips to places I’d have otherwise had no opportunity to travel to (or ever afford to travel to). In my four years I was lucky enough to visit Portugal, Spain (twice), Iceland, Norway, Borneo, Saint Lucia, Islay, Zambia and Malawi.
While this was truly incredible, as an anxious person this equated to approximately 20 flights on my own. This might not seem like much, but I have also developed a fear of flying (thanks anxiety!). Basically every time I flew, I would be anxious about the flight alone, and whether I would be met as planned on arrival, and subsequently had really bad symptoms of IBS whenever I was about to board a plane. Added to the motion etc I would always feel horrendous in flight, particularly on a long haul journey. As I was often feeling unwell, I would also avoid any food entirely, so it would take me time to adjust whenever I arrived somewhere. Added to this a really bumpy Malaysian Airlines flight from Borneo back to Peninsular Malaysia, just to make my anxiety worse.
I also remember travelling back from Nairobi, about to board my Kenya Airlines overnight flight back to Heathrow, and I was hit with a horrendous bout of diarrhea. The flight back I literally didn’t move, head in hands for 8 hours counting down until I was home. This probably led me to reconsider my career options as I felt like it wasn’t good for my health, and I felt guilty that I wasn’t enjoying every moment! It was everyone’s dream yet I was always ill and an anxious mess. I do however look back with fond memories as I had a fantastic time, and who knows, one day I could return to it now I know how to control my nightmare of a stomach!

As I travelled more, my symptoms worsened over time, with horrendous bloating. It got to the point I felt I couldn’t sit comfortably at my desk as my stomach was rubbing/pushing against it. I carried on for a little while before going to the doctor. I’d googled my symptoms (as you do nowadays and presume you have days to live) I plucked up the courage to see my local GP. After explaining my problems, the doctor immediately suggested I had IBS and prescribed some Mebeverine. I was like, after all these years and stomach issues, here it was problem solved with a tablet. But of course, the tablet did nothing and I had to keep returning! A few different prescriptions later, blood tests (for coeliac disease) and a printout of the low FODMAP diet, I then had a horrendous flare up, felt sick for about 6 days and was in extreme agony. I wasn’t sleeping and the cramps were unbearable. I returned to the doctor who suddenly realised the severity and I was finally referred to a gastroenterologist at the hospital. I then began strictly following the low FODMAP diet and began to feel so much better. I had the odd takeaway here and there but I noticed a huge improvement in my symptoms. I’m self-taught on the low FODMAP diet so always learning, and by the time I visited the gastroenterologist she was confident I was suffering with IBS, so I didn’t need to have a colonoscopy unless symptoms progressed. I completed yet another blood test and a stool sample to check for IBD, but results came back fine. It was at this point I was meant to see a dietician, but I was never referred. So I carried on with the low FODMAP diet and eventually started the blog to share my experience with others… and here I am!

Since starting Low FODMAP Inspiration, I’ve continued to follow a low FODMAP diet, however as I still hadn’t ever seen a dietican, I’ve never completed the reintroduction phase properly. Back in October I was hospitalised with gastroenteritis. I described the pain as having 8 chest-bursters from Alien trying to break out across my abdomen, and when the pain spread into my chest, I was admitted. Due to the blood tests and samples it became clear that fortunately it was just a bad bug, however on recommendation of doctors I’d taken codeine for the stomach cramps (little did I know at the time that this was actually constipating me and causing my IBS to go CRAZY!) The pain was unbearable so I ended up on morphine. Turns out I cannot tolerate morphine and was subsequently very very sick! Without all these horrid painkillers I don’t think I’d have needed a hospital stay, but you live and learn! Next time I’ll just stick to my trusty Buscopan! I never go anywhere without it now. It definitely helps with my day-to-day flare ups. During my stay in hospital, my Body Mass Index (BMI) was highlighted as a concern (it’s quite low as I’ve always been built like a lamp-post) and I was visited by the dietician. I was then asked if I’d like to see a FODMAP specialist dietician for my IBS and was finally referred.

