Hoisin sauce…without FODMAPs? Yes!

When you have IBS you have to be very conscious of the ingredients you’re putting in your mouth so you can avoid, or plan for, potential consequences. Sometimes that means you have to make it from scratch. The trick is to make it taste so good, the whole family can enjoy it and you can do away with the packaged version all together. Hoisin sauce falls into that category. Recently requested by a client, this recipe is an example of a delicious, FODMAP-friendly alternative to packaged Hoisin sauce. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

INGREDIENTS:

This recipe makes 1/2 cup of low FODMAP Hoisin sauce. Double it and refrigerate in an airtight container up to three weeks if you use it a lot.

4 Tblsp gluten-free soy sauce

2 Tblsp creamy peanut butter

4 Tblsp maple syrup (pure/real not pancake syrup)

1 tsp sesame oil or toasted sesame olive oil

1 tsp garlic-infused olive oil

2 ½ tsp rice vinegar

¼ tsp star anise

Ground chilies or low FODMAP hot sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together all ingredients with the exception of the chilies or hot sauce.

Taste, and make any modifications you feel you need to achieve the taste you’re looking for.

Add the hot stuff to your taste.

This post contains affiliate links so you can easily purchase items listed on the page. This is for your information and convenience. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a commission but there is no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more information.

Easy roasted tomato soup with lemon basil pesto (Low FODMAP)

60 Minutes • Gluten-free • Lactose-free • Low FODMAP • Serves 4 • One of the best parts of this soup is the way it will make your kitchen smell! The roasting tomatoes fill the room with the anticipation of a delicious meal. The flavor is simply wonderful and the whole family will love it.

Ingredients

6-8 heirloom tomatoes, quartered

3-4 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Salt and pepper

1 cup lactose-free whole milk (or coconut milk), plus more to thin if needed

1/3 cup lemon basil pesto, see recipe below

Freshly grated parmesan, for serving (optional)

Directions

(1) Preparation: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and quarter the tomatoes

(2) Cook the tomatoes: In a large Dutch oven or other oven-safe pot, combine the tomatoes, olive oil, thyme, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Transfer to the hot oven and roast for 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes just begin to char and release their juices. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

(3) Prepare the soup: If you cooked in a large Dutch oven, you’re good to go, if not, transfer the roasted tomatoes and their juices to a soup pot. Then, add the milk and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. (You can also do this in batches in a standard blender if you prefer.)

(4) Finish: Once blended, place the soup pot over medium heat on the stove. Stir in the pesto and season the soup with salt and pepper. Thin with more milk if needed.

(5) Plate and serve: Ladle soup into bowls and top with a dollop of lemon basil pesto, freshly grated parmesan, and some toasted gluten-free bread on the side. One of my favorites is Against the Grain gluten-free baguette. You can split it in half and toast and butter it for a delicious crunchy accompaniment.

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Lemon Basil Pesto

If you’ve never made pesto before, it’s easy and worth the five extra minutes it takes to gather and blend the ingredients to have perfect FODMAP-free pesto. If you don’t have lots of fresh basil on hand, feel free to use your favorite store-bought pesto as long as it’s free of FODMAP ingredients.

Ingredients: Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves - chopped

1/2 cup fresh dill - chopped

1/4 cup garlic-infused olive oil

1-2 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh-grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Pesto

(1) Prepare the ingredients: Wash and chop the basil and dill. Seed and chop the jalapeño (if using). Squeeze the lemon juice. Grate the parmesan.

(2) Blend the ingredients: Blend all ingredients except salt and pepper in either a blender or food processor until smooth.

(3) Finish: Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

(4) Serve: Serve on soup, pizza, as a dip for bread, or in any recipe that calls for basil pesto.

This recipe contains affiliate links so you can easily purchase items listed on the page. This is for your information and convenience. If you purchase through this link, I may earn a commission but there is no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more information.

All sugars are not FODMAPs! Fact vs. fiction.

