Author: ruthmfisher

This is very easy and really good!!  The original recipe from my childhood years had onion and garlic in it so I adjusted for removing onion, garlic and fructans in the what flour in order to make low Fodmap.  I think that corn syrup is a little confusing when it comes to Low Fodmap.  From what I have learned, it is HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) that bothers those sensitive to fructose.  While I am sensitive to fructose, I seem to tolerate small amounts of corn syrup in recipes.  This serves 4-5 people.

Ingredients:

2 1/2# broiler-fryer chicken, cut in pieces-I used the same amount of chicken thighs
1/4 cup gluten free flour (King Arthur brand is my favorite)
3 Tbsp Fody brand, garlic infused olive oil
1 can (16oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 c corn syrup
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
2 twists of pepper grinder
3 cups cooked white rice

Directions:

Coat chicken with gluten free flour.  Heat olive oil in large deep skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken and brown on all sides.  Mix together remaining ingredients except rice.  Pour over chicken.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer stirring occassionally, 20-30 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender.  Serve chicken with sauce spooned over rice.

Notice:   These are not Low FODMAP!  they are a sweet treat when you feel like cheating and they are amazing!  My husband, Ken LOVES them.  These can be very addicting!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine melted, I used butter flavored shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, divided (I omitted the extra nuts)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 2/3 cup (10 oz package) Reese’s Peanut butter Chips
1 (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Beat sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Add flour, cocoa and milk; beat until blended.  Stir in 1 cup nuts.  Spread in prepared pan.
3. Bake 25-30 minutes or just until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely  in pan on wire rack.
4. Melt 1/2 cup butter and peanut butter chips in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.  Add sweetened condensed milk, stirring until smooth, pour over baked layer.
5. Place chocolate chips in small microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave at medium (50%) 45 seconds or just till chips are melted when stirred.  Drizzle bars with melted chocolate; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup nuts.  Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.  Cut into bars.  Cover; refrigerate leftover bars.     Makes 24 to 36 bars.

So, now this is fun for me!  In my mom’s recipe box, I found the original copy of a recipe that my friend Paulette and I used for a FHA contest in high school or maybe even junior high.  FHA is Future Homemakers of America and was one of the chief inspirations for me going into the field of Dietetics.    Shout out to Mrs Campbell the FHA advisor and Home Ec teacher.

We entered this in the contest and went to FHA national contest in Minneapolis.  This was my first trip to the twin cities in my life!  It was a big deal at the time!  We lived 5hours north in rural MN in a farming community.  Look how worn this recipe card is-we made this over and over for so many events by the time state came.

So here is the recipe in the Low Fodmap version:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup honey (clover is best for low fodmap)
1 cup ground flaxseed (sub for toasted wheat germ)
1 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
Coconut for rolling

Directions:
Mix all items in bowl until smooth.  Roll in balls about the size of walnuts.  Roll in coconut if desired.  If using a refridgerated peanut butter, keep refridgerated.

Ingredients:

1 cup almond butter

1 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup cacao powder

1/4 cup coconut flour

stevia to taste

10-15 whole almonds

Instructions:

1.  Melt almond butter and coconut oil in a saucepan.  Add in the cacao powder, coconut flour, and stevia, and mix well.
2.  Let the mixture cool and then form 10-15 ping pong sized balls from the mixture.
3. Stick an almond into the middle of each.
4. Refrigerate to set and store in the fridge until ready to eat.

Tip:  Can also pour into muffin tins and chill before eating instead of rolling into balls.

These are wonderful when you have a sweet tooth and feel like some chocolate but want to avoid carbs and gluten.  Super fast to make and chill really fast!

I just started using L Glutamine in powder form.  Glutamine, while not considered an essential amino acid,  is considered an important amino acid.  L-Glutamine or Glutamate is the form found in foods, supplements and our diet.  Glutamine is the primary fuel for the colonocytes (that is a fancy word meaning the cells that make up your colon).   Colonocytes are actually epithelial cells along the wall of your gut.

If you have ever heard of the term “leaky gut” it refers to the lack of a good intestinal barrier in our entire GI tract.  The gut is made up of epithelial cells that are designed to be fit snugly next to each other, called “junctions”.  While once thought to be static, they are actually changeable gatekeepers, known to be affected by diet, neuro signals, pathogens and other factors.  When the junctions are not tight between cells in our GI tract.  Feeding the cells in the colon what they want to eat, one of which is glutamine, can strengthen the junctions, assist in improving the intestinal barrier and thus improve the condition, leaky gut.

I started this about a month ago at a dosage 2 scoops twice per day to support my intestinal lining.  Now, have cut back to 2 scoops daily.  I really feel it has made a difference in my symptoms.

You can buy L Glutamine from many different sources.  I am using the one my Naturopath doctor has recommended by Neurovanna.  It tastes ok mixed in water.  I have been adding a small amount of sugar free crystal lite type powder lemonade to make a little more tasty.

Other things that can help with leaky gut includes Berberine, Zinc and Curcumin.

I am a Registered Dietitian, so, of course, I believe in eating fruits and vegetables and greens daily.  I used to have severe bloating symptoms from smoothies.  Now, I have perfected a smoothie that is lower in fructose and works for me.  In 2013, I tested positive for Fructose malabsorption via a breath test at my GI clinic.  I believe that this is secondary to my SIBO.    I am still working to rid my body of the SIBO, but in the mean time, this smoothie recipe seems to work well for me and minimizes bloating.

My low fructose smoothie recipe:

2 Tbsp almond butter

1 cup frozen strawberries or 2/3 cup blueberries (or combination of both)

1/2 frozen banana

greens or kale, steamed first, 1 handful

1/4 avacado (max serving for fodmap)

1 T honey (Clover if possible)

Coconut milk, A-roy w/o fillers

Put all items in blender and mix.  Almond or cocout milk amount can be adjusted to desired thickness.

I love my smoothies very thick!!  Enjoy with a spoon!

This recipe is one that my  mom cut out of the newspaper!  This is a very “farm wife” thing to do in the 1970’s.  It is a great way to use the zucchini in the garden.  This year we didn’t have the best crop of zucchini…not sure why.  Some years we have had so much, I have been freezing it and giving it away and this year we had only a few.   Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese and very low in lactose, so this usually does not bother my gut issues.  Mozzarella, as a softer cheese, has more lactose, so use with care in the following recipe.

Ingredients:

4 medium zucchini, sliced into 1″ pieces

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

8oz tomato (or Marinara) sauce

1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

In  an 8-inch round micro-safe dish combine zucchini, parmesan cheese and tomato sauce.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Cook in microwave on high for 10-12minutes, until zucchini is tender, stirring once.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and let stand, covered for 5 minutes before serving.

For the tomato sauce, like to use Fody brand as it has no onion or garlic in it which bothers my SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth).

My Grandma Sally, rest her soul,  made a wonderful pie crust.  I was always crazy about both spending time with my Grandma, and learning her cooking tips.  I loved her pie crust and it was unique because it had an egg in it-which most pie crusts do not.  See the picture of the recipe card and how well it was used!

Of note: I have tried this recipe with King Arthur’s Gluten Free flour.  It was still a bit too crumbly and hard to roll.  I still need to perfect the gluten free version.

3 cups flour

1 cup shortening

1 egg

1 Tbsp white vinegar

5 Tbsp water

pinch of salt

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix.  Use enough additional flour to roll out into 2 pie crusts.  Makes 2 crusts for a 9″ pie.