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Last night I was craving something sweet, but also wanted something healthy. A couple days ago I was cleaning out our freezers and found bags of frozen fruit that I didn’t even know were there. So, since I was craving sweets I went to the freezer, found a bag of frozen peaches, grabbed some lactose-free milk from the refrigerator, a few ice cubes, and my blender. Guess what…I had a very tasty peach shake with no added sugar! I also consumed a cup of fruit and a cup of dairy to help meet my nutrient needs for the day. So next time you’re looking for something sweet but healthy look no further than fruit!

P.S. – I wish I would have remembered to take a picture, but I didn’t think about writing a post until I had finished the whole shake.

Well, after being off FODMAP for a few years and just following a lactose free diet, I am back at it again.  My GERD has been flaring up and so I decided to try a low-FODMAP diet to see if it will help.  I started a on Monday morning and have seen a little relief, but not a significant amount.  I am going to continue to try it through the week and see if I eventually see any improvement.  If not, at least I tried it!  Feel free to follow some of my recipe posts on instagram (@nutritionforcellc) for some recipe ideas.  Not all are low-FODMAP, but the ones for this week are and I will continue to give low-FODMAP options.

I don’t know about you, but I like lattes.  I enjoy coffee every morning, with about two tablespoons of lactose-free milk, but sometimes I just want a latte.  Today was one of those days.  If I go to a coffee shop, such as Biggby, Starbucks, or Caribou Coffee, the only lactose-free options are almond milk or sometimes coconut milk.  The dairy free alternatives are not my favorite.  I really prefer lactose-free milk.  Luckily, I have a Mr. Coffee Cafe Latte at home.  

Mr. Coffee retails for $59.99 on Mr. Coffee’s website as of February 2017.  First you put either regular or decaf espresso in the paper filter and fill with water, just as you would a regular coffee maker.  Then pour lactose-free milk in the   glass pitcher.

Make sure the switch is flipped to Cafe Latte and watch your latte be made before your eyes.

It tastes just like a coffee shop latte.

 

You can also add 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla, hazelnut, or any flavoring you
prefer to the milk before frothing, for a flavored latte.

Enjoy this warm favorite on the cold winter days that lie ahead.

 

 

It’s been a long time since I posted.  A few months ago I completed the 6 weeks of the FODMAP diet and started reintroducing foods.  I knew it would not be lactose because I drank milk and ate dairy everyday.  Much to my surprise lactose intolerance it was!  I was disappointed at first, but I have found many ways around it.  I cannot believe how good I feel, since I have limited my lactose intake!  I don’t wake up feeling sick every morning and I have not had any intestinal issues since limiting lactose.  I have found that I can eat up to 1/2 cup of hard cheese which allows me to eat pizza on Friday nights.  I have tried many different types of milk (almond, coconut, soy, lactose free) and have found that lactose-free milk is my favorite.  I actually prefer the store brand over Lactaid.  It works really well with cooking.  I have made biscuits and gravy, broccoli cheese soup, and many other milk based meals using lactose free milk.  The hardest thing I have found is eating out.  It seems everything is milk based!  I usually try to order a basic food such as a steak or hamburger.  When we order pizza I order light cheese.  It is actually very good and even my whole family eats light cheese pizza.  I will still post FODMAP meals, but I will be posting mostly Lactose-free meals that can possible be modified into FODMAP.

This is my husbands favorite food.  We haven’t made it since I started the FODMAP diet because of all the ingredients that are not compatible with FODMAP.  The other night we decided to give it a try.  It turned out wonderful!  We will definitely make it again while I’m following FODMAP.  The biscuits were a little dense, but once the gravy was on them, they tasted fine and we didn’t really notice any difference from the traditional recipe.

Here is the Biscuits and Gravy recipe.

I started off preheating the oven to 475 degrees and mixing up the biscuits and placing them on the cooking sheet.

While the oven was preheating I mixed up the ground pork and sausage seasoning to make sausage.  I did this since the sausage ingredients said “spice”.  I was unsure if spice included garlic or onion.

Next, brown the sausage.  The sausage turned out amazing.  We will probably make this even after I’m done following FODMAP.

Flour was then added to the sausage to coat the sausage.

When I added the milk to the sausage I placed the biscuits in the oven, since both steps take approximately the same about of time.

Stir the gravy constantly for 10-12 minutes until it thickens.  Take the biscuits out of the oven when slightly browned.

Once the gravy is thickened add the seasoned salt and black pepper.  Stir until desired consistency.

         

Pour gravy over biscuits and enjoy!

Everyone in my family loved these!  I think everybody had seconds.  This is definitely a family favorite!

This is a great budget friendly and kid friendly recipe.  My boys liked it and so did my husband and I.  I will definitely make this again.  This recipe can be made using FODMAP ingredients (using gluten free noodles and omitting the garlic powder) or with conventional ingredients (using wheat noodles and using garlic powder).

Here is the recipe.

Preheat oven to 350⁰F

Bring large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the elbow macaroni and cook according to package directions.

In a large skillet cook ground beef until browned.

Add the tomatoes and season with spices. Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes.

   

  

If using block cheddar cheese, shred while the mixture is simmering.