If you’ve been diagnosed with IBS it’s almost certain you’ve heard about FODMAPs (a group of small chain carbohydrates that cause all kinds of problems for those of us with IBS). There is a lot of information out there about FODMAPs and it can be tricky to filter the myths from the realities. Let’s look at six of the most common myths about FODMAPs and see what’s really going on.

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Fiction: All Sugars are FODMAPs

Fact: All FODMAPs are considered ‘sugars’ because of their chemical structure, but not all sugars are FODMAPs. For example, white table sugar is not a FODMAP and can be eaten freely (while adhering to normal dietary guidelines for sugar intake). 

Fiction: The low FODMAP diet dairy free

Fact:  The low FODMAP diet might be a low lactose diet if you are sensitive to lactose, but it does not need to be dairy free. In fact, once you’ve taken time to give your body a rest by eating a low FODMAP diet, it’s important to challenge yourself to maintain the most varied diet possible.

Fiction: If I can’t tolerate specific high-FODMAP foods, I’ll never be able to eat them again.
Fact: If you have a negative reaction to a particular FODMAP-containing food, challenge yourself to try a little less of it the next time. If you’re still having issues, repeat the challenge again and make sure you’re not layering too many challenges at once. You may find your tolerance improves with time, especially if you work on some of your other IBS triggers, such as stress, hydration level, and caffeine intake at the same time.

Fiction: A low FODMAP diet will cure my IBS

Fact: About 80% of people with IBS find their symptoms improve on a low FODMAP diet, but the symptoms do not usually go away all together. This is in part because there are so many dynamic factors that can contribute to IBS symptoms such as stress, intense exercise, medications, eating too much in one sitting, eating too fast, etc. Reducing your intake of high-FODMAP foods is very likely to decrease symptoms of diarrhea, constipation, bloating and pain, but there’s more to it than that.

Fiction: If you are experiencing gut symptoms such as diarrhea, bloating or abdominal pain you should get on a low FODMAP diet right away.

Fact: The low FODMAP diet is for people with diagnosed IBS, not for people who suspect they have IBS. If you experience IBS-like symptoms, such as a change in bowel habits, pain etc., see your Doctor and rule out anything more serious than IBS. Once you have a diagnosis, that’s when to start on a low FODMAP diet.

Fiction: The low FODMAP diet is a weight loss diet

Fact: The low FODMAP diet is not meant to restrict calories and induce weight loss. The diet focuses on simple food swaps to decrease FODMAP intake such as switching from eating an apple to eating an orange, or switching from using garlic in your salad dressing to using garlic-infused olive oil, or switching from eating blackberries to eating raspberries.

As the bloating subsides, and the pain recedes you may look and feel like you’ve lost weight and that’s just the “icing on the cake!”

IBS-friendly onions and garlic? Think green.

When I cook, and I cook all the time, I want to have plenty of options for rich flavors in the foods I prepare. Traditionally onions and garlic are staple ingredients to add flavor to our recipes, but when you have IBS, onions and garlic are big trigger foods and need to be avoided. Think you can’t live without onions and garlic? Think again! This guide will help you see how you can keep the flavor without the FODMAPs.

When it comes to onions…

Green onions (or scallions) are great FODMAP-friendly onions. Just be sure you only use only the green part! Chives are also a wonderful choice for oniony flavor. Leek greens are low FODMAP as long as you keep your serving to ⅔ cup or less, so use them as you would use whole leaks to get the flavor you’re looking for. Those are really my top 3 choices to replace onions in most recipes.

You can store unused portions of these greens for up to a week in the refrigerator by rolling them (unwashed) in a dry paper towel and placing the wrapped greens in a sealable plastic bag or sealed glass container.

If you’re looking for an onion substitute you can use in a dry form, my top choice is Smoke N Sanity Essence of Onion salt (get 10% off with code IBSGC10). You can use this liberally in recipes that call for onions and just reduce the amount of salt you add to be sure you get the taste you prefer.

