Sigh ...

This week has not been a good one ~ I pushed the boundaries a bit too much ... but I did enjoy those 8 green beans! LOL Felt quite sick for 3 days in a row, so now it's back onto the much stricter regime/diet designed for when the hydrogen breath tests are done. I plan to stick to this rigorously for a week, then maybe see what happens. I have quite a food phobia atm but the good thing is that my weight loss continues. I've now said 'good riddance' to almost 9 kgs.
Found this excellent weblog yesterday. While it is from 2008/2009, the info is still very relevant & written with an amazing sense of humour. There are 140 responses which I highly recommend you also read ... loads of helpful comments.
http://avthompson.wordpress.com/what-is-fructose-malabsorption-disorder/

White Rice with Roasted Vegetables

Cut mushrooms, zuchinni and pumpkin into chunks, then toss in olive oil to just glaze each piece. Sprinkle the pumpkin with ground nutmeg and cardamom. Bake in a hot oven til soft and caramelised. Use your preferred method to cook some white rice. While the rice cools, chop the roasted vegs into bite-size pieces. Pile rice on plate & top with the vegs. This is a very tasty combo which can be eaten by itself or as a side for various types of meat. Tried and tested by myself without any symptoms, but I only used 2 mushrooms cut into quarters to lower the polyol (mannitol) dose. Of course, don't include them if you are sensitive.

Fructose Friendly Pancakes with Blueberries and Maple Syrup

OK, so maybe they're not as good as the ones made with white SR wheat flour but they were still yummy. I used Aldi's own brand 'Has no ...' Pancake Mix and made up as per directions on the packet - with eggs & milk, so this is not lactose free. The mix contains buckwheat, rice flour, tapioca starch and it did smell a little strange to me. I'll get used to it. LOL

The pancakes were light, fluffy and golden.

Taste was unfamiliar, but I still enjoyed eating them for lunch. Mouth feel was good.

So .... add 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries, 1/2 teasp white sugar and 1/2 dessertsp butter to a small pan over low heat. Stir until warmed and sticky, while you make the pancakes in a second, larger pan. Stack your pancakes on a plate, spoon the blueberries over them and then pour some Pure Maple Syrup on them as well. What a treat. BTW - I didn't eat all the ones in the pic above!

Be mindful of dose overload and what your individual threshold is :)

Phew! It's on the nose

About 2 years ago I started to develop some really strong, adverse reactions to the smells of many foods. For example, tinned fish ~ any sort of fish really, chilli, deli meats, the horrible packaged soups etc which DH likes. I also hated the smells of chemicals, which made me feel sick ... but it wasn't new. I'd had that for about 20 years. I was having difficulty cooking too - I'd get part way through preparing a meal & have to stop due to nausea. I'd even dry retch on occasion. To my peril, I ignored these warning alerts from my body. If I forced myself to eat the meal that was making me feel like this I would end up with severe FructMal symptoms, sometimes within only 45 minutes! In the end DH & I just accepted it was part of the "new me". He was very considerate and set up a cooking area for himself in his shed where he could cook & eat all the things I hated.

Then, only a few days ago, I was re-reading info at the RPAH Allergy Unit website: http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/

where I found this: Your nose may become more sensitive on the elimination diet, and strong odours and fumes may cause you to feel ill. This usually subsides after the diet is liberalized.

Read the full text here: http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/

and this ...... Some people with food intolerances find that their sense of smell gets more acute on a restricted diet. Strong perfume, car exhaust, petrol fumes, fresh paint, cigarette smoke and other irritant smells and fumes may make you feel ill or give you a headache.

Read the full text here: http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/

I can't wait to get all the resources I've ordered from RPAH.

Seems my snozz was right on the money!

A day from my food diary

When I first started a Low FODMAP diet, I struggled a bit to develop a daily meal plan which was tasty but didn't cause any symptoms. In the hope of helping out other newly diagnosed FructMals, here's a sample of what I can eat. Please remember that each of us need to find our individual levels of tolerance. I am very sensitive, so it's been a lot of trial and error - mostly error! What works for me, may not work for you ~ but at least this could be a starting point. I'm still trying to cut white sugar out completely, not 'quite' there yet. LOL I'm not lactose intolerant, but I mostly use LF milk ... just in! To make the small serves of tea or coffee extra special, I always use one of my beautiful eggshell china cups.

BREAKFAST: Traditional rolled oats cooked with 50-50 water & lactose free milk, sweetened with 1 tablesp maple syrup. Sprinkle 2 tablesp of Freedom Foods brand GF (Fructose Free) Fruit Free Clusters on top of porridge. (Available from Coles/Bi-Lo). Cup of Earl Grey tea with 1 tsp white sugar, no milk

MID MORNING: Original Corn Thins X 3 with a scrape of Nuttelex & Vegemite (or Nutella for an Easter treat!). 1/2 banana. Black coffee with 1 tsp white sugar or some coffee granules

LUNCH: Gluten Free wrap with cos lettuce, grated carrot, shaved cucumber, 1/2 cheese slice (shredded), 3 cherry tomatoes (sliced), 1 small mushroom (finely sliced), sliced smoked chicken breast. 8 raspberries with 2 tablesp homemade yoghurt. Cup of tea with 1 tsp sugar and milk.