Drain the pasta and pour it into a large casserole dish. Add the ground beef mixture and stir.

Add the shredded cheese and stir.

7. Back at 350⁰F until bubbling, about 20 minutes.

After arriving at our beach house it became much easier to meet the low-FODMAP diet.  We had a full kitchen and a grocery store within 5 miles of our house.  Every morning I either had Udi’s White Sandwich Bread toasted with Simply Nature Peanut Butter or Udi’s White Sandwich Bread with a microwaved egg and melted cheddar cheese.

For lunch I either had a BLT with Udi’s bread or gluten-free pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese (less than one ounce).  I then ate baby carrots, strawberries, or chips to go with my main dish.  I was able to eat supper with everyone, unless everyone went out or ordered in.

SUPPERS

Day 3

We grilled chicken breasts with FODMAP southern rub seasoning I made.  The grilled chicken breasts turned out very good.  Everyone had corn on the cob and strawberries to go with the chicken.  Since I could not have corn, I put a potato wrapped in foil on the grill for me.

Day 4

This night we had tacos.  My husband made FODMAP approved taco seasoning to mix with the ground beef.  We also had lettuce, cheddar cheese, and tomatoes to top the taco meat with.  I had bought Udi’s Soft Taco Shells.  I was very disappointed with the taco shells.  They had a powder on the outside and were very chewy.  I ended up throwing the shell away and topping tortillas chips with meat, seasoning, lettuce, cheddar cheese, and tomato.  Supper ended up good, but I was surprised how bad the Udi’s shells were.  Udi’s usually has very good gluten free products.

Day 5

This day everyone decided to go out for crab legs!  I love crab legs, so I was very excited.  We decided to go to The Mad Crabber in Avon, NC.  I called ahead of time and asked about seasonings that were added to the crab legs or dipping butter.  I was assured that I could order the crab without added seasoning  if the crab I decided to order came with seasoning.  We went to the restaurant and I ordered the King Crab legs.  They were very good and did not have any seasoning.  They also had plain baked potatoes for a side, but I was too full after eating the crab to even touch the potato.  The Mad Crabber was very good with food allergies and intolerances.

Day 6

My in-laws watched our boys for us and my husband and I were able to have a date night.  He decided to go to a burger joint and I encouraged it even though they did not have anything I was able to eat.  He ordered it to go.  When we got back to the house I heated up a baked potato and topped it with broccoli and cheddar cheese in the microwave.  We had Malbec wine to go with it.  It worked out very well.  I would recommend getting food to go at a restaurant and then making something at home if you cannot find something at the restaurant that you can eat.  That way other family members get to try new things and you are still able to enjoy eating.

Day 7

This was the hardest day of eating at supper for me.  Everyone ordered pizza and appetizers in.  They thought they ordered cheese sticks and ended up getting mozzarella sticks.  I love mozzarella sticks!  It was so hard for me to watch everyone eat the food I wanted.  I ended up making my FODMAP pizza and it turned out great, but I was still wanting the other pizza.  I used Udi’s pizza crust topped with tomato slices, spinach, pizza blend cheese (mozzarella and cheddar cheese), and dried basil.  The pizza was good, but like I said I was just frustrated this night.  It is ok to feel frustrated while following such a strict diet, just keep in mind it’s only for a few weeks and it will help you find what foods you are intolerant to.  It’s worth it!  After supper we walked over to the Dairy Queen.  Since I knew I would not be able to have the ice cream, I brought a Udi’s Snickerdoodle cookie with me.  They are very good and can cure your craving for something sweet.

Day 8

This was another travel day.  I packed two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my backpack again.  This time I was very glad I did!  We flew out of Norfolk airport and we arrived at lunch time.  There was nothing available for me to eat.  I did find a bag of Lay’s potato chips to go with my peanut butter sandwiches.  My kids ate peanut butter crackers and Pop Tarts and my husband had a bag of chipolte chips.  It is always good to be prepared.  You never know when you will be somewhere and unable to find food that meets FODMAP.  However, when we flew through our connecting airport there was a P.F. Changs.  They have an entire gluten free section on their menu.  I found something on that menu that I thought would be ok and then I asked the manager about seasonings.  I told her I could not have onion or garlic.  She ran an entire report for me on what foods I could eat.  It was so helpful!  I would recommend this restaurant to anyone with food allergies or intolerances.  I ended up eating Gluten free Shanghai Cucumbers and white rice with bottled water.

Overall, this trip turned out better than I could have expected.  I was worried about being able to eat supper with others or not being able to find food that I could eat in a smaller sized town.  I never went hungry and was able to enjoy most meals with the entire family.  A little planning and a willing family can really make following a FODMAP diet doable and not stressful.

We just got home from an eight day vacation.  Before leaving I was a little concerned I would be unable to find food that I could eat.  Because of this, I decided to call the local grocery store where we would be staying to see if they had the products that I would need.  Food Lion in Avon, NC was very helpful.  The lady wrote down all the items I was looking for, went to look for them, then called me back.  I asked about gluten free flour, tamari, Udi’s gluten free white sandwich bread, lactose-free milk, and gluten-free pasta.  They ended up having everything I needed, minus the gluten free flour, so I packed this in my checked luggage.

