Diet Tips:Summer smoothies!

By Marina Iacovou (Accredited Practising Dietitian, PhD Candidate)

Making smoothies are a great way to involve the kids and something everyone can enjoy. They are also quick and easy to make, with minimal mess.

The ingredient options for your smoothies are endless. You can mix ingredients together to suit your preference and even on a low FODMAP diet there’s still plenty of variety. This is also a good way to introduce small amounts of moderate or high FODMAP containing foods back into your diet. Read here and here on why re-introduction is important.

Here are some smoothie ideas to get you started – they are fruity and contain dairy:

 

·         Banana and strawberries or banana and blueberries

OR

·         Simply strawberry

OR

·         Cantaloupe and passionfruit

OR

·         Kiwi fruit

With

·         Soy milk, yoghurt and lots of ice

A favourite in our home is:

Banana and Blueberry Smoothie (Serves 4)

•          2-3 large sized bananas
•          Large handful of blueberries – at least 20-30
•          300 ml Soy milk
•          250g Vanilla yoghurt
•          Lots of ice

Tips and hints

•         Use lactose-free plain yoghurt and add 2 drops of vanilla essence, for vanilla flavoured yoghurt
•         Use any low FODMAP milk - each variety will give you a different flavour. See an here for alternative milk options 
•         Add 1 teaspoon of flaxseed oil for essential fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6.
•         Add 1 teaspoon of oat bran for extra fibre.
•        Add 1-2 teaspoons of maple or rice-malt syrup (or honey when reintroducing foods) for extra sweetness.
•       If you are reintroducing foods into your diet, try adding a higher FODMAP containing fruit into the mix – you only need to add in a small amount to start with.  For example try 30g of mango or 30g of watermelon and add it with banana or strawberries or both.

 

•           If you are reintroducing lactose-containing dairy into your diet, try any yoghurt you have been missing. It may be fruit-based, plain or vanilla.
•            Including dairy adds calcium to the diet for growing bones and the need for maintaining good bone health as we get older. 

•            Dairy is also a great source of protein for the recovery and repair of tired muscles and an energy booster after an endurance event, or a day of hard labouring work. 
•            The addition of fruit helps add fibre to your diet, essential for good bowel health, and contain vitamins and antioxidants which is always a plus.

Enjoy! 

Diet Tips:Rote Grütze – Red fruit pudding

By Shirley Webber

Ingredients: 200g Strawberries 100g Raspberries 30g Blueberries 20g Cherries 1 Vanilla bean pod 350ml Cranberry juice or red grape juice 2 Tbsp. Corn starch 30g Sugar	Zutaten: 200 Gramm Erdbeere 100 Gramm Himbeere 30 Gramm Heidelbeere 20 Gramm Kirsche 1 Vanilleschoten 0,35 Liter roter Fruchtsaft (Cranberry-Saft oder Traubensaft) 2 EL Speisestärke 30 Gramm Zucker
Serves: 4 25 minutes	Portionen: 4 25 Minuten
Directions: Wash berry mix, dry and halve the large berries and remove stones from the cherries. Halve the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Stir the corn starch in with 2 Tbsp. of water until smooth and add to the boiling fruit juice. Stir while the mixture is boiling and add the prepared fruits. Remove from heat and add sugar to taste. Stir the mixture. Leave to cool. Remove vanilla bean just before serving. Fill the red fruit mixture in glasses and serve with lactose free yoghurt and garnish with dark chocolate.	Zubereitung: Gemischte Beeren putzen, kurz waschen und große Beeren evtl. halbieren und entsteinen Kirschen. Die Vanilleschoten längs halbieren und das Mark herauskratzen. Vanilleschoten und –mark und den Fruchtensaft aufkochen. Stärke und 2 EL Wasser glatt rühren und in den kochenden Fruchtsaft gießen. Unter Rühren aufkochen und die vorbereiteten Früchte dazugeben. Vom Herd nehmen und mit Zucker abschmecken. Rühren Mischung. Grütze abkühlen lassen. Vanilleschote kurz vorm Servieren entfernen. Die Rote Grütze in Gläser füllen, laktosefreie Joghurt dazugeben und mit dunkle Scokolade garnieren.

Diet Tips:Dietary Fibre Series - Insoluble Fibre

By Dr Jane Varney

If you’ve been following this blog recently you may have seen our series on dietary fibre. So far we’ve covered soluble and prebiotic fibres, discussing their functions in the bowel and low FODMAP food sources. This week we’re talking about insoluble fibre.

What is insoluble fibre?

Like all types of dietary fibre, insoluble fibre comes from plant based foods, namely the structural parts of plant cell walls. There are a number of different types of insoluble fibre, including cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. 

What does insoluble fibre do in the gut?

Unlike soluble fibre which dissolves in water, forming a thick gel that slows movement of food through the gut, insoluble fibre does not dissolve in water. Instead it adds physical bulk to your stools and helps to speed up the removal of waste from your gut. These two important functions of insoluble fibre help to prevent constipation.

What are some good food sources?

Good sources of insoluble fibre include wheat bran, rice bran, fruit and vegetable skins, nuts, seeds, legumes and wholegrains. As you will notice from this list, many foods rich in insoluble fibre are also high in FODMAPs. Well fear not, there are many low FODMAP sources of insoluble fibre too. See the list below and the Monash app for low FODMAP serving sizes.

• Vegetables - corn, eggplant, green beans, broccoli, spinach, kale, legumes (e.g. chickpeas, lentils etc.)
• Fruit - grapes, kiwi, strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, pineapple, blueberries, raisins
• Bread - gluten free multigrain, wholemeal
• Grains - brown rice, burghal, oat bran, rice bran, buckwheat, quinoa
• Nuts - peanuts, almonds, walnuts
• Seeds – pumpkin, chia, sesame