When it comes to garlic…

For good garlic flavor, I use plenty of garlic-infused olive oil where olive oil, butter, or another fat is called for in a recipe. I recommend a brand that is made by a local vendor (Sigona’s) but can be shipped anywhere in the world. It has by far the best taste of all that I have tried.

If you’re looking for a garlic substitute you can use in a dry form, my top choice is Smoke N Sanity Essence of Garlic salt (get 10% off with code IBSGC10) or Gourmend Foods garlic scape powder. These two seasonings can be used in recipes that call for garlic powder, or where you’re looking to amp up the garlic taste when you can’t use raw garlic. Both of these seasonings are a great alternative to garlic or garlic powder and they have the benefit of being shelf-stable, dry, and best of all low FODMAP! I have been using both of these low FODMAP seasonings in my recipes and have found the taste to be quite wonderful.

All of these FODMAP-friendly garlic and onion alternatives belong on your pantry shelf. Give them a try! You’ll be glad you did.

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Love bananas? Try this IBS-friendly frozen banana "ice cream" - it's delicious!

75 Minutes (mostly freezing time) • Lactose-free • Low FODMAP • Makes 4 servings • Looking for a delightful ice cream alternative? This is it! You could even eat this for breakfast (maybe minus the sweet toppings).

INGREDIENTS

4 bananas*, cut into chunks

4 +/- tsp lactose-free milk or coconut milk for a vegan version

4 tsp toasted almonds (flaked or chopped)

2 Tblsp low FODMAP toffee or chocolate sauce (or to your taste)

 DIRECTIONS

Place banana chunks on a flat tray and freeze for at least 1 hour, or until frozen through. If you aren’t going to use the frozen bananas right away, remove them from the tray and transfer them to an airtight container. Keep frozen until you’re ready to make this delicious dessert.

When ready to serve put the frozen bananas into a food processor or blender and process until smooth, adding enough of the milk to achieve the desired consistency.

Scoop into 4 bowls or glasses, and top with the sauce and flaked almonds.

*Bananas are low FODMAP until they get over-ripe. Use just ripe bananas before they get spots.

Original recipe inspired by Solomon Onetu, Sala’s Camp

Cut your coffee intake, not your mental clarity

Is that even possible?

Yes. Yes it is. I had to cut my caffeine intake down because it was wreaking havoc on my IBS. And believe me, I “needed” my 2 or 3 cups of coffee every day! I just decided it was “worth” the IBS consequences because I felt I needed the caffeine to wake up in the morning and to maintain my mental focus and clarity throughout the day.

As my symptoms got worse, I could no longer convince myself it was worth the consequences to keep drinking regular coffee. As luck would have it, about that time, I was listening to The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, and he was raving about Mushroom Coffee by Four Sigmatic. He said he always asked his guests to have a cup when they came on his show so they would get the benefit of incredible mental clarity while he interviewed them.

That convinced me to give it a try.

As with any other new thing I introduce to my diet, I took it very slowly. I added just a half a packet of Mushroom Coffee to a cup of brewed decaf. Then…I tasted and discovered it wasn’t half bad! Even better, I found out the combination of a very small amount of caffeine (in the decaf) when combined with a small amount of the mushroom coffee mix gave me plenty of get up and go without any of the usual coffee side effects. I was awake, alert, and my mind was clear. What a discovery!

There are several varieties, but the one I like best has Lions Mane for mental focus.

Post Script Update (June 2023): Lion’s Mane is now in the Monash app and tou can order powdered Lion’s Mane that you can stir right into your decaf coffee without adding any caffeine at all. The link to order is here. After my first cup of the day (where I like to include the tiny bit of caffeine in the Four Sigmatics Mushroom Coffee blend) I now use powdered Lion’s Mane in my coffee later in the day and I love the mental clarity results!

Link note: This post contains links for you to easily purchase items listed on the page. In some cases, we have provided a special discount code for IBS Game Changers so be sure to use it when you purchase an item to get the discount that has been arranged just for you! As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying Amazon purchases. 

