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All About The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker

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The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker is an innovative app that can tell you if any recipe is low FODMAP. FODMAP Friendly is one of the primary resources for the diet, providing FODMAP lab testing of foods and prepared food items. This Recipe Maker draws upon FODMAP Friendly’s large database to assess the suitability of any recipe you load into the app.

This article explains how to use the FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker, which is available via the Apple Store and Google Play. Plus we have a discount code for you. Enter Code RECIPEMAKERDEDE for 50% off! You can access the feature within the FODMAP Friendly app.

Why You Should Use The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker

The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker gives you the freedom to regain control over your diet, allowing you to tailor meals to your needs. The app takes the guesswork out of FODMAP stacking, saving you time, and giving you peace of mind.

FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker.
Via FODMAP Friendly.

What Makes A Recipe Low FODMAP As Determined By The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker?

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Graphic by Dédé Wilson for FODMAP Everyday.

A recipe in the FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker will be deemed low FODMAP if it contains ingredients that have low FODMAP serving sizes, and the recipe yields individual serving sizes that are low FODMAP and appropriate for the Elimination Phase of the low FODMAP diet.

Who Should Use the FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker?

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Anyone who has questions about whether a dish is low FODMAP will benefit from using the FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker. It gives you the freedom to regain control over your diet.

FODMAP Friendly surveyed over 5000 people and by far the area that confused people the most was that of FODMAP stacking. Those following the low FODMAP diet reported that they did not have a good way to tell whether their recipe or meal was low FODMAP or not, when they started combining different ingredients and dishes to be eaten at one time. 

The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker solves this problem, and with a degree of automation.

How Is The FODMAP Load Determined?

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FODMAP stacking occurs when you take numerous ingredients, combine them in one recipe, and the overall FODMAP load, per serving, is higher than pre-determined FODMAP thresholds. If a recipe is deemed high FODMAP, it means it could trigger IBS symptoms, in most people. 

The levels of FODMAPs in each ingredient are determined through lab testing.

FODMAP Friendly lab tests foods for FODMAP content and has an extensive database. The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker accesses this database and can tell you whether your recipe is low FODMAP, according to those parameters.

If it is not low FODMAP, the FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker makes substitution suggestions so that your recipe can become low FODMAP.

What If An Ingredient Is Lab Tested Several Times And Shows Various FODMAP Levels?

Grapes.
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FODMAP levels can vary widely in food, especially agricultural items like fruits, vegetables and grains. In fact, their FODMAP load is expected to change from test batch to test batch. You can read more in our article, When FODMAP Lab Testing Results Differ.

The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker will reference the current data set that is within the system. As an example, if you enter a recipe for chicken salad with grapes and the system tells you that it is low FODMAP, you can rest assured that it is. The answer is grounded in evidence-based data, gathered from lab testing. If grapes are re-tested and come up with either much higher or lower FODMAP content, then the new data will be entered into the system. If you entered the same recipe at that point, you might get a different result BUT, and this is a big but, it does not mean that the first time you asked about the recipe that the answer was wrong.

The app entries are meant to be used as guides, not absolutes.

Always remember that any app entry is simply showing you the lab test results of what was tested at the time (and this goes for Monash University app, too). It is literally impossible for every blueberry in the world to have the same FODMAP content.

The app entries are meant to be used as guides, not absolutes.

Are FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker Low FODMAP Recipes Guaranteed To Not Trigger Symptoms?

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No. Everyone’s tolerance to FODMAPs is unique. FODMAP content in ingredients is not static, and neither is your gastrointestinal tract. And then there are non-food triggers, which people often overlook and could be concurrent with your meal.. Sleep, hormones, and stress, as examples, can be irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) triggers.

But, the FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker does give you guidance, based on evidence-based research, as to whether your recipe is low FODMAP and therefore a great place to assess your relationship to FODMAPs, which will be unique.

How Does The FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker Work?

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Let’s say you have a beloved family recipe, or maybe you found a recipe on your favorite website. You can load the recipe into the FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker and get your answer. Much of the process is automated. For instance, if you want to list 450 g firm tofu, you can easily find the tofu within the app’s system, check the box next to the tofu, and it will be added into your recipe’s ingredient list. You add each ingredient, and voila! You will get your answer.

FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker.
Via FODMAP Friendly.

If the recipe is not low FODMAP, substitution suggestions will be made.

What If The System Says A “Low FODMAP” Recipe Is Not Low FODMAP?

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If you take a recipe that was labeled as low FODMAP, put it into the FODMAP Friendly Recipe Maker, and it tells you the recipe is not low FODMAP, one of two things might be at work. 

It is possible that the recipe was never low FODMAP and was created by someone or something (like AI) who/that doesn’t understand the diet. Or the recipe was developed with ingredients that were measured against a different low FODMAP data set. This simply means that the data set that was used to calculate the recipe used different lab test results to calculate the FODMAP load.

It is not unusual (in fact it is more common than not) for fresh foods like fruits and vegetables to yield different results every time they are lab tested.

Let’s Get Cooking Low FODMAP Recipes with Confidence

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Image credit Just Life via Shutterstock.

Remember, all lab test results, old and new, are accurate. They represent what was tested at the time. And, if earlier tests and later tests do not agree, neither is more correct than the other. The ingredients you have in your kitchen are also going to be different than those lab tested. All lab test results are accurate, and also meant to be used as guides, not absolutes.

Now, let’s get cooking low FODMAP recipes with confidence!

Go to the Apple App Store or Google Play And Enter Discount Code RECIPEMAKERDEDE for 50% off!

Please read our articles on How To Use The FODMAP Friendly Smartphone App, Meet FODMAP Friendly, and FODMAP Friendly Lab Testing Explained.

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