How to Make a Well-Balanced Low FODMAP Plate!

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Hello Friends,

In the ever changing world of FODMAPs, it is my hope to keep you up-to-date in a quick yet informative way via my blog.  I will be focusing most of my upcoming Tuesday posts on quick tips…conveniently called, Tuesday’s Tips!  So be on the lookout!

Today’s Tuesday’s  Tip:  How to Make a Well-Balanced Low FODMAP Plate, a handout to help guide you in planning a well-balanced AND healthy low FODMAP meal.How to make a low FODMAP meal final pdf How to make a low FODMAP meal! Click here for printable.

Hope you are having a great week!  Plan ahead: this weekend is The Global Outreach Symposium on IBS with Mark Pimentel, one of the key MDs studying small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and IBS.  This event is planned for Los Angeles, California but is available global via webinar.  Click here to learn more!

41 replies on “How to Make a Well-Balanced Low FODMAP Plate!“

  • Rena

    Thanks for posting. This would be really helpful to give to friends and family so they have a basic idea of what I can eat. I am curious about the listing of tofu as a FODMAP friendly protein. I thought that soy was not okay. I’m also curious about the listing of cabbage. Were those recently approved items? I look forward to your Tuesday Tips!

    • katescarlata

      Tofu (firm not silken) is low FODMAP per Monash researchers. Also, common cabbage is low FODMAP based on Monash app (which I highly recommend!)
      Monash University Low FODMAP diet app (available for iPhone and iPad and Android version too)

  • Nancy Knight

    This is great, thanks! I wonder how people are doing with spelt breads. For a while I thought they were ok, but now I am not sure. Also, what about farro? Apparently it is a different, older species of wheat… Thanks!

    • katescarlata

      Hi Nancy–some of the ancient wheats do seem to be lower in gluten–though not sure about fructan content. Spelt is lower in fructans–but tolerance in my practice has been variable. Whole Foods has a couple Spelt breads that might be worth a try–Berlin Bakery Sourdough (freezer section) and French Meadows (bread aisle).

  • Emily

    Thank you for posting this! It’s definitely a helpful reminder since I sometimes feel like I’m so limited in what I can eat and am not getting the right balance of foods!

  • Leslie

    Thanks for the handout, Kate! I’m excited to pass it along to my patients. Chances are they will have already seen it, though, since I tell them all to follow your blog! 🙂

  • Nicole

    Thank you Kate! I always enjoy encouraging my patients to look into your blog, recipes and visually appealing educational hanouts!

    • katescarlata

      Thanks so much Nicole. I appreciate that you pass along my blog to your patients. I feel so fortunate to have the BEST blog followers in the entire world. A great supportive, kind, helpful group –just hoping to feel better and get on with their life!

  • Carol I-J

    Wow – planning a well-balanced plate can be hard but when you have to add attention to low FODMAPs it seems hard – you have made it easy!!

    Thanks!

    • katescarlata

      Thanks Carol. As you know, our job as dietitians are to simplify sound well researched nutritional messages in a tangible and useable way. Noone is in a better position to merge science with food, right? The low FODMAP diet has so many nuances and as such should most definitely be done with the help of a registered dietitian.
      Glad you like this handout and hope you can use it with the many FODMAPers you help in your practice!!

  • doug dietzen

    Kate,
    I noticed Mandarian Oranges are not approved on the FODMAP menu.

    What is the difference between regular oranges and Mandarian Oranges?
    Thank You
    Doug

  • Laura

    I have some handouts from my dietitian that put olives in the healthy fat category but I see that your document has them in the vegetable category. Any idea why there would be a difference? Thanks! Love your blog! The low-FODMAP diet has been a godsend for me.

  • Bethany

    Hi Kate, this is great! What I would really appreciate is a customizable version of a sheet like this, or even a generator where you can choose what appears on it since FODMAPs and IBS are such highly individual things. Of course I could make my own which I will probably do, but I just wanted to pass along the suggestion. Thanks for all your hard work!

  • Anna

    Thanks, Kate! This is terrific. I do have one question: you list zucchini as being OK but I thought zucchini seeds were high FODMAP. Has that changed?

    • katescarlata

      Zucchini is okay per Monash App. I have never heard that zucchini seeds were high FODMAP. Since you typically eat the seeds when you eat zucchini, I really think the seeds are okay.

  • Crista

    Kate, you’re blog is an amazing one-stop spot for FODMAP knowledge. I was wondering if you have any information on millet. I tend to like it better than quinoa, but I can’t tell if it’s making me worse. What have your experiences been with it? Thanks!!

    • katescarlata

      Have not seen data on millet myself–but the work from Monash is that most gluten free grains have less FODMAPs than wheat. Hope millet fits the test–but not certain. I do allow it w/ my clients–but it’s a grey area as far as I know.