IBS-friendly pizza you’re going to love! (Low FODMAP)

30 Minutes • Gluten-free • Low FODMAP • Serves 4 • Have you been craving a good pizza that won’t give you a stomach ache? This is it! Delicious yeasted crust that is just the right combination of chewy and crisp. It’s quick to make because it doesn’t require any kneading and it rises while it cooks, so don’t be afraid to try this tonight. Your whole family will love it hot out of the oven.

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INGREDIENTS

2 cups gluten free flour (Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 works well)

1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 Tblsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 tsp dried basil (optional-but really good!)

2 Tblsp garlic infused olive oil (or regular)

Additional olive oil for spreading the dough

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

¾ cup warm water (105 – 110 degrees F)

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Toppings (low FODMAP*) of your choice – try some extra sharp cheddar cheese, fresh grated parmesan, prosciutto, fresh basil, olives, artichoke hearts (not the marinated variety), the possibilities are endless. Leave the onions and garlic off — you won’t miss them I promise!

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DIRECTIONS

Set pizza stone or cookie sheet on lower rack of the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes until it begins to froth.

Combine flour, salt and dried basil (if using) in a large bowl. Add in the egg, olive oil, cider vinegar and yeast mixture. 

Stir until the flour is combined and dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t add more flour – dough is supposed to be a bit sticky.

Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment on a cutting board or your cookie sheet.

Using your fingers dipped in olive oil, press and push the dough out into a round or rectangle.

Keep pressing out across the parchment. It’s a bit sticky so keep dipping your fingers in olive oil and keep pressing it out until it’s all about the same thickness and in the shape you want. The surface of your crust doesn’t have to be smooth, your toppings will be covering it anyway. I like to spread it out fairly thin so I have more room to add toppings! You can roll the edges under if you like a thicker edge.

Before adding any toppings: Transfer the crust on the parchment to the hot pizza stone or cookie sheet in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and brush the entire crust with garlic or regular olive oil or you can add your favorite low FODMAP tomato sauce if you like instead.

Add whatever low FODMAP toppings* you like (a little sharp cheddar cheese, fresh grated parmesan, prosciutto, veggies galore, fresh basil, olives, artichoke hearts (not the marinated variety), etc. The possibilities are endless.

Once you have all the toppings in place, transfer your pizza on the parchment back to your heated cookie sheet or pizza stone. Cook 8-10 more minutes until crust is browned and crisp on the bottom and cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.

When the pizza is hot out of the oven, I like to add some sliced fresh basil and heirloom tomatoes or an arugula salad with lemon Dijon dressing.

Enjoy it while it’s hot. It’s best that way.

*Game Changers see your food lists in your program journal for lots more ideas for pizza toppings.

This post contains affiliate links so you can easily purchase items listed on the page. This is for your information and convenience. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a commission but there is no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more information.

Stress management: the gift of ten minutes

Stress is a trigger for IBS and we all have different ways of relieving our stress. How do you relieve your stress? Meditation? Listening to music? Going for a walk? Reading a book? Nothing at all you just power through?

It’s likely you have the best of intentions. But it’s more likely you just THINK about doing something to reduce your stress and then you go back to whatever was stressing you out in the first place. And maybe, to make matters worse, you grab a cup of coffee and a candy bar as an afternoon “pick me up” and then you’ve compounded the problem. Now you’re stressed out and you have a stomach ache.

Here’s a thought. What if you gave yourself the gift of ten minutes each day. Put it on your calendar at a time you feel you will be most likely to honor that gift to yourself. Then decide, ahead of time, what you will do with that time. Don’t make it complicated or you won’t do it. Put a visual queue out as a reminder (like your walking shoes for example.)

Can’t think of anything you can do in ten minutes? Try this:

• Take a walk. Even around the block. Or, around your house if it’s bad weather outside. Just walk for ten minutes.

• Want to make that walk even more valuable? Pop your headphones in and listen to music while you walk.

