Get Your Scallion and Leek Fix – Economically
Onions. Garlic. RED LIGHTS! High FODMAP foods! Do. Not. Eat! Sigh. Not great words to hear and certainly throw most of us for a loop when we first dive into the low FODMAP diet and learn that onions and garlic are high in fructans and a huge trigger for many of us with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
The idea of cooking and eating without onion and garlic to flavor our food is daunting. Luckily, scallion greens, leek greens (and some bulb of each) are Green Light vegetables.
Scallion and Leek Details
Years ago, scallion greens and leek greens were the focus for those of us looking for garlic and onion substitutes. Luckily, since then, both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested the white bulb parts of each, and there are small amounts that are low FODMAP.
For more information, please read Explore and Ingredient: Scallions, and Explore and Ingredient: Leeks. Those articles have much more information, including images that show you where we divide the “greens” from the “bulbs.”
Back to the Market
When I first started the diet in 2015, the problem was that I found myself back at the supermarket several days a week just to stock up on scallions, which was inconvenient and expensive, and then, after using the Green Light Monash-approved scallion greens, I was throwing away the white parts and bulbs (those had not been lab tested yet, at that time)! I tried to keep up with it and get them to the neighbors so as not to make waste, but that wasn’t always possible.
And Then, Brilliance Struck
OK, maybe I am patting myself on the back a bit too much, but I have to tell you that this felt ground-breaking to me. Robin was sprouting a potato for future planting at The Farm. I was on my way to the market to buy scallions for the Test Kitchen – yet again – and I spied the potato on the windowsill as I was running out the door.
What if, I thought, I just stuck the scallion bulbs in water? Could I re-grow the much needed scallion greens?
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As you can see from the images, the answer is a resounding YES!
Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me?
I called my BF Mary, who is a gardener extraordinaire, and asked her if she had known this was possible and why she never told me. “Dédé, yes, I knew this,” she said. “It’s just that your needs for scallion greens were not the norm.”
Well, okay, she gets a pass! And now we all know!
And PS: you can do this for leeks as well.
So, go to the supermarket or farmer’s market and pick up nice fresh bunches of scallions and leeks. Use the greens as needed, then place the bulbs in a glass with clean, cool water and place in a sunny spot. I use the windowsill over the Test Kitchen sink.
Change the water every day and you have instantly become an indoor micro-farmer. Snip greens off as needed. I have kept the same bunch going for more than a month. Enjoy!
Here are more scallion and leek focused articles for you:
- Low FODMAP Garlic and Onion Substitutes for IBS-Friendly Cooking
- How To Add Flavor To Low FODMAP Cooking
- What Are Oligosaccharides? Learn All About the “O” in FODMAP!
Hi there, thank you so much for your articles! I have a question though; can you clarify which part of the scallions you can eat on Low FODMAP? In your article about LEEK you used a really great picture to visualize. Is it possible to add a similar one to this article too?
Again, appreciate all your help on this matter!
Hi Joseph, we will get a scallion article upon soon! I approach them very similarly to leeks. You want to use the green parts only. Typically, when my knife or fingers go down the scallion green it gets to a part where it feels thicker and sturdier and meatier. I stop just short of that part. So, you can use visuals, looking fore the “green”, but you can also use your sense of touch. In my mind, this is where the meatier part of the scallion begins, and I leave it out of my low FODMAP cooking. That part can still look green, so this is a conservative approach.
What a great idea! How long does it take to “re-grow” a usable crop of scallion greens
Mark, I have a veritable forest growing on the Test Kitchen windowsill. It’s actually very cool looking as well as handy.
The only drawback is that my kitchen smells like onions!
Well, I suppose if we can’t eat them at least we can smell them LOL! In all seriousness, I hope this tip has helped you navigate the diet.
How wonderful to know. Going to give it a try and hopefully have fresh scallion greens whenever I need – and not toss the unused dead ones I do.
Thanks a “bunch”
I have even pressed the bulbs with roots into soil to re-grow. That’s what I did for “outside” this summer, while the glass approach was happening inside:)
OMG, why did I not think of this?! Back in the day when I used to eat onions I even used to do this with the spring onion. I’m so out of practice I’d forgotten you could do this 😛
Thank you!!
LOL glad we could help!!! My windowsill is always full