About me

Hi! Nice to see that you want to learn a bit more about me and my blog! I am Karlijn and Karlijn’s Kitchen is a hobby that got out of hand. A blog on which I shared a low FODMAP recipe now and then in the beginning, but that I am spending almost all of my free hours on now.

A blog on which I share my passion for food and for cooking and a blog with which I hope to inspire people, who have a food intolerance or allergy just like me, to continue to enjoy eating and cooking.

On the blog, I will give you a peek into my life now and then, but in short about me: I am 30 years old, I am from the Netherlands and I studied Economics and Marketing at Radboud University in Nijmegen. I currently work as a SEO Specialist for an online marketing agency and live close to Eindhoven with my boyfriend Matic. 

I am crazy about food, cooking, travelling, languages and reading. I also try to run a few times per week (on my blog I wrote about my experiences with my first half marathon). I suck at doing nothing and therefore I am always busy working on new plans and ideas. But, if I am not doing that, I love hanging on the couch under a blanket to watch Netflix too 😉

eating low FODMAP and gluten-free in london - Karlijnskitchen.com

This is how Karlijn’s Kitchen started

Food has always played a big role in my life. When I was 12 years old, I started baking together with my best friend and I never stopped after that. As I grew older I started to spend more and more time in the kitchen with my mum.

Later on, I also started to experiment with cooking myself and more often, I was the one who came up with new recipes to try for dinner.

In 2012 I started to get some problems with my stomach and soon after I was diagnosed with a lactose intolerance. A year later, after I studied abroad in Istanbul for a year, my stomach problems only got worse. I couldn’t eat anything without getting cramps and a bloated stomach.

I went back to the doctor, had several examinations and then I got diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I got the (often heard) advice to eat a lot of vegetables and enough fibre. This would make things better, they said. I tried my best and tried a lot of different diets, of which I thought they could have a positive effect on my stomach, but nothing helped.

In 2014 I was on holiday in Vietnam and that was where my stomach problems reached its peak. Several times I found myself laying in bed with a huge bloated stomach, feeling so sick that I could throw up any moment and there I realised that something had to change.

I had never felt so bad before in my life. During that holiday, I stumbled upon an article in a magazine about the low FODMAP diet and when I came back from my holiday I started the diet, under the supervision of a dietician.

When I started to eliminate high FODMAP foods from my diet, I started to feel better immediately. In the beginning, I was very discouraged by the things that I couldn’t eat anymore and I hated not being able to order whatever I wanted in a restaurant, but soon I learned that I could still eat and cook nice meals with a bit of creativity.

Because I noticed that there were many people with similar problems as I had, who also felt discouraged by the diet and didn’t know what to cook anymore, I decided to start a blog in August 2014.

A blog where I could share delicious low FODMAP recipes, with the vision that everybody has to be able to enjoy food. Intolerances or not! And that is what Karlijn’s Kitchen still is today. The low FODMAP diet remains a process of ups and downs for me and I learn new things every day.

Believe me, I have my bad moments too. I still have days where my stomach doesn’t co-operate or days where I eat foods that I know I shouldn’t have eaten. I have made the same mistakes over and over again, but that doesn’t matter.

Because nothing can be done perfectly, also not the low FODMAP diet. We are all human. But I strongly believe that by sharing knowledge and helping each other we can all eat and enjoy eating while keeping our tummies happy most of the time.

The recipes on my blog are all low FODMAP and often they are gluten- and low lactose too. Next to recipes, I also share informational blogs about the low FODMAP diet and lifestyle blogs.

Such as blogs about travelling when you are on the low FODMAP diet or blogs about living with IBS. The focus is on recipes, but you’ll find other topics here now and then too. You can expect to find at least one new post per week on the blog. 

If you would like to get updates about my newest recipes and other things around the blog, you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter on the bottom of this page. 

Would you like to share your experiences with other fodmappers and to be able to ask questions? Then join the Karlijn’s Kitchen Facebook Community. A Facebook group where we help each other with the diet and support each other. It is so nice to be able to talk to people who know what you are going through! 

