Tag: family friendly

Buckwheat Pancakes


Makes 7 pancakes
Time: 1 hr 20 mins
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

225 g buckwheat flour
1 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1 3/4 cups SoGood soy milk
2 eggs
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup Nuttelex Original
100% pure maple syrup

Instructions
    1. Beat soy milk and eggs together with a fork
    2. Combine buckwheat flour and baking powder
    3. Gradually sift flour mixture into soy milk and eggs mixture, mixing well.
    4. Add a pinch of salt to the mixture and stir.
    5. Cover the mixture and allow to sit for 1 hr.
    6. Heat 1 tbsp of Nuttelex Original into a frying pan on medium-high heat.
    7. Add one ladle-full of batter to the frying pan. Move the frying pan to spread the batter out thinly.
    8. Cook until the mixture solidifies around the edges, then flip the pancake over, adding one more Nuttelex to the pan. Cook until the pancake is golden on both sides.
    9. Continue cooking pancakes until all the mixture is finished.
    10. Serve with pure maple syrup.
Personal Notes

My family, and a few of our close family friends go on an annual camping trip, almost like a pilgrimage to the same campground each Easter. As the first year on the on failsafe + low FODMAP + dairy free + wheat free diets the challenge was to still be able to go camping without having to rely on my usual technique of freezing food. The solution was to go vegetarian for a few days, keep my own box of non-perishable food and a bag in the esky of perishable food.

These buckwheat pancakes were for for brunch but I often make them at home for breakfast, dessert, a snack (especially good when I come home hungry) or for a carbohydrate source to go with a pasta sauce. These were also enjoyed by my family who are on “normal” diets.

Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 6
Time 1 hr
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

500 g fresh beef mince (a)
80 g / 3 sticks celery (b)
50 g green leek tips (1 leek) (c)
120 g green beans (d)
150 g snake beans
1 tin of lentils (e)
1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
4 large white potatoes (f)
1/4 cup SoGood Soymilk
2 tbsp Nuttelex Original
1 tsp salt
water
Canola oil (g)
Canola oil or rice bran oil spray (h)

Moderate salicylate optional additions

1 large carrot

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Celery is low FODMAP at 75 g (FODMAP Friendly App, 2018)
(c) Dark green tops of leeks are low FODMAP. They are also slightly higher in salicylates than the white part although suitable for failsafe elimination. Tip: re-grow the leeks.
(d) Green beans are low FODMAP at 14 beans (75 g, FODMAP Friendly App, 2018). Frozen green beans can be substituted for fresh green beans and used in the same way.
(e) Tinned lentils, well rinsed, are low FODMAP at 1/2 cup (46 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(f) Use white brushed, coliban, sebago or kennebec potatoes, or other large white potatoes with white flesh. Check the colour before buying brushed potatoes because they can come in yellow.
(g) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321).
(h) Canola or rice bran oil spray should have no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321) or soy lecithin (moderate amines). Propellants such as propane, butane, isobutane are fine.

Instructions
  1. Thickly (double) peel potatoes and cut into small cubes
  2. Boil the cubed potatoes in water until soft. In the meantime begin the meat and vegetable layer
  3. To make the mashed potato layer, drain potatoes once they are soft, and mash with SoGood, Nuttelex Original and 1/2 tsp salt
  4. Rinse, top and tail and chop green beans and snake beans into 1 cm pieces
  5. Rinse and chop up dark green tips of leek, celery and green drumhead cabbage
  6. Drain tinned lentils and rinse well
  7. Thickly peel and dice carrot into 1 cm cubes (moderate salicylate option)
  8. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
  9. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat
  10. Fry the celery in the saucepan until it begins to brown
  11. Add the green tips of leek and cook until leek begins to go soft
  12. Add the fresh beef mince and stir continously until mince is no longer pink. If the mince begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, add water
  13. Add green beans, snake beans, lentils, carrot (moderate salicylate) and 1/2 tsp salt
  14. Cover the meat and vegetables with water, cover and simmer for 20 mins.
  15. After 10 mins, remove the lid
  16. In the last 5 mins add the chicken stock and green cabbage.
  17. Pour the meat and vegetable mixture into a large baking dish or deep tray, spreading evenly
  18. Using a fork, evenly spead the mash potato on top of the meat and vegetable layer.
  19. Spray the mash potato layer with oil
  20. Cook Shepherd’s Pie for 20 mins at 180 deg C
  21. Serve immediately, or freeze immediately as the meal contains meat
Personal Notes

I have made Shepherd’s Pie a few times, but this one using both green beans and snake beans as well as Chicken Stock is my favourite so far. You can substitute the green beans for more snake beans, but do not increase the number of green beans. Snake beans are lower in FODMAPs than green beans. Although this recipe serves 6, it is a safe FODMAP serve if only divided into 5 serves – so if you are really hungry, go for it! I have cooked it to freeze and have meals on hand this week while I am moving house.

