No matter the diet you follow, prepping meals on the weekend is an excellent way to reduce the time you spend cooking later in the week. Not only do you get to plan out your meals, but you can also shop for all the ingredients you need at the same time and reduce the risk of you missing out on something.
The Low FODMAP diet can be the successful foundation for an IBS diet plan. It is a highly restrictive and temporary diet based on eliminating foods that cause digestive problems. Later, these foods can be reintroduced into the diet and personalized after you figure out which ones suit your body and its needs.
What Is A FODMAP?
FODMAPs are a group of short-chain carbohydrates not adequately absorbed in the small intestine. Each letter of the word FODMAP stands for a different class of carbohydrates. FODMAP means Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols.
Foods high in FODMAPS cause symptoms in people who suffer from IBS, SIBO, or other digestive problems. These symptoms could be in the form of bloating, cramping, gas, and diarrhea. In some cases, they even experience constipation.
The low FODMAP diet was created for people with IBS; science has shown us that it can reduce their symptoms and improve their quality of life. Following a low FODMAP diet will help people with IBS discover which foods trigger their symptoms and which don’t.
Because of how tricky following it can be, you should work with a nutritionist or dietician to personalize it for your specific needs.
Helpful Tips To Keep In Mind When You Are on a Low FODMAP Diet
To properly follow your low FODMAP meal plan and ensure that you are sticking to your nutrition goals, it is essential to prep and plan your meals. This way, you don’t make mistakes by eating something you shouldn’t because you were unprepared. If you don’t like to cook, you can work with a meal delivery service, especially for people who want to follow a low FODMAP diet.
Here Are Some Additional Tips You Can Implement:
- Educate yourself on different foods and food products and their FODMAP levels.
- Learn how to read labels to spot which foods are FODMAP and improve your shopping experience.
- While creating your grocery list on the weekend, take some time to write out what meals you want to eat during the week and the ingredients you’d need to make them.
- Always have your grocery staples on hand to prevent mistakes while cooking.
How Does the Low FODMAP Diet Work?
The low FODMAP diet is in three phases. First is the elimination phase, where all high-FODMAP foods are removed from the diet. Removing these foods will give the gut a rest period and time to heal. This phase should last about two weeks.
After the elimination phase, you start eating FODMAPS. Different food groups have different levels of FODMAPS. Your body may be able to tolerate small servings of high FODMAP foods, but they make you uncomfortable.
The last phase is the personalization phase. After you figure out which foods your body can tolerate, you work with your dietician to devise a balanced meal plan that will not trigger your symptoms.
Low-FODMAP Foods
Some of the low-FODMAP foods include:
Proteins: chicken, tofu, beef, eggs, fish, and pork.
Fruits: strawberries, grapes, and oranges.
Vegetables: carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, and chives.
Grains: rice, quinoa, and oats.
Dairy products: feta, brie, and camembert cheeses.
Sources of fat: almonds, peanuts, olive oil, and macadamia nuts.
Certain foods like avocados, sweet potatoes, cabbage, and canned pumpkin can be consumed in smaller portions.
Sample 7-Day Low FODMAP Diet Meal Plan
Here is a sample 7-day low FODMAP diet meal plan to follow.
Day 1
Breakfast: Oatmeal without gluten, eaten with bananas and macadamia nuts.
Snack: A small berry smoothie
Lunch: Carrot cakes with poached eggs and rocket.
Dinner: You can have homemade pork fried rice.
Day 2
Breakfast: Gluten-free bread, eaten with peanut butter. Choose natural peanut butter that has no added sugars.
Snack: A ¼ cup of crunchy chickpeas.
Lunch: Chilli; make it with canned lentils instead of beans.
Dinner: Sri Lankan beef curry.
Day 3
Breakfast: Toast, eaten with cheese and tomatoes
Snack: A small serving of almonds and oranges
Lunch: Gluten-free margherita pizza
Dinner: Asian chicken salad
Day 4
Breakfast: Overnight oats, eaten with strawberries and blueberries.
Snack: Lactose-free yogurt and some strawberries
Lunch: Quinoa salad with chicken and zucchini. You can add some radishes too.
Dinner: Beef stew.
Day 5
Breakfast: Sourdough bread with poached eggs and avocado.
Snack: Gluten-free crackers eaten with cheddar cheese
Lunch: A chicken Caesar salad wrap
Dinner: Grilled salmon filet with soy sauce, bok choy, and brown rice.
Day 6
Breakfast: An omelet, eaten with spinach and feta cheese.
Snack: Rice cakes and natural peanut butter
Lunch: Tuna fish, eaten with sweet potatoes and some green salad.
Dinner: You can eat gluten-free spaghetti Bolognese
Day 7
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with some cheddar cheese
Snack: A simple popcorn
Lunch: Quinoa with fried eggs and some sweet potatoes
Dinner: You can have a turkey burger, zucchini, and baked potatoes.
You can make one or two meals in large quantities at the beginning of every week. You can refrigerate it and spread the meals throughout the week.
Conclusion
FODMAPS are short-chain carbohydrates that are mal-absorbed in the gut. What a low FODMAP diet does is that it removes these foods from the diets of people with IBS and reintroduces them slowly to discover which foods are safe for them.
By preparing your meals, you save time, stay on track, and maintain your adherence to the low-FODMAP diet plan.
Apart from meal prepping, another helpful tip that could help you follow the low FODMAP diet better is learning how to read the labels on packaged food.
