Low FODMAP Celery and Potato Soup

A few days ago I picked up a whole head of celery for 10 cents! It was obviously marked down because of its “use by” date but it was still very firm and of a dark green colour. So I bought it even though I already had some at home. I was looking at all that celery today, wondering how to use it up before it went yellow and soft and I decided to make a soup. It was lovely. My son ate all his soup but I made sure I sieved it to get rid of any stringy bits.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole head of celery, roughly chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 carrot (optional)
• 1 litre of water
• salt and pepper

Method:

Bring the water to the boil and add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 20 minutes. Blend.

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Lazy Low FODMAP Vegetable Curry

I have to confess that I have a bit of trouble getting my 5-a-day. Now and again I will make a vegetable curry just to make sure I eat some! And because I like my veggies covered in creamy sauces...

This curry is very mild but feel free to add more spices or chillies if you like your curry hot.

Ingredients:

• 1 courgette, diced
• 1 aubergine, diced (I peel my aubergines because I find the skin a bit tough but you can leave it on)
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 potato, diced
• 1x400g chopped tomatoes can
• 200ml coconut milk
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tblsp paprika
• 2 tblsp fish sauce
• 1 cup of stock or water
• salt

Method:

Pour all the ingredients into a big pot and cook for half an hour or until the vegetables are soft. Rectify the seasoning if necessary.

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Lemon Polenta Cake

I made this cake last week but the weather has been so nice that I haven't got near a computer until today. We don't get sunshine and heat very often in this country so when the sun comes out everything else must wait, you never know when it will happen again!

I have seen several versions of this cake on the internet but this one is from a book called Healthy Gluten-free Eating from Darina Allen. It keeps well and it's very rich so a little goes a long way...

Ingredients:

• 225g dairy-free margarine
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g ground almonds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs, ligthly beaten
• grated rind of 2 lemons and the juice of 1 lemon
• 110g fine cornmeal (polenta)
• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• pinch of salt
  Method:

Preheat he oven to 160°C. Brush a 23cm spring-form cake tin with a little butter and flour the tin with rice flour. Cut out a round of parchment paper for the base of the tin. In a large mixing bowl beat again until light and creamy. Stir in the ground almonds and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, a little at a time, and beat thoroughly between additions. Fold in the lemon rind and juice, cornmeal, gluten-free baking powder and salt. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and remove the paper.

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Tahini Paste

I've had a jar of sesame seeds in my cupboard for ages. I have tried using them as a coating for chicken goujons but they always burn and leave a bitter aftertaste. So I decided to make my own tahini paste. Tahini paste is normally used in hummus which is of course out of limits if you are on a low FODMAP diet as it uses garlic and chickpeas, but there are other uses for it:

• use it instead of peanut butter
• make a sun-dried tomato “hummus” with sun-dried tomatoes, tahini, oil and lemon juice (see pic)
• make Baba Ghanoush with pureed aubergine, tahini, lemon juice and oil
• make tahini sauce: combine ½ cup of tahini paste, 1 tbsp olive oil, a pinch of fresh parsley, salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Add water and lemon juice to the mix to your taste and until you get the desired texture
• use it as a sweet spread: mix the tahini paste with sugar
• use as a dip with crudite or roasted vegetables

Here is how you make the tahini paste:

You will need 3 cups of sesame seeds and ¼ to ½ cup of olive, peanut or vegetable oil but don't use extra-virgin olive oil.

Spread the sesame seeds out on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes to lightly roast the sesame seeds. Stir the seeds once at about 5 minutes and stir again when you remove them from the oven. Do not brown the seeds or they will taste bitter. Most of the commercial tahini is hulled tahini and therefore less bitter (the seeds are crushed and soaked in salt water to remove the hulls, maybe I'll try this someday...). Pour the toasted sesame seeds into a food processor with the knife blade and on a high speed. Then pour in the olive oil and blend until smooth, adding more oil 1 tablespoon at a time if the paste seems too thick. The blending took about 10 minutes and I had to scrape the edges every couple of minutes or so. Store it in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

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Chicken and Peanut Bake

This is a great recipe to make with cupboard ingredients, for those days when there is nothing in the fridge... I used chicken legs but smaller chicken pieces will work too.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken legs
• 50 dairy-free margarine
• 25g gluten-free flour
• 3 tblsp smooth peanut butter
• 400ml rice milk
• salt and pepper
• 50g salted peanuts
• 25 gluten-free fresh breadcrumbs

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the chicken on all sides until golden brown. Remove from the pan and place in an ovenproof casserole. Stir in the flour and cook for two minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and milk. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Season and pour over the chicken in the casserole. Cover and cook in the oven for an hour. Remove the lid, sprinkle with the peanuts and breadcrumbs and bake uncovered for a further ten minutes.

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Dairy and Gluten Free Frosted Lemon Squares

I have become wary of recipes where no picture has been taken. They obviously pick the best ones for the book. I made two different types of biscuits recently from recipes with no photographs and they didn't turn out very pretty, it's not that they didn't taste nice buy they just weren't visually appetising.

This recipe is from a book called “Healthy Gluten-Free Eating” by Darina Allen and Rosemary Kearney. I got it last year for my birthday and it has been sitting in the bookshelf gathering dust. There are actually very good recipes in it, although, of course, not all Low FODMAP. Here is a lovely one for frosted lemon squares.

