There are certain cuisines which are much easier to adapt to the low FODMAP diet and some that are nearly impossible to change and really shouldn’t be attempted – especially if you are eating out.
In this post I have tried to highlight the cuisines that are both the easiest and hardest, to help you make the best decisions and avoid any nasty IBS flares.
Making the right choice
Very easy cuisine choices for Low FODMAP diet:
Vietnamese – most Vietnamese dishes are gluten free. They use rice noodles in pretty much all their phos as well as rice papers to wrap the summer and spring rolls. The only harder part is that a lot of the food has onion and garlic but this can be changed if you ask in a restaurant. I eat at the restaurant PHO a lot and I love their beef brisket pho minus onion and garlic. Keep and eye out for high FODMAP veg as well like mushroom and ask for it to be removed.
Sushi – Sushi is probably the easiest of all food choices, and luckily my favourite, given you can eat any fish and rice! The thing to avoid is avocado in rolls and also tempura as this is fried in batter and therefore contains gluten. Also be careful of some of the starters like dumplings etc that will contain gluten. Wasabi is not allowed I’m afraid so make sure you are just serving your sushi or sashimi with soya sauce.
Cuisines that can be easily adapted for Low FODMAP:
English – go for food with no batter and beware of things like gravy. So for example a roast dinner but no Yorkshire pudding or gravy. Or fish and chips but just don’t eat the batter, there are also some great places now that will actually do gluten free batter – like Hobsons fish and chips in Bayswater. Jacket potatoes can be a great low FODMAP meal just no beans as they aren’t not low in FODMAPS so go for things like tuna mayonnaise or cheese.
Turkish – Turkish can be adapted as it is mainly rice and meat which is totally fine – the problem you sometimes have is the marinade of the meat as that will often have garlic. If you know id advance you are going to be going to a Turkish restaurant call ahead and ask them to leave a piece of meat or fish aside that isn’t marinated. No hummus or anything else that contains lentils as these are not low FODMAP.
Cuisines that are hard to eat on low FODMAP:
Indian – Unfortunately I am yet to find a restaurant that makes a curry without onion or garlic. Even the most basic meats like tikka are marinated in both. Unless you are cooking it at home I’d suggest you avoid altogether. Check out my simple chicken curry recipe if you’re looking for inspiration.
Mexican– I love Mexican food so found very hard to give up but it is very tough. You cant eat avocados, so no guacamole. The salsa will normally have onion. The tortilla contains gluten and you aren’t allowed any sort of beans. Therefore I’m afraid it is better avoided. I am in the process of writing a home made Mexican meal recipe so keep an eye out!
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