  • Jennifer

    Hello Kate
    thank you for an attractive easy read list, great to have on the fridge for when my husband or children cook! I was wondering what the latest is on almonds, I was under the impression a small hand full, up to about 10, was ok. I seem to tolerate them so going with this theory. Also you have not listed lamb in your proteins, is there any specific reason why?

    • katescarlata

      Lamb is fine! As are any unadulterated meat based proteins. Almonds (10) are okay too! The How to Make a Low FODMAP Plate is a general guide. To keep it simple I pulled off some of the foods with moderate FODMAPs such as almonds and kept the list inclusive but not overly busy. Just a quick and easy guide to follow in a pinch.

  • suzanne

    Thanks Kate, This is an invaluable list of information, especially for those who are new to FODMAPS or overwhelmed or for those us who have poor memories! 🙂

    I am going to print this off and send to my brother ( who lives 12,000 miles away from me, for years he has suffered from IBS and although in recent years i have tried to steer him towards FODMAPS and to be tested for Coeliacs and Lactose he stubbornly will not give it a go, makes no sense to me to suffer perhaps needlessly!
    Ill print this off for him and maybe the simplicity of it will encourage him 🙂
    Thanks Suzanne.

  • sally

    Recently, wondered about eating yellow wax beans that have been so fresh , available at local produce markets. Since following no beans, garlic or onions, there has been lots of progress ,no gas, less bloat, less
    restlessness! Fresh Vegetables of the summer are as good as a day at the beach for me, so jump on them,when I see them.Green beans seem not to rumble.

  • Barb

    Thank you so much for the great list! I was showing my FODMAPS list to a friend and she said, “What you need is a list of what you CAN eat.” Thank you for giving us just that.

  • Pingback: Five Things Friday 7.18.14

  • Sherri

    Thanks Kate, this is a great tool for us FODMAPers. I have suffered with IBS for the past 12 mos and was diagnosed with SIBO by breath testing mid winter. Have been following the FODMAPS tho only sporadically since last fall. I also became a follower of “food combining” (any comments on this would be awesome). I tried one course of Rifaxamin for the SIBO but symptons recurred soon after and I realized how following this diet is so imperative to successful control. Without a dietician I also now know I was having “meals of fruit” eating the proper sizes using the Monash app but eating 2-3 servings of fruit at a time! Sometimes I was combining Veggies with my protein but eating 2 or 3 serving sizes-I guess this would sabotage my goals of reducing IBS symptoms?

    • katescarlata

      Not sure what you mean by food combining. I do like all of my clients based on their tolerance to eat a well-balanced diet–with a little bit of every food group. Spacing out fat and fiber in meals tends to help maintain blood sugar and digestion. The other important point–trying a prokinetic can help post antibiotic regimen–what I mean by this is very low dose of erythromycin at night to help with cleansing waves. Poor cleansing of the small intestine common reason pts have issues with recurrent SIBO.

    • Sherri

      Wrt food combining I was referring to the general concept of improved digestion/reducing fermentation by eating fruits as a solo meal and combining starches with vegetarian sources of protein/+ veggies and flesh proteins strictly with non starchy veggies. I now have access to a dietician with my family doctor’s health group(here in Ontario) and will explore their knowledge of FODMAPS very shortly. Thanks for your very informative website and amazingly yummy recipes, my family has loved them all!

  • Kristen

    Thanks for this list! I have had IBS since I was 16. I should be able to follow this diet by going to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
    My question is – how do you apply the diet when you are eating at a restaurant? I am a 4th generation IBS sufferer, and all of us have much worse reactions eating restaurant food compared to cooking at home. I wonder if restaurants use a lot more fat? Thanks.

    • katescarlata

      Dining out can be a bit tricky–no doubt– on the low FODMAP diet. Fat content is likely higher as you suspect, portions are bigger. We might be drinking alcohol or soda which can impact IBS. Lots of variables. When dining out try gluten free pasta with a bit of butter and parm cheese and a salad, grilled plain fish, chicken or steak with a baked potato and a garden salad without onion w/ oil and vinegar are a few options. Avoid commercial salad dressing which are loaded with onion and garlic in many cases, soups which tend to have lots of hidden onions in the broth and added in the soup. Many of my clients have been able to incorporate sourdough white bread–so if that is available and you tolerate it maybe a turkey sandwich might work too. Bring a gluten free bun or ask if they have one and enjoy a plain grilled burger with lettuce and tomato and small dish of lightly salted French fries, as another option.

  • Anna

    I recommend taking Triphala. It promotes peristalsis. Personally I take 2 with each meal but that’s more than the recommended dose. According to my acupuncturist, it and magnesium are the only safe, non-habit-forming supplements that helps you go to the bathroom.

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