Sweet dreams are made of this

Goooooooooooooooooood morning!

As you already know, the low FODMAP diet primarily excludes milk, wheat and High Fructose Corn Sirup (HFCS) which are.... like almost in all products purchased on a daily basis.

And you certainly know that everyone in the world has good and sometimes bad days. So when "sometimes" comes, I have the great need of consolation. I need support from my best, most reliable friends - sweets. Because sweets don't ask silly questions. Sweets understand.

But there is one problem... I shouldn't eat chocolate while being on the low FODMAP diet. I mean... I CAN eat chocolate, but with 60% cocoa and it's not the one I'm friends with. That's kinda depressing.

So what then?
Here's the story I want to share with you...

Recently, I was meeting my friend from high school. We were laughing, walking around the city, but we also talking about our current worries. In one minute my belly began to demand a small, sweet pleasures, so we decided to go to the cafe.

We came in and we saw all these beautiful, tasty-looking, fluffy muffins... which I can't eat.
But there were only two options for me: meringues - which I don't particularly like - and coconut cookies. So I obviously chose the latter. Oh, how great sorrow overwhelmed my heart, when they proved to be hard as a rock and not very tasty...


This was the moment I decided to make my own coconut cookies. It turned out to be easier than I thought.

To satisfy you curiosity - these cookies DO NOT contain neither flour nor milk.


The ingredients are:

- 2 egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 4 spoons of sugar
- 100 g of coconut shrims (about 1 1/4 a cup)

And now - step by step:

1. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt (you can use a mixer).
2. When the foam begins to stiffen, gradually add sugar (still mixing).
3. If the egg whites are already well beaten and fluffy, add the coconut. You can mix it with a spoon or a mixer, but at minimum speed.
4. Shape the mass into balls with a spoon on a baking tray lined with baking paper or aluminum foil, previously smeared with butter.
5. Bake about 20 minutes in an oven heated to 170 degrees.



Here's how the final result should look like:

I assure you this is child's play, and the cookies are dietary, low FODMAP, gluten-free, soft on the inside and what's most important - they taste incredibly great!

The most favourite part of the day - eating

Hey, hi and hello!

Some time ago I promised that I will show you how my diet looks in practice...

I was putting it off for a long time, because I am not a masterchef and I would have been embarrassed, if you had seen any of the dishes I prepared at the beginning.

But now I can see progress in my culinary adventure, so I think I can share with you some sample photos.

As you know (or maybe not, but you should), breakfast is the most important meal - it gives you the energy for a whole day. I mean... not exactly WHOLE day, but for whole morning. What I want to say is that every good day starts with a tasty and nutritious breakfast.

Since I'm on a diet, I had to change my breakfast habits, so instead cornflakes with milk I eat porridge. Being more specific - my low FODMAP breakfast includes:

- 3 spoons of oatmeal
- 3 spoons of spelt-flakes
- a little bit of coconut shrims
- some shelled sunflower seeds
- a fruit (usually a banana, because it has a protective effect on the stomach and I also love it)

Porridge is usually eaten with milk, but - as I said in the first post - low FODMAP diet excludes milk, so I pour just a little bit of boiling water into the bowl with oatmeal and wait until it gets softer.


So here you are, porridge - version with straw- and blueberries or banana and kiwi:

Preparing porridge is not a big deal, but... Yeah, actually... It's as easy as falling off the face of the earth, but... But I had to start somewhere, so I've started from the beginning.

So! Anybody wants to know what low FODMAP dinner I can prepare? Oh yeah, I can see this dense hands forest. OKAY, I will tell you this sweet secret. Or should I say "salty"?...

It's really interesting that the low FODMAP diet excludes milk and milk products in general, but it does not exclude certain types of cheese as camembert, brie etc. Luckily, feta cheese is also allowed!

So, if you want to eat delicious and filling lunch, I totally recommend pasta with spinach and feta cheese - it's a heaven in mouth!

You only need to replace the plain pasta with the gluten-free one. But do not worry - it is now readily available!

Summarizing, the ingredients are:

- 1 package of frozen spinach in briquette (or in leaves)
- 1 package of feta cheese (I use the semi-fat)
- gluten-free pasta (as much as you can eat)

Just fry the spinach in a pan, then add the feta and mix it with a spoon. I sometimes add to that a little salt, pepper and curry, but speaking personally - I don't think it's necessary. Feta is doing all the work!

Here's the photo:

I also wanted to show you what I eat on evening, but the only photo of sample dish is blurry, so maybe next time...


...or maybe YOU will share with me some ideas for healthy dinner?

Hello

Hello, it's me.
I was wondering if after all these weeks you'd like to read
About low FODMAP recipes.
They say that the diet's supossed to heal me
But I have to verify it first

Hello, can you read this?
I'm in my hometown dreaming about what I used to eat
When I was omnivorous and free
I've forgotten how it felt before I got rid of bread and milk

There's such a difference between how
I was feeling then and now

Hello from the healthier side
I must have tried a thousand times
To tell you I'm proud of the healthy dish that I've made
But when I cook it rarely seem to be great
Hello from the low FODMAP side
At least I can say that I've tried
To stay on my diet at least for 6 weeks
But it doesn't matter. Soon I will show you some pics, maybe more

Hello, how are you?
It's so typical of me to talk about myself. I'm sorry
I hope that you're well
Did you ever make a fit version of your favourite dish and did it taste okay?

It's no secret that the healthy life
Can really be alright

I don't want to but I have to

Hi!

My name is Weronika. Aaand I have no idea how to introduce myself properly. I have never even thought about writing a blog, especially in English. But life is full of surprises and unexpected things can happen everyday, in every minute. So this is why I'm here. 

My story is short and quite sad. As most people I love eating. But I also live in hurry. One day I eat enormous amounts of food, and the other - almost nothing. I'm almost one hundred percent sure that's why my stomach has initiated a rebellion and persuaded the intestine to participate in it.

Recently, my GP suggested that maybe I should try the low FODMAP diet. "What is FODMAP?" you may ask. Then let me fill this blank page, which appears in your mind.

FODMAP means Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Monosaccharides and Polyols. What? Still nothing? Well, I totally understand your confusion. Let me explain it to you briefly and concisely. 

FODMAPs are those little invisible pranksters which stomach just can't stand, so he sends them straight to the gut. They arrange there a party, after which remains weeping and teeth gnashing.

What I mean here is that these are short chain carbohydrates (oligosaccharides), disaccharides, monosaccharides and related alcohols that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine.

These include fructans and galactans, lactose, fructose and sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and maltitol.

So the aim of the low FODMAP diet is to eliminate the products with a high content of FODMAP, such as dairy products and bread, in order to alleviate the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

The first phase of the diet should last 6-8 weeks. The second step is a slow return to eating products high in FODMAP (separately lactose and fructose) to identify which ones are harmful for us.

You may ask me now (as the most people do): "Do you eat ANYTHING?". Oh yes, I do. And I will show you. But not today.

I admit, it is not easy to exclude milk and fresh, crispy rolls, which I just adore. Actually, it almost made me cry at the beginning, but it's OK now and I'm not on this diet to the rest of my life, so I think it's worth the effort.

So this is why I'm here. I know that culinary blogs are a bit overrated, because sooooo many people now runs a blog about cooking, but I decided to make one to show you that being on low FODMAP diet is not the end of the world.

It's not easy, but can be tasty and it makes you eat more "consiously", what is very important these days.

See you next time!

PS. OKAY, you got me. It's not a "short" story. It's not and it never will be. Because I'm talkative.