Eat this, not that: A low-FODMAP holiday

If you’re new to the concept of FODMAPs and managing your digestive symptoms with diet, the holidays can seem a bit overwhelming. There’s so much food at play and many established traditions around the dishes you serve. But with a little bit of substitution, you can still enjoy lots of your favourites!

Instead of garlic mashed potatoes, try mustard mash!

Lots of people pile a big spoon of garlic mashed potatoes on their plate, but garlic is high in FODMAPs that can lead to digestive symptoms. That doesn’t mean you have to skip the potatoes, or even put up with a bland mash!

If you like the tangy flavour of mustard, try adding a grain mustard to give your mashed potatoes some punch.

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings
Prep time: 15 min.
Cook time: 20min

• Potatoes, 1kg — Potatoes themselves have no detectable FODMAPs.
• Butter, 50g — Butter is mostly fat, with little if any carbohydrates, including lactose. That means you can still have butter on the low-FODMAP diet, but keep in mind that eating a lot of fat can cause digestive symptoms for some people.
• Lactose-free milk, 100ml
• Grain mustard, 2 tablespoons
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Wash and peel your potatoes, then cut into large chunks of roughly the same size.
2. Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water.
3. Once potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced, drain in a colander. Leave the potatoes in the colander for a couple of minutes to allow moisture to evaporate. This helps ensure your potatoes aren’t too watery.
4. Transfer potatoes back into the pot. Start mashing potatoes, and blend in butter and lactose-free milk.
5. Once your potatoes are smooth, mix in grain mustard, salt and pepper.

Start with stock

Gravy is a popular part of most festive feasts, but unfortunately it’s usually made with stock. Some stuffing recipes use stock as well, leading to digestive issues for people sensitive to FODMAPs. Store bought stock is often seasoned with onion and garlic, which can cause symptoms to flare up. If you can find onion and garlic-free stock, then using a store-bought version is fine. However, you can also make your stock ahead of time and either refrigerate or freeze it.

Substitute for low-FODMAP stuffing

Traditional stuffing is a FODMAP bomb, containing wheat, onion, celery and more. This year, why not try our low-FODMAP stuffing recipes?

Offer to make a dish

Previous year’s anxieties about visiting a relative’s house for dinner might no longer apply in the year 2020! However, if you’re sharing cooking duties with the people you live with, you might feel anxious about your food sensitivities. Chat with the cook (if it’s not yourself!) and offer to make a side dish or a dessert — they will be grateful for the help and you can control what goes into the dish! Try our Green Bean Casserole as a side dish or our delicious Sorbet for dessert!

FoodMarble AIRE is the world’s first personal hydrogen breath tester. It is a pocket-sized breath analysis device. It helps people with chronic digestive issues determine the foods that work best with their digestive system. To learn more about FoodMarble, visit foodmarble.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn!

These recipes are low FODMAP to the best of our knowledge. However, FODMAP testing is an ongoing area, and can sometimes lead to changes in these recommendations.