Delicious as it Looks

Low-FODMAP Tahini-Maple Grilled Pork Chops

2018-10-08T20:41:00.000-05:00

Here is yet another recipe I made a year ago, but didn't get around to posting. I was looking for a pork chop recipe that would be good for fall and came across this recipe at Food Done Light: Tahini Yogurt Pork Chops. It was perfect for converting to low-FODMAP and is a great recipe for autumn with its warming spices and flavors. Tahini is one of my latest obsessions. I'm finding it has many tasty applications and I'm working on several more recipes featuring this versatile ingredient.

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A Restricted Life No More

2018-10-01T15:03:00.000-05:00

I had a difficult time last week, as I think a lot of women did, so I didn't get a recipe posted. I just couldn't concentrate or focus, and my recipes seemed unimportant. I have always been a feminist (I was lucky to have parents that raised me that way), but it has only been in the past couple of years that I've become more passionate about it. Since the election, the #metoo movement, and learning about how diet culture is rooted in the patriarchy, I've gotten really angry. It's probably too much to talk about on a food blog, but since it has affected me so deeply, I just thought it was worth mentioning how I'm feeling.

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Low-FODMAP Instant Pot Italian Meatballs for Spaghetti

2018-09-20T15:21:00.003-05:00

I don't own an Instant Pot. At least not yet. Last year we got my mom an Instant Pot for Christmas and I decided to borrow it for a while to see how I like it. Well, I like it. I'm pretty discerning when it comes to bringing new items into my house. I tend to be more minimalist when it comes to making purchases. I don't like to have a lot of stuff I don't use in my house.

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Low-FODMAP Bacon Cheeseburger Macaroni

2018-09-06T17:08:00.002-05:00

I wasn't sure I would get a post up in time this week since I've been feeling a bit off lately. It all started when I went up to Minnesota to visit my sister's family for the holiday weekend. Even though I hardly spent much time outside, I ended up getting my feet and ankles all bit up by mosquitoes. They are the state bird, after all, so I guess I should have expected it. I lived in Minnesota for 13 years though and never got bit this bad! Well, by the time I got home my ankles were swollen to the size of oranges. I ended up taking some Benadryl because I was so uncomfortable. I've been drowsy and sleepy since. Although my ankles are back to normal size, they are still itchy.

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Low-FODMAP Smoked Turkey & Spinach Wraps with Spicy Mayo

2018-08-30T15:22:00.000-05:00

Just in time for back-to-school! I'm finally sharing this recipe that I created last year and never got around to posting. I'm hoping that this new schedule of posting a new recipe every Thursday will help keep me motivated to keep up with my blog. And then recipes like this won't get lost and go unpublished.

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Low-FODMAP Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2018-08-23T15:58:00.002-05:00

OK, this should be the last zucchini recipe. At least for a while. I'm not going to lie. I know this recipe is for bread, but really, it's more like cake. Chocolate cake. You can't even taste the zucchini. Instead, the zucchini helps this bread retain moisture and tenderness.

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Low-FODMAP Pineapple Green Smoothie Bowl

2018-08-20T17:05:00.000-05:00

I've really been enjoying smoothies bowls to eat as an afternoon snack lately. I usually work up a sweat while taking photos, so a smoothie bowl is really refreshing and filling after working hard all afternoon. I swear you can't even taste the spinach! It's a great way to get greens into your diet. This recipe is adapted from my smoothie recipe found in my cookbook.

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Low-FODMAP Cheesy Sausage Zucchini Casserole

2018-08-16T15:11:00.001-05:00

I promised you some more zucchini recipes, so here's another. I have to admit that I usually don't like squash. Except for zucchini and yellow squash. Other squashes, like butternut and spaghetti, are not my cup of tea. I find them mushy and too sweet. But that's okay, because they give me too much gas anyway! For me, zucchini is where it's at.