Earlier this month, the appointment finally came round (I had to try and coincide it with the school holidays) and it was actually really helpful! Below I have highlighted the most useful aspects of my appointment:
1. Asafoetida! I’d never heard of this before my appointment, however it’s a spice that can be used to give the flavour of onion. I’ve since trialled it in a number of meals, and I recommend trying it in my Breakfast eggs (Shakshuka) to see if you like it!
2. Reintroduction. I was never really sure how you carry out the reintroduction phase, however I’ve since been given some booklets with step-by-step flow charts on how to complete it. As I’ve been following the low FODMAP diet for nearly two years now, the dietician suggested that I have a really strict month (cutting out even the foods I know I can tolerate in small amounts such as broccoli, sweet potato, peas, halloumi and avocado – the hardest of them all!) and begin reintroducing foods one at a time, so that I can find out the exact amount (to the gram!) that I can tolerate. As it’s my birthday in a couple of weeks, I’ve decided to wait until this is out the way before having my strict month, as I’ll no doubt have a few treats or drinks at some point!! I will then be blogging my reintroduction phase to hopefully help others with the trickiest aspect (in my opinion) of following the low FODMAP diet.
3. Some foods contain more than one FODMAP! It might seem obvious to some, but I was really surprised by this. I’ve always struggled with eating apples, they have an instantaneous reaction with me, and it turns out they are high in both Sorbitol and Fructose. Fascinating. This might therefore affect your tolerance levels on certain days, or might be the reason for random flare ups!
4. I learnt that I am extremely sensitive to most of the FODMAPs through our discussions which wasn’t great to hear, but I like to try and remain positive… So it will mean I will have lots more recipes and ideas for my blog to share with you all!
5. While it doesn’t seem like I’ve learnt a lot from the dietician, as I’ve been following the low FODMAP diet myself for so long, I think I’ve just picked up a lot already (such as the use of spring onion tips, garlic oil, lactose free substitutes) and having read the labels of pretty much all of the food items in all supermarkets, I think I could take an exam on foods that contain onion and garlic… Shame it’s not really a recognised skill!

Thank you for reading this incredibly long post (it started out as a quick blurb about me, but it turns out there’s much more to my IBS than I ever realised!) I hope you find some of it relatable, or maybe even useful, but most importantly that you feel more comfortable talking about IBS, especially as it affects so many people at some point in their lives! So many people I know have actually been recommended the low FODMAP diet at some point, or have started talking to me about their IBS, and the more open we are, the more likely we are to find better ways of managing it.

Alice x
alice 7

Posted In: Reviews · Tagged: IBS Awareness

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Comments

  1. PicklePie Mama says

    January 21, 2019 at 11:32 am

    Thank you for that intro. It makes me feel better about the long journey to wellness that I am just starting on. I have had IBS for at least 20 years, have been on Mebeverine for ages, have tried all sorts of things to help, and finally managed to get taken seriously enough to be referred to a FODMAP-specialist NHS dietician last year. I had to wait til the end of December to actually see her, so I am not far into Elimination. I am struggling with it, especially as I am also on GP-referral to Slimming World, so food choices are even more limited. Oh, and I am on the waiting list for my gall bladder to be removed. You can imagine the state I have been in over the last week or so with both an IBS flare-up and a gallbladder flare-up too! Couple that with emetophobia (unlike you, I don’t know why I have that, but it has badly escalated in the last 3 years) which is so bad I am having counselling, and the slightest hint of anyone, my kids especially, being ill can bring on an almost instantaneous IBD-D attack. But I have to keep going with it all, as I want to be well for my kids. You sound so positive, despite all the challenges. I hope I can turn myself more positive. Thank you!

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I'm Alice, a food blogger in the UK. I follow a low FODMAP diet (gluten free, onion free, garlic free and low lactose) for IBS. Check out my latest posts for tips on eating out, product reviews and recipes.

