RECIPES

The hardest part, bar none, to me about trying to eat well and still feel good in my gut is how to avoid wheat.  There is such a gluten-free craze going now, and while some people do need to avoid it, I am NOT talking about gluten here.  I am talking about fructans-a major component in wheat.  They are challenging because they are fermentable.  The fermentation of the fructans by the bacteria in your gut causes the production of gas.  Gas leads to…you guessed it- bloating!  Which is my number one symptom and why I avoid wheat as much as I can.  I have found that an occassional cookie or something small does not bother me, but anything more than that and I am feeling really bad!

One thing I have found that has been a life-saver is sour dough bread.   If you can find a really good quality, sour-dough bread, the process to make this seems to make the fructans less active.  It could very well be related to the rising process and not using yeast, but that is a post for another time.

My favorite, inexpensive sour dough bread is the Archer Farms brand from the Target bakery.  My family and I love this bread and it has made all the difference in the world to me.

This is so easy!  Very much comfort food.  We are still struggling to get spring up and running in Minnesota, so we can still get by with these type of dishes.

I modified this recipe from one my mom and I made as a kid

2 Tbsp cooking oil (use if your meat is very lean)
1/2 cup chopped red pepper (this is a bet lower FODMAP than green pepper)                      1 lb ground beef, salt and pepper to taste
4 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp white sugar
Brown hamburger and chopped peppers together in skillet in oil.  Brown completely.  Add tomatoes and sugar.  Simmer slowly while preparing the topping.

Topping:
2 cups GF flour (King Arthur)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c canola oil
1 cup lactose free milk (Lactaid or Fair Life brand)
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Add oil to milk, stir together and then mix into the flour mixture.  Mix only enough to dampen all flour.  Drop dough by Tablespoon-fuls over hot meat mixture to cover.  Bake in hot oven (425 degree) about 20min or until topping is browned.

 

 

I was discussing wine on a girls weekend recently.  I have a close relative who has some gut issues as well, she was asking about the best wines to drink when you want to have a little something and not have to “pay” for it later.

Everything I have read about wine and IBS says that while alcohol is a GI-irritant, sticking with a lower sugar, dry wine usually work well.

On the NO list is definitely liqueurs, cordials, but I would also include in that category, sparkling, sweet, wine cooler type drinks.  While many things remain very individualized, all you can do is try them and see how they work for you.  Moscato, which has really gained popularity lately, is too sweet for my gut and usually involves some pain and bloating the next day.

I find the very best tolerated for me is Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, or even Pinot Grigio in the white category.  Dryer reds such as Cabs, Merlots, Malbecs and Pinot Noir also work well but lately I am feeling like whites do better for me than the reds in general.

I have another friend who has Crohns disease and she swears by Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc as her only “go to” wine that she will drink.  All her friends know this about her and have it on hand if she will be in attendance!  This is a little bit more expensive than some, but so worth it, if you want to remain feeling good!  Get info on this wine at http://www.kimcrawfordwines.com

 

These are my “go-to” recipe for all things pot luck and family dinners -if I am asked to bring a dessert.  I have adjusted them to make them be lower wheat version and thus eliminate some of the fructans in the wheat.

To be clear, gluten is a protein in wheat but the part of the wheat that causes it to be high Fodmap is the fructans in the wheat.  I really try to avoid the fructose in my diet and keep it less than 30g/day-which is what the experts say is best tolerated.  Since these do have sugar and dairy, you would want to take extra care in the portion size and also if you are farther along in your journey of healing, but they are WONDERFUL!

Hip Padder Recipe (Oatmeal Chocolate Bars)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

Cream well.

1 1/2 c Oatmeal

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup buckwheat flour (a bit better tolerated than regular wheat flour)

Grease 9X13 pan with butter or mararine or Pam Spray.  Pat 3/4 dough in bottom of pan.  Save remaining 1/4 for the top.

1 pkg 16oz semi sweet chocolate chips

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 Tbsp butter

Melt on low heat in saucepan.  Pour over dough. Put remaining 1/4 top in dots.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.

Cool and cut into bars.  Enjoy the goodness!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growing up on a farm, with a busy family, and lots of beef in the freezer, we used ground beef or hamburger quite often for a quick and easy meal.  My mom taught me a quick version of Sloppy Joes, where you basically just brown the meat and dump everything in!  I am sure it was originally derived from the old Betty Crocker Cookbook.  I have developed this recipe as a great home cooked treat now that the products from Fody have come out.  These Fody products have literally changed my life!  Buy these products at http://www.Fodyfoods.com.  They have an almost full line of great products that are low FODMAP in nature.

I have gone from having to eat plain meat and vegetables all the time to actually being able to make things like Sloppy Joes, tacos or nachos and avoid the ingredients that bother me (primarily in Ketchup) such as onion powder, garlic powder and high fructose corn syrup.  Although, to be fair, you can buy many ketchups w/o HFCS now as well.