The recipe calls for a 25x18 cm, well greased, Swiss roll tin but I used a Pyrex tray and it worked fine (I don't even know what a Swiss roll tin looks like...). It also calls for xanthan gum but I never use it and I don't think it makes any difference plus it's very expensive!

Ingredients:

• 175g dairy-free margarine
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 75g rice flour
• 75g tapioca flour
• 1 ½ tsp gluten-free baking powder

For the frosting

• grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
• 110g caster sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, rice flour, tapioca flour and gluten-free baking powder into a food processor. Blend together for a few seconds. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared tin and bake for 25-35 minutes or until pale golden brown. Meanwhile mix all the ingredients for the frosting in a bowl. As soon as it's cooked spoon a little of the frosting over the top at a time, allowing it to soak through before pouring on more. Leave to cool in the tin. Cut into squares.

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Low FODMAP Breakfast Ideas

Last update: 30/01/2013


Have you seen the prices of gluten free cereals? Try making your own rice porridge, it's so much cheaper. I reckon I spend an extra €20 on my weekly shopping with the non-dairy milks, gluten free flours, rice & corn crackers and all the rest.

It takes me a while to get hungry in the morning and sometimes all I have for breakfast is coffee and gluten/dairy free fairy cakes. I know, not the healthiest of breakfasts, I need to make a better effort so here are a few suggestions which I will keep updating:

1. Gluten free bread + boiled egg + tomato slices.
2. Chamomile and fennel tea + gluten free bread + tomato + sardines in olive oil.
3. Rooibos tea + gluten free bread + tomato + olive oil + parma ham.
4. Rice porridge: cook a cup of rice in a litre of water with a pinch of salt, blend in a food processor or with a hand blender (you might want to reduce the quantities). Keep it in the fridge in an airtight container until needed. Then all you have to do is reheat some in the morning with some rice milk and add a little sugar or maple syrup.
5. Eggs: boiled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes.
6. Rice cakes with peanut butter.
7. Rice cakes with mayonnaise and ham or mayonnaise and leftover cooked chicken.
8. French toast: soak 8 gluten-free bread slices into 3 beaten egg with 75ml milk, 2 tbsp sugar (or to taste) and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and fry in a little oil. Serve with maple syrup. 
9. Polenta porridge: Bring to the boil one cup of water and one cup of rice milk. Meanwhile mix one cup of rice milk with one cup of polenta. When the milk is about to reach boiling point pour in the polenta, lower the heat and cook for about 15 minutes stirring all the time. Sweeten to taste.
10. Baked gluten free sausages and hash browns (McCains' frozen hash browns are gluten free): just put the sausages and the frozen hash browns in an oven-proofed tray and bake for 20 minutes in a very hot oven (200C/220C).
11. Gluten free bread + coconut oil + marmalade.
12. Gluten free and dairy free fairy cakes (see Baking recipe).
13. Gluten free and dairy free banana bread (see Baking recipe). 
14. Sweet semolina ( see Desserts recipe).
15. Rice flour pancakes: blend 175g rice flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, pinch salt, 1 egg, 300ml rice milk. Fry in a little oil, dairy free spread or lard one ladle at a time until bubbles appear, then turn over and cook for a few seconds.

Low FODMAP Jambalaya

Today I decided to cook brown rice instead of white rice. It's meant to have more nutrients, more fiber... well, it's meant to be better for you but I just prefer white rice. I had to use double the stock and it took double the time to cook and it still tasted uncooked. It might be better for you but I think my delicate digestive system is not convinced.

Anyway, here is a recipe for low FODMAP Jambalaya.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
• 250g gluten free sausage (I prefer chorizo, but it can contain garlic)
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ l vegetable/chicken stock

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok. Fry the sausage and chicken for about 5 minutes, then add the pepper and the celery. Continue frying for another couple of minutes, then season and add the paprika. Pour the stock over and bring to the boil. Then add the rice and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

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Low FODMAP Eton mess

This is super easy and super indulgent. I have discovered coconut cream! I couldn't find any in my local supermarket but I found UHT coconut cream (from Blue Dragon) cartons in a corner shop. I must research more uses for it!

You can make an instant chocolate mousse, for example. Just mix coconut cream with dairy free chocolate powder, whisk it and chill it in the fridge.

For the Eton mess: whisk chilled coconut cream, add some crushed meringue and strawberries or blueberries. Enjoy!

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Thai Green Fish Curry

I have pretty much given up take-aways since I started this diet but sometimes I really really crave them. This recipe fits the bill for those days when you are tired of following the diet and you just want to treat yourself to something tasty. It's not completely low FODMAP because I use bought Thai green curry paste and it contains onion and garlic. I find that the amount of onion and garlic in stock cubes and curry pastes don't affect me but they might upset you. You could substitute the paste for curry powder, I haven't tried it yet but it may work.

As you can see in the picture I peel the aubergine but there is no need, I only do it because my husband doesn't like the skin.

Serve this dish with rice or if you are feeling very naughty serve it with chips...

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
• 1 small aubergine, diced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 125ml fish stock
• 250g firm white fish fillets, cut into pieces

Method:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or a preheated wok over a medium heat. Add the curry paste and fry for a few seconds before adding the aubergine. Stir fry for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil and stir until it thickens and curdles slightly. Add the fish sauce and sugar and stir well. Add the fish pieces and stock. Simmer for 5 minutes until the fish is just cooked. 

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