For weeks 7 & 8 I was given challenges and if I was successful, I could incorporate another high-FODMAP item back in my diet, so exciting!
I wrote all my challenges for the past 3 weeks on a piece of paper and of course I misplaced it! My challenges for the past few weeks are all from memory, I hope I did it right . . .
Dairy Challenges
1st week – Add aged cheeses to your diet, if no bad symptoms move to next challenge. My choice was cheddar cheese and I ate it almost everyday. No tummywoes!
2nd week – If cheese was successful eat a slice of pizza, but be smart. My pizza of choice was &pizza. It’s a very popular pizza chain restaurant in the DMV that is known for their organic ingredients, gluten-free dough, and the option to make your own pizza. I created my pizza with the following ingredients:
- gluten-free dough
- basil/spinach pesto sauce
- spinach
- homemade mozzarella
- mushrooms (one of my challenges)
- chicken
- bacon
- cherry tomatoes
- basil leaves
It was delicious and I had no stomach issues! I was so happy I almost cried lol Before I started this diet my goal was to eat an ‘&pizza’ again, mission accomplished 🙂
Week 3 – If pizza was a success, try ice cream. I have not tried this challenge because I have grown to love dairy free coconut milk ice cream. I prefer coconut milk ice cream from Trader Joes, don’t feel the need to buy Breyers.
Fruit Challenge
Week 1 – Cherries. Cherries are one of my favorite fruits and to discover that they are high-FODMAP I was surprised. It was a wonderful coincidence during this week a co-worker brought in a big bag of cherries and I ate half the bag. Unfortunately, after eating the cherries I had gas and minor bloating. Since I did not successfully pass this challenge, I skipped the next challenge for week 2.
Week 3 – Kiwis. I believe my memory has failed me. I swear Kiwi was my next challenge, but looking it up in my FODMAP app, kiwi is a low-FODMAP item so I could have been eating kiwis all this time. Oh well! I added kiwis to my diet by adding it to my strawberry banana smoothies, pretty tasty and no tummywoes.
Vegetables Challenge
Week 1 – mushrooms. I bought raw mushrooms and added them to my sandwiches, salads, and pastas. No stomach issues! Glad to have mushrooms back in my diet.
Week 2 – onions. Cooked onions did not bother my stomach, but consuming raw onions gave me gas and a lot of belching. Since I did not pass week 2 challenge, I did not move forward with the next challenge of avocado!! Such a bummer.
It’s been great adding things back to my diet. I look forward to updating my nutritionist on the immense progress of my gut in the past 8 weeks. I enjoy eating again!