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Low-FODMAP Spiced Zucchini Muffins

2018-08-09T16:32:00.000-05:00

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It's zucchini season and my, do we have zucchini. Not from our garden, mind you. We don't have a garden because I have the blackest thumb ever. No, these zucchinis come from husband's co-worker. Last week my husband brought home the biggest zucchini I have ever seen. It is about fifteen inches long and four inches in diameter. It barely fits in our fridge. Needless to say, I have been cooking and baking a lot with zucchini lately.

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Banana Buckwheat Pancakes

2018-08-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

I'm always looking for ways to incorporate different grains into my eating enjoyment, so I decided to try buckwheat. I've already made a buckwheat soba noodle recipe (see Sesame Soba Noodles with Chicken & Kale), so the next thing to try was pancakes. When I first started to create this recipe, I had the intent of using all buckwheat flour. But I quickly discovered that I didn't like buckwheat as much as I thought I would. At least not in pancake form. They were a bit heavy and gritty. So I added some rice flour and that made it so much better. Fluffier, softer, and better tasting. Buckwheat has a very strong flavor, so the addition of the rice flour mellows it out.

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Easy Low-FODMAP Marinara Sauce

2018-07-26T15:28:00.001-05:00

I think I've figured out the reason I've been a reluctant blogger lately. I actually LOVE creating content: developing recipes, photographing them, creating graphics, and writing. I have no problem doing all that. The problem comes when I have to hit the "publish" button. It's tough putting yourself and what you create out there. The more popular my blog got, the more I didn't want to do it anymore. The more people see my content, the more subject I am to criticism, and that gives me so much anxiety. I go weeks without checking my blog email because I have so much anxiety over it. Most of the feedback I get is overwhelmingly positive, but it's only human to fixate on on the negative, and that's what I have a tendency to do.

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Scarlet Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Tahini Dressing

2018-07-09T17:25:00.000-05:00

I know what you're thinking: how are chickpeas and tahini low-FODMAP? Well, like a lot of food on the low-FODMAP diet, it's all about serving size. Canned, rinsed chickpeas are lo-fo in a serving size of 1/4 cup and tahini 1 tablespoon. So go ahead and enjoy this salad if you know those serving sizes work for you!

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Low-FODMAP Creamy Coleslaw

2018-06-06T16:22:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I guess it's been a while. All I can say is that I've just been busy with life. I have some new interests these days and food isn't as much of a priority anymore. I mean, I need food to survive and I still love recipes and photography, but it's just not an obsession anymore. It actually makes perfect sense now that I'm not trying to lose weight by restricting. If you want to learn more about this, check out the Minnesota (Semi-) Starvation Experiment by Ancel Keys. (And people think dieting is "healthy?" What on earth have we been thinking?) Anyways, keeping up with a blog (especially a food blog) is a lot of work. However, I still have some recipes in the works and hope to carve out some time to share them with you.

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Cookbook Review: Low-FODMAP and Vegan

2018-04-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

I was recently given the opportunity to read and try out recipes from a book called Low-FODMAP and Vegan: What to Eat When You Can't Eat Anything by Jo Stepaniak, MSEd. Although I admire that way of eating, I am not a vegan. Mostly because of cheese. I love cheese....Anyways, as much as I love cheese, I also enjoy trying out new recipes (even if they don't have cheese).

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Quick & Easy Low-FODMAP Chicken Noodle Soup

2018-04-03T17:53:00.001-05:00

I wanted to post this recipe a lot earlier. You know, when it was still winter and more appropriate soup weather. But it's just as well since, as I'm typing this, it is snowing. It's April. And it's snowing. We may as well drown our sorrows of the never-ending winter in a nice bowl of warm soup.

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2018-03-29T18:41:00.001-05:00

My family's tradition at Easter is to serve Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I don't know if that is a common thing, but that's what we do and we like it. I think it comes from the fact that pineapple goes well with ham. You have to have the sweet to balance out the salty.