Another shameless plug for my cousin’s company Dreamfarm (although they are not sponsoring me!) – the potato masher I use is really efficient and you don’t get the layer of unmashed potato at the bottom. It is called a Smood from Dreamfarm, and you can find one here

Shepherd’s Pie before the mash potato layer
The mashed potato layer with a Smood potato masher from Dreamfarm

Edit: I recently re-read the RPAH charts and discovered that the emulsifier soy lecithin that is often used in canola oil spray is actually moderate in amines. I have since switched to using rice bran oil without soy lecithin.

Fried Rice


Serves 4
Time: 30 min
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

500 g cold cooked rice (a)
60 g / 2 sticks celery
90 g sprouted mung beans
120 g green beans, fresh or frozen (c)
230 g green drumhead cabbage (d)
240 g cooked chicken pieces (e)
20 g / 1/2 bunch of dark green spring onion tips (f)
1 tbsp golden syrup (g)
3 eggs
3 tbsp canola oil (h)
1/2 tsp salt

Foodnotes

(a) Avoid basmati, jasmine or wild rice which are moderate in salicylates (RPAH Elimination Handbook, 2011). I used long grain white rice.
(b) Celery is low FODMAP at 75 g (FODMAP Friendly App, 2018)
(c) Green beans are low FODMAP at 14 beans (75 g, FODMAP Friendly App, 2018).
(d) Green drumhead cabbage is low FODMAP at 1 cup (94 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(e) Meat should be fresh when cooked and either used the same day or frozen immediately. Follow dietician’s advice.
(f) Tip: re-grow spring onions
(h) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)

Instructions
  1. Rinse celery, sprouted mung beans, green tips of spring onions, green beans and cabbage.
  2. Finely chop celery, green tips of spring onions and cabbage. Chop green beans
  3. Heat 1 tbsp of canola oil in a wok on medium-high heat.
  4. Beat eggs together with 1/4 tsp salt
  5. Cook eggs in wok until very dry
  6. Add celery, sprouted mung beans, green beans, cabbage and remaining 1/4 tsp salt to the wok and stir fry for 3-5 mins until celery is soft. Add canola oil as required to stop food sticking to the wok.
  7. Add cold rice to the wok and stir until warm and well-mixed.
  8. Slice chicken and chop into small pieces.
  9. Add chicken and green tips of spring onions to the wok.
  10. Cook for a further 5 min
  11. Mix 1 tbsp golden syrup with 4 tbsp hot water
  12. Remove wok from the heat and stir through golden syrup mixture.
  13. As this recipe contains meat, serve immediately or freeze immediately.
Personal Notes

This recipe is based off Brigid’s Indonesian-style fried rice from Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook, but modified to be low FODMAP.

I think the key to fried rice is having relatively dry cooked rice rather than gluggly. If you don’t have time to prepare the rice multiple days ahead, you can still do it on the same day. I cooked my rice in the morning and then used it in the evening. After my usual 10 mins of absorption, I left the rice on low heat on the stove until the rice at the bottom was dry and starting to stick to the saucepan. I then put it in a large bowl, spread it up the sides and left it to cool uncovered while I got ready in the morning. Once it had stopped steaming I covered it and kept it in the fridge until it was ready to use.

Fried rice is a nice quick dinner, and is also a good way to use up left over frozen roast chicken. You can even add left over chicken stuffing to the fried rice for extra flavour. I tried that once and it was delicious. If you don’t have sprouted mung beans they can easily be excluded, and if you tolerate moderate salicylates, you can add peeled, diced carrot in with the other vegetables at the start. I really like egg in my fried rice. I only had two eggs in the fridge this week, but I’ve bumped the recipe up to three eggs. Anywhere between two and four eggs would be fine, depending on personal preference and what is on hand.

