Are you struggling to get enough veggies into your diet? Are you stuck for ideas on how to cook them or incorporate them into your meals? You may have been told many times that vegetables make up an important part of a healthy and balanced diet. You may have even read our previous article about low FODMAP vegetables. Well, worry no more because today we give you some of our favourite ways to eat low FODMAP vegetables!
#1 Vegetable sticks and dip
One of the best ways to up your vegetable intake is to include them in your snacks as well as your meals. One of our go-to snacks is veggie sticks and dip. This is simple to make and can be used with the low FODMAP veggies you have in your fridge. Some of our favourite vegetables to include are carrot, cucumber and capsicum. The great thing about veggie sticks and dip is that you can prepare it at the start of the day/week and take it with you for a snack on the go!
If you’re looking for a low FODMAP dip recipe to make at home, try our delicious roast pumpkin and walnut dip or our beetroot dip.
#2 Vegetable lasagne
Take your lasagne to the next level by adding some low FODMAP veggies to it. Try adding some grated or sliced low FODMAP vegetables such as carrot, oyster mushrooms and spinach to the Bolognese sauce. Alternatively, you could add layers of vegetables to the lasagne itself. Some of our favourite veggies to layer include Japanese pumpkin, potato, spinach and squash. If this seems like a big change, you can start off by adding one or two different veggies to your lasagne and then slowly increasing the amount each time.
#3 Homemade pizza with all the veg
Pizza is a meal that we don’t often associate with vegetables, but this doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, pizza is one of our favourite ways to eat low FODMAP vegetables. If you’re having a takeaway pizza at home, you can try adding some extra veggies on top such as spinach, rocket or fresh tomatoes. Alternatively, you could make a low FODMAP salad to have on the side. If you’re making your own pizza at home try adding a variety of low FODMAP vegetables on top. Some of our favourites include capsicum, spinach, rocket, oyster mushrooms, olives and Japanese pumpkin.
#4 Vegetable stir-fry
Stir-fries are an easy way to increase your vegetable intake and there are a variety of low FODMAP vegetables you can add to them. Some of our favourite veggies to add to a stir-fry are bamboo shoots, bok choy or choy sum, broccoli (heads) or broccolini (stalks), cabbage, canned baby corn, oyster mushrooms and even spinach. The options are endless when it comes to stir-fries – just pop in whatever you have in the fridge. To make your stir fry into a balanced meal, be sure to fill up 1/2 of your plate with low FODMAP veggies, 1/4 with your choice of protein such as tofu, chicken or beef and 1/4 with your choice of carbohydrate such as rice or quinoa.
#5 Home-made vegetable skewers
Last, but definitely not least, another great way to eat low FODMAP vegetables is on a home-made vegetable skewer. The great thing about skewers is there are no rules, you can add anything you like to them. This can include a protein source like chicken, beef, tofu or haloumi and a variety of different vegetables. Some of our favourite vegetables to add include capsicum, oyster mushrooms, olives, spring onions, pumpkin and turnips. Skewers are a great way to make cooking a social experience. Simply cut up your ingredients into bite-sized squares and allow each of your guests or family members to create their own skewers with the ingredients they like.
By Ellie Thompson and Amanda Gaukroger
IG: @thefodmapchallenge
Image sourced from @Pinterest
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