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Quick & Easy Low-FODMAP Vegetable Beef Soup

2018-03-01T21:06:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you, but I grew up on Campbell's condensed soups. My favorites were tomato and vegetable beef. They were both so comforting and a must when I was sick. Lots of crackers were required too. Especially those little oyster crackers. Yum.

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Low-FODMAP Lemon-Ginger Baked Swai with Red Pepper

2018-02-01T17:06:00.000-06:00

I love fish. I really do. Since starting intuitive eating, I've come to realize what foods I really enjoy and what foods I don't. Fish? Yes. Especially a dish like this, served on a bed of rice. What I don't like are low-carb substitutes. Can we be done with those already? I do love zucchini, but I like to have zucchini with pasta, not as a replacement for it. There is no magic in not eating carbs.

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Low-FODMAP Red Cabbage Stir-Fry with Tofu

2018-01-16T15:58:00.001-06:00

While it seems like everyone and their dog is dieting and eliminating foods right now, I'm doing the opposite. I'm adding food into my life and it's delicious. Red cabbage is a food I'd never eaten much of before. I think the only time I ate red cabbage was when it was included in a bagged salad mix. I've been experimenting with it and came up with this tasty stir-fry. The red cabbage goes really well with the sweet and tangy sauce. And yes, red cabbage is low-FODMAP, just make sure you stick with the one cup serving size.

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Rejecting Diet Culture

2018-01-11T16:47:00.001-06:00

New Years is a little tricky this year. I'm usually somewhat depressed due to the holidays being over, in addition to the dark and cold of winter. But now I also have to navigate being bombarded with dieting and exercising resolutions being touted on TV, radio, and online. Why? Because I'm in full anti-diet mode.

I have struggled with my weight and body image for most of my life and I'm finally learning that it doesn't have to be such a struggle. I have wasted so much energy trying to manipulate my body, so much brain power being obsessed with food and exercise. I'm ready to get on with my life and accept my myself for who I am and my body for what it is.

My journey towards body acceptance began recently when I gained all the weight back (plus more) that I had lost a couple of years before. I went through a very stressful and difficult year in my life and couldn't spend all the time and effort it took to suppress my weight anymore. The weight came slamming back on and there was nothing I could do to stop it. My body was done with trying to be a weight it didn't want to be. I tried so hard to lose the weight again, but it wouldn't budge. My metabolism was shot. The old "calories in, calories out" didn't work anymore. If you think I just didn't try hard enough, let me tell you, I was an expert at losing weight (having lost a good amount of weight twice in my life). I had a ton of self control and discipline. It wasn't for lack of trying that I couldn't keep the weight off.

So I had a choice, I could keep trying, which at this point I realized was futile, or I could take a different approach. Around this time I read an article on Facebook. The article was about weight loss, and despite my better judgement, I read the comments. I got so mad at all the fat phobia and was desperately searching for commenters that countered the hateful rhetoric. Such a comment was there and mentioned a podcast called "Food Psych."

I had never listened to a podcast before, but I knew I had an app on my phone for such things, so I listened to an episode and was immediately hooked. I very quickly felt vindicated and reassured that my lack of ability to keep the weight off was not my fault. I quickly found other similar podcasts and devoured them over the following months. I can't give enough accolades to these ground-breaking podcasts: Food Psych with Christy Harrison, Fearless Rebelle Radio with Summer Innanen, Every Body Podcast, Dietitians Unplugged, Reclaiming You with Sarah Vance, and several more. They have changed my life so much for the better.

In listening to the podcasts, I learned about Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating. I had actually read "Health at Every Size" by Linda Bacon a year before, but wasn't quite convinced. I still held the belief that I could lose the weight again and keep it off this time. I just had to find the perfect diet, the perfect combination of macros, the perfect exercise routine.....until I finally reached my breaking point and was ready to hear the truth.

The truth is that our bodies are not meant to lose weight and keep it off. It will fight tooth and nail to get back to the weight it was before. This is actually a good thing. It's a mechanism that keeps us alive. The body was starved before (i.e. on a diet) and wants to keep the fat in case it happens again. It wants to stay alive! The other big truth: Our size and health has more to do with our genetics and socioeconomic status than our diets.