Chicken and Leek Puffs


Makes 8 triangles, serves 4
Time: 1 hr
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients – Puffs

2 x 400 g boxes Genius Gluten Free Puff Pastry (a)
300 g diced chicken thighs (b)
45 g dark green tips of leek (c)
12 g / 6 dark green spring onion tips (d)
1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
1 tbsp canola oil (e)
1/8 tsp citric acid
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp gluten free cornflour (f)
rice flour for dusting
1 egg

Ingredients – optional dipping sauce

120 mL water
1 tsp citric acid
2/3 tsp salt
2/3 cup white sugar

Foodnotes

(a) Genius Gluten Free Puff Pastry can be found in some Coles supermarkets.
(b) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician).
(c) Dark green tops of leeks are low FODMAP. They are also slightly higher in salicylates than the white part although suitable for failsafe elimination. Tip: re-grow leeks and spring onions.
(d) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321).
(e) Use gluten free cornflour, also known as cornstarch, which is a fine white flour. Corn flour from wheat contains wheat and gluten while yellow corn flour or maize flour is higher in salicylates.

Instructions
  1. One day before making chicken and leek puffs, defrost pastry in the fridge
  2. Remove pastry from the fridge and allow to warm to room temperature
  3. Preheat oven to 180 deg C (fan forced)
  4. Rinse dark green tips of leek and dark green tips of spring onion. Chop finely, keeping separate.
  5. Cut the diced chicken into smaller pieces
  6. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil to a small frying pan over medium-high heat
  7. Add the chicken to the pan, and stir continuously until the chicken is sealed, about 5 min
  8. Add the leek to the pan and cook until leek is soft, about 2 min
  9. Mix cornflour in with half of the chicken stock and make a slurry
  10. Add chicken stock, cornflour/stock mixture, citric acid and salt to the frying pan. Mix well
  11. Turn the frying pan down to medium heat and cook until the mixture has thickened. The mixture should be creamy with minimal liquid.
  12. Roll out each sheet of puff pastry to a 20 cm x 20 cm square.
  13. Using a sharp knife, cut each sheet of pastry into four 10 cm x 10 cm squares.
  14. Spoon the chicken mixture onto one triangular side of each small square of pastry. Do not overfill.
  15. On each square, fold the pastry over to form a triangle and seal the edges by pressing with a fork. This may be necessary on both sides.
  16. Beat the egg in a cup and lightly brush over the pastry with a pastry brush. If you don’t have a pastry brush, a piece of folded paper towel also works.
  17. Place the chicken and leek puffs on an oven tray lined with baking paper, and bake at 180 deg C for 25 min.
  18. Serve immediately as an entree, snack or main course, with optional dipping sauce. If you don’t eat them immediately, freeze them immediately as they contain meat.
  19. To make optional dipping sauce combine ingredients in a saucepan, simmer on high heat for 1 minute with regular stirring.
Personal Notes

I have to thank one of my colleagues for the idea for this recipe. He was surprised that I made a lamb, leek and lentil pie when his usual recipe was for chicken and leek pie. I didn’t realise chicken and leek were so commonly paired together! So I came up with this recipe – I’m sure it could also be used to make a pie with either Genius gluten free puff pastry or shortcrust pastry. When I made these I actually only had one packet of the puff pastry on hand, and I couldn’t fit all the mixture in the puffs. I ended up eating the filling on its own, which also tastes good. You could eat half the filling at once and it would still be low FODMAP and failsafe – the only significant FODMAP-containing ingredients are the green tips of the leek (safe at 28 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP App, 2018) and the homemade chicken stock, which contains green tips of leek and celery (low FODMAP at 75 g, FODMAP Friendly App, 2018).

The dipping sauce is an adapted recipe from Thai Cooking Class by Somi Anuntra Millar and Patricia Lake, it has a lot of sugar in it but is a nice addition, especially if you serve the puffs as a party snack. The original recipe poured the dipping sauce over finely chopped carrot, cucumber and coriander. I haven’t tried it yet, but if you tolerate moderate salicylates, you could pour the dipping sauce over very finely chopped peeled carrot and peeled cucumber. I tried to make a potato bake to go with the puffs but it did not turn out well – a bit of optimising is required on that recipe before I share it!

This week we had an event at Uni for International Women’s Day – there was a talk from a eminent international Chemistry professor and a shared lunch with the other female students. It was great to put some names to faces in the School and meet some new people. I brought along these chicken and leek puffs and fit right in having a delicious lunch while the others had pizza.