Here is my recipe for Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup yellow or red pepper, diced

1/3 cup Fody Low Fodmap ketchup

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1Tbsp mustard (be sure no garlic or onion powders)

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp sea salt; 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Cook and stir ground beef and peppers in a 10″ skillet until beef is brown; drain fat or liquid if there is excess.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and cook over low heat 1-15minutes or just till peppers are tender.  Serve with the grain of your choice that you tolerate best.  I either use a high quality sour dough bread as this works well for me.  You can also use Gluten Free buns or even Kettle chips as a starch.

 

 

How best to substitute wheat flour in recipes if trying to avoid wheat & fructans

In this post, I am revamping an old recipe called Pumpkin Chews, which contained wheat and subsituted other starches to replace the wheat.  While gluten-free is all the rage now, most people with IBS or SIBO likely are not gluten sensitive but are sensitive to the fructans in wheat.  I have a diagnosis of fructose malabsorption and find that wheat causes lots of issues for me.  However, eating gluten-free foods has not been the answer.  Typically, there are so many other additives and ingredients in the gluten free bread items (corn syrup solids, apple pectin, etc) that cause problems because they are High Fodmap that I prefer to buy my own grain ingredients and make the substitution.  In this cake, which turned out fabulous, by the way,  I substituted for the flour (1 1/4 cup) a combination of other grains.  You could use only the King Arthur Flour on its own, but the oatmeal adds some texture and I really like to use a variety when I have it available.

To make 1 1/4 cup flour:
2/3 cup Gluten Free Flour (I like King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure)

1/3 cup oatmeal, ground (blended in the Ninja first)

1/4 cup tapioca starch

Remainder of ingredients as follows:

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup rolled oats (non blended)

3/4 c brown sugar

3/4 c granulated sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin

Sift together dry ingredietns.  Mix in rolled oats and set mixture aside.  Cream sugars, butter, coconut oil and egg.  Add dry ingredients, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pour into greased 9×9″ cake pan for thicker cake or 9×13″ for thinner bars.

Top with walnut halves if desired.

Bake at 350 for 40min.

Continue reading “Recipe #5 Pumpkin Cake (wheat free)”

Here in Minnesota, Rhubarb is easy to grow and can really be prolific plant!  I transplanted some from my dad’s to my home.  You cannot harvest it the first year, but the second year, I got a whole bunch.  My mom had clipped this recipe from Women’s Corner, probably a farm wife’s magazine.  It turned out well, good tasting moist cake but not very attractive to look at.  You win some!  You lose some!!

6/17/2017.  My mom had saved this recipe from the Northern Watch, a local newspaper.  I was intrigued at the idea of baking a pie in an oven in a paper bag!  Ok, to be fair, this is NOT Low FODMAP!  Apples are high in fructose and there is flour in the crust so this is one of those I am including but I have not adjusted it for IBS/SIBO-but my family will love it!

I did a very simplified version of the recipe that my mother had:

1 prepared pie crust

1 can apple pie filling-I added some ginger and allspice to jazz it up a bit!

Topping:  1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup flour

Press pie crust into 9″ pie pan.  Pour pie filling into pan.  Make filling by combining all 3 ingredients, cutting butter into dry ingredients.  This will make a sticky dough.  Put small dabs of dough all over top of apple pie filling to cover pie.

Slide pie into a heavy brown paper bag.  Fold over ends and staple or clip bag.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake in oven for 1 hour.  Remove from bag carefully.  Cool and serve with hard cheddar cheese (has almost no lactose) and or ice cream.

 

 

This was from the Quaker oatmeal container-looking for something easy to make for my daughter’s boyfriend’s birthday.  While this does contain some wheat flour, it is very little in your overall serving.  After 10+ years of dealing with SIBO, I have found that I typically feel ok with 1 serving of wheat per day.  We served this to the family with assorted ice cream flavors.  This was very different type of bar/brownie.  Made 6/3/2017

1/14 c Quaker Oats (used quick but old-fashioned would work too)
1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 c cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp real vanilla

1/3 cup all purpose flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8″ square pan with cooking spray.  Place oats in blender or food processor.  I have a Ninja that is wonderful for this!  Blend for about 1 minute, stopping occasionally to stir.  Set oats aside.   Combine butter and cocoa.  Add sugar, egg and vanilla.  Mix well.  Stir in oat flour and remaining ingredients; pour into prepared pan.  Bake 15 minutes for chewy brownies, 17 minutes for more cake-like brownies.  Cool.  Cut into 2-inch squares.

 

Growing up on a beef cattle farm, I still get all my meat from brother, Mike, who sells it to me at a very good price!  It is raised without antibiotics and very lean overall.  We take everything from the 1/2 or 1/4 beef we get and use items that some people may not.  I actually like Short Ribs.

Ingredients:
4# short ribs

Sauce:

7 1/2 oz can tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp smoked paprika

2 Tbsp clover honey (best for Low FODMAP/SIBO diet)

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Place ribs into large casserole or medium roaster.  Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix well.  Pour over ribs.  Cover.  Bake in 300 oven for 4-5 hours or until tender.  Remove meat to serving bowl.  Tip pan slightly and skim off fat before dishing sauce over top.  Serve with rice or noodles or potatoes.  Serves 4.

This turned out very well!  Really easy!

Made 4/3/2017