• And one last thing…take some deeeeep breaths while you walk. Fill your lungs completely with a focus on the very base of your lungs and hold it for a few seconds. Then breath it all the way out and hold that for a few seconds. Do this a half a dozen times while you’re walking.

I promise you will be amazed at the results. Your stress will be reduced. Your mind will be more focused. You will be ready to tackle whatever it was that was stressing you out with renewed optimism and energy.

Once you get good at this ten-minute gift you might find you’d like to expand the gift to 15 minutes or even longer. The benefits will far outweigh the few minutes it takes to do.

Want to learn more about handling stress and other IBS triggers? Join me in the IBS Game Changer program. We’ll map out the perfect ten-minute gift for you and start working together to get your body and your mind into a nice rhythm that will help you change your game and thrive.

What’s love got to do with it?

When you have IBS you have a constant struggle between your body and your mind. Your mind says “Hey, I want to eat that onion soup with bread and cheese all melted on the top and I don’t care about the consequences.” And your body says “If you do that to me, I am going to let you know it was NOT a good idea.”

Mastering the art of self-love is a critical piece of managing your mind and managing your IBS. But how do you do that?

Self-love is the promise to yourself that you are going to learn what is good for you and what is not good and make an effort to focus on the good. As you begin to honor this promise to yourself, you will see how powerful it is in generating a sense of self-love and self-respect. Every promise you keep is evidence that proves you MATTER and you VALUE yourself. 

Unfortunately, we all start with an untrained mind that will do its best to make us fail. Your untrained mind sees everything as a BIG DEAL and will try to convince you that you are constantly in danger and every good decision you make is going to put you in even worse danger. For example, if you decide NOT to eat that onion soup with bread and cheese on top, your untrained mind will tell you that you must eat it or you will die. It will tell you the consequences of that action will be far outweighed by the immediate pleasure of eating it. It will convince you there is urgency and you need to eat it quickly so you can’t change your mind.

Fortunately, we have the tools you need to train your mind to stop making everything an urgent catastrophe so you can focus on the small decisions, actions, activities that are actually facing you. Start by introducing the power of possible thinking to your mind. When it says “Hurry up! Eat that soup or you will die.” You can pause and consider the consequences and say to yourself, “It’s possible if I don’t eat that soup I will not die. In fact, it’s possible if I do eat that soup I will feel horrible afterward and wish I hadn’t eaten it in the first place.” This power of possible thinking will minimize the thought and name the facts and make it simpler to pause so you can make the right decision for you.

Your untrained mind will always try to convince you it’s URGENT that you take action or make a decision quickly. That urgency will drive you to do it without thinking. By training yourself to pause and consider you are training your mind to get control of itself. You are asking your adult brain to step in so the toddler brain can settle down.

Eventually, that untrained mind will be replaced with a more powerful trained mind that will become your inner champion instead of your inner doomsday predictor.  

Stop and think about what your untrained mind is telling you to do? Sleep a little longer. Who needs time to exercise? Don’t drink water. Who cares about hydration? Have another cup of coffee. Who cares how it makes you feel? Eat those donuts. You’ll feel fine afterward.

Then consider what form of self-love you can focus on first? What do you need to give to yourself? Do you need to get up a little earlier in the morning so you have time to exercise or meditate? Do you need to drink more water? Do you need to eat food that sustains you and nurtures you?

It’s possible to change any area of your life by training your mind to recognize what you REALLY need and giving it to yourself. This is just an introduction to the way we teach you to harness the power of your mind in the IBS Game Changer program to support the work you will do around your personal triggers.

Is Caffeine a trigger for IBS?

The answer to this question is Yes…BUT that isn’t necessarily bad.

Caffeine acts on the smooth muscle of your gut and serves to stimulate the movement of your gut. This, in turn, stimulates the movement of whatever is inside your gut.

If you have a tendency towards diarrhea (IBS-D) then stimulating your gut will only make it worse. If you have a tendency toward constipation (IBS-C) then some gentle gut stimulation may be very helpful.