If you have any questions about the low FODMAP diet or if there is something else you would like to know, feel free to send an e-mail to karlijn@karlijnskitchen.com.

Enjoy reading my blog! 

Together we go for a calm belly!

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18 Comments

  • Anna says:

    Hi Karlijn,
    I am very interested in what you are using for bread! So far this has been the hardest part for me. I seem to be able to find what to eat, but I miss the bread so much! What are you using? Are you baking your own or are you able to purchase something ready made? So far everything I have bought tasted horrible! I live in Chicago, so we do have a huge amount of options for me to investigate….

    Thank you for what you are doing!!!

  • Christine Cener says:

    Karlijn,

    As a woman who is much older than you (I have a daughter your age), I am amazed, comforted, and encouraged by your story and your approach. I am just starting this low FODMAP journey at age 67, and I am both furious and in grief about the changes I have to make. Reading your story shakes some sense into this old head, and I thank you!

    Christine

    • Thank you so much for your kind words Christine! I have gone through the same anger and grief when I started the diet, but at one point I decided that being sad was not going to help me. I am still frustrated sometimes, but I try to look at it from a positive angle. The diet really helped me a lot and I hope it will help you too!

  • patty sutton says:

    New to FODMAP but convinced it’s first time I feel I can control the pain and severe symptoms of IBS-D. I do miss a cookie or a pie slice and I don’t necessarily like to cook but I live in small town America and don’t have access to a bakery I could work with for treats. I miss gooey caramels but sugar is my arch enemy and I don’t do chemical substitutes at all (I get migraines) you got any ideas?

  • Lee-Ann says:

    Hi

    Do you have a recipe book with all your recipes in or are they only available on your website?
    Kind regards

  • Elria Steyn says:

    Hi Karlijn, I have been diagnosed with IBS many years ago, (I am 71 now) and was advised to stop eating gluten. That made a little difference but after a struggle with diarrhoea at the end of 2017 I read about FODMAPS on the internet. Following the guidelines I immediately started feeling better. But the restrictions made it boring and I didn’t feel like preparing anything anymore. This afternoon I found your blog and all the wonderful recipes. I am looking forward to testing them and to eating appetizing food again. Thank you so much for sharing. Baie dankie, ek sien uit daarna om die resepte uit te toets! (Just a little Afrikaans.)
    Keep well, Elria

  • Louise Rogers Feher says:

    I am new to this diet and yes, it gets a little depressing regarding the limits on gluten and some of the vegetables and fruits. I have IBS-D. I am also off red meat, milk, certain cheeses. I am looking for some recipes that will be a little more exciting. I am a foodie. The good news is I am losing weight :-).

  • Anne Hill says:

    Dear Karlijn
    I’m so glad I found your recipes. I love that you are so positive about managing IBS.
    Thank you

  • Ajda says:

    Dear,

    I love your website, it is very nice.
    Your website was recommended to me by my dietitian as a guide for meals I can make.

    But I am slightly confused. As I am new to FODMAP I am looking for recipes I can make in the 1st phase, the elimination phase. But I can not see these as a category,

    How can I know which are the recipes I can make in this phase and which not?

    Thank you!

    • Karlijn says:

      Hi Ajda, I make all my recipes so that they are suitable for the 1st phase. So you can use all the recipes on the blog. If there is anything in a recipe that you have to be careful with in the 1st phase, I always mention that.

  • Nancy O'Neil says:

    I am so grateful to have found this site. I now have hope knowing others share my same sysptoms.
    I am assuming this the blog site.
    Happy blogging…

  • Io says:

    I just found out your blog and feel so lucky about it!
    I live in Greece and face IBS probs since 2015..I tried so many different diets, therapies and medication but nothing worked..
    I started using the FODMAP app 2 years ago but did not take it seriously at all taking into account that I love going out in fancy restos, I am a strong wine lover as well..this winter things deteriorated that much so I decided to do something urgently..I started low FODMAP diet and I feel so much better from the 1st month..I gave up alcohol as well that helps a lot..I feel a bit awkward as going out is not the same any more but I will give it a try because seeing my belly flat at last is something I have missed for years..
    Thank you for the amazing job you do in this blog,
    Io.

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