Diet Tips:Low FODMAP Herby Chicken & Pork Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce

By Alana Scott, low FODMAP cook from A Little Bit Yummy 



Looking for a finger food platter to take to your next party? Try these low FODMAP chicken and pork meatballs with cranberry sauce. The sweet and chunky cranberry sauce goes perfectly with the herby meatballs. Both the sauce and meatballs are good warm or cold. Dried cranberries can contain moderate levels of FODMAPs at a two tablespoon serve. This means you need to stick to a low FODMAP one tablespoon serve per person for the cranberry sauce.

Buying tips: Buy lean chicken and pork mince. If you can’t find both types of mince just choose one of them or substitute with lean ground turkey.  Check the gluten free breadcrumbs do not include high FODMAP ingredients like inulin or chicory root fibre, apple juice or fruit juice concentrates. Make sure you buy dried cranberries that contain sugar and not apple juice or another high FODMAP sweetener.

Gluten free option: If you are a Coeliac and need to be completely gluten free, make sure you check that the dried thyme, oregano, and cranberries are wheat/gluten free.

Herby Chicken & Pork Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce       ............................................................................................. Serves: 7 to 10 people (2 to 3 meatballs each)   Prep: 30 minutes    Cook: 20 minutes .............................................................................................. INGREDIENTS Chicken & pork meatballs 250g (8.82oz) lean pork mince 250g (8.82oz) lean chicken mince 1 medium egg 30g (1.06oz or 3/4 cup) spring onion tips (green tips only) 1 tbsp garlic infused oil 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1 & ½ tsp dried oregano 2 tbsp fresh parsley 60g (2.12 oz or 1/2 cup) gluten free breadcrumbs 1 tbsp soy protein milk (lactose free milk, hemp milk, almond milk) 1 tbsp neutral oil (Ricebran, Canola, Olive Oil) Cranberry sauce 125g (4.37oz) dried cranberries Boiling water  1/3 tsp orange zest (Strip from a small orange) 1 & 1/2 tbsp white sugar 1 tsp pinot noir wine (optional) .............................................................................................. METHOD 1. Place the dried cranberries in a large bowl. Pour over boiling water until they are completely submerged. Cover the top of the bowl with clingfilm to keep the steam in. Leave to soak for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cranberries have rehydrated and are soft. 2. While the cranberries soak, make the meatballs. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Roughly chop the green tips of the spring onion and finely chop the fresh parsley. Place the chicken and pork mince, spring onion tips, fresh parsley, beaten egg, garlic infused oil, dried thyme, gluten free breadcrumbs, and soy protein milk (lactose free milk, almond milk or hemp milk) into a large bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined. 3. Roll the mixture into about 21 small meatballs and place on two dinner plates. Place a large non-stick frypan on to heat over medium high heat. Place the dinner plates into the microwave and cook on high for 30 seconds per plate (this will help cook the centre of the meatball).  4. Add the neutral oil to the frypan. Transfer the meatballs into the hot frypan and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the meatballs are golden and cooked through. Make sure you shake the pan every couple of minutes to move the meatballs so they cook evenly. Once cooked through transfer to a serving plate. 5. While the meatballs cook, finish the cranberry sauce. Zest the orange (the trick is to only zest the bright orange layer and not the bitter white layer underneath). 6. Drain the cranberries using a sieve but save the cranberry water they soaked in (the cranberries should now weigh about 225g or 7.94oz). Transfer the cranberries with 6 to 7 tablespoons of cranberry water to a blender/food processer or use a stick blender. Process until reasonably smooth (a few chunky bits of cranberry are okay).  7. Place into a small saucepan and add the sugar, orange zest and pinot noir wine if using. Place over medium low heat and allow the sugar to dissolve and sauce to reduce slightly (this will take about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally. To burn off the alcohol in the wine allow the sauce to simmer for 1 minute. Once the sauce is your desired consistency remove it from the heat and place in a small bowl. Garnish with orange zest if desired. 8. Serve the chicken and pork meatballs with the cranberry sauce. I would recommend placing a teaspoon in the sauce so people can scoop it onto the meatballs.  Serve meatballs and sauce warm or cold. Make sure you divide the cranberry sauce into 10 serves to stay within the low FODMAP serving size. This is just over a tablespoon per person. 9. If you are making the meatballs and sauce in advance make sure you keep them in the refrigerator.               .............................................................................................. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION NUTRITION INFORMATION per serve (123g or approx 3 meatballs) Energy total Protein Fat total          - Saturated Fibre Sodium 1011KJ 15.6g 12.6g 2.9g 1.2g 62.9mg

Diet Tips:Hangry? Here are some great low FODMAP snacks to keep the irritability away!

By Shirley Webber (Research dietitian)
 

Unfortunately, I become very distracted and agitated when I’m hungry, so I’ve made a list of low FODMAP snacks that I often use as my quick pick me up.

• Yoghurt - if you're lactose intolerant then choose a lactose-free option. I have been able to build up my tolerance of dairy foods, and therefore choose a 0-2% fat Greek yoghurt and muesli (here's a delicious low FODMAP muesli recipe) 
•          Banana with peanut butter - I recently had some girlfriends over for a girls night in and dipped the bananas in “magic chocolate” (quick setting chocolate). Needless to say they were a hit.
•          Rice crackers with melted chocolate – recently made these for a road trip and the boys were struggling to hold back from this tasty snack.
•          Couple of slices of hard cheese – this is an energy dense snack that has the benefit of having protein and some calcium.
•          Berries and mixed nuts – watch out for this one because it is easy to overeat on the nuts. Portion snacks out and put away the rest before eating, or else it’s too easy to keep snacking… I often forget this myself.
•          Sourdough spelt bread with marmalade or peanut butter – this snack option usually comes out either before or after a gym session with marmalade as my pre-gym snack if I feel low on energy, or sometimes peanut butter after the gym to give me some carbohydrates and proteins for training recovery and essential healthy fats.
•          Slice of turkey or ham on a rice cracker. I find my energy drops if I've gone for too long without protein.
•          Smoothies
•          Fruit yoghurt balls
•          Homemade meatballs (here's a recipe for some delicious herby chicken and pork meatballs with cranberry sauce)
  



•          Homemade ham and mash croquettes
•          Pretzel sticks with ham and cheese
•          Cucumber sandwiches – with a slice of cheese (Find our Monash Certified Low FODMAP bread here)
•          Egg, cheese, and veg muffins (Look out for a recipe in the next few weeks)
•          Sweet potato chips in olive oil and smoky paprika
•          Vietnamese spring rolls
•          Sushi rolls