Vegan, Paleo-friendly, Low-FODMAP Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients:

Bottom Layer (chocolate)

• 1/3 cup natural creamy peanut butter
• 2.5 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ¼ cup almond milk

Top Layer (peanut butter)

• 1/3 cup natural creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Topping

• Himalayan sea salt

Instructions:

-Place 12 muffin liners on a plate or pan. Wipe a bit of coconut oil on the bottom and sides of each liner.

-In a bowl, stir together all ingredients for the bottom layer (chocolate) until smooth. If it’s too thick, add another tablespoon of almond milk.

-In another bowl, stir together all ingredients for the top layer (peanut butter) until smooth.

-Scoop a heaping ½ tablespoon of the chocolate layer into each muffin cup. Repeat until you’ve filled all 12 cups. Use a baking spatula to even out the layer in each cup. You can also lift each cup by the sides and tap it onto the plate to allow the layer to settle evenly.

-Repeat the same thing with the peanut butter layer.

-Sprinkle each cup with Himalayan sea salt.

-Freeze for 30 minutes (until firm).

-Store in the freezer.

-You can add more maple syrup if you want these sweeter but I like them as above.

-Don’t tell your friends these are vegan. They’ll never know. J  

Low-FODMAP Veggie Spring Rolls with Fresh Peanut Sauce

These are so good they make you forget you’re eating raw vegetables:

Ingredients:

Peanut Sauce:
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 1½ tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Spring rolls:
Spring roll rice wrappers – one package (about 8 sheets of rice paper)
2 or 3 carrots (depending on size)
1 cucumber
1 beet
handful of green beans
1 red pepper

Directions for Peanut Sauce:
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add more water if it needs to be thinned out a bit. You can also add more red pepper flakes if you want it super spicy.

Directions for spring rolls:
Chop veggies into thin strips. This is about the right portion for a single spring roll:

Soak a rice wrapper for about 20 seconds in some water, until it becomes soft and pliable:

Gently lay out the rice wrapper on a clean plate. Place a handful of mixed veggies onto it. Pull the rice paper taut around the veggies, like you’re wrapping a package:

As the rice paper dries it’ll set. Now you can make another one. Once you've wrapped them all, you may eat your masterpiece. 

Low-FODMAP, Stupidly Yummy Broccoli Tots

Here’s a good way to enjoy eating more vegetables: fry the hell out of them. These broccoli tots are so good that your friends will be like, HOW DID YOU DO THAT.

Ingredients:
2 heads of broccoli, stems cut off
½ cup cooked white rice
3 tbsp. rice flour
½ lemon, squeezed
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. walnut oil (or you can just use 2 more tbsp. olive oil)
1 egg

Directions:
1. Boil the broccoli for about 3-4 minutes, until it starts to get soft (but isn’t entirely cooked). Drain the broccoli in a colander, and then finely-dice on a cutting board.

2. While the broccoli is boiling, whisk together the egg and lemon, and then add the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and rice flour. Once that’s nicely mixed, add the white rice and then the finely-diced broccoli.

3. WAIT AT LEAST 15 MINUTES BEFORE PROCEEDING. This step is important, because it allows the tot “batter” to bind together a little bit. If the batter doesn’t bind, the tots may fall apart in the skillet.

4. Heat 3 tbsp. of oil in a large skillet on high (cast iron works really well for this recipe). Once the oil is hot, turn the temperature back to medium.

5. While the oil is heating, work the batter into tot-shaped pieces using your fist and fingers, as shown below.

Be sure to squeeze out all excess liquid before you place each tot on the skillet. If you don’t do this, the tot will fall apart.

6. Place tots on skillet. 

Once the bottom of the tot has browned (about 3-4 minutes, depending on how hot your skillet is), carefully give it 1/3 turn so it’s now resting on a side that’s not yet browned. Then once that side is browned, give it another 1/3 turn. If the oil “dries up” at any point during this process, add the last tablespoon of oil to the skillet.

Serve with dipping sauce. I love these with honey mustard or Sriracha. The recipe makes about 25 tots.

Easy Low-FODMAP Cucumber Sesame Salad

I’m still obsessed with my spiralizer (for details, see previous recipe for zucchini pasta).

This cucumber salad is super easy and pretty adorable, if vegetables can be adorable.

