Moving Frenzy

I have spent the last three days moving from one end of campus to the other. both kitchens have been in a state of chaos, posing a challenge to eating. Once I did have a kitchen to work with, I still did not have much time to spend cooking. These are some easy foods that I have been eating during this process (including store-bought products and a few recipes):

Saffron Road Chicken Nuggets

 

I found these in the frozen food section of my campus convenience store. They have become awesome about providing gluten free and unknowingly low FODMAP foods for students. I picked up two boxes of these and had them two days in a row, I ate the whole box because these were the only things that I ate the whole day. They taste really good with organic ketchup, and are completely FODMAP free (garlic and onion powder are considered low FODMAP, but their whole food equivalents are NOT)

Joe Joe's

These taste pretty awesome with some Lactaid Milk, they dont really taste like Oreos but they are good in their own right. the only sketchy ingredient in these is invert syrup, I didnt know what it was until I looked it up on the internet only after I ate two cookies. Luckily invert syrup is low FODMAP, it is equal parts Fructose to Glucose. Thus, Invert Syrup would belong in the category of fruits that are allowed on a low FODMAP diet. Because this category of food contains fructose, they are only to be eaten in limited quantities per meal (1/2 cup of fruit according to my guide).

Pirate's Booty

 I love this stuff! According to my brother, these are basically flavored packing peanuts, but I dont mind because I think the consistency is addicting. This product does contain milk, but Cheddar cheese is considered Lactose-free.

Coconut Flour Flatbread Sandwiches

PINTEREST! here is the recipe link http://www.thrive-style.com/2012/02/fancy-grilled-cheese-on-coconut-flour-flatbread-gluten-and-grain-free/

I LOVE sandwiches, so I wanted to find a way to make them without using store-bought gluten free bread. I am trying to make grain choices based on a paleo diet, so I chose to try a few recipes with coconut flour. I actually tried this recipe with about three different kinds of gluten free flour, including Bob's Red Mill All Purpose and Pamela's Pancake mix... did not turn out so well. Coconut flour has a fluffy and full consistency that makes it ideal for flatbread.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this recipe, it was super easy and tasted pretty good. My one complaint is that it came out pretty moist and omelette-like, I guess I'm not quite used to gluten free bread products.

I decided to put cheddar cheese and fat free bologna inside, you could do just a grilled cheese, or you could make some Low FODMAP Sundried tomato spread (http://welshgirleats.com/category/low-fodmap/) and put that with spinach and tomato.

Grain-Free Lemon Loaf

Utensils:
Loaf pan
cutting board
knife
magic bullet or small grade peeler
spatula makes life much easier

I do not have a picture to show you, sorry! I found this recipe on pinterest, which I LOVE using to collect all my recipes. here is the link to the recipe http://www.primallyinspired.com/no-grains-delicious-lemon-bread-with-a-lemon-glaze/

The recipe claims that this loaf comes out just like the Starbucks lemon loaf. I admit that I am a pretty awesome cook but more of a baker in training, so my loaf did not come out quite as expected. Since I dont have fancy cooking artillary, I used a knife to remove the lemon rind, and then threw it into my magic bullet to turn it into "zest", it was pretty chunky. Mine also came out pretty moist, a bit too moist for my liking. I should have followed the instructions and covered the loaf with foil to protect the crust, which would have allowed me to bake it longer. It does taste good, but just like Udi's gluten free bagels, I can take 6 bites before getting sick of the flavor and consistency.

Mish Mosh Hash and Eggs

Prep: 1 min     Cook: 5 min     Total Time: 6-8 min

Ingredients:
2 Slices Bacon
1 Potato
2 cubes Butternut Squash
1 Hanfull carrots
1 Handfull Spinach
1 Egg

Utensils:
cutting board
pan
knife
spatula

This morning I made a pretty awesome breakfast/lunch (it was 11:00 AM). I cut up some butternut squash (buy at trader joe's because it is already skinned and cubed), potato, and carrots and threw them all in a bowl in the microwave for 3 minutes. I am a college student, if I waited for these veggies to cook in a pan I would have already graduated with a Masters in Biology. While the microwave did its thang, I cut up the bacon into small chunks and threw it in a small pan on 3 heat. Then, I threw in the microwaved veggies and let those cook with the bacon until the potatoes started to get a brow coating. This is when I threw in the spinach.  I threw it into a bowl once the spinach cooked down and cooked an egg easy over in the same pan. I did not cook the yoke, so that it would act as a tasty sauce to the hash. I ate this with some coffee and a slice of my lemon loaf. SO tasty.

More to Come: an overview of the Low FODMAP diet, complete with a go-to shopping list

Introduction

Hi All!

yay first post! A couple days ago I moved into my last on campus housing ever. As a Senior I got THE BEST apartment on campus, complete with a HUGE kitchen and tons of storage space. I am really excited!

 having a good apartment will be vital in the search for the source of my IBS, which I was diagnosed with about 6 months ago. This diagnosis came quite late though, because I have been suffering from severe stomach problems for about two years now, and I became a self-proclaimed celiac for a short stint in order to relieve my symptoms. No extensive tests past blood indicator tests have been done, because I seem completely healthy to doctors. I might have more severe scaring in my stomach, but I don't know if I will ever know how badly injured my intestines are. For a while, that made me really upset and stressed. I would eat really well, and suddenly my stomach would be so bad that I thought a rabid raccoon was living inside of my intestines.

The turning point came when my parents discovered the FODMAP diet, an eating plan that eliminates known stomach irritants and then reintroduces them as a way of identifying how much of certain foods a person can tolerate. I have been in the cleansing faze for about four weeks now. I still get pretty bad stomach episodes every once in a while and my stomach is always tender, obviously my stomach has not healed from whatever damage has been done. Luckily I am WAY less bloated. My plan is to go through the reintroduction faze, and if i still have frequent episodes and stomach tenderness I will insist on further tests.

That is my IBS story, which is not the sole purpose of this blog. This is merely an introduction so that other people can relate to what I am going through. I am a college student with severe IBS and no idea of any known allergies or intolerances, I'm posititve I am not one of a kind.

The purpose of this blog is to provide motivation for others as well as myself by introducing low FODMAP recipes and meal ideas I enjoy and other tips and tricks for being prepared.

disclaimer: I don't really follow strict measurements when I cook, my mom likes to criticize me for it but I find it unnecessary unless I am baking.