White and Green Stir Fry


Serves 4
Time 30 mins
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

400 g fresh beef strips (a)
2 sticks / 60 g celery (b)
100 g green beans (c)
200 g green drumhead cabbage (d)
120 g (1/2 can) tinned chickpeas (e)
200 g bean sprouts
20 g / 12 dark green tips of spring onions (f)
3 tbsp canola oil (g)
1/2 tsp salt, plus to taste
1/4 tsp citric acid
1 tbsp golden syrup (h)
1 1/3 cups of uncooked white or brown rice (i)
water

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Celery is low FODMAP at 75 g (FODMAP Friendly App, 2018)
(c) Green beans are low FODMAP at 14 beans (75 g, FODMAP Friendly App, 2018). Frozen green beans can be substituted for fresh green beans and used in the same way.
(d) Green drumhead cabbage is low FODMAP at 1 cup (96 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018). The dense white part of the cabbage works well for this recipe.
(e) Tinned chickpeas, well rinsed, are low FODMAP at 1/4 cup (42 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(f) Tip: re-grow spring onions
(g) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)
(h) Golden syrup is low FODMAP at 1/2 tbsp (7g, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018)
(i) Avoid basmati, jasmine or wild rice which are moderate in salicylates (RPAH Elimination Handbook, 2011). Medium or long grain is best for this recipe.

Instructions
  1. Rinse rice and cook according to packet instructions.
  2. Rinse celery and spring onions and chop finely, keeping them separate.
  3. Rinse green beans, top and tail and cut into small chunks.
  4. Rinse tinned chickpeas throughly.
  5. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil on high heat in a large wok.
  6. Add the celery to the wok and cook for ~ 3 mins until it starts going soft. Remove celery from the wok.
  7. Turn down the heat to medium, add more canola oil and add the beef strips.
  8. Continually stir the beef strips until they are sealed. If the meat starts to stick the the bottom of the wok or brown, add a small amount of water.
  9. Add celery back to the wok along with chickpeas, salt, citric acid and golden syrup and turn heat up to medium-high.
  10. Stir fry for 5 mins and then add the green beans.
  11. Stir fry for another few minutes until beef strips are cooked through, then add cabbage, bean sprouts, dark green spring onion tips and 2 tbsp water. Stir the fresh greens through the mixture and then cover for 5 mins.
  12. Serve stir fry on rice and eat immediately or freeze immediately to avoid amine build-up.
Personal Notes

This stir fry is carefully balanced to be low FODMAP despite containing quite a few ingredients that would be high FODMAP in larger amounts – be careful if you adjust the quantities in the recipe. If you would like the stir fry to be sweeter, I recommend adding maple syrup rather than more golden syrup. A nice addition to the stir fry is sprouted mung beans, if you can find them – I find them quite elusive in shops and markets. Sprouted mung beans contain GOS if eaten in large amounts (95 g is low FODMAP but 200 g is high in GOS, The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App, 2018), so if you include sprouted mung beans, reduce the amount of chickpeas.

Bamboo shoots can be added to the stir fry in any quantity, but personally I am not a big fan. An experiment went wrong; I had an empty fridge and made a creamy pasta sauce with bamboo shoots as the only vegetable and ever since I couldn’t stomach the taste. Chicken can also be used instead of beef strips. This recipe works equally well with rice noodles (only ingredients should be rice) rather than on a bed of rice.

This stir fry leaves you with half a can of chickpeas. They can be added in small amounts in salads or turned into low FODMAP, failsafe hummus such as can be found here on Everyday Nutrition‘s website. Use canola oil instead of olive oil as suggested and leave out the garlic and infused olive oil garnish. Still tastes delicious! Serve with plain sakatas or other rice crackers (check ingredients), celery sticks, (moderate salicylate) peeled carrot sticks and (moderate salicylate) peeled cucumber sticks.

I have called this stir fry the ‘White and Green’ stir fry because when I started failsafe + low FODMAP, and when I was really strict on salicylates, it felt like all of my food was white, green or brown. That was before I discovered red cabbage (low salicylate) which definitely makes a stir fry seem more appealing.

Chicken Stock


Makes 2.5 L
Time 1 hour 10 mins + cooling
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

1 chicken carcass (a)
1 leek (b)
1/2 bunch of dark green tips of spring onion (b)
2 sticks celery (c)
1 tsp salt

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat, and cooked that day (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Dark green tips of leek (1/2 cup) and spring onion are low FODMAP (The Monash University Low FODMAP App, Feb 2018). Tip: regrow your leeks and spring onions
(c) Celery is low FODMAP at 75g (FODMAP Friendly App, Feb 2018).