Ingredients:1 cucumber
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
½ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon maple syrup (or sugar)
dash red pepper flakes (less than 1/8 teaspoon)

Directions:
-Spiralize the cucumber (do not remove the peel or it will fall apart). Toss with salt, then put cucumber in a colander and let it breathe for half an hour.
-Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds in a pan.
-Mix together rice vinegar, sesame oil, maple syrup, and red pepper flakes.
-RINSE cucucumber thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels (I skipped this step once and the salad was intolerably salty).
-Toss with dressing

You can double or triple this recipe, depending on how many people you’re serving.

Easy Low-FODMAP Zucchini Spaghetti with Lemon Shrimp

My new obsession is my Oxo Spiralizer, which turns boring veggies into noodles:

For this dish, I noodle-ized zucchini. To make the noodles, just cut the tip off the zucch, press the un-peeled flat edge to the center of the Spiralizer, and twist. I’m 99% certain that zucchini tastes better in noodle form. Especially when it’s smothered in olive oil and herbs:

Ingredients:
2 zucchinis
10-12 shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ lemon, squeezed
¼ teaspoon fresh thyme (if you use dried herbs, use less)
½ teaspoon fresh oregano
½ teaspoon fresh basil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Parsley for garnish (or you can skip the garnish)

Directions:
Drop the zucchini in boiling water until it starts to get soft, about 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté the shrimp on medium heat in the olive oil and lemon for 2 minutes per side. Add the herbs and let the shrimp continue to sauté while you briefly drain the zucchini in a colander. Add zucchini to the pan with the shrimp and herbs. Toss and sauté everything together for another 2-3 minutes, until zucchini is at desired level of softness. Total cooking time will probably be around 8 minutes – make sure the shrimp are cooked all the way through.

Garnish with parsley and additional lemon if desired.

Makes 2 servings.

Low-FODMAP Almond Flour Pancakes

Your non-digestively-challenged friends will love these pancakes just as much as their beloved traditional pancakes. Actually, a lot of my friends love them more.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt

1 ½ cups almond flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon (I sometimes add more)
¼ cup blueberries
Coconut oil for cooking

Directions:
Whisk together eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add the salt, cinnamon, and 1 ¼ cup almond flour. If you want the batter to be thicker, add the rest of the almond flour. Once batter is the right consistency, add the blueberries.

Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet (I use cast-iron) over medium heat. Pour 1/4-cupfuls of batter onto the skillet and cook the pancakes until golden brown and cooked all the way through (about a minute or two per side).

Y'welcome. :) 

Low-FODMAP Samon Croquettes

I could eat these salmon croquettes twice a day for my whole life and never get tired of them. They are as gentle on the stomach as they are yummz. I try to use all organic ingredients, because I figure my sensitive stomach might not appreciate a dose of poison.

Ingredients:

1 8-oz can of salmon (you can use slightly more or less salmon if you prefer)

1 medium sweet potato, boiled, peeled and mashed

1.5 cup rice, cooked

1 egg

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry dill

½ teaspoon dry rosemary

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon brown rice flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon walnut oil (you can use 2 tbsp olive oil if you don’t have walnut)

Directions:

Mix the first 9 ingredients together (everything except the oil) to create a sort of “batter.” Heat the oil in a big pan (cast iron works great for this recipe). Form mixture into patties the size of a small burger and drop them into the oil. You should be able to make about 20 patties. Cook the croquettes on medium-high for 5 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through. Serve over greens.

Enjoy. xo

My Favorite Low-FODMAP Cocktail: Citrus Vodka Seltzer

If you have digestive issues but you love happy hour, you’re in a bit of a pickle because a lot of alcoholic drinks are hard to digest. But there’s one that never gives me any issues, because it’s low in difficult-to-digest sugars and it's super mild (it's also low-calorie compared to most drinks):

Citrus Vodka Seltzer:

Ingredients:

-High-quality vodka (I like Tito’s)

-Seltzer (I use a SodaStream so I’m not constantly throwing away plastic bottles)

-A squeeze of fresh orange, grapefruit, or lime (if you don’t have fresh fruits on hand, just throw in a splash of orange juice)

Directions:

Mix everything. Put a bit sprig of mint right on top so you get what I call “mint-face” (i.e. a big whiff of mint) every time you take a sip.

Cheers!

Mint Honeydew Smoothie - My favorite new low-FODMAP dessert/drink (with or without vodka!)