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New blog post! I’ve just shared the recipe for m New blog post! I’ve just shared the recipe for my gluten free Coffee & Walnut Loaf Cake. It’s on my website, lowfodmapinspiration.com. This is such a delicious cake, I absolutely love a slice for elevensies with a cup of tea, and the coffee icing is heavenly! I don’t even drink coffee, but coffee cake just hits differently ☕️ Let me know if you give it a try!
At the weekend I made this warm Loaded Tuna Nicois At the weekend I made this warm Loaded Tuna Nicoise Salad for a tasty lunch. I used lettuce, tenderstem broccoli, green beans, homemade potato wedges in the air fryer, boiled egg, tuna, cheese and a low FODMAP French dressing. The dressing can be found in @marksandspencer. It’s the perfect warming salad for the cold weather we’re having! Let me know if you give it a try! It’s gluten free, low FODMAP, and can easily be made dairy free too. 🥦 🐟 🥚 🥬 🥔
A big veggie breakfast this weekend with a few FOD A big veggie breakfast this weekend with a few FODMAPs to test my tolerance. I had scrambled eggs, button mushrooms (high FODMAP but wanted to try), tomato, spinach, @quorn_uk bacon, @heinz_uk organic baked beans (these don’t contain onion or garlic) and some gluten free toast. It was so so good! And *touch wood* no unwanted symptoms so far 🍳 🍅 🥓 🍞 🌿 I am trying a few more FODMAPs at the moment to add a little variety in my diet with varied success, onion is still an absolute no, but I’m able to tolerate more wheat and a greater variety of vegetables. Are there any particular high FODMAP foods you’ve found you can tolerate? Let me know in the comments.
Quick and easy mild chicken curry using leftover r Quick and easy mild chicken curry using leftover roast chicken. This recipe is over on my blog (I’ll add a link to my story) and it’s so tasty! It doesn’t contain any tomato and takes around 20 minutes to make. This recipe is low FODMAP, gluten free and dairy free. Let me know if you give it a try!
Finishing 2022 with highlights from last week’s Finishing 2022 with highlights from last week’s Christmas dinner. It was the first time hosting for us and cooking for everyone. 
Starter: Mackerel pate with a crevette, ciabatta, mixed leaves and balsamic vinegar. 
Main: Roast turkey crown with roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, ginger & mustard cocktail sausages, carrots, parsnips, green beans, tenderstem broccoli, peas, sprouts, swede and carrot mash, lactose free dauphinoise potatoes and gravy. 
Salmon wellington for the pescatarians. 
Dessert: Gluten free mince pies with cream or @marksandspencer raspberry and vanilla panna cotta. 
Food was from @waitrose, @marksandspencerfoodpr and @sainsburys. Plates are @procookuk and I’ve made an order for more kitchenware from them - I’ll share very soon! 
I hope you all have a lovely evening celebrating, I can’t wait for a cocktail and party food in my pyjamas to see in the new year! 🥂 HNY x
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a tray of glute It wouldn’t be Christmas without a tray of gluten free mince pies. The recipe for these is over on my blog however I used a jar of mincemeat this year to save time! The mincemeat contains high FODMAPs so I have just the one mince pie, I am able to tolerate a small amount. I know Christmas is a really tricky time for following a low FODMAP diet, I make sure I have buscopan in case of a flare up, I take lactase enzymes so I can enjoy the cheeseboard… But most importantly, make sure you relax and enjoy the festivities! I’m cooking this year too so I can make sure I know exactly what I can eat. What festive bakes have you prepared this year? 🎄🦌🎅🏼🤶🏻
A cosy Monday night in, dodging the rain with a @s A cosy Monday night in, dodging the rain with a @scharglutenfreeuk pizza base topped with homemade pizza sauce, Parma ham, mozzarella and basil🍕 Delicious! I’ve been working my way through as many Christmas films as I can do far, what are your favourites? I’ve really enjoyed the classics (Elf, Santa Claus The Movie) but also Love Hard, Holidate and Spirited - although there were a few too many songs for me! Let me know what I should watch next below 🎄🎅🏼🦌⛄️
Festive Gluten Free Nutella Christmas Tree Pastrie Festive Gluten Free Nutella Christmas Tree Pastries. 🎄These were so easy to make and they tasted so good! You just need one pack of ready to roll puff pastry, a jar of @nutellauk, one egg and icing sugar to decorate. I used the leftover pieces of pastry and with a star cutter I made little Christmas tree decorations to place on top ⭐️ I whipped these up for my cousins at the weekend, the perfect dessert after our pizza express takeaway. Let me know if you give these a try.
What’s for dinner tonight? Why not try this low What’s for dinner tonight? Why not try this low FODMAP moussaka made with vegetarian mince. It’s absolutely delicious and there’s plenty of leftovers for lunches too. The recipe is over on my blog (I’ll add a link to my stories). I’ve made this a few times lately as I just love it. Do you have a recipe that you keep coming back to? Let me know in the comments 🍆
