Prepping for the “elimination phase” of the FODMAPS diet was a bit daunting at first. I found myself looking up individual foods constantly to see what their chemical structure was (and if they contained FODMAPS). But once I started to get the hang of it, I came up with lots of meal ideas.
My meals will continue to be plant-based, but I want to try and make this as helpful as possible for all my fellow IBSers, so please note, the starred (*) items are for those who aren’t vegan.
FODMAPS free grocery list
Fruit
- bananas
- strawberries (frozen and/or fresh)
- blueberries (frozen)
- citrus (grapefruit, oranges, lemons)
Vegetables/Greens
- spinach
- kale
- carrots
- cherry tomatoes
- bell peppers
- corn
- mushrooms
- cauliflower
- avocado
- sweet potatoes
- squash
- pumpkin
Grains/flours/starches
- rice (brown or white)
- quinoa
- millet
- oats
- buckwheat
- almond meal
- peanut flour
- wheat-free cereals (be sure that they are actually certified gluten-free, because there are several hidden sources of wheat even in oat and corn cereals)
- grits/cornmeal
- GF pasta (ie quinoa/oat/rice pasta)
- rice cakes
- corn tortillas
- potatoes
- vital wheat gluten
Protein
- seitan
- hemp powder (nutiva makes 100% raw organic protein powder – not the flavored shake mixes)
- tofu/tempeh (there’s some conflicting info about if this form of soy is ok on the elimination diet, so it’s your call on how strict you want to be)
- eggs *
- nuts & nut butters (almonds, cashews, walnuts, peanuts)
- seeds (pepitas, sunflower, flax, chia)
Dairy
- lactose-free cow’s milk *
- lactose-free cottage cheese *
- almond/rice/oat/hemp/coconut milk
- non-dairy, non-soy yogurt (ie coconut milk yogurt)
Extras
- stevia (NuNaturals)
- nutritional yeast
- Bragg’s liquid aminos
- flax seeds
- chia seeds
- vegetable broth
- maple syrup
- olive oil
- Earth Balance (the soy free one)
- canola oil mayonnaise (ie Spectrum products)
- Enjoy Life chewy bars
- Larabars
- dark chocolate (over 70%)
These are just some of the basics, as I experiment and shop around in the gluten-free section of the grocery store, I’ll share good finds, hits and/or misses.
And since I can’t leave you without any eats, here’s my work food from yesterday…
I had oatmeal for breakfast, but with a bit of a twist…
I used my bullet to pulse raw oats and chia seeds with part water, part almond milk. It made them pureed and pudding like without any cooking.
Then I added in canned pumpkin puree, cinnamon, stevia and frozen blueberries.
Overnight it gelled up even more. Sticky and hearty and filling – yum!
My lunch had quinoa, carrots, baked sweet potatoes, and steamed french green beans with a creamy cashew sauce.
I made a simplified version of this recipe, with soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, Bragg’s liquid aminos, mustard, and water.
Snacks included Ghirardelli’s sea salt soiree dark chocolate, Enjoy Life’s cocoa loco chewy bar, Pop Corner’s GF kettle chips (I am so obsessed with these) and a dried fruit/nut mix from TJ’s.
As you can see, not much has changed (aside from the lack of apples and hummus). Now I’m just being more aware of the hidden sources of fodmaps (especially wheat) in various foods and packaged eats.
As per usual, I worked out with Jillian at 4:30 am. But in lieu of my single cup of coffee, I opted for a spinach and strawberry smoothie before heading to the office.
I put the spinach and frozen berries in the magic bullet’s to-go mug the night before and in the AM just took it from the fridge, poured in almond milk, and pulsed away. Five second breakfast.
I also had half of this oat and date bar from Candle Cafe. Fortunately, I had read Patsy Catsos’ book on the way to NYC and stuck to a low FODMAPS diet while travelling. It was fairly easy since NYC is awesome at accommodating vegan and gluten free diets. Most of Candle’s treats were GF and used maple syrup as a sweetener, so I got a few for the road.
Hoarder alert! I actually brought home TONS of gluten free, vegan treats from the other restaurants we visited too (One Lucky Duck, Liquiteria, Caravan of Dreams, etc.).
The dates in this were so rich, I had to stop after getting halfway through the bar – it was THAT decadent.
Mmmm…flaky cinnamon oats, naturally sweetened… If you go to Candle, get this!!
If there’s anything specific you want to see more of in terms of how I’m doing FODMAPS please ask. It’s hard to anticipate questions, but if you ask, I’m sure others are wondering it too.
This is helpful, thanks.
