How I Got Serious About My IBS Diet
Last week I had one ground turkey patty, some River rice (medium grain), and a bowl of home made vegetable soup. I made the vegetable soup the week before, after buying insane amounts of fresh tomatoes at the local farm stand. I constantly forget that the five children that used to eat me out of house and home now live in other states and I mostly eat alone. Much of what I was buying was good for others, but not for folks like me. In a moment of sanity and acceptance of my mortifying IBS, I decided to adapt my food buying to a one person and two kitties household. Crumpet and Muffin are already thinking. “Yum. More for me.”
Less Grocery Shopping and More Mindful Eating
Time to get real and plan better! Thanks to my habitual over stocking of groceries, I was a big contributor to Meal Trains set up at my church. In fact, when I came down with diverticulitis, a church friend brought me a Meal Train meal and it was one of mine! lol.
First, I divested myself of all the food items lingering in my pantry, after I discovered they were deadly triggers for IBS attacks. (Lentils, black beans, kidney beans, spicy diced tomatoes, you know who you are!) I took them all to my local food pantry.
Next I cleaned out my refrigerator and freezer and left only the foods that were safe for me to eat. Gone was the salami, and any other charcuterie along with fresh ricotta, cream cheese and non-lactose free dairy. I may have Italian roots, but many foods Italians eat and love are not loved by my overly sensitive colon.
Living the True Low Fodmap IBS Friendly Diet
At last I was going to totally, not halfway, practice what I preached – low fodmap food, careful ingestion of insoluble fiber food and only lactose free food. No cheating and no forgetting! After all this purging, now I had to follow my own advice and work with the foods that loved me rather than the ones I loved. Isn’t that why I made this website, even if using WordPress is truly a daily punishment for a non-techy person such as myself?
Past Intentions Were Not Good Enough
I have always tried to post safe recipes, the latest IBS advice and helpful encouragement for dealing with this annoying and often mortifying syndrome. But I am human like you and every now and then I can’t resist bites of delicious home made family recipes when I am visiting my Italian relatives They still cook the six course dinners (full of IBS colon traps) that we all grew up with.
Don’t Be Afraid To Adapt
On ibskitchn.com, I adapt such recipes to safe levels of fodmaps and insoluble fiber amounts. Why? Because untested recipes leave us vulnerable to triggers and IBS attacks. I am always testing recipes to learn what foods love us and what foods should be ignored, no matter what siren song they sing.
Recipe Has Chameleon Qualities
This ground turkey rice bowl, made with a few simple ingredients that I always have on hand, adapts to whatever flavors you prefer. Asian? Add soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil. Italian? Add garlic infused olive oil and parmesan cheese as well as chopped fresh Basil and Italian parsley, even some tomato sauce. Get the drift?
Small Amounts of Rice Deliver A lot
I also discovered that 1/2 cup of rice makes enough for two people with two cups leftover for lunch the next day. It is low in fodmaps, contains safe amounts of insoluble fiber and is full of soluble fiber to boot. Hello carrots, zucchini, organic chicken broth, chives, and scallion stems.
Ground Turkey and Rice Bowl
Ingredients
1 Tbsps. Olive oil
1 Tbsps. butter
1 4 0z ground turkey patty, uncooked (you can double or triple everything if making this for your family )
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 small zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise and diced up
1 medium carrot, scraped and diced up
1 medium tomato sliced and diced or 1/2 can of petite diced tomatoes and some juice
1 small bunch of scallions, light green leaves diced up or bunch of chives diced up
1/2 cup of medium or short grain rice such as Sushi or Arborio
2 cups low sodium organic chicken broth
1/2 tsp Herbs de Province
1 Tbsps. finely chopped basil and parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a heavy 2 – 4 quart saucepan (such as a le Creuset or Cuisinart enameled pot) that can bake in the oven, heat the olive oil on medium heat, until shimmering. Add in the sliced garlic and scallions or chives. Let the garlic infuse its flavor in the oil before removing it from the pot. Leave in the scallion stems and chives.
Toss in the ground turkey patty, using a wooden spoon to break it up and turn it while browning it until no longer pink. Remove and set aside.
Add in the butter and let it melt until foaming. Then add in all the chopped veggies, (except the diced tomatoes), the herb de province spices and the rice. Sauté veggies and rice for five to ten minutes or until the veggies have softened up a bit and the rice is translucent. Add back in the turkey meat.
Add in the broth and the tomatoes and bring up to a boil. Add salt and pepper as well as the chopped herbs.
Turn off the stove top heat. Cover the pot, place it in the 350 degree oven and set the timer for ten minutes. Check and stir. Set the timer for another ten minutes and check the rice for doneness. Liquid should be evaporated into the rice and the rice should be fluffy and cooked. If not, cook for five more minutes. When rice is done, remove from oven. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese or sprinkle the whole rice dish with shredded cheddar cheese and return to oven for a few minutes to melt.
You can add Worcestershire or soy sauce or what ever flavor you wish your ground turkey rice bowl to have. I add butter and parmesan cheese, more salt and pepper.
This makes a lovely quick and delicious not to mention IBS safe, low fodmap lunch or dinner dish. Here’s an unexpected surprise. Even my small amount of 1/2 cup raw rice made two cups extra for lunch the next day.
Ground Turkey Rice Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 4 0 z turkey patty uncooked (you can double everything if making this for your family )
- 1 clove garlic peeled and sliced thin
- 1 small zucchini sliced in half lengthwise and diced up
- 1 medium carrot scraped and diced up
- 1 medium tomato sliced and diced or 1/2 can of petite diced tomatoes and some juice
- 1 small bunch of scallions lght green leaves diced up or bunch of chives diced up
- 1/2 cup of medium or short grain rice
- 2 cups low sodium organic chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp Herbs de Province
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped basil and parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a heavy 2 - 4 quart saucepan (such as a le creuset or Cuisinart enameled pot) that can bake in the oven, heat the olive oil on medium heat, until shimmering. Add in the sliced garlic and scallions or chives. Let the garlic infuse its flavor in the oil before removing it from the pot. Leave in the scallion stems and chives.
- Toss in the ground turkey patty, using a wooden spoon to break it up and turn it while browning it until no longer pink. Set meat aside in a small bowl,
- Add in the butter and let it melt until foaming. Then add in all the chopped veggies, (except the diced tomatoes), the herb de province spices and the rice. Sauté veggies and rice for five to ten minutes or until the veggies have softened up a bit and the rice is translucent.
- Add in the chopped meat. Then add in the broth and the tomatoes and bring up to a boil. Add salt and pepper as well as the chopped herbs. Stir well.
- Turn off the stove top heat. Cover the pot, place it in the 350 degree oven and set the timer for ten minutes. Check and stir. Set the timer for another ten minutes and check the rice for doneness. Liquid should be evaporated into the rice and the rice should be fluffy and cooked. If not, cook for five more minutes. When rice is done, remove from oven. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese or sprinkle the whole rice dish with shredded cheddar cheese and return to oven for a few minutes to melt.
- You can add Worcestershire or soy sauce or what ever flavor you wish your ground turkey rice bowl to have. I add butter and parmesan cheese, more salt and pepper.
- This makes a lovely quick and delicious not to mention IBS safe, low fodmap lunch or dinner dish. Here's a nice surprise. Even using my small amount of rice, (1/2 cup of raw rice), I still had two cups of my casserole leftover for next day lunch or dinner.