Instructions
  1. Cut off dark green tips of leek and dark green tips of spring onion, rinse and chop coarsley.
  2. To a large pot add the chicken carcass, with no skin or extra fatty bits, the dark green tips of leek and spring onions and salt
  3. Cover the chicken with warm water, about 2.5 L
  4. Bring the pot to the boil on the stove and then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
  5. Sieve the stock into tall jugs, leaving behind the chicken and large chunks of leek and spring onion.
  6. Place the tall jugs in the fridge until the fat separates out and solidifies on the top.
  7. Skim the fat off the surface of the stock.
  8. Portion the stock to use immediately or freeze for future use.
Personal notes

This recipe is based on Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook stock recipe. Cooking the stock for a long time increases the level of amines – if you use the stock in another meal, be careful how long you cook the next meal for. I find that I can tolerate the stock when used in small amounts and if cooked for not much longer, but I will react if I use the stock in another meal that requires simmering or baking for an hour. Consult with your dietician to make the right choice for you. Using a carcass without skin or fatty bits of chicken minimises the amount of fat in the stock that has to be skimmed off and helps minimse the amine level.

The Fed Up website suggests stock should last 5 days in the fridge or months in the freezer. I tend to be cautious and treat stock as I would freshly cooked meat – use immediately or freeze immediately.

I find the best time to make stock is immediately after making roast chicken – the chicken is fresh and usually I have already committed to a day of cooking with the roast, so I might as well make some decent stock at the same time. Some of my favourite recipes to use chicken stock are basic pasta sauce, Brigid’s cabbage rolls in Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook but made with failsafe, low FODMAP mince, and a rice noodle and chicken salad (recipe to come).

Sweet Carrots (Moderate Salicylate)


Serves 2
Time 5 mins
~ low FODMAP ~ moderate salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

1 carrot
2 tsp brown rice malt syrup (or maple syrup)
1 tsp Nuttlex Original
1/8 tsp (1 pinch) salt

Instructions
  1. Thickly peel carrot and slice thinly.
  2. Place carrot in a microwave safe container with about 3 tbsp water.
  3. Microwave on high for 4 mins.
  4. Drain the carrots and add syrup, Nuttlex Original and salt.
  5. Allow the carrots to sit for 1 min, then stir and serve.
Personal Notes

Carrot is moderate in salicylates and low FODMAP. This recipe is based on one for honeyed carrots that belongs to my housemate’s grandmother. I originally did it with maple syrup, but my new favourite is with brown rice malt syrup which is not as sweet. This is a quick and easy side if you can tolerate moderate salicylates – I had it with green beans, hash browns and chicken schnitzel in the photo above.

Roast Vegetables

Serves as much as you can fit in the oven!
Time 50 mins
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

large white potatoes (a)
choko (b)
brussel sprouts (c)
canola oil (d)
salt
Nuttelex Original

Moderate salicylate options

carrot
zucchini
sweet potato (e)

Foodnotes

(a) Use white brushed, coliban, sebago or kennebec potatoes. Check the colour before buying brushed potatoes because they can come in yellow.
(b) Choko is also known as chayote, see photos here. Choko is low FODMAP for fructans at 1/2 cup (84 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP App, Feb 2018)
(c) Two brussel sprouts are low FODMAP for GOS (The Monash University Low FODMAP App, Feb 2018)
(d) Use canola oil that has no antioxidants (no 310-312, 319-321)
(e) Sweet potato is low FODMAP at 1/2 cup (70 g, The Monash University Low FODMAP App and FODMAP Friendly App, Feb 2018 – inconsistency on which FODMAPs)

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
  2. Thickly (double) peel the potatoes, and peel the choko and (moderate salicylate) carrot, zucchini and sweet potato.
  3. Chop all vegetables into large chunks.
  4. Microwave the carrots and sweet potato for 1-2 mins depending on quantity.
  5. Microwave the potato for 3 min.
  6. Mix the vegetables in a bowl with canola oil and salt to taste.
  7. Place the vegetables in a roasting tray lined with baking paper.
  8. Using a teaspoon smear Nuttelex on each Brussel sprout and wrap up all Brussel sprouts together in alfoil.
  9. Bake all vegetables for 40-45 mins, until Brussel sprouts start to brown and the other vegetables become crisp on the outside.
Personal Notes

Watch out for overloading salicyates and stacking FODMAPs when you choose to combine multiple salicylate or FODMAP-containing foods (see Foodnotes). I usually have a full serve of potato and steamed green beans, two brussel sprouts and only a few pieces of zucchini, carrot and sweet potato in total. I don’t eat more than two small or one large piece of sweet potato. Unfortunately chokos are out of season until the cooler months, but at the end of last year, I was having just a 2-3 pieces as part of a meal.