Dates are okay? I thought they’d be considered a stone fruit or at least like a raisin which I know is not on the FODMAP list for okay foods and they have a lot of sugar too.
Looks like it’s going well so far! I like the idea of pulsing your oats and chia seeds to make it pudding-like!
I’m so happy to see more people trying out low-fodmaps! Some things on the list I’d be careful about during the elimination phase: mushrooms, cauliflower, avocado (more than 1/4), sweet potatoes (more than 1/2), pumpkin, and larabars – all of these contain polyols. There was just a fodmaps research conference in Australia a few weeks ago and a dietician compiled a pretty good chart that might have some new info: http://katescarlata.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/slide1.jpg
Hope this is helpful!
I am loving the FODMAPS posts! I would agree with the above – although I have been told to not just be careful, but completely avoid mushrooms and cauliflower. I was also told that it’s only butternut pumpkin I need to be careful of – not Japanese pumpkin (we have Kent and Queensland Blue varieties in Australia, which are similar to kabocha squash). This is such a new thing that it’s hard to know what the ‘right’ information is, but I do know that cauliflower and mushrooms have been tested and shown as high mannitol foods.
loving the posts on fodmaps!
as for dates or cashews…ok so I find that I am sensitive to both in quantity, more so nuts though. Not just cashews but all nuts. I have to be careful.
It’s one of those cumulative things, i.e. if I have low fodmaps foods in general, I can tolerate trace gluten, or some nuts. But if I am eating higher fodmaps foods, then I better steer clear or I’ll be a hot mess!
Keep these posts up for as long as you want…i love em!!
Hi Elise!
I also JUST started FODMAPS yesterday! I wanted to point out some discrepancies that I have on my own personal “list” that I thought might be helpful for you! Just a couple things…I found that the outer coating of brown rice has fructans. Also, dates have very high fructose content and I believe a fructose>glucose ratio and therefore are considered a non-FODMAPS food. I was suuuuuper sad to therefore not be able to eat Larabars and also Enjoy Life bars!! The Enjoy Life cocoa loco bar contains date paste. Also all their bars contain evaporated cane syrup which is not a FODMAPS friendly sugar source. The Enjoy Life bars also contain inulin (another fructan which I find is really bad for gas).
Hope that helps! There are pretty much no granola bars I can eat now except Nature Valley crunchy bars haha.
I needed this when I was at the grocery store today! I feel like I have read so many things that are conflicting that I just ended up with a bunch of rice cakes and puffed corn cereal because I couldn’t decide what fruit and veggies to get. From what I understand and my own experience, I think fruit-wise I can do honeydew, canteloupe, berries, pineapple and kiwi. I think I do ok with apples and peaches too but I am avoiding them for the elimination phase. Veggies though I feel like I keep reading conflicting things. The only sure ones are lettuce, celery, cucumber and carrot it seems like. I’m actually avoiding dates and larabars for the elimination phase although I’m not sure that they bother me. This is pretty tough but I’m on the first day and really do feel better so I’m going to stick with it. Thanks so much for all the updates and info – much appreciated!!
Thank goodness you can still eat avocado… yikes, gives me heart palpitations just to think about a world without avocado!!
thank you SO much liz. very helpful. the more resources the better, even though they all seem to have random overlapping deets. grrr. so hard to sort out.
ps. i agree, its important to add the quantity factor. its definitely key in having things not go bloaty and haywire!
why are the aussies so on top of the fodmaps right now! cmon america, lets step it up!
good to know about the cauli and shrooms. i have yet to have either of them, so i will proceed with caution if/when i do have try them.
well nuts dont have fodmaps, and its wheat (not gluten) that has fodmaps, so i dont think you have to worry about the same sensitivities as IBS-ers.
as for dates, i think its pretty common for most people to get bloated after dried fruit.
hope that helps.
Thank you SO much for doing this. My IBS seems to have been getting worse after I was doing fairly well several months ago and, after you’ve been through this series and posted everything, I would LOVE to do this to find out what “triggers” mine.
thanks eva. good call on the inulin. ive been tolerating them fine, but that may be because there arent fodmaps in the rest of my diet currently.
i have read SUCH mixed reviews on dates, so i have been only using them as a sweetener in recipes in small amounts. maybe they are fine for the same reason as the sneaky inulin (small amounts with an elimination diet equals mega low fodmaps in the diet).
are nature valley bars really fodmaps free? i never thought to look, but thats somewhat surprising.
dates are another semi-iffy one. im finding mixed opinions so i am using them sparingly in recipes and thats it for now. plus, they are in some bars im eating (enjoy life bars for example). later ill try them more to see how i tolerate them as a real food.
oh and fyi, raisins are listed as ok in small amounts according to my research.
i know, its so hard to figure it all out…
heres another resource i found btw: http://uvahealth.com/services/digestive-health-1/images-and-docs/low_FODMAP_diet.pdf
right?? so conflicting! i have patsy catsos’ book, but its already got a lot lot lot of updates on her site.