Day 1

I was unsure I would be able to find food in the airport, so I packed myself two peanut butter sandwiches on gluten-free bread.  I also brought some pre-popped popcorn and Meijer Rice Crackers with Sesame seeds.  We flew into Atlanta airport and I was lucky enough to find a Five Guys restaurant.  I ordered a hamburger in a lettuce wrap, french fries, and a bottle of water.

Five Guys does not add seasoning to their hamburgers or regular fries.  Here is the nutrition and allergy information for their food.  It was very good.

After arriving in Norfolk, we had a 30 minute drive to our hotel.  We were tired and didn’t feel like going out, so my husband ran to Target.  He bought Lunchables for my boys, frozen burritos for himself, and got me some frozen white rice, strawberries, and some Malbec wine.  I also ate some peanut butter, from the jar I packed in my checked luggage.  It wasn’t too bad of a supper for only having a microwave available.

Day 2

The hotel provided a continental breakfast.  I was unable to find anything I could eat except for the decaf coffee.  All they had was milk, so I drank my coffee black.  I was lucky, though, and my husband had found some Udi’s Blueberry Muffins at Target the night before.  I had a half of a one for breakfast, because the sugar content was fairly high. The muffin was delicious!  I microwaved it to thaw it out and it tasted great.

We then went shopping at Target, because my husband had found a lot of products I could eat.  I bought myself some Udi’s White Sandwich bread, Udi’s pizza crusts, Udi’s Soft Tortillas Shells, and Smuckers Natural Strawberry Jelly.  They did not carry Gluten-free pasta or Tamari.

We then left the hotel and stopped at Wendy’s for lunch.  I have found Wendy’s and Five Guys to be the top two fast food places to eat while following the FODMAP diet.  I had a baked potato (no sour cream), a side salad (no onions, croutons, or dressing), and a hamburger patty (no bun, cheese, or mayo).  It tasted good and filled me up, so I was happy to have found Wendy’s while traveling.  We had a long drive to our beach house, but I didn’t get hungry until supper, because of the large lunch.

When we got to the house everyone ordered pizza for delivery.  I ran into the local grocery store and bought myself tomatoes, spinach, pizza blend cheese (cheddar and mozzarella cheese), and dried basil.  I used the Udi’s pizza crust, put tomato and spinach on the crust, topped it with 1 cup pizza blend cheese (1/2 cup per half pizza), and sprinkled basil on top.  The pizza turned out very good!  I was surprised at how good it tasted with no sauce.  I made sure to eat only half of the pizza to keep the amount of cheese I ate below one ounce.

That evening, my in-laws went shopping, so I gave them a list of foods that are suitable on a low-FODMAP diet.  I made sure to include, lactose-free milk, gluten-free pasta, tamari, spices to make my FODMAP chicken and taco seasonings, and ingredients to make garlic infused oil and low FODMAP ketchup.

Last night we had steak and mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and summer squash) on the grill.  It all turned out really well.  I could not have the normal dry rub seasoning (contains both garlic and onion powder) we put on our steak or the garlic pepper we put on our vegetables, so I improvised.  I found a steak dry rub recipe on the internet and then adjusted it to make it FODMAP approved.  I put about one tablespoon on each side of the steak.

  

For the mixed vegetables, I cut up 1/4 head of broccoli, peeled and cut 4 carrots, and cut up 2 summer squash.  I seasoned with Garlic Infused Oil, salt, and pepper.

I then grilled both the steak and vegetables for about 10 minutes or until the steak reached an internal temperature of 155 degrees for medium well.

Everything turned out very well.  Here is also a good dry rub recipe for chicken and pork.

   

I really enjoy pizza, but store bought or delivery pizza, even my homemade, is out of the question while following FODMAP. All the pizza contains wheat crust, and even if it doesn’t there is onion or garlic in the sauce. Also, it is usually topped with too much cheese to be allowed on FODMAP. I decided I would try and make my own. I used my regular crust recipe and replaced it with Krusteaz Gluten-free All-Purpose Flour.  I also added a little more water than I usually do (already increased in recipe below).

Pizza Recipe

I started out making the homemade pizza sauce.

         

While it was simmering, I mixed up the homemade pizza crust.  Once the pizza crust was mixed up, I covered with plastic wrap to keep it warm while it rose.

I then shredded up some block cheddar and mozzarella cheese and fried up the hamburger.

   

I then spread the crust on the baking sheet and baked the crust for 5 minutes before putting the sauce and toppings on.  I only put 2/3 cup pizza sauce on the whole pizza to limit the amount of tomato product consumed.  One-half cup of canned tomatoes is allowed per meal.  I then put the hamburger on generously and topped with no more than 1/2 cup cheese per serving (3 slices for me).

I baked for an additional 12 minutes.

This pizza did curb my craving for pizza, but I personally like more cheese (which is limited for the FODMAP diet).  I think I’m going to try boxed gluten-free crust next time, but this crust does taste ok.  Last time I made this crust using King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure flour and I liked it better than this time.  My husband ate this pizza and he liked it as well.  I will make this again.