In the last 5 minutes of roasting the vegetables, put some green beans (fresh or frozen) on to steam. Green beans are a great addition to a plate of roast vegetables. I like to use roast vegetables as a side to schnitzel or roast chicken, and use them in salads and quiches. Roast veggies are also great when you get home from work and want a mostly-healthy snack before cooking dinner.

Roast chicken with roast vegetables, showing my usual combination of vegetables (include moderate salicylates). The plate was made by Sarah Schembri Ceramics.

Roast Chicken

Serves about 5
Time 2 hours
~ low FODMAP ~ failsafe ~ low salicylate ~ low or moderate amine ~ dairy free ~ gluten free ~

Ingredients

1 size 16 chicken (a)
1/2 bunch dark green tips of spring onions (b)
1 tsp salt
1 cup of cooked rice or 1/3 cup uncooked rice

Foodnotes

(a) Ensure very fresh meat (as instructed by dietician)
(b) Tip: re-grow spring onions

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
  2. Rinse and cook rice, if not cooked already. I use a 3:4 ratio of long grain white rice and water, simmered on the stove for 10 minutes.
  3. Rinse dark green tips of spring onions and chop finely.
  4. Mix rice, dark green tips of spring onions and salt.
  5. Spoon the stuffing into the chicken and fold the skin over the opening.
  6. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and cook. For each 500 g of chicken, cook for 30 mins.
  7. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 mins.
  8. Pour out the fat (high in amines) and peel off the skin and discard.
  9. Carve the chicken and eat immediately or freeze immediately.

Personal notes

This recipe is based on the roast chicken from Sue Dengate’s The Failsafe Cookbook, which has been adjusted to be low FODMAP, so I have assumed it to be failsafe. However, the levels of amines in stuffing and meat cooked over a long time may be too high for some people – please discuss with your dietician.

If you are not eating the chicken on the day it was cooked, it can be frozen in thin layers wrapped in alfoil. The chicken is then easy to break up to the desired size and defrost quickly. I have successfully used the frozen pieces of chicken in sandwiches and fried rice or reheated with roast vegetables. A sandwich in Well and Good bread with iceberg lettuce and a fried egg is really good after a soccer match or for a light lunch.

My favourite side with roast chicken is roast vegetables and steamed green beans as it is really easy to cook the roast vegetables at the same time – put the vegetables in when there is 40 mins left on the chicken. Another good combination is roast chicken with chips and coleslaw.

Roast chicken is a staple of my diet, but it is time consuming – it really has to be bought on the day you cook it, and it is useful to make chicken stock from the carcass when you are finished. I tend to roast a chicken about once a month and then enjoy making all the recipes that need chicken stock in the next couple of weeks. Roast chicken is also a really good failsafe, low FODMAP meal that can be shared with others and is familiar to “normal” people. The stuffing is easily tastier than commerical (or supermarket) stuffing and is much less dense. I have had a group of friends over for dinner and served roast chicken, and have also brought a roast chicken, chips and coleslaw to a party where everyone else was getting pizza. The chicken went down really well, and an option that catered for quite a few dietary requiremements at once was definitely appreciated.

Cashew and Rice Syrup Sandwich

Serves 1
Time ~3 mins

Ingredients

2 plain rice thins (a)
1 tsp homemade cashew paste (b)
2 tsp brown rice malt syrup

Foodnotes

(a) The only ingredients in rice thins should be rice
(b) Cashew paste is failsafe and low FODMAP at 2 tsp (10 g) (FODMAP Friendly App, Feb 2018 and RPAH Elimination Diet Handbook, Feb 2018). The cashew paste can be substituted with commerical cashew paste (100% lightly roasted cashew) if you tolerate moderate amines.

Instructions

Spread cashew paste on one rice thin, spread brown rice malt syrup on the other and then sandwich them together and cut in half.

Personal Notes

I often make these snack sandwiches in the morning and then eat them at Uni. I like them because they satisfy my craving for something sugary but are also not overly sweet. I think of them as a safe variation on peanut butter and honey sandwiches. If you are taking them in a lunchbox, make sure you wrap them up because the rice malt syrup will leak! Watch out for stacking with fructans and GOS and limit cashew paste to 2 tsp (10 g) a day.