Just like everything else with IBS, if you listen to your body and treat it with love and tenderness, not frustration and anger you will have a much better result. A small amount of well-timed caffeine (at a regular time in the morning) is worth experimenting with. You can play with the timing and the amount and then look at the results.

If you are experiencing pain, cramping, and diarrhea, you may need to back off. If you aren’t experiencing anything then you may choose to have a bit more. Let your body do the talking.

If you are having wide variations in your symptoms and ongoing difficulties no matter what you do, you will also want to consider other factors such as hydration status, stress, and diet that could be triggering your symptoms. In the IBS Game Changer program, we consider all of these things and we help you figure out what particular triggers might be affecting you so you can reduce or avoid them and get your body on track.

Ten reasons not to treat your IBS. Really?

1.  IBS is just a catch-all diagnosis
The Doctor couldn’t think of any other tests to run so you got the catch-all diagnosis: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (eye roll)
2. It’s really all just in your head
There’s nothing really “wrong” with you so you just have to get over it.
3. You LOVE being bloated
What’s not to love!? Never knowing what clothes you’ll fit into from one day to the next is the best!

4. You HATE going out with friends
Ugh. Another dinner? Another get together? Another round of drinks? PASS.
5. FODMAP is just too much
What does FODMAP even mean? You don’t know and you don’t want to find out.

6. The bathroom is your favorite place to be
You love living in your ceramic palace and the smell is just divine!

7. Pills? I love pills!

I’ll just take a pill to make those bad symptoms go away. Oh wait…they don’t go away!
8. Going to the doctor is so fun
Tests, tests, we all scream for tests! It just makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside to wait at the doctor’s office for hours just to have another round of inconclusive tests.
9. Cramping is fine because you can stay in bed all day!
Sure, you may be locked in the fetal position all day, but at least you’re in bed.
10. People asking if you’re pregnant is the best!
I love the attention! The disappointment on their faces when I say no is s a little awkward though.

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As you can see, none of these reasons is a real reason! There isn’t ONE reason not to treat your IBS and the IBS Game Changer program was developed to help you do just that.

You’ll get education, a thorough assessment of your situation, a personalized plan, and individualized coaching. And, you’ll have the support of a community moderated by peers and experts to inspire you, learn from you, and celebrate your success. 

The program is tried and true. The only thing missing is you.

Let’s get this party started…

As a wife, mother, entrepreneur, CEO, retired nurse, and health coach, I developed IBS Game Changer to apply my expertise and experience to helping women—like you and me—who have spent their lives dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

My IBS Story

I've struggled with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) for as long as I can remember, and for most of that time I didn’t have any idea what it was. In fact, I didn’t even know it wasn’t “normal” to have all these symptoms and the anxiety they caused. Twice I ended up in the ER certain that I had appendicitis. I was in such pain I couldn’t even stand up straight. Each time I was sent home without a diagnosis or any help for what I was experiencing.

When I finally went to a GI specialist and had the full battery of tests to rule out Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease or any other bowel-obstructing problem, I was told it was “probably IBS.” At the time, I felt like that must be a catch-all diagnosis the doctors used when they couldn’t figure out what was really wrong. I didn’t even look into what it meant or what I could do about it because it didn’t seem like a diagnosis of anything “real.” 

After two more years of denial and discouragement and unpredictable symptoms, I went back to the GI specialist and that was when I finally accepted Irritable Bowel Syndrome as a reality. It was also the first I heard about FODMAPs—carbohydrates found in certain foods that trigger IBS symptoms such as gas, bloating, and stomach pain. 

Once I realized there was something I could do about my situation, I was all in on learning everything I could about symptoms, triggers, and solutions. That was when my constant gut roller coaster started to flatten out. 

And that’s when I started to develop the tools, techniques, and coaching program that I have packaged for you as the IBS Game Changer program.

And now, you can take advantage of all that work by joining the IBS Game Changer program yourself. With expert education, a personalized approach, coaching, thought work, and a community of peers to support you, the IBS Game Changer program is designed with you in mind.

Schedule a free consultation with me today to learn more.