Eating a Balanced Diet During FODMAP Elimination
In this lesson we’ll be talking through how you can make sure your diet stays balanced during FODMAP elimination.
By Laura Tilt
A low FODMAP diet restricts many foods, making it harder to maintain a healthy balanced diet with all the nutrients you need.
For example, research shows that a low FODMAP diet can lead to low intakes of carbohydrates, fibre and calcium. This is one of the reasons we recommend meal planning.
By planning your meals using some simple guidelines, you’ll have a better chance of keeping your diet balanced and healthy.
One Golden Rule During Elimination
Our golden rule is to make sure that you REPLACE whatever foods you REMOVE with a food from the same food group.
So, for example, if you usually have an apple as a snack, don’t stop eating fruit – swap it for an orange, kiwifruit, pineapple or some blueberries.
If you usually have pasta with your dinner, try replacing it with rice or potato.
How to Plan a Healthy Balanced Diet When Following FODMAP Elimination
A healthy, balanced diet depends on eating a variety of foods from the five food groups. These five groups are in the table below.
| Food group | Low FODMAP examples | Top tips for a healthy balance |
|---|---|---|
| Grains and starchy foods | Potatoes, oats, rice and gluten free pasta, quinoa, | Choose wholegrain or high fibre varieties where possible. Include a serving of starchy food with each meal. |
| Fruits and vegetables | Oranges, raspberries, firm banana, rhubarb, passion fruit, aubergine, kale, cucumber, carrots, | Include at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day. There are two servings in each Field Doctor meal. |
| Protein foods | Chicken, eggs, meat, mackerel, salmon, small portions of beans, peas and lentils, firm tofu | If you eat fish, try to include two servings a week, at least one oily fish like salmon or mackerel. |
| Dairy or dairy alternatives | Lactose free milk, cheddar, feta, mozzarella, | Aim for 2-3 servings of dairy or calcium fortified alternatives each day |
| Fats and oils | All fats and oils are low FODMAP | Choose healthy fats like olive oil and use in small amounts |
A Simple Rule for a Healthy Balance
Here's a simple rule you can use to achieve a healthy balance. With each meal, include something from the grains group, protein group and fruit or vegetables group. For example:
- Breakfast - Porridge made with rolled oat and milk. Top with blueberries or firm banana.
- Lunch – Quinoa salad with canned mackerel, cucumber, green pepper and herbs
- Dinner – Field Doctor meal: smokey chipotle meatballs with a sweet potato & potato mash OR chicken stiry fry with rice and low FODMAP vegetables
- Snacks – corncakes with peanut butter or cheddar
Creating your meal plan
You can use this blank meal planner to plan your meals.
If you have included Field Doctor meals:
- Begin your meal plan by adding your Field Doctor meals with an FD in each box. Each Field Doctor meal contains two servings of vegetables, plus a starchy food and a protein. This will give you a head start on achieving a healthy balance each day.
- Now plan your other meals and snacks. Use the MONASH app or our FODMAP directory to help you make low FODMAP choices.
If you aren't including Field Doctor meals:
- Plan all 3 meals and snacks using either the MONASH app or our FODMAP directory to help you make low FODMAP choices.
- If you're stuck for ideas, think about what you usually have, and what you can swap in to make it low FODMAP. If you like boiled eggs and toast for breakfast, keep the eggs, and swap your usual toast for a gluten free variety. If you usually have fruit and yoghurt as a snack, check out which fruits are low FODMAP and team one of those with some lactose free yoghurt.
How does your plan look?
Once you’ve completed your plan, use the table above to check if you have a healthy balance. Some things to check:
- Do you have 5 servings of fruit and vegetables each day?
- Could you make any of your starchy food choices wholegrain?
- Have you included two servings of dairy? (top tip -try including dairy foods or alternatives in your breakfast and snacks. E.g. lactose free milk on cereal, cheese and fruit as a snack)
Remember that you can adjust your meal plan as you move forwards. There's no need to be hungry whilst following a low FODMAP diet, and you shouldn’t lose weight either.
If you are hungry or losing weight, this suggests you’re not eating enough to meet your energy needs. If this happens, try adding an extra snack or make your servings of starchy foods (like pasta or bread) bigger.
