Swaps for low-fodmap foods EAT2BEATIBS Swaps The most difficult things to be avoided are wheat/gluten (so, care with bread, pasta and noodles) and onions/garlic (so care with everything). Here are some pointers about how to climb this particular mountain. Pasta (non-wheat) We ve tested several types to help you make your choice. They all have similar cooking time of about 8 minutes for a single serving. Shapes are slightly more likely to fall apart if over cooked or if you shake the pot vigorously to mix in a sauce. Spelt contains gluten, but might still suit many of us on a low-fodmap diet. Specialist pastas are expensive and you often don t get much in a pack, so sharing them with friends/family may not be a good idea. Maybe try making your own pasta (see recipe mix below)? Grain Surface texture Taste Colour Rice grainy ++ neutral very white Corn grainy +++ neutral yellow Quinoa grainy + quinoa after-taste pale beige Amaranth grainy+ neutral pale beige Rice & corn grainy ++ slight corn aftertaste yellow Spelt like normal pasta normal pasta beige Wheat substitutes Coming up with a carb substitute as a side is not too difficult. There are quite a few cereal/seeds available beyond just potatoes and rice (remember, couscous is another form of wheat pasta!). Probably the top two are quinoa and spelt, but there are some others such as amaranth. Grain Appearance Taste Notes Quinoa Polenta tiny pellets, either white or red/black slightly course, yellow colour flour (made from corn) pleasantly nutty, with a soft texture like barley pleasant corn flavour Mix with water to make a thick paste that can be served like mashed potatoes. If allowed to cool can be cut into slices and fried (crispy outside with soft centre) Spelt in form of couscous tastes like normal wheat Amaranth tiny golden seeds nutty if cooked with lots of
Sorghum pellets (more often found as flour for baking) nutty flavour- similar to bulgar wheat water, is made into a porridge. If less water or stock slowly added during cooking, as with a risotto, the seeds stay separatebut, they do not swell. It s different! cooked in pan of water. Some say should soak overnight before. Sauce thickeners Corn flour, xanthan gum, arrow root Onion & garlic -if onions are being used for bulk or sweetness, you could use finely sliced de-seeded/white bits removed yellow peppers, softened by frying in garlic-infused oil. -fry and soften onions or shallots and/or garlic in more oil than you would normally use and then remove/discard them (you will lose some oil doing this). Then, carry on and fry your meat etc. as usual in this infused oil. -garlic and smoked garlic oil can be bought easily. -use chives and the green bits of salad onion-scallion. -asofoetida powder: this has a dense oniony taste with sweet after-taste, like a stock-cube, and is a standard ingredient in south Indian food. It is added to food like a spice at start of frying. It can be bought from ethnic shops, large supermarkets, Whole Foods etc. It has a reputation for being very smelly but the powder is fine (garlicky whiff); it s the paste that is particularly smelly. Asofoetida gives a great depth of flavour. It is good for dense meat dishes like Bolognese, burgers and meat balls, no matter what the meat. However, after eating it, you may whiff of garlic the next day! Apricots & beans Tinned chestnuts are sweet and starchy so a good substitute in tagines etc. Discard the tin water and rinse before use. Add about 10 minutes before the end of cooking so that they don t get too mushy. Stock Making stock and freezing it is relatively easy but most of us couldn t be bothered! Keep a chicken carcass from dinner. Lightly fry some carrots, leek green tops in olive oil. Splash in 125ml white wine and turn up heat for about 3 minutes. Then add the chicken with bay leaf, sprig thyme, a star anise, salt/pepper, and about 500ml water, bring to boil and let simmer for about 45 minutes with lid on. Then lid off for 20 minutes to reduce slightly. Let cool and freeze the stock in bags or ice-tray. -use milk (cow s or almond) instead of shop-bought stock-cubes (contain FODMAPs) when making tomato-based meat sauces (ragu/ Bolognese ) as it softens the taste. Milk (non-animal) All animal milk (cow, goat, human ) contain similar amounts of lactose. Many
vegetable/nut milks are sweetened with cane-sugar (ok for low-fodmap diet), but some brands are sweetened with agave syrup (not ok). The flavour of these milks does tend to come through when used on cereals. Type Comment Almond (sweetened) pleasantly nutty flavour and slightly sweet. Don t use too much as contains some FODMAPs Almond (un-sweetened) slightly bitter. Don t use too much as contains some FODMAPs Hazelnut very hazelnutty flavour. Don t use too much as contains FODMAPs Soya (sweetened; soy-protein type only) you like or loath this specific flavour Soya (un-sweetened; soy-protein type only) Ok flavour (but just!) Rice white colour, pleasant, sweet flavour Rice (brown) white colour, pleasant sweet flavour- perhaps nicer than ordinary rice milk Oat beige with a horrible taste (like un-cooked flour in water or Play-doh