FODMAP Friday

Happy Friday!

That delicious burger at the top of today’s post is from Oak Park Brewing Company here in Sacramento. You wouldn’t think a microbrewery would be the most gluten-free and low-FODMAP-friendly place to eat, but, they actually are. In addition to having a gorgeous and tasty gluten-free bun for their burgers, they also have really good gluten-free chicken tenders, a farm-fresh salad, and a selection of wine and hard seltzers to choose from.

Unfortunately, the fries are not celiac-safe, as they are fried in the same fryer as the beer-battered cauliflower bites. I’ve been able to eat a few of the fries with my burgers and not had it trigger my wheat allergy, however.

Eating out is almost always a challenge with food allergies and the low FODMAP diet. While I’ve had pretty good luck around Sacramento, some of my travel over the past year has not been great on the food front. For example, I attended a conference in September that asked for food allergy information upfront (Great!) But once I got there, all the food was served buffet style, with partial ingredient lists and a strange new acronym I’d never seen before: AVG. It turns out, that acronym apparently meant “avoiding gluten.” Yet it was on dishes that had bulghur wheat and wheat germ. And a different gluten-free and vegan dessert didn’t list any ingredients, which meant I had to skip it in case it had cashew butter in it as so much vegan baked treats do.

So guess who had some gifted dark chocolate peanut brittle and a sugary granola bar for her only meal the first day of the conference and gave herself a migraine as a result? Yup, that would be me!

I fared much better on the second day thanks to buying a ton of healthy snacks from a nearby market. I brought extras with me and ended up sharing my cache of gluten-free food with other hangry conference goers. The moral of the story here is even if they ask for your food allergies that doesn’t mean an event venue or restaurant will necessarily understand how that information plays out for its diners. That means it’s important to ask questions, and come prepared with your own food when you’re limited in your food options at an all-day event, or be prepared to leave if a restaurant doesn’t take your food allergy seriously.

This Week’s Low FODMAP Recipes

• Cool winter days call for hearty dinners like this one-skillet low FODMAP and gluten-free beef pot pie recipe from Dr. Rachel Paul.
• Soup is my go-to lunch in the Winter months. I’m excited to try this potato soup from Karlijn’s Kitchen next week.
• I end up making beef stew every other weekend in the colder months. But I’ve never used Za’atar to season them, even though I use it on chicken frequently. Adding this recipe for Middle Eastern Beef Stew with Za’atar to my to-try list!
• If pumpkin spice is your jam, you’ll definitely want to try this pumpkin pie spice oatmeal recipe.
• I’m baking my low FODMAP lemon cookies this weekend, subbing in tangerine rind and juice since my tree has its first few mandarin oranges ready for the picking.

Get Your Low FODMAP Fall Favorites Delivered

When it’s cold outside, who wants to leave a cozy warm house to go grocery shopping? Instead, why not make a purchase from my Amazon store? You’ll find gluten-free and low FODMAP ingredients for the above recipes, and support Erika’s Gluten-free Kitchen at the same time!