Low FODMAP Lunch

Last Updated: 30th January 2023 · Written by Donna Mastriani

Lunch is a necessary meal of the day as it helps power us so we can proceed to finish the second half of the day with energy. Lunch can seem relatively mundane, especially when you have limitations such as cutting down on certain foods and altogether avoiding others with a FODMAP diet. A low FODMAP lunch can cause frustration as you have to consider the impact every ingredient will have on your stomach. One easy option is to have leftovers from dinner to serve as lunch or do meal planning at the beginning of the week / over the weekend to have an already fully planned day ahead.

However, some people don’t like eating meal-prepped foods or have no leftovers from dinner to take to work. If you’re looking for low FODMAP lunch ideas, we’ll give you some delicious and easy-to-make lunch recipes that will fill you up during the day. The easiest meals for your low FODMAP lunch can be salads or sandwiches. These are simple to make, portable, and filling.

Low FODMAP lunch ideas

We have a few low FODMAP lunch recipes you can try and alter according to your liking. These foods you can make the night before work so you are good to go in the morning, all you’ll have to do is throw your lunch box into your bag.

Low FODMAP chicken salad

Ingredients

• 400g chicken (two large chicken breasts)
• 120g fresh grapes (black muscatel, red globe, Thompson)
• 40g celery
• 1 small cucumber
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 4 tbsp green onion
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 4 tbsp scallions (green part only)
• ½ cup mayonnaise (vegan or traditional)
• ½ TSP dried tarragon
• Salt and pepper to your liking

Method

1. Put your skinless chicken breasts in a saucepan with water and bring them to a boil. Once it simmers, cover the saucepan with a lid and turn the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 12 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the water and put it aside to rest for at least 5 minutes.
2. Chop the grapes into quarters, thinly slice the celery, finely slice the parsley, dice the cucumber, and finely chop the parsley and green parts of the scallions.
3. Slice the cooked and resting chicken into small pieces in a bowl. Pour all the sliced salad ingredients into the chicken bowl.
4. Whisk tarragon, lime juice, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
5. Pour this dressing over the salad and salad. Mix until well combined. Leave the salad to chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. This salad can keep well in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Low FODMAP stuffed peppers

Ingredients

• 1 cup salsa
• 6 bell peppers (mixed colours)
• 1 pound of meat grounded or meat alternative, cooked
• 2 cups cheese
• 3 cups brown rice, cooked

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds. Line them on a baking tray.
3. In a large bowl, combine salsa, cheese, rice, and your meat or meat alternative that’s cooked.
4. Put this mixture into each bell pepper and sprinkle extra cheese on top.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Low FODMAP salmon lettuce boats

Ingredients

Lettuce boat

• ⅛ avocado
• 1 can salmon
• 1 TSP soy sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 romaine lettuce leaves
• 2 scallions
• Sesame seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste

Dipping sauce

• 2 tbsp peanut or almond butter
• 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 TSP brown sugar
• 1 TSP ground ginger
• ¼ TSP chili flakes

Method

1. Combine the butter, sauce, lime juice, sugar, ginger, and chilli flakes in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Mash the avocado in a large bowl.
3. Add salmon, olive oil, and soy sauce to the bowl.
4. On every lettuce leaf, fill in with the salmon mixture. Garnish with sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. You can dip the lettuce wrap in the dip or drizzle it.

Low FODMAP quinoa and sweet potato salad

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups quinoa
• 2 ½ low FODMAP vegetable stock
• 200g kale, finely chopped
• 200g sweet potato diced
• 160g chickpeas
• 400g cucumber
• 40g chopped pecans
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Pepper and salt to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 392 F.
2. Put the stock in a pot and bring it to a boil. Once boiled, add the quinoa and cook.
3. Wash the sweet potatoes and slice them into pieces. You can choose to remove the skin or leave it on. If you want to consume more fibre, it’s wise to leave the skin on.
4. Drain and wash the chickpeas. Put the chickpeas in a baking tray with the sweet potatoes. Bake these for 30 minutes. Toss it around halfway through.
5. Add the chopped kale to the baking items for 10 minutes when they’re done. Add some olive oil and mix everything.
6. Cube the cucumbers.
7. In a small bowl, whisk maple syrup, lime juice, and olive oil, with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Place quinoa in a bowl, and add the roasted vegetables, pecans, and cucumbers. Add the dressing and stir. You can always taste and add more salt, pepper or lime juice.

This recipe makes around four servings. So, you can keep it all in a fridge if you don’t pour the dressing onto the salad mixture.

These low FODMAP lunch recipes will reduce your chances of experiencing uncomfortable symptoms after eating. As you can see from the recipes above, you can easily enjoy delicious low FODMAP easy recipes. If you have no idea about foods that trigger intolerance symptoms and you’re avoiding all FODMAPs, we recommend you take an Intolerance Test. This test helps you know which foods your body can’t tolerate. If you order a complete test, you are also entitled to a free 30-minute consultation with a qualified nutritional therapist to discuss your results and diet moving forward. When you start consuming a low FODMAP diet, you will see those IBS symptoms disappear, and then after the recommended time to avoid those foods, you can slowly introduce them back to your diet. This works as an elimination diet. The gradual increase of these foods in your diet will help you determine your tolerance level for certain high FODMAP meals, and you can now plan your diet around that.