( http://www.ibsfree.net/ibsfree_at_last/ )
here’s another helpful one: http://uvahealth.com/services/digestive-health-1/images-and-docs/low_FODMAP_diet.pdf
no prob ellen, i am doing this for all the IBSers, and i truly hope it is helpful. i cant begin to describe how passionate i am about this.
agreeeeed!
i really wish i would have bought a magic bullet. my target blender just isn’t cutting it.
true, as long as it works for you it’s good! and yes the Nature Valley Crunchy ones without honey are. e.g. Peanut Butter, Almond Butter! They actually have very few ingredients!
I love all your meals! I have to say I am surprised that cauliflower is “fodmaps free”, I always thought it was quite “difficult to digest” even for ibs-free stomachs :))
This is absolutely brilliant: thank you so much for taking the time to help out all of us struggling with IBS. I had such bad responses from my doctors, all trying to either get me to exist on a low-fibre (I definitely don’t have the constipation type of IBS!) meat-based diet or slap me on strong medication with potentially horrible side effects.
I’m really hoping paying attention to FODMAPs will sort things out after a decade of GI agony.
You’re a gem for dedicating so much time and effort to this, particularly when you have such a demanding job as well. Huge thanks again!
xxx
It’s so funny (and annoying) how our bodies are so different. I swear I eat like 20 servings of fruit a day and feel best that way but give me fibrous veggies or beans or dried fruit and I have lots of issues. I think healthy food shouldn’t be allowed to give you digestive problems. If you want to make me bloated from chocolate cake, fine, but let me eat my sugar snap peas and apples!
i completely agree. shouldnt high cholesterol artery clogging foods be the ones that cause GI symptoms…they are certainly the ones that bite you in the ass later in life. evolution should get quicker at making those foods feel worse at the time of eating them! ha.
its on the “eat in moderation” end of the spectrum…as long as its cooked, ive never had problems with it. raw broccoli on the other hand, is also deemed ok, but i tend to have bloating reactions to that…so ill see once i get to the veg/galactans challenge phase.
im so glad you are finding it helpful jessica. its very exhausting given the conflicting info out there, but i am so determined to find a better approach thats not anti-spasmotic GI meds (or a low fiber diet, eek, that would stop me up for months)!
This is truly fascinating, and must be so useful for everyone with IBS – you are a rockstar for sharing what you are passionate about, I think our challenges can help us find our calling in life and sharing our experiences with others can help them too – it feels amazing! <3 Plus, all that food you can eat still looks delicious. It's great to see that even if you have restrictions you can make a large variety of healthful and tasty meals. With a no-dairy-policy, and having to avoid certain foods like tomato, I find it really helpful to write down a list of foods I CAN eat, like you've done here, rather than focus on what I can't – it opens up so many possibilites and helps make up cool combinations and fun meals! <3 xyx
Pingback: Millecado and lollihop
Oooh thank you! Very helpful. It’s funny that Australia is so on top of this actually. Usually I am shaking my fist about things because they are so US-focussed. It feels odd to have so much of the research and literature applicable for here!
I am eating these posts up. Thank you for taking the time to write them. After I get all my testing done, my dr. said I will most likely have to do an elimination diet and so you KNOW i will be stalking you. Not that I don’t already do…
P.S. I love that sassy green dress!
Thanks for continuing to post these! I’m definitely going to explore this a little more.
Katie : )
Pingback: Utterly Delicious « Newest Obsession
Thank you! This so helpful. I was just recently diagnosed with IBS.
I was just put on the low fodmap diet and am just overwhelmed by how hard it is to know what you can eat in the store.
I love corn chips with salsa, but salsa has onions in it. Does anyone know of a product without the onions or a recipe?
the other thing is beer/wine. I do like to have cocktails on the weekend but don’t know if i can or not.