Brunch yesterday at @the_orangery_garsonstitchfiel Brunch yesterday at @the_orangery_garsonstitchfield before a wander through the Christmas shop. I went for the poached eggs with avocado and bacon on gluten free toast, with an extra side of halloumi 🍳 🥑 🥓 Delicious food as always and served with a strong pot of decaf tea. Note: 1/4 avocado is low FODMAP so larger portions need to be reintroduced. I’m getting into the full Christmas swing today, we are getting our tree and decorating the house. It’s almost December, and I’m so excited already! Who else is decorating this weekend? 🎅🏼🎄🦌
I visited the Winchester Christmas market at the w I visited the Winchester Christmas market at the weekend and stumbled across a stall filled entirely with gluten free brownies by @thehomemadebrownie! I had to buy some of course, and it was so hard to choose, all the flavours sounded incredible. In the end I went for the Snickers Brownie and the Nutella Blondie. Both were delicious but the snickers brownie was on another level! I just wish I purchased more. Have you ordered from here before? Which were your favourites? Let me know in the comments.
Homemade gluten and lactose free macaroni cheese w Homemade gluten and lactose free macaroni cheese with added veggies. This is the ultimate comfort food on a rainy day. I added peas and broccoli as I love green vegetables with cheese. Broccoli is low FODMAP at 75g and canned peas are low FODMAP at 45g. I made a huge portion tonight so I have leftovers for lunches for the rest of the week. If you’d like to give this a try, the recipe is over on my blog. I’ll share a link in my stories!
New blog post! I’ve just shared the recipe for m New blog post! I’ve just shared the recipe for my low FODMAP moussaka. I’ve made it a few times now and it’s absolutely delicious! I personally use vegetarian mince (@quorn_uk) as I much prefer it, however you could use either. The recipe is available through the link in my bio, or by clicking on the link in my story. Let me know if you give it a try! 🍆
New blog post! I’ve just shared the recipe for m New blog post! I’ve just shared the recipe for my gluten free Old School Cake topped with icing and plenty of sprinkles. It’s over on my blog (link in bio) but I’ll also add a link to my story. Who’s going to be baking this weekend? 🙋🏼‍♀️ Let me know if you give it a try.
I know it’s only Tuesday but half term feels lik I know it’s only Tuesday but half term feels like such a distant memory. I have no idea why but my teaching workload is excessive this year, are there any other teachers out there finding the same? Meals have had to be very quick and easy lately like this oven-roasted salmon with mixed vegetables and egg-fried rice. I fried up peppers, spinach, broccoli and peas with brown rice, then added a dash of soy sauce and an egg as it cooked. It tastes delicious with salmon, and I love a dollop of salad cream with it too! Are there any other salad cream fans out there? 🙋🏼‍♀️ What are your favourite quick and easy meals to cook? Let me know in the comments.
New blog post! The recipe for these Halloween Bat New blog post! The recipe for these Halloween Bat Cupcakes made with gluten and dairy free cookies and cream biscuits is now on my website 🦇 Click on the link in my bio to find it! I really enjoyed making these, it’s especially fun to bake something spooky! The cupcake is a rich chocolate sponge and the icing is cookies and cream flavoured - divine! What are you baking this halloween? 👻🎃🕸🕷
I’ve been trialling a gluten free and low FODMAP I’ve been trialling a gluten free and low FODMAP moussaka with vegetarian mince and I’m so pleased with it. Aubergine is so versatile, it absorbs all of the delicious flavours and I just love the texture! Oh and it’s low FODMAP too! The recipe for this moussaka will be going up on my blog very soon, comment if you’d like it! It’s perfect for the autumnal evenings ahead 🍂
I tried out a new recipe at the weekend… A glute I tried out a new recipe at the weekend… A gluten and dairy free Old School Cake. A light sponge topped with colourful hundreds and thousands. This was such a throwback to make and tasted exactly how I remembered. The next challenge is to make a halloween version! 👻🎃🦇 Let me know if you’d like the recipe in the comments.
Shaksuka for brunch on a sunny Sunday. This is a g Shaksuka for brunch on a sunny Sunday. This is a golden oldie recipe, I shared it on my blog a while ago, but I still enjoy it regularly. I’ll add a link to my stories if you’d like to give it a try. I’d run out of gluten free bread so I served it with a potato waffle - these are so handy to have in the freezer for weekend breakfasts - and it was delicious! What foodie treats are you enjoying this weekend? 🍳🧇🍅
Last week I made this celebration cake for a famil Last week I made this celebration cake for a family member’s birthday. Their favourite colour is green so I decided to make a pastel green buttercream and top it with lots of shiny decor. Simple yet elegant. The inside is a timeless classic Victoria sponge with seedless raspberry jam and buttercream. The cake went down a treat, and I really enjoyed making it! The recipe I used can be found on my blog under ‘celebration drip cake’. I’ll add a link to my stories 🍰
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