Being vegan and monitoring fodmaps is a bit tricky. Without animal meat (or the galactans category, aka beans/legumes), there isn’t much left to provide adequate protein…or so I thought.
Here’s the loop-hole: Seitan.
“But that’s made with vital wheat gluten!?!” you say. “You can’t have wheat because it has FODMAPS!”
First of all, well done, you’ve been paying attention. It’s true that wheat is a no-no due to the fructans in it. However, seitan is made with the gluten in wheat, and is exclusively protein.
See the label?
No sugar. No fiber.
There are no FODMAPS in gluten. This is an important distinction for those trying to navigate the wheat free ways of being fodmaps-free. Wheat free doesn’t mean gluten free. They are not equal. Gluten is a protein. Wheat is a carbohydrate (with sugar and fiber). And as I explained before, the low fodmaps diet is about IBS people being unable to tolerate certain kinds of sugar and fiber.
That said, processed foods with gluten almost always have wheat as well. So aside from seitan, you’d be safest avoiding wheat and gluten in pre-made/packaged foods.
Good thing I make my own seitan.
Ah seitan…you brilliantly delicious loop-hole.
Here are some protein-dense, vegan, fodmaps-free (seitan) meals for you to try.
Quinoa, seitan, & carrots with nutritional yeast.
Kale salad with carrots, bell peppers, seitan & a tahini-based dressing (tahini, Bragg’s liquid aminos, nutritional yeast, water).
Obviously none of this matters if you aren’t vegan, since meat doesn’t contain fodmaps. But if you are committed to a plant-based diet because you have the constipating kind of IBS, like I do, rest assured, there are ways to live on a low fodmaps diet while still getting adequate protein. You just have to be responsible about monitoring your intake (hemp anyone?). Hopefully my posts will help, so stay tuned.
*To be clear, I’m not suggesting you eat seitan three times a day. I think that might cause GI trouble for people with or without IBS. Maybe.*
I’ve yet to experiment with beer. I’ll get back to you on that one… 😉
So interesting to know! I’ll have to check this out, immediately 🙂
Thanks Elise, glad the elimination is going well for you so far!
-Meg
Ah can’t wait to see how the beer thing pans out. I’ve heard some gluten free beers are pretty dang awesome!
I’m so glad you posted about this. I was just googling a recipe for making your own seitan yesterday.
I just started reading your blog a little over a month ago. And it has quickly become one of my favorites!
I was catching up on your NYC trip and you hit up some of my favorite spots. I just discovered Bonobo’s recently and I loved it so much. Those nut pates are fantastic. I got the pumpkin seed poppy. I’m in walking distance which is dangerous. You also reviewed 2 places I’ve been wanting to try Angelica’s Kitchen and Caravan of Dreams. I definitely need to go to both of them soon!
Thanks for the great blog posts! I think the FODMAPS thing is really interesting too.
hi ashley! thanks for commenting. im so jealous that you have access to bonobos on a daily basis – dangerous indeed! i used to live around the corner from blossom and peacefood, so i know how tempting it is so blow all your cash on NYC’s amazing vegan cuisine.
seitan is SO simple to make. i have several different methods on my tutorials page (under FAQs), but the log seitan is the easiest by far.
I’m glad the diet’s going well so far! It’s interesting how strongly foods affect our bodies, and all of our bodies differently. I get migraines if I don’t eat right for me (and often still if I do, but every little bit helps). I get stomach pains when I eat seitan unfortunately. I don’t have trouble with wheat in general, but there’s something about vital wheat gluten that bothers me. Too bad because I really liked it the three times I tried it.
I’m looking at your seitan log recipe now. I have actually never tried seitan and I am vegan 🙂 I’m going to have to just break down and try it!
I actually haven’t tried seitan and I’m vegan too. I’ve 100% decided I’m going to do the fodmaps elimination phase starting now. I’m thinking I can get enought protein with protein powders (I usually use pea, peanut flour, and hemp), nuts/nut butters, quinoa and other grains. What have you found about hemp and chia? I don’t think that they bother me but I didn’t see them on any fodmap list. I actually have a couple other questions I’d like to ask you about ibs. Would you mind if I email you?
email away, ill try and be as helpful as possible. hemp and chia seeds are fodmaps free. id hold off on the pea protein for the elimination phase, because im not sure about peas in that form (dried peas are included in the galactans category but small amounts of fresh green peas are ok on the elimination phase)
do it!!
its so interesting huh! everyone is different.
i have stomach pain when i eat TVP, but maybe that would work for you? sorry about the seitan 🙁
I’m kinda anti TVP, but it doesn’t bother me at all, nor does anything soy-based. The real bummer about vital wheat gluten was its role in making Veganomicon’s chickpea patties. I loved those things.
Wow, you’ve really done your research! I knew that wheat and gluten were not the same thing, but I was a little unclear on the actual distinction. Thanks for the information! I still need to get around to making seitan!
Such dedication, lady. I’m so happy that this is working for you – I just have mild IBS, but know the relief you must feel after seemingly trying EVERYTHING with only little bouts of relief!
Good that you can eat seitan! I love seitan, it is a perfect salad topping and it is so versatile 🙂
Pingback: Operation Elimination
Thank you! I don’t have any sensitivities but it totally inspired me to make seitan. I’d been loving Veganomicon’s chickpea cutlets and wanted to experiment with vital wheat gluten. Used your recipe, it was SO easy and it came out great.
hooray! so glad you tried it and enjoyed it 🙂
Pingback: sabadomingo
1. I am apalled you would even advocate seitan/gluten when most people with ibs MUST avoid this horrible horrible substance. Please everyone read “wheat belly” to find out what’s happened to modern wheat.