CNN recently published an article that describes these ideas very well: How your body fights back when you diet.

So how does my anti-diet stance relate to IBS and the low-FODMAP diet? Well, it's complicated. I still think that the low-FODMAP diet, when done properly with expert guidance, is a great tool for relieving IBS. It helped me immensely. My hubby would be suffering from his fructose malabsorption and lactose intolerance if it weren't for my low-FODMAP recipes, so I'm not giving that up! However, I have a lot of untangling to do when it comes to how my IBS relates to my attempts at weight loss and how my body image is tied to my mental health. It's all connected and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it all. I might not have developed IBS if it weren't for dieting and the disordered eating that emerged from it.

Now that I'm not stressing out about my weight anymore, what will I do? For one thing, enjoy the freedom! Second, learn to appreciate my body for what it is. You know, my body is a pretty amazing thing for surviving the ravages of cancer. I'm also discovering its abilities through yoga. Yoga is incredible! Of course I will continue with this blog. I love developing recipes and photographing them. That hasn't changed. Though I do wonder if the restriction of dieting to lose weight lead to the obsession with food that lead to starting a food blog.

I hope to be writing more about the anti-diet world in the future. I hope I can help other people that may be suffering with IBS resulting from disordered eating, and suffering from the mental effects of negative body image. Sometimes just hearing that you are not alone can help. I also have this blog, an amazing platform, to help spread the word: Life is too short to spend so much time and energy trying to manipulate the size and shape of your body!

Chai Spice Banana Muffins {Low-FODMAP, Gluten-Free, Gum-Free}

2018-01-04T17:27:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a nice holiday season. Mine, for once, wasn't too stressful. I lowered my expectations, reduced the self-imposed tasks I usually take on, and practiced self-care. I think yoga was my secret weapon this year. It's helping to repair my relationship with my body and reducing the stress in my life. I'm taking a more gentle and relaxed approach and feeling the calmest I've ever felt in my life. So calm, I'm surprised I finally got this muffin recipe finalized and photographed!

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Low-FODMAP Sesame Chicken

2018-01-02T15:17:00.000-06:00

I recently made this Healthy Sesame Chicken recipe from Genius Kitchen (formerly known as Food.com) and thought it was so delicious. I had to share it, especially because all it took to make it low-FODMAP was one change: replacing the flour with gluten-free flour.

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Eggnog Snickerdoodles {Low-FODMAP, Gluten-Free, Gum-Free}

2017-12-21T16:08:00.000-06:00

This time of year is usually a time of reflection and I have been thinking a lot about the past year. I'm mostly filled with gratitude. I'm most thankful that my mental health is in a much better place than it was at this time last year. I really slowed my life down and gave myself time to heal and take care. It meant quitting and turning some things down, but it was necessary. I feel like I can breathe again. I'm not drowning anymore.

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Low-FODMAP Creamy Leftover Turkey & Potato Soup

2017-12-14T15:55:00.000-06:00

I'm excited to share with you that I have been named a Top 50 Low-FODMAP Blog! It is an honor and a badge I will proudly wear. I have to thank you, all of my readers, for keeping me working, even when my energy is low. I so enjoy all of the emails and comments I get. It's very encouraging and gives me the motivation to keep going with this blog. Thank you so very much for reading and trying my recipes and giving me feedback!

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Low-FODMAP Holiday Recipe Roundup

2017-12-06T19:02:00.001-06:00

I've been writing this blog for seven years now, and blogging about low-FODMAP recipes for about four years. I've come to the point where I'm able to look back on all of my hard work over the years and feel really proud of myself. Sometimes I can't believe how many recipes I've blogged about. And yet, I still feel like I can't keep up with all of the ideas in my head. It can get frustrating having a body that's not up to the tasks I have in mind. Despite my frustrations, I still feel privileged that I can compile a list like this. It's been years in the making.

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