Not long ago, my 26-year-old son came for dinner and I asked him what his favourite meal was that I used to cook for him when he lived at home. He thought about it for a while and then shook his head. “No idea,” he said. “You cooked something different every night so I couldn’t form a favourite.”
That wasn’t actually true for his whole life I’m sure, but I do like variety in all things, including my food so he probably had plenty of different meals.
But, five or six years ago I found the low Fodmap diet, which eliminated my IBS symptoms and my food world grew much smaller. What to do? I still had my husband and son to feed. So, I took it on as a challenge to create delicious low Fodmap meals. I decided to make a new meal every night, photograph it and post it on my blog. I did that for several years and so my son never had a chance to find a favourite recipe. This is not a bad thing – it’s good. I had a creative outlet and my family looked forward to dinner because every night was a surprise.
I could have just crumbled under the weight of this new diet and taken the simple route of a protein, a starch and a few vegetables each night but that didn’t sit right so I started on a journey towards becoming the best low Fodmap cook I could be.
Now, let’s be clear, I took an extreme direction and there’s nothing wrong with a protein, a starch and a few vegetables for dinner – it’s balanced and, if the choices and amounts are right, it will keep you safe from symptoms. But, eventually boredom will set in and you will become disgruntled with the lot life has handed you by giving you IBS and you will start to dread the next meal. If that is your case, then it is time to turn a new page and learn to be more creative with your meal-making. Even if you cook something a little more special a few times a week or even just when guests come over, you will feel more inspired with the low Fodmap diet and much more likely to stick to it.
And, even better, your family will love you for it!
Planning for the Low Fodmap Cooking School is well under way and I have started videoing my cooking so I now have a clear timeline.
- The School will be open for registration on Friday 28th July – that’s at the end of this week.
- The start day is Monday 7th August.
So, you can start to get excited because this really is happening. I know I am fired up and keen to do this – I think it will be a great fun and we can create a community of people who are passionate about low Fodmap cooking.
The image at the top is a sneak peek of one of the recipes I have videoed – a simple, balanced, delicious, low Fodmap version of a great classic. Oh, and there will be vegetarian meals too.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you are in a rut with your low Fodmap meals or seriously struggling with how to put it all together.
And now to the part you really want to hear about – who won the free spot in the Cooking School? Almost 200 people filled out the survey and, drum roll please….
Congratulations HEATHER BERRY!! You are the winner.
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