A 30-day challenge in the last 31 days of the year!

Every year Yogesh and I do some form of a 30 day challenge – sometimes we give up a specific category of food like sugar, meat or coffee, sometimes we incorporate a form activity like 30 days of yoga or running, sometimes we give up eating out…. This year, we did nothing. Absolutely nothing. The year zapped past and I just realized t it will end in 31 days! But that also means that I still have 31 days to do a 30-day challenge!

So here it goes.

30 day challenge, 2015:

“Blog about one easy low FODMAP recipe everyday.”

Since being diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease , I have been on a “low FODMAP diet” and it has been helping me tremendously! FODMAPs are basically short chain carbohydrates (oligosaccharides), disaccharides, monosaccharides and related alcohols that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine, pass into the large intestine, where they are fermented by bacteria, leading to formation of gas. While for most people this is not a problem, for some it can lead to severe discomfort and pain, worsening symptoms of IBD in people like me, or contributing to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a very common ailment. Studies have shown that a low FODMAP diet can be very helpful in alleviating symptoms and all around the world, there are many many people trying it out! Its kind of in the Phase IV clinical trial. (you can find a quick guide by Stanford here – https://stanfordhealthcare.org/content/dam/SHC/for-patients-component/programs-services/clinical-nutrition-services/docs/pdf-lowfodmapdiet.pdf)

Unfortunately a lot of the food Yogesh and I eat everyday are very high in FODMAP. For example garlic and onion are pretty much on the top every high FODMAP list I have found so far. High fructose corn syrup is another one. Broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, wheat, milk products with lactose. Beans and lentils. LENTILS! You have no idea how many different kinds of lentils we have at home. Black, yellow, orange, green, split, half split, etc etc etc; my husband is a lentil connoisseur.

But the good news is that the list of food that are low in FODMAP is pretty long too. And it includes rice and potatoes. I swear could live on just these two, carb on carb!

 I spent the last two months “trialing and erroring” various food and I have finally come up with the list of food I can tolerate, most of them low in FODMAP. I have been making friends with restrictions.

I will spend the next thirty days cooking/building/gathering recipes that are low in FODMAP and blogging about them. My main goal is to demonstrate that a low FODMAP diet is not a very hard diet to be on, there are still lots of options, it is possible to make every meal at home (quick and easy) and we don’t have to rely solely on “soylents”!

While there are many charts and lists out there, I will try my best to adhere to the guidelines supported by Monash University, Australia. However, there are things I have in my pantry that may not supported by Monash completely or have not been tested yet but I tolerate well. Most recipes will be plant based but not egg or dairy free.