It’s tradition now on the blog: every other Sunday a food diary. Today Patricia’s low FODMAP food diary! For 2018 I am still looking for people who would like to share their low FODMAP food diary on Karlijn’s Kitchen. If you are interested please let me know by sending an e-mail to karlijn@karlijnkitchen.com. Because I love sharing your food diaries and seeing what you eat during a day!

Hi, I am Patricia, 38 years old. I am married and I am working part-time as a homecare nurse. I live together with my husband and rabbit in a village close to the forest. I love animals, going for walks, reading and city trips.

In 2007 my stomach problems started during a trip to Egypt. First I thought I had the well-known Nile-virus, but when I came back to Holland I found out (after a year of visiting doctors) that it was “just” IBS. And a stomach that emptied too slowly. Looking back, I have been having IBS complains since I was a child.

In 2013 I first heard about the low FODMAP diet and I started immediately. On my birthday even! It has helped me, even though I am still searching for what I can and cannot have because the dietician that I had when I started didn’t help me so well.

I don’t eat onion and garlic and because of that, all ready-made products are a no go. I don’t really like cooking and I am not really good at it, so I am happy that I can find many low FODMAP recipes online. Since the diet, I started to realise how many unnecessary additives and ingredients are added to ready-made products, so I also try to make healthier choices. But I am only human and sometimes I make mistakes. On a busy day, I sometimes go for something simple and then I buy something readymade in the supermarket. And when I bought a package of cookies for guests, I sometimes have a weak moment and eat the entire package myself. As you might understand, I pay the price for that afterwards with a very upset stomach.

Patricia’s low FODMAP food diary

Breakfast – 7.45
As every day, my breakfast is 200 g Alpro Mild&Creamy. I prefer the version without sugar, but this one is often sold out in our village. With that I take 30 g Zonnature spelt muesli, 10 grapes and a cup of green tea.

This breakfast was in my daily menu from the dietician and because I like it so much, I am still eating it. As a variation, I sometimes choose a different kind of fruit or I add walnuts or a mixture of sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

I have tried to eat oatmeal for breakfast for a while, but my stomach cannot deal with it when I eat that on a daily basis, so now I sometimes have that for a snack.

Snack – 10.00
In the morning I am always at work and I usually have a banana or another fruit with a cup of tea.

Lunch – 12.00
When I have some more time in the afternoon, I make something more special than my regular spelt sandwich. Today I make a recipe from Allerhande: a filled omelette.

I fry 5 cherry tomatoes and a large handful of spinach in a pan. I mix two eggs with some sea salt and paprika powder and add this to the pan. Finally, I add 50 g goat cheese and I sprinkle some sunflower seeds and dried basil on top. Yum!

Snack – 15.00
Tea and usually a TREK bar or 9Bar (note by Karlijn: these bars are not suitable when you are still in the elimination phase because they contain small amounts of foods that are high in FODMAP. Patricia is using these products because she already passed the elimination phase and knows what she can and can’t have) 

Dinner – 17.30
Today I make soba noodles with fried vegetables. Normally I cut them myself and I use green beans, bean sprouts and red bell pepper, but because I feel lazy I take pre-cut vegetables from the supermarket. I also use vegetarian “meat” because I want to eat more vegetarian after seeing the Netflix movie “Okja”. The movie showed quite shocking things about the meat industry. I found out that Quorn pieces are low FODMAP, so I am using those. When everything is cooked I serve it with some ketjap manis.

I think this is a nice and quick recipe that is still healthy, so this is on my menu often. With my dinner, I drink a glass of sparkling water. I usually drink this during the day too.

Evening snack – 20.00
I feel like having a snack when I am watching tv. I usually have some natural chips. During the evening, I drink tea.

Thank you for sharing your food diary, Patricia. I have gotten some inspiration again! I didn’t see the movie Okja yet and I have been looking into eating vegetarian more lately, so I am going to put this movie on my to-watch list too!