I can’t. stop. drinking. this. It’s hard for me to find dessert treats that I can actually digest, and this one is as sweet and yummy as ice cream. It can also be turned into an impressive cocktail.

Mint Honeydew Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/3 ripe honeydew

6-7 mint leaves

½ cup water

2 ice cubes

Directions:

Blend together the honeydew, mint leaves, ice cubes and water, until smooth. Add mint for garnish.

If it’s time for an adult beverage, add 1.5 ounces of vodka to the blender.

You’re welcome.  

Low-FODMAP Maple Sage Turkey Sausage

Honestly, like, honestly, this turkey sausage is so good that I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And since it’s low-FODMAP, sometimes that dream comes true.

Ingredients:
1 pound organic ground turkey
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage (if you substitute dried herbs, make sure to use less)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup gluten-free flour (*make sure it doesn’t contain corn, oat, or quinoa flour)
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

-In a large bowl, hand-mix the turkey, herbs, maple, salt, and 1 tablespoon of the flour.

-Place the rest of the flour on a plate.

-Shape the turkey mixture into about 12 patties, dredging each one lightly in the remaining flour.

-Heat the olive oil on medium-high heat (I find that my cast-iron pan works particularly well for this dish).

-Drop the patties in the pan and cook for about 7 minutes per side until they’re browned, and cooked all the way through (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the patties so you’ll need to cut into one of them to see if it’s done).

Good luck not eating them all at once!

*The flour I use is made from brown rice, potato, and tapioca. I recommend that you avoid using flour that contains oats, corn, or quinoa, as these things can be difficult for some people to digest (for example, I have trouble with corn and oats).

Low-FODMAP Bone Broth

Bone broth is rich in minerals and proteins that support our body's healing processes, as well as digestion and skin health, among other things. If you have any digestive disorder or immune problem, it’s a good idea to drink bone broth regularly. I put about a cupful of broth into a mug, heat it, and drink it every day. You can also use bone broth to make soups, or you can use it to flavor rice, vegetables, etc. Here’s my low-FODMAP chicken broth recipe:

Chicken Broth
2-3 pounds of chicken bones (they can have some meat on them, but it should be mostly bones)
1 gallon of water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (this is essential for leeching the minerals out)
2 carrots carrots, coarsely chopped

2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2-3 bay leaves (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt taste the broth after a couple hours and add more if you think it needs it)

In a stockpot, combine the water, chicken, vinegar, and vegetables, bay leaves, and salt. For best results, let it all sit for half an hour before turning on the burner. Then bring the soup to a boil. As soon as it’s boiling, scum will start rising to the top. Remove the scum with a big spoon – this is nasty stuff that you don’t want in your broth! Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 24 hours. Tip: you’ll want to reduce the heat enough that the stock is barely simmering. If you leave on too much heat the water will boil away.

After 24 hours, pour the broth through a strainer into another large pot. Refrigerate until the fat rises to the top and congeals (this might take a full day). Skim off the fat (you can reserve it for cooking). Now you can pour the stock into smaller containers and freeze whatever you can’t use within a few days.

NOTE: If you use beef bones instead of chicken, the broth will be much more gelatinous. It's pretty gross when it's cold, but it'll liquefy again when you heat it up. It's not as tasty to drink as chicken broth, so if you're new to the world of broth, I strongly recommend that you start with chicken! Move on to beef when you're a broth veteran and you can handle its uber-bony taste/texture. 

Low-FODMAP Spinach Chips

Kale is my enemy for so many reasons, not least of which is that it’s high-FODMAP and super hard to digest. Also I think it’s gross unless it’s drenched in olive oil and baked to a crisp. Luckily, I just discovered that spinach chips are as yummy as kale chips (and by that I mean, anything soaked in oil and sea salt is delicious). Recipe:

Ingredients:

Two cups of raw spinach

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, depending on how oily you want them

Sea salt, to taste

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

-Put the spinach in a large bowl and toss in olive oil and sea salt.

-Lay parchment paper over a baking pan and spread spinach on top, in a single layer.

-NOTE: you can put the spinach straight on the pan (not on parchment paper) if you want – it will be oilier this way, and you’ll have to scrape it off the pan with a spatula, but this wasn’t a problem for me.

-Bake for 10-12 minutes or until crispy. The timing can be tricky – I recommend that you check on it every minute starting at 10 minutes to see if the leaves are crisp.

Enjoy.