Taste Testing

I have been doing some experimenting this weekend with food.

Life has finally started to slow down and I can actually cook some good wholesome food.

I have been very slack with my food choices and have not been careful in regards to Fodmap friendly vs. not friendly.

Yes I have felt sick and have been laying on the couch thinking "what the hell was I thinking!!!!!"
Regardless of how many time I have been in this position I still find myself there doing the same thing over.

It is so easy just to join the rest of the world and pretend like I can eat what ever I want without consequence.

Saturday morning I made Biscuits for my grandma friend in the nursing home.
Peanut butter and chocolate cookies sounded like a great afternoon treat for her.
During the process of making these cookies I convinced myself that I needed to taste test them.

As I started to make these amazing delicious cookies my mouth started to water.

I surely would not want to kill my old lady from my cooking right?
"Need to make sure it taste right"  I thought!

Within seconds my hands were reaching for a taste.
The cookie dough was amazingly good and once you start you can not stop.

Within 20 mins the pain hit me and I was burping my stomach up.
Nothing like a eruption of gas from your stomach to make you feel better.

Only FODMAP intolerant sufferers would totally understand what this feels like.
A stabbing pain down your left side followed by a eruption of Gas and to top it off a belly that would place me about 4 month pregnant.

Symptoms can last anywhere from 4- 24 hours.

After my symptoms start it is usually about 3-4 days before I get an energy back.

I find if I eat well and exercise my body bounces back a lot better if I have a episode.

If I have been pushing the boundaries and not watching what I eat then I feel a lot sicker for longer and it takes awhile for my stomach to settle down.

Symptoms can last anywhere from 4- 24 hours.

After my symptoms start it is usually about 3-4 days before I get an energy back.

I find if I eat well and exercise my body bounces back a lot better if I have a episode.

If I have been pushing the boundaries and not watching what I eat then I feel a lot sicker for longer and it takes awhile for my stomach to settle down.

I don’t know how many of you out there have the same type of reaction.

It would be interesting to see what type of reactions you all have.

Let me know if you experience something Different related to FODMAP issue.

I have a face book page that I also link to this Blog that I have quiet a few followers on.

A lot of people who suffer from FODMAP also have a secondary issue.

I want to only know though what peoples reactions are if they are FODMAP intolerant only.

Also what foods are the biggest killers in you.

I know for me it is Onions and garlic.

I have the worst reactions with these veggies.

I am ok when I use them as flavour but if I eat the actual plant before you know it Bang I am done in.

FODMAP INTOLENCE

Pumpkin and Maple Muffins

I was searching for something different i could make to have as a snack at work that would be FODMAP tolerant.
I was on the Veggie Num Num website and had seen Trudys version of this Muffin and thought what a great idea.
So yesterday i did some research and last night I officially tested it and Wolla!
I have created my version of the Pumpkin Muffin and it rocked :)

100 veggie and FODMAP safe.
Enjoy guys I did !!!


Makes 6 muffins


2 cups plain spelt flour (You can use rice flour or gluten free flour)
2  teaspoons baking powder

600g piece of pumpkin raw (1 cup cooked)

3-4 Tsp of maple syrup

60g butter
1/2 cup of Milk

1/2 cup of Brown Suger (optional)

1tsp Vanilla

2tbs Freshly Squeezed Orange  juice

1tsp Ground Cinnamon

2 tbs Icing sugar
1)Cut the pumpkin into cubes and steam until soft and tender.
    Mash the pumpkin, add the Orange juice and Set aside to cool.

2) Sift the flour and baking powder into a larger bowl.
3) pre heat the oven to 180 Degrees cel
4) Cream the butter and sugar together adding to the mixture the vanilla and maple syrup
5) Add the creamed butter to the flour and baking powder along with the mashed pumpkin.
6) mix all ingredient together folding the mixture until combined.

7) Lightly oil a muffin tray with a pastry brush
8) place muffins into the Muffin tray

Bake for 15-20 mins
Check the muffins are cooked by using a skewer and seeing if it comes out clean.

*Once cooked place on a baking tray to cool.
*Combine the icing sugar and Cinnamon and sift over the muffins to Finnish

Pumpkin and Feta tart

Pastry
Ingredients

1 2/3 cups (250g) Spelt (wholemeal or plan is fine) Flour
125g unsalted butter, chilled, finely chopped
1 egg, chilled

How To
Whisk egg and 1 tbs chilled water in a bowl until combined, then with food processor motor running, add to flour mixture. Process until mixture begins to form large clumps, stopping machine before mixture forms a ball. (You can also just combine this together by using your hands "as I did")

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured bench surface and knead the dough until it is a smooth consistency with no lumps.
When the mixture is real you should be able to roll it into a ball.