What about popcorn?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks to Robert at UVA for giving me this site to learn.
hi sherri!
the good news is, it totally gets easier! i was so overwhelmed at first and it took a few months (maybe more!?!) for me to get the hang of it, but now i am in full fodmaps mode and im not looking back. ive come to recognize which combos of groups can go together for me and which cant, and i have started subbing things in recipes accordingly and its made a huge difference in how i feel.
initially i went on the elimination diet (no fodmaps at all) and then i reintroduced the groups one at a time to see how i did with them. once i started to understand which foods and which groups were causing symptoms i started further refining my diet. its a long process, but i am much happier and feel much better now.
i dont know a specific brand for salsa, but you could make your own with tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, bell peppers, corn, & chili powder (itty bitty bits of jalapenos optional) if you havent yet experimented with onion and garlic powders try them (separately first) in cooking to see how you tolerate them. theres discrepancies over the powdered forms being acceptable for a fodmaps diet and it depends how your GI reacts. you could also opt for guacamole because avocados are a-ok.
im ok with popcorn (and every other non-wheat grain), but i know there are others who cant tolerate it. again, its going to be an individual trial and error thing. if its at all helpful you can try searching “fodmaps” on my site (search bar in the upper right corner) and check out the various posts ive done on fodmaps and the elimination diet. i will eventually do a post on how i fared while on the elimination diet and as i was reintroducing (one challenge group at a time).
as for your last question – i have no problems with wine. i drink way less beer now though. i think im more sensitive to wheat (as opposed to gluten) so if i am going to drink beer, i stick to lighter ones that arent wheat beers. i also make sure the meals around drinking (or for the full day) contain no fodmaps (as opposed to low fodmaps) so the wheat in beer is my only fodmaps load on the gut of the day. its all about balancing the fodmaps load. hope you find more help on my site!
Hi Elise – I am in the re-introduction phase and although this has been covered in this conversation, could you please confirm that the Nature Valley nut (pecan) bars are fodmap free. Many thanks.
ive never tried those bars, but i just went to the website to check out the ingreds for the pecan ones you asked about http://www.naturevalley.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=15
and i would be cautious because of a few ingredients:
1. there is soy listed (in the form of soy flour and soy lecithin), so thats a source of galactans.
2. there is brown sugar syrup, which i think has a high amount of fructose.
3. the oh-so-vague “natural flavors” has who knows what in it.
so there you have it. there are definitely worse things to eat, but if you can avoid a processed bar with soy i’d say stick with make your own granola, trail mix, or nuts as a snack to be sure you know whats in it.
Stalking your site obviously! Thank you for adding the Fodmaps Elimination phase page, and really looking forward to the blog about your re-introductions 🙂
Dates are NOT in the same family as stone fruits, which are Prunus genus. Dates have the optimal glucose:fructose ratio, so they are very safe. In fact, I live off banana/date smoothies when my UC flares, as these are very tolerable fruits.
The stone fruits to be avoided are apricots, peaches, nectarines, mangoes, prunes…..these contain sorbitol, so are likely to induce major diarrhea, gas, bloating, and overall discomfort.
Can someone walk me through corn? I’ve been on the fodmap diet for over a year now. I eliminated all corn because it was on my original not to eat list. And when I got past the elimination phase, I tested it and had mixed results. I found that corn starch seemed to upset my stomach. I’m very confused on if corn is ok and why is corn cereals ok but not corn as a pure vegetable? I would love more info, as many gluten free foods substitute with corn starch, etc. and I thought I couldn’t have those. Would be really happy to hear that maybe I could!
corn is SUCH a confusing one, so i definitely feel for you as you try to sort this out.
lots of people have bloating regardless of the source, and yet others have an easier time tolerating certain grains that are more processed (seems counterintuitive, i know). but i know there are people who cant eat cooked rice or pure rice flour, but tolerate rice cakes and gluten free tortillas that are rice based. its weird.
this may be similar for you in tolerating corn cereals but not pure corn.
i realize corn isnt really a grain, but for the purposes of your body its being broken down as a starch and handled similarly to the carbs of grains would be.
you could try using arrowroot in place of cornstarch when youre cooking. how do you tolerate corn flour or corn meal?
And that person would be this gal (me)
Try Lundberg brown rice cakes and food for life brown rice tortillas or engine 2 ones. My tummy seems to do fine with these, but give me quinoa or other grains (even sweet potaotes) and im a mess. 🙁
Sorry Hungry Hungry Hippie (love your name), but Seitan (it’s wheat) and vital wheat gluten should not on the FODMAP FREE grocery list according to Sue Shepard who invented the FODMAP list. It says so right in this pdf file on her website: http://www.sueshepherdfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/fodmap-table.pdf
Here’s a link to Sue Shepard recipes: http://www.sueshepherdfoods.com/recipes/
I have only started being FODMAP-FREE about a month back, but after having IBS for 15 years…. I am so happy to have found something to help me deal with my diet issues. It gives me a place to start! Yeah!!
hi karen! glad the fodmaps diet is working for you…check this post out:
http://www.hungryhungryhippie.com/thoughts-on-the-elimination-phase/