Quinoa nutty flavour Hemp h for horrible! Soy Soy causes confusion. The problem products are those made from whole beans, so make sure milk is soy protein type only. Soy sauce, soy oil and tofu (FODMAPs removed during processing) are all ok, but soy flour and edamame beans are not. Snack breads Type Comment Rice & corn crisp-bread look anaemic; chewy texture, pleasant slight popcorn/neutral taste. Chestnut crisp-bread very dry texture; definite chestnut after-taste Quinoa crisp-bread strong initial taste and after-taste of quinoa Buckwheat crisp-bread neutral initial flavour, then strong, metallic after-taste Corn thins like rice cakes in texture; neutral/slight popcorn flavour Sweeteners Maple syrup, golden syrup, brown rice syrup, stevia, asparatame (Nutrasweet and Canderel). Demerara sugar better than standard brown sugar as latter has molasses added (but is still ok). Probably best to avoid Muscovado sugar even though better for baking, as it is high in molasses. Crunchy coatings Desserts: wheat/gluten-free flour or rice flour; sesame and pumpkin seeds; gluten-free oats;
polenta; ground/roasted hazelnuts or pecans. If you use ground almond (almond meal), it makes a more cakey topping (referred to as a cobbler ) Savoury: wheat/gluten free bread crumbs, polenta Fillers (like bread crumbs in meatballs) As you will not be adding onion, the mince will be less likely to fall apart and they are less needed than in standard cooking, so just don t use them! If you need a binder, use a beaten egg. Cooks suggest: oats and crushed, gluten-free versions of corn-flakes, rice-krispies or Cheerios. Some base flour mix recipes You will need to buy some less usual types of flour, but all should be reasonably easy to find. Purchase small amounts to keep down costs and waste. Why bother? Have a look at supermarket wheat/gluten-free pizza bases they are awful and expensive! One other thing, flour without gluten loses its elasticity/chewiness so you need to add something to make baked goods nicer to eat- that is usually xanthan gum. You may well never have heard of it, but it is widely available. All of these recipes are from personal blogs and websites. They know best, so please visit them to learn more: Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend 1 cup White Rice Flour 1 cup Sorghum Flour 1 cup Tapioca Flour/Starch 1 cup Arrowroot 1 cup Coconut Flour Mix together and store in an air-tight container. From: http://www.nibblesnbites.com Gluten-Free Flour Blend for Breads 1 cup Brown Rice Flour 1 cup Sorghum Flour 1 cup Tapioca Flour 1 cup Arrowroot 3/4 cup Millet Flour 1/3 cup Instant Mashed Potato Flakes Gluten-free flour is very dry, so you need to add xanthan gum to make it elastic. For Yeast Breads or Pizza Dough use 1 tsp of Xanthum Gum per cup of replacement flour For Cakes, Muffins, and other Quick Breads use 1/2 tsp of Xanthum Gum per cup of replacement flour Mix together and store in an air-tight container. Refrigerate if you bake infrequently. From: http://www.nibblesnbites.com Cake flour mix (alternative)
2½ cups white rice flour (very fine) 1 cup potato, corn or tapioca starch (not flour) * ½ cup oat flour ½ cup tapioca flour 1¼ teaspoons xanthan gum Sift all ingredients together twice. From: http://www.fodmapliving.com; Author: Sue Daoulas Pie base (savoury) Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 2 hours Total time: 2 hours 30 mins 1¼ cup gluten free oat flour 1¼ teaspoon xanthan gum ¼ tsp salt ½ cup solid shortening ¼ cup water (ice cold; 60ml) Sift flour and salt together. Cut in shortening. Toss mixture with a fork and add water a little bit at a time. Make a ball, cover in wax paper and plastic wrap, and chill it 2-24 hours. Roll it out between two sheets of wax paper. Sprinkle the bottom side with more gluten free flour and gently place in pie pan. Try to minimize handling the dough. The more you handle it, the less flaky it will be. This recipe makes enough for one (1) 9 inch pie pan. Gluten free crust is stiff and breaks apart more easily that regular flour crust. If it breaks as you are placing it in the pie pan, don't worry, just push the pieces together with your fingers. From: http://www.fodmapliving.com; Author: Sue Daoulas Pizza base (alternative) 3 cups oat flour 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp. salt 1.5 Tbsp. sugar 1 cup warm-hot water (240ml) Preheat oven to 375 degrees (190c) Combine and mix the flour, salt, sugar, and the yeast in a medium sized bowl. Next, add the olive oil and water. (NOTE: The dough will be very sticky after all ingredients are mixed. Add more flour to prevent dough from sticking to your fingers, and be sure to knead the dough on a flat cool surface, with some flour down on the surface to coat). After kneading the dough for about 4 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, use your hands to spread the dough evenly on a pizza pan or baking sheet. Try to get the dough as spread out as possible, without ripping the dough (I used a large baking sheet and spread the dough to cover about 90% of the sheet). Bake the crust for 10 minutes. From: http://www.candied.com