The town where I live is a lot less populated than the one I was raised in. I'm used to seeing more health/organic food stores; this town just doesn't have any. It's something the surrounding areas are lacking as well. But I have been able to find a few things to get me through the fodmap elimination trial, mostly at Kroger because they actually have an organic food 'section' in their stores.
During the trial, one thing I did have trouble with was just... getting started. I wasn't sure if I was doing it right, and I didn't know how to go about the planning and preparation of meals that would sufficiently satisfy my hunger. Most of the time, when buying the fodmap-free foods, I was just taking a risk because I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know if what I was buying was going to taste good enough to eat or if I was just going to waste my money. And organic food is expensive! But some of the things I ended up buying and eating are as follows:
White Rice Bread
Chicken
Turkey Bacon
Eggs
Tuna
Gluten-Free Oats
Bananas, Grapes and Strawberries
Rice Crispies Cereal
Pamela's Products Chunky Chocolate Chip Gourmet All Natural Cookies
White Rice Bread: I'm just gonna be honest... It tasted really bad. It was not yummy at all, it has a very gritty texture that just didn't make me think of 'bread'. Basically, you can tell it's not what you're used to eating, which is expected - can't really complain, it's only an alternative. BUT a trick I learned pretty early on is to always lightly toast the bread before eating it, even if it's for a sandwich. It changes the texture to more of a regular bread-like consistency.
Chicken: Something I ate often was roasted or grill chicken along side roasted/grilled fodmap-free veggies and potatoes or fodmap-free rice. You just have to be careful how you season it. And you don't have a lot of options when it comes to dipping sauces, if you're into that.
Turkey Bacon: It's great! It defintely met my 'breakfast food needs'. Tastes a lot like the real thing, just healthier... and fodmap-free! I ate it with my fried eggs several times, and even made a BLT on my day 4.
Gluten-free Oats: I bought them later on in the trial, and they were a little pricey; I think I payed around 6 bucks for 2lbs. But I was really wanting some oatmeal. Add some sugar and fodmap-free milk and you're good to go for a sweet and filling breakfast, lunch or (if you're weird like me) dinner too!
Rice Crispies Cereal: It was a great replacement cereal for my usual choices because it's crispy, and I added a little sugar and slices of banana which almost felt a bit self-indulgent.
But do be careful, because some brands contain high fructose corn syrup. I almost bought an off-brand before I double checked the ingredients and noticed that I missed one. Kelloggs Rice Crispies is the one that does not contain high fructose corn syrup, but of course always double check anyways.
Pamela's Products Chunky Chocolate Chip Gourmet All Natural Cookies: These are amaaazzziinngg! I don't know if it's because I was delirious from having all yummy baked goods banned from my diet, but when I discovered these babies at Kroger I was more than willing to pay $4 for 9 cookies just to get my fill. And boy was it worth it. I expected them to taste like tree-bark, but they were actually really good and bursting with chocolate chips. And microwaving them makes them even yummier! Actually, I just finished my second box... yikes. But the brand has many other yummy products too! I'm now a big fan of Pamela's Products, just for the sheer genius behind the company. To me, that is impressive. Go Pamela!
I just wanted to give you an idea of what I bought and ate throughout the trial, now that I'm nearing the end. And if your interested in looking into and trying it, maybe this will help you get started too :)
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