2. Gf beer is full of Fodmaps and alcohol is a major intestinal irritant that should be avoided.
So did this substantially help your IBS?
symptom wise – yes yes yes. its not that its made the IBS go away or anything (its not magic), but now i know why hummus would make me bloated sometimes but not others (ie with wheat bread but not carrots) and how to eat in a way to still enjoy the foods i like. the learning curve has been huge, and now that i understand it, i can manage my ibs much more easily while still eating veg. the main problem is that being low fodmaps and plant based is hard. i wont lie, it would be far easier to eat meat and maintain this diet, but im determined to do it. plus i have the issue of constipation, so if i didnt eat plants, i may never go. and thats my catch 22. if you click the fodmaps logo on the right sidebar above i have an entire site dedicated to the fodmaps diet.
But what if the gluten was right at the origin of the IBS?
Just a thought: gluten damages the intestinal lining. A damaged intestinal lining could then cause the malabsorption of fodmaps?
Thank you so much for sharing this! It’s just what I needed!!(!!!!!!)
I made your seitan and it is TASTY. Thank you. That said, I had a really bad physical reaction to it (not stomach) each time I ate it to the point where I’m thinking I may be gluten intolerant as well.
My boyfriend and I are moving towards vegetarian but I am at a LOSS on how to eat protein other than eggs. I love eggs – don’t get me wrong – but I am pretty much eating eggs every day at this point (with some tofu occasionally – not a big fan). Plus some cheese. Any expert low-fodmaps tips? I had high hopes for the seitan but trying it twice several weeks apart and having the same bad reaction, it is just not working for my body unfortunately.
sorry you dont tolerate the seitan 🙁
for more plant based protein options you could try hemp seeds. admittedly, its hard to find great sources of protein on this diet if you dont eat meat (since most legumes have to be eaten in moderation). thats why i added eggs back into my diet too.
aside from seitan and hemp, theres tempeh (i know you werent keen on tofu, but have you tried its fermented cousin?). it should be tolerable. otherwise id try low-moderate amount of fodmaps as best as you can tolerate them.
wish i had more to offer?!?
Thanks for the hemp idea – fun! I have been experimenting with beans a bit. Black (sadly) are problematic but I can seem to tolerate small amounts (1/4 cup) of garbanzo as long as I keep everything around it low/no fodmap. This has possibilities! Very exciting.
I am eating a TON of eggs plus some cow dairy and cheese. And since I’m not a full on vegetarian, I have meat/chicken/fish/something like that once a week. I seem to be able to tolerate walnuts and peanuts so I throw those in as well. I suspect I was eating more protein than necessary when I was a pure meat eater so I’m becoming less concerned as the time goes on. Gradually morphing over…
Thanks Elise!
its such a bummer isnt it. 🙁
sounds like youre doing a fantastic job though.
You mentioned that you have the constipating type of IBS.. what if you have the other type? Does FODMAPS still apply? Are there further restrictions?
i know of people w ibs-d who have had success on fodmaps too. same principles.
Do you think adding vital wheat gluten back into GF flour mixes will make it act more like normal wheat flour? I’m following a low FODMAPs diet too and can tolerate wheat in small amounts – really missing my cake-baking days though!
i do think so…although im not sure what amounts. vwg gives breads a springy quality. should help make it more bread like for sure. let me know if you try it and how it goes!
Thanks for this! Was curious about avoiding fructose/fructans and it seems like VWG/Seitan is a good solution for vegans.
I would like to see some peer-reviewed data measuring the fructan content of commercially available seitan, but until that happens, this is a good start!
I don’t see how you can use this recipe for a low FODMAPS diet — we’re supposed to avoid garlic and onion. Still searching for a good FODMAPS seitan recipe.
I recently closed down the other blog I had that linked to the seitan recipe so I’m sorry it’s not accessible anymore but basically omitting garlic and onion powder and using oils infused with the flavors is the way around it…when this post first went live (back in 2011) fodmaps was still very new and researchers thought onion and garlic powders were still safe. Alas, we now know that’s not the case, but that’s the reason for other out of date info. Definitely refer to more current sources for the latest fodmaps information.
I think we can use onion and garlic POWDER, because they are essentially carbo-free.
When I had IBs & gut bleeding I lived off quinoa & tofu (each only 1 cup per meal,blended until soft (using blending wand in a yoghurt “bucket”)with herbs,these herbs were good at masking the taste-http://www.findus.se/produkter/gronsaker/vara-finaste/ortkryddor-provencale/) make sure you get tofu with the lowest water content.I ate this one (http://www.kungmarkatta.se/produkter/visa-produkt/tofu-naturell-270g-812301)I also grinded & mixed in with the tofu & quinoa 1tbsp sesame seeds,2tbsp pumpkin & 2tsp sunflower seeds(soaked & toasted)/) I put this mixture on top of potatoes microwaved as jacket potatoes(with the skin if you can tolerate it).
Not all quinoa is the same -white & red quinoa tend to be softer on the gut than black,but brands can vary,also if you soak it ,rinse it & cook it really well until it is soft then blend it it will help reduce any gut scraping.
As protein one can try 1 frys hot dog(wheat protein) because it has no onions/garlic/chives/onion family.
Regular meal times & small portions of food at one go help reduce the pain even though it seems like it wouldnt help.
Those are my tips!
Luckily I a healed now so I am no longer chained to these rules & restrictions,I hope you will also recover too!