Diet Tips:Eating more vegetables on a Low FODMAP Diet

By Peta Hill (Paediatric Dietitian)

Luckily, there are very few vegetables that are completely off limits during the low FODMAP diet. Luckilybecause vegetables are packed full of fibre, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals and when vegetables are included in the diet, research has found there to be a reduction in the incidence of many lifestyle diseases.

Vegetables need not be limited to just the dinner plate. Here are some suggestions to increase your vegetable intake:

At breakfast:

·         Blend a handful of baby spinach leaves into a lactose free banana smoothie

·         Combine stewed rhubarb with berries to accompany muesli and yoghurt or porridge

·         Try Carrot Cake Porridge and modify this tasty creation from Apples Under My Bed to be Low FODMAP by replacing half the rolled oats with quinoa flakes, using lactose free milk and omitting the sultanas

·         Have a side of spinach and/or tomato with eggs or combine eggs with vegetables and cheese in omelettes, frittatas or quiches

At the main meal:

·         Incorporate salad/vegetables in wraps, sandwiches and rolls as well as on pizza

·         Aim for three different coloured vegetables on your dinner plate

·         Incorporate grated vegetables (such as, zucchini and carrot) in mince meat patties, meat loaves and sauces

·         Make vegetable skewers/kebabs with a variety of vegetables and/or meat/chicken/fish/tofu or haloumi cheese (try this yummy recipe for Greek vegetable kebabs from Jamie Oliver)

·         When eating out or having takeaway, order a side salad with no onion

For snacks:

·         Snack on vegetable sticks with or without lactose free cream cheese or garlic free dip

·         Make dips that incorporate vegetables

·         Have vegetable sticks on a snack platter, with cheese, nuts and/or cold meats

·         Incorporate in baking – carrot cake, corn fritters, zucchini loaf, rhubarb crumble

Handy Hint - When using the Monash University Low FODMAP App on your smart phone, make sure you click to view vegetables with a red traffic light next to them. While some vegetables (e.g. sweet corn) are high FODMAP when consumed at 1 serve (e.g. 1 cob) they may be green/amber when consumed in a ½ serve (e.g. ½ cob).

        3 TIPS ON HOW TO GET KIDS TO EAT MORE VEG:

1.       Make it fun – arrange vegetables with/without other foods in a shape or smile
2.       Involve kids – in selecting veggies at the supermarket, in basic meal preparation involving vegetables (i.e. mixing/grating/blending/threading onto skewers), in self-serving vegetables to their plate from a selection on the family table, in self-assembling meals involving vegetables (e.g. jacket potato[P4] , pizza, tacos, wraps)
3.       Role model – sit down and eat meals and snacks with your child that incorporate vegetables in a way you enjoy

And Remember…

As a parent you can only control when, where and what food is offered (not whether or not it is eaten!) so ensure vegetables are regularly offered at social family meals.

Diet Tips:The Low FODMAP Diet For IBS – It does not need to be difficult!

By Marina Iacovou (PhD candidate and Accredited Practising Dietitian)

There is no reason why a low FODMAP diet cannot be a nutritionally balanced diet. There is a variety of foods to choose from in each of the five core food groups which are outlined in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating:

1) Grain foods

2) Vegetables and legumes/pulses

3) Dairy and dairy alternatives – milk, yoghurt, cheese

4) Fruit

5) Meats and meat alternatives - lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/pulses

Our app breaks down each of the 5 core food groups for you, making it easier for you to find suitable foods in each group while trialling the low FODMAP diet. So if anyone has recently been diagnosed with IBS and is about to trial the low FODMAP diet, or you are simply trying to explain this diet to friends and family – it is not a fructose-free, dairy-free, nut-free, wheat-free, gluten-free diet or a diet that excludes a particular food group.  

The first step is to see a dietitian to help you. This is something we always recommend to people and something we have written about before http://bit.ly/1BfAYNL and http://bit.ly/1HSJhRi.  It is also important to remember it is not a ‘lifetime’ diet http://bit.ly/2ccWi4b and once your symptoms are well-controlled, the next step is to work with your dietitian to re-introduce foods back into your diet.

Also, if your symptoms are well-controlled and there are foods you want to eat but we are yet to test or you are unsure of, we recommend you try them in small amounts to begin with and then monitor your symptoms as you go. This is something we have also written about http://bit.ly/1Upsw8K, which your dietitian can help you with as well.  

If you have a family, are entertaining at home, or have children with IBS there is no reason why everyone has to eat a low FODMAP meal, or for anyone to feel different/left-out.  This can be done by creating meals where everyone can choose what they eat. This can be fun especially for children and a way of re-introducing moderate-high FODMAP containing foods back into your diet. Here are some ideas to get you thinking: 

- Antipasto platters http://bit.ly/1KXVI1S

      -  Baked potatoes http://bit.ly/1SzdxH2

The low FODMAP diet does not need to be plain and boring – we have that covered for you as well. Here is how to add some flavour without adding symptoms http://bit.ly/1EwLRy3 and some tips on adding the taste of onion and garlic http://bit.ly/1MnpAG7into your meals.

If you are travelling or dining out this may need a bit more planning. For instance, when dining out you may want to source a menu from the restaurant beforehand or call ahead and ask what can be arranged for you. You may like to try some Asian cuisine, http://bit.ly/208AS8qor Greek cuisine http://bit.ly/1E2qSSh - whatever you prefer there will always be an option for you. When travelling you may need to organise a special meal on a flight or take some suitable snacks with you just in case. There are several tips and ideas to get you through while travelling, which you can read all about here http://bit.ly/1RnI7IM and http://bit.ly/1YqHvRL. 

If you want to learn more about our team, our history, our resources, what research we are doing and more, here it all is http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/

           

Diet Tips:It's Time To Refresh Your App!

It's Time To Refresh Your App! 

We will be releasing an app update soon, meaning that new food data will be available for your Monash Low FODMAP Diet App. In order to make sure that you receive this new data immediately, you will need to manually 'refresh' your app. Otherwise, your app will refresh itself automatically, however this may not occur for several weeks. Refreshing your app is really simple, just make sure that you have a secure Internet connection, offline mode is not active and follow these two steps: 

Step 1: In the guide section of your app, select "Settings" in the top left hand corner of the screen. 

Step 2: Scroll down the "Settings" page until you find the "Clear Cache" option. Select "Clear Cache" and your app will automatically begin to download any new data available from our server.