2 Easy Low FODMAP Lunch Ideas for a Happier Gut

Author's Bio: Jessie Gutsue, MA, RDN, IFNCP

Hey, are you overwhelmed or bored with your lunchtime routines?

If you follow a low FODMAP diet, well today is for you.

We're going to talk about 2 easy low FODMAP lunch ideas.

Hey, I'm Jessie Gutsue. I'm a functional medicine dietitian here with Oswald Digestive Clinic.

And like I said, today we're going to show you 2 very easy lunch ideas. We'll start off with our caprese salad and move into an egg salad made with a little special twisted ingredient.

[Video Transcript Below Video - it is the same information]

Overcoming Low FODMAP Diet Overwhelm

So first of all, one of the things I know can happen when you're following a low FODMAP diet is overwhelm. It tends to be a somewhat restrictive diet unfortunately, and you want to do what's best for your body. And so you read all the labels, they could be super overwhelming, but rest assured, depending on the food, many foods can fit. If you lose, use them in a low enough quantity or in the quantity that's considered low or medium FODMAP paired with similar ingredients that will fit into your diet. So that can help a little bit with the overwhelm.

Breaking the Boredom of Repetitive Meals

But the other thing is boredom, because sometimes when we choose a diet that fits our lifestyle well then we get bored and we stick in that same routine because we trust what we eat and we're comfortable with it and we know that it won't cause digestive issues. Well, I feel like both of these salads are great options to sort of mix up your daily ho hum lunches and are very simple. We'll make both of 'em in under about 10 minutes.

Caprese Salad for Midsummer

So it is midsummer here and so caprese salad is so fitting.

Fresh Basil is Key

Now I will say I only suggest using fresh basil. So I have tried it with dried basil, but fresh basil is the way to go, and mine is picked right here in my yard. So I prefer I pick it so that I can keep it clean so it's elevated from any dirt, but I also don't feel the need to wash it. Basil's really delicate and can be bruised really easily. We're just going to lay out a little bit of basil on the bottom here. And this is a great way to add good flavor without adding any FODMAPs. It's actually a low FODMAP food.

Cheese Selection

So we're going to add in a layer on the bottom and then we'll layer in our cheese. So cheese is one of those foods that contains lactose, but mozzarella is a little bit lower in lactose than some of our other cheeses. So we are going to use a fresh mozzarella and in the quantity that fits in our diet. So we're going to have about a quarter cup of cheese. And so I like to slice it super thin so that you get a good flavor throughout and you don't have to use a bunch of thick slabs because I feel like that doesn't go quite as far. So there we've got about a quarter cup and we'll just lay 'em in here like this.

Tomato Choice and Preparation

And then final ingredient before we dress it are tomatoes. Now tomatoes are a higher fructose food, so they're one of those foods that should be consumed in a lesser amount. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to stick with about this small handful of tomatoes and we're going to chop 'em up really fine. So Roma tomatoes or beef steak do have a little bit less FODMAPs than cherry tomatoes. They're sweeter. So that's one indication that they have a bit more fructose, but that's why we are going to slice them up so that you get a little nibble in each bite, but not so that you eat the salad and feel like you only got a couple bites of tomato. You still get the flavor without all the fat maps.

And these ones just happen to be what are fresh in my garden. Currently I don't have romas up yet, otherwise we could use those or beef steak of course. But because these are ready to rock, we're using these because there's nothing better than a vine ripe fresh off the vine tomato. They're so sweet.

Optional Additions

And then finally, if you want to add a little bit more basil or if you want to bulk this up a little bit and make it more of a hearty salad, now you could do a couple different things. Number one, you can add some other greens if you don't want to overwhelm your palette with more. Basil happen to really like basil, so I'm going to use even more basil. But you're also welcome to use spinach or another green that sort adds some girth to it makes you feel a little bit more filled up but without the VAPs. So to cut basil, which are great sources of those polyphenols, we are going to layer them up and then you're welcome to sort of roll 'em up really gently and ribbon slice them and then we'll just sprinkle them.

Dressing

And then finally, so you can stop here and then we can dress it with some olive oil. Now olive oil is a fat, you could get an olive oil that is infused with garlic to get you that flavor that you can sometimes miss with a low FODMAP diet, but totally unnecessary when you're working with a Caprese salad.

So we just have plain old olive oil and we'll just drizzle a couple tablespoons. Now you can also use balsamic vinegar and do a little dab of that. I think it's fine just with the oil. I think sometimes balsamic can be a little overwhelming to the basil, but there are some delicious balsamics out there that could be really good in a smaller couple of teaspoon amount. Otherwise, we are just going to salt this and pepper. And there you go. That is your Caprese salad. Perfect for midsummer.