AFTERNOON: 1/2 banana mashed on 1/2 gluten free bread roll. Small latte, no sugar

DINNER: Tuna Mornay (recipe below) served with steamed silver beet or spinach and white rice. Small cup of Earl Grey tea with 1 tsp sugar, no milk

SUPPER: I rarely have supper, but sometimes sneak in a cup of Early Grey tea (black, no sugar).

Alternate Breakfast: 1) GF toasted cheese or tomato sandwich 2) GF toast with Nuttelex and a scrape of jam, vegemite or peanut butter. Add a 1/2 cup serve of fruit from the safe list ... I usually have a small slice of cantaloupe.

Alternate lunch: Poached egg on GF toast + small salad.

Alternate dinner: 1) small serve of meat (dry pan fried) with vegetables from the 'safe' list (1/2 cup serves). For eg, I like mashed potato, pumpkin and steamed zuchinni or carrot. 2) GF pasta tossed with pumpkin, capsicum, tomato and mushroom chunks roasted together with a little olive oil, sprinkled with dessertsp grated parmesan cheese (or layered GF lasagna with the same ingredients). Limit the mushroom, which contains polyols, until you know your tolerance level. Be careful with capsicum & tomato too.

TREATS: 1) Patties brand GF fructose friendly lamingtons ... in the freezer section of most supermarkets. 2) D'Lush GF Double Choc & Peppermint biscuits ... Coles and Bi-Lo health foods section. 3) I also quite like Patties brand GF fructose friendly Pizza Rolls.

FructMal Tuna Mornay

After the Smoked Cod recipe disaster, I was very careful before posting this one for Tuna Mornay. I have now eaten this three times without any symptoms at all, so I believe it's safe. It does have flour used as a thickener, however the amount eaten is minimal. I am very sensitive to fructans in wheat, but I was fine. If it concerns you, use corn flour. The following amounts made 4 entree size portions. The leftovers stored and re-heated well.

30g butter

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1 tablespoon plain flour (if preferred, use spelt flour or similar substitute)

1 cup milk (reduced fat or lactose free works well)

1/3 cup grated hard cheese (cheddar or tasty)

130g canned corn kernels

2 X 185g canned tuna in springwater, drained

3/4 cup Orgran brand GF corn crispy crumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Melt butter in medium saucepan. Sweat celery til soft. Add flour & cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in milk. Cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, add tasty or cheddar cheese, corn and tuna. Stir until cheese melts. Spoon mixture into small ovenproof dishes; or a medium sized single dish. Sprinkle with combined corn crumbs and parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 mins or until heated through & top is golden.

I served it with steamed silver beet, but a salad of choice would be nice too. Add a GF roll or fresh GF bread and you have an easy-to-prepare tasty meal which won't cause you any tears. This recipe will become a permanent one for me.

Reading, reading, reading

First I want to say that I deleted the post with the recipe which I had thought was FructMal safe - it possibly was - but I had a reaction to it the next day, so thought it best to remove it. I think I probably reacted to the smoked fish ... who knows what chemicals were used???

Edited to add: After speaking with a dietician at Diet Solutions, I now think I was reacting to the amines in the fish.

This past weekend was wet & cold, so I spent quite a lot of hours doing further reading.

There's a great Fructose Malabsorption Group at Yahoo. It requires registration & approval to join from the group owner/moderators, but worth the wait to access the wide knowledge and support from the other members. It was started by people in the U.S. but many Australians are very active members. There's excellent info available:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/fructose_malabsorption_australia/

I also found a website headed by Jaci Barrett, a recognised expert in GI issues/conditions.

Diet Solutions is in Surrey Hills, Melbourne. They conduct their research through Monash University, auspiced by Box Hill Hospital. Lots of excellent info here:

http://dietsolutions.net.au/

You can order their Low FODMAP Diet Booklet, but not using a CC phone order unfortunately.

The order form is here:

http://www.med.monash.edu.au/ehcs/research/docs/booklet-final-order-form.pdf

I believe there are some inconsistencies in the Shepherd Works Low FODMAP Diet booklet. For example, brown rice is listed as 'safe' ... my most recent research indicates that white rice only is suitable for people with FructMal. Capsicum (bell pepper) is also listed as safe ... be wary! Check your sensitivity to cabbage, broccoli & cauliflower ... fructans are the enemy here. Perhaps I don't have the most recent version of the booklet. It certainly does pay to be very up-to-date.

The other important thing I learned during the past 24 hours is that so-called 'onion stock' is not safe ... be wary of Silly Yaks products. Some people are reporting reactions to these products. The very most recent research has proven that onion and garlic fructans are water soluble, so removing the flesh after cooking does nothing because the fructans will still be in the liquid. However, they are not fat soluble so it is apparently safe to infuse oil with onion and/or garlic using heat; then use that oil for cooking to add flavour. Store in the fridge and use within 2 weeks. Be absolutely sure that no flesh gets into your cooking accidently.

Personally, I intend to remain well clear of those two nasties!