Low-FODMAP Diet Week One: Say No to Avocados and Hello to Mustard

It’s happening. I’m now two weeks into the FODMAP diet which means it’s about time I post about how the hell it’s going. And it’s going.

I’m going to break it down into the highs, the lows and then detail what exactly it is that I’ve been living off. If the term FODMAP is leaving you scratching your head in confusion, fear not, I’ve broken it down here. Right, you ready? Let’s go.

The Highs
Minimal bloating! This is a BIG deal for me as I literally bloat to 6 months pregnant every single time I eat. I will mention one hiccup which involved me setting eyes upon a DibDab and inhaling it, and you know, sherbet isn’t that great, so I deserved that. Other than that slip up, I’ve had minimal bloating and on some days none at all. This is groundbreaking for me. I can’t remember a time before FODMAP when I wasn’t bloated.

The only way that best describes it is to say I feel emptier but in a good way. I still feel full after eating but not stuffed and groggy. I feel good after eating. It’s a miracle.

I’m nailing omelettes. Give me three eggs and the contents of your fridge and I can guarantee I’d rustle up a cheeky little omelette. Before, I’d always use up leftover mushrooms but now I’ve switched to big, juicy on-the-vine tomatoes and grated courgette. Delish. Al will be calling me Nigella next.

The Lows
I’m still sobbing about my loss of avocados for 6 weeks. Avos are my one true love (sorry Al) and I used to eat them nearly every weekend mushed up with some salt and coriander and heaped onto tortilla chips. The amount you can eat on the Low-FODMAP is so minuscule it’s not even worth it for me. I’m avoiding even looking at them in the supermarket. I feel like I’m cheating on them.

Planning meals takes some time getting used too. Al and I are usually of the mindset what’s in the fridge, what’s in the freezer, throw it all together, job done kinda guys. That has all come to a halt. We need to be more prepared and plan ahead, which isn’t a bad thing, it just takes some getting used to. Prepping for snacks and lunch is the big one but it’s all manageable.

What I’m Eating

Breakfast
I will forever indulge in a bowl of Cornflakes with lacto-free milk and a heap of sugar. This will never change. It takes about 2 mins to chuck it all together and another 3 to shovel it into my big gob. No change here.

Snacks
I will snack all day if I don’t try to restrain myself, mainly because at work I’m looking at beautiful food pics and recipes all day. It’s hard work.

I start snacking at around 10:30am when I have a banana which is later followed by blueberries.

After lunch I reach for carrots and cucumber, aka similar snacks to those my bunny has, as I do love a good raw vegetable. You can’t beat the crunch.

Then there are the rice cakes. I have the very naked variety which I either eat as they are, with the results getting stuck to the roof of my mouth, or I smear a bit of crunchy peanut butter on top, which makes things ten thousand times better, obviously.

Al and I have also started making weekly batches of FODMAP friendly flapjacks, where we combine brown sugar, butter, oats and a shit-tonne of maple syrup. I feel like only now I can truly appreciate how good the humble flapjack is. Before I’d snub it for something covered in chocolate. Now, I actually crave flapjacks.

Lunch
Lunch has been a tough one for me. At work we have a kitchen and two of my colleagues and I would always cook our own lunch, from pasta, to potatoes to wraps. We’d normally start with our carby base and build up, reaching for some form of green veg, mushrooms, asparagus, peas…. Just typing those vegetables makes me feel kinda sad as they are no more.

Instead, I’ve been buying gluten-free pittas, smothering on a load of wholegrain mustard – because you basically can’t have any other dip, no more hummus, no more baba ganoush – and then stuffing in spinach, cucumber, juicy toms and whatever leftover meat I bring from home. It’s nice, but I’m getting bored very quickly.

Dinner
This is the section in which I have to praise Al for being so fantastic. He’s used to catering for my dietary needs but threw himself into the world of FODMAPS, immediately reading the booklets I’d been given. Largely our dinners haven’t changed. We’re still eating roasts, pastas, rice, etc, it’s just the vegetables that have mixed things up. All hail the power of tomato, we’ll take it in any form.

I haven’t eaten garlic in ages, instead using garlic flavoured oil which does that same job with less FODMAPs. I don’t miss onions but if I did we’d reach for the green parts of spring onions or asafoetida which gives the same flavour.

We even ordered a pizza from Dominos and I was fine! FINE!

Honestly, it’s nothing short of a miracle.

Read More About My IBS Journey:

WTF is the Low-FODMAP Diet?!?

11 Things I Do Daily to Help Ease My IBS

I Met My IBS Dietician and Didn’t Leave in Tears

10 Embarrassing Things About IBS I’m Not Afraid to Share

IBS, the Down Days and the Guilty Feeling

10 Things You Shouldn’t Say to Someone with IBS

10 Reasons I Want to Buy Me IBS Some Maternity Jeans

The Highs and Lows of Living with IBS

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