Cover mixture with Glad Wrap and leave to refrigerate over night or for a minimum of 2 hours



Pumpkin Filling:
Ingredients
1 Half Jap Pumpkin
250g Feta Cheese
1 Tablespoon Coriander
salt and pepper
1 tab olive oil

How to:

Cut Pumpkin into cubes and toss in a bowl with small amount of olive oil
Place on a oven tray
Roast in the oven until cooked and brownish is colour

Place roasted pumpkin into a bowl and mash until a smooth consistency
Add coriander, salt , pepper and feta cheese and combine.
Set aside to cool while you prepare the pastry


Take 4 medium size tart tins.
using your fingers or a pastry brush coat the tins with olive oil and set aside.

Place pastry mixture onto a lightly floured bench and using a rolling pin roll out mixture until it is rolled out into a 3mm slab
using one of the tart tins as a guide cut out circles in the pastry with a  knife.
Place cut out pastry into the tins and using your fingers gently mold to fit the tins.
Using a fork prick the base of the pastry

Fill the pastry tin with pumpkin mixture until It reaches the rim of the tin.
Complete this with all 4 tins.

Place into the oven on a try at 180 degrees for 40 mins.

Once cooked set a side to cool on a cake tray

You can eat the tarts hot or cold and they taste great with a salad

FODMAP anatomy

Ok, so not a lot of people understand the scientific series of events that occur when we all eat these foods we call FODMAP intolerant foods.

Fructose malabsorption is a persons inability to absorb fructose.
Fructose comes in many types of food cells (Fructans, Lactose:Galacto-Oligosaccharides, Polyols, Monosaccharides, Disaccharides)
Fructose passes through the intestines and is fermented by bacteria in the gut which is natural, causing both gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal bloating/cramps, constipation, loose stools, diarrhea or flatulence) and increased rapid spread or increase of certain intestinal bacteria and yeast which metabolise fructose.
In most people the process of the intestine breaking down food in this manner is normal and most people do not have any reaction at all.
People who are FODMAP intolerant have the symptoms that we have as a result of healthy, everday foods causing a reaction.

It is important to understand that for each person the reaction can be different but the reactions always involve the above food groups.

Other foods that may cause a reaction are Gluten and Lactose, this can be very common.

It is important to understand that this intolerence will not cause permanent damage to your gut if you are truly Fructose malabsorbent.

I hope this helps everyones understanding of how this intolerence affects us FODMAP people.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Stuffed Tomatoes.

4 Large Tomtoes
1 cup of Jamine Rice
1 1/2 Cups of Hot Water
1 Stock Cube (I use Massel , no sugar, no salt, 100% Veggie stock)
2 Shallot stalks
Salt
Pepper
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
Capsicum Yellow or Red chopped into small pieces
 4 eggs

Cook Rice in 1 1/2 cups of water
Place stock cube in the rice and simmer for approximately 15mins or until the rice is cooked

Cut the tops of the Tomatoes scoop out the seeds and membrane inside so there is a large pocket.
Place Tomatoes into a shallow ceramic dish with a small amount of oil.

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees.

 Slice Shallots into this slices

Stuff Tomatoes with rice a layer of capsicum some more rice and then as you get to the top gently press the rice into the Tomato with a spoon.
Once Tomato is fully stuffed to the top add Parmesan cheese over the top.
Take 1 egg for each tomato and gently crack the egg over the top , don't break the yoke.

Please tomatoes and there tops into the oven and bake for 20 mins.

This is a great Veggo recipe and is not to hard.
This recipe is also FHOD map friendly

Veggies are Num Num

Sorry i have not posted for some time work has been flat out.
I have discovered a terrific web site called Veggie Num Num
Tonight i cooked the Vegetarian Bolonase

I highly recomend you all check this web site out.
The web sites are not FHOD map friendly but you can do some easy modifications to make it Fhop may friendly.

http://www.veggienumnum.com/2010/07/vegetarian-spaghetti-bolognese/

I will try to write a post this week and update you all with a new recipe to try.

Brand New Day

For the last month I have gone silly with my eating habits.
I have not been helping my poor body cope.

The foods that I have been putting in my month would turn anyone Fructose Intolerant cross eyed.
I am very disappointed in myself.
I should know better.


So this week I have decided to hit the health kick hard.
It is time to change a few habits I think.

When you first start something new you have the drive to apply it and when you start feeling great you tend to stick with it a little longer until you start to feel too good and you decided "oh I will just try a little of that"

Then before you know it old habits that you thought where dead are alive again.

Habits are something us humans find so easy to keep but commitments seem to die fast.
The best way to control or correct a habit is to remove the stimulus that forms the habit from occurring.

So I think how I will be tackling my little habitual issue is by removing the foods I can not eat.

FRIDGE YOU ARE GETTING A MAKE OVER!!!!!!

Compost Worms you are going to be having a party tonight.

I will be avoiding the foods at the supermarket I can not partake in.
Also I will be avoiding eating out for the next couple of weeks.

I find that when I start eating something I tend to get more and more relaxed and before I know it I am back feeling sick again and stuffing "Bad foods" into my mouth.


So today is a new day and a new start.
Goal 1: To exercise, run or walk 4 km for the next week everyday.
Goal 2: To eat only Fodmap friendly foods eat 2 servings of meat a week and to eat lots of veggies.

Wish me luck guys.