FODMAP Diet Plan Recipe: Chicken Biryani

I love curry but as many are packed full of garlic, onion and dairy products it can be tricky to find ones to eat that are ok on the FODMAP diet plan. Luckily, it's very easy to make your own flavoursome FODMAP friendly version. This biryani is packed full of IBS soothing ginger and turmeric. I've made it with chicken but you could also use lamb or prawns.

Ingredients:
2 skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
100g basmati rice
250ml chicken stock (use homemade or check your concentrate is gluten and allium free)
200g chopped FODMAP friendly vegetables of your choice (see the FODMAP diet plan list - kale, courgette and carrot all go well)
1tsp ground turmeric
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
½ tbsp sunflower oil (or garlic oil)
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, finely chopped (or you can use ginger paste from a jar)

Serves 2

Heat the oil in a medium sized casserole dish. Add the chicken, ginger, turmeric and curry powder and stir, cooking on a low heat for 1 minute.

Pour in the rice, vegetables and stock and give everything a good stir. Bring the pan up to a low simmer and then cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan (or pop the whole covered dish into the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 180C).

Remove the pan from the heat and serve garnished with chopped mint or coriander.

FODMAP diet for vegetarians and vegans - what can you eat?

If you are vegetarian or vegan the chances are that many of your staple foods, particularly your usual protein sources, are high in FODMAPs. For example, legumes (beans) are high in galactans and many of your favourite veggies may also be off limits. So what can you eat?

Firstly, you don't need to cut out all FODMAP containing foods entirely. It's important to still eat a wide variety of foods to ensure you don't develop any nutritional deficiencies. Beans, lentils and soy products are an important source of iron, calcium and magnesium for vegans and vegetarians, as well as being a key protein source.If you are strict about avoiding other FODMAP sources, small quantities of beans and lentils may well be manageable. Try to spread out the amount you eat during the day so you don't overload your system. Soy products like tempeh and tofu should be ok to eat too as they are already fermented so won't need to be fermented by your gut. 

There are also plenty of other vegetarian and vegan foods that are also fine to eat on the FODMAP diet plan. Grains should form the backbone of your diet: quinoa or amaranth are both excellent sources of protein. Oats, buckwheat and spelt can also contribute reasonable amounts. Nuts and seeds are ok in moderate portions - try using different nut butters to ring the changes. If you are vegetarian you can also eat eggs and lactose free dairy products.

If you do lots of exercise or are slim, you may struggle to get enough calories on the FODMAP diet when you start the plan. I'd recommend discussing with your dietician or nutritionist your own particular needs but you could try adding a rice protein supplement if you are althletic, just make sure that it is wheat-free and doesn't contain sweeteners or additives.

FODMAP Diet Friendly Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake

I suddenly needed a FODMAP diet chocolate cake recipe the other day for a friend and couldn't find one I thought was both tasty and healthy enough so I had an experiment in the kitchen and came up with this delicious FODMAP diet plan friendly Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake. This is a pudding-type cake which is similar in texture to a chocolate mousse cake. It's gluten-free and grain free and is sweetened almost entirely by natural sources. Coconut flour makes it high in fibre and it is also much lower in calories than a traditional chocolate cake. Whilst it does contain dried fruit (which you can see on the printable FODMAP list of foods here, is only ok in small quantities), the amount per slice is only equal to about 3/4 of a date so should be tolerable for most people - but as always, be guided by your own judgement. The recipe makes one small cake but you could double the recipe and increase the cooking time by 15 minutes to make a large, deeper 23cm cake.

Ingredients:

50g coconut flour

20g cocoa 

2 medium eggs

2 medium egg whites

150ml almond milk

100g dried, pitted dates

1 medium banana

1 tablespoon sunflower or macadamia nut oil (you could use coconut oil but I'm not sold on the supposed health benefits)

40g dark, dairy free chocolate

1/2 tsp instant espresso powder (optional)

1/4 tsp salt

1tsp vanilla extract

1tsp gluten-free baking powder

Makes 8 slices

Heat the dates with the almond milk in a small pan or the microwave until they begin to soften. Add the banana, chocolate, oil and vanilla essence to the date and milk mix and then puree in a blender. Allow to cool for 10 minutes whilst you prepare the dry ingredients.

Place the coconut flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and espresso powder in a large bowl and stir together. Add the date mix, followed by the eggs and beat well for 2 minutes (you could use your blender again for this or food processor/stand mixer).

Grease a 15cm cake pan and pour in the cake batter. Smooth the top and give the tin one good whack on the kitchen counter to help level the mix.

Bake at 150C/300F for 20 minutes of until the centre has risen slightly and is just set. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 30 mins before plating up.