Now I mentioned adding a little bit more greens if you want it to feel worthier or if you want to add a protein, you could add something like chicken, which would be a great option. Shrimp can also work with it, maybe even salmon. If you're a lover of salmon, that would work well too. So any of those options, if you want to add a little bit of protein and take it for an easy weeknight lunch that's low in FODMAPs. Okay, now we'll slide this one to the side and next we'll move along with our egg salad.

Egg Salad with a Low FODMAP Lunch Twist

So I mentioned that our egg salad is made with a little bit of a different twisted ingredient.

Replacing Onions with Bell Pepper

So egg salad is traditionally made with onions and unfortunately onions and garlic though they're in a lot of different ingredients and in different recipes, they are higher in FODMAPs. So with this recipe, our egg salad is made with bell pepper.

So bell pepper wasn't no FODMAP food up until a few years ago and it was retested and found to be lower in FODMAPs. So we're going to do similar as we did with the tomatoes though, we can add more pepper than we did with the tomatoes. We don't have to be quite as conservative. We're going to slice it up really finely to make sure it's dispersed through that egg salad.

So I love eggs. I frequently have them as an option. Hard boiled eggs are almost always in our fridge because I feel like they're such an easy protein and grab and go or you can do a few different fun things with it. Egg salad is one of those fun things that I like to do with this and it just takes minutes.

Egg Base

So you'll start off just by mashing your eggs, keep the yolks. The yolk in the egg is one of the best sources of choline in our diet, and choline is one of those nutrients that is obviously hard to find being that eggs are one of the few sources, but also great for our brain health. So we'll get that mashed in now.

Flavor Additions

Next is Mayo. I have a quarter cup of mayo here. Some mayos can be made with garlic or onion. So just beware. Always read your labels and make sure that's not the case. All right, we'll stir this in and then next we'll add our mustard. And Dijon mustard is one of my favorite versatile kitchen ingredients. It is such a great flavor. It's also great for dressings and sauces and a lot of different things. So it's a really good in a teaspoon portion.

Also, one to check to make sure it's not made with garlic or onions, but as long as that's the case, it is a low fog map ingredient because like I said before, we tend to get a little bit bored with our routine because we know it's safe, but there are a lot of different spices and herbs that can really dress up our foods.

So next we're going to use one of those which are chives. So you can use the tops of scallions or chives, that green top, which is a low FODMAP food and gives you that little bit of sort of oniony flavor without, of course the FODMAPs. Let's cut up our bell pepper.

Bell Pepper Tips

The green bell pepper is a little bit higher in FODMAPs than red, yellow, and purple bell peppers. So just so you're aware of that, there's still a low FODMAP food and still a great way to add crunch without the typical onions. Again, we're chopping these pretty finely so that we can disperse 'em well into our egg salad and get that nice good flavor and crunch throughout because I think some people don't prefer egg salad because of the texture. So that crunch may be really helpful to introduce people. Okay, there is our red pepper and we'll go ahead and stir this in. And that red pepper is really quite beautiful in here. So there you go. Let's stir that in.

Seasoning

And then finally we'll add a little bit of paprika. So this is sort of similar to making deviled eggs just an eighth of a teaspoon. So we'll just do a little scant dusting and stir that in.

Serving Suggestions

You can also eat this as is in the bowl with a side of cucumbers or carrots or grapes or some other low FODMAP fruit and veg. You can also toast a slice of sourdough and put it on an open face. Sourdough works for low FODMAP diets for most people because the fermentation helps to break down some of that fructose. So that helps to reduce the FODMAPs to a degree, but some people are still sensitive, so maybe it's open face and not a full sandwich. You can also use things like a little bit of rice cake or some low FODMAP crackers or anything that makes it feel like more of a meal to you.

Final Thoughts

So that is it. Now I find neither of these to be boring or overwhelming to make. So we have the caprese salad that's very simple, and the egg salad with that special ingredient, which is our bell pepper to give us that crunch. So you just have to get out there and get a little bit creative with how to substitute a typical ingredient that might not be allowed on a low FODMAP diet. Especially when you are starting out on a low FODMAP diet. It can feel really overwhelming.

So search around and look for recipes and ones that you're familiar with and then work on subbing ingredients. And finally, make sure that you are utilizing your salt and pepper in all of your herbs and spices. A lot of herbs and spices are low fodmap and it can add a great amount of flavor and look beautiful, and that's one of the ways that we eat, right?

We eat with our eyes.

So thank you again for watching. If you're interested in more cooking demos like this one,

Then email us at cookingdemos@oswalddigestiveclinic.com.

I hope you do hope to see you next time. Thank you again.

Or you can just start by downloading our FREE GUIDE: 5 Tips For Faster, Gut-Healthy Meals!