Name: Low FODMAP Greens Salad with Radishes & Peas
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 4- ounces (115 g) cleaned and stemmed curly kale, (torn into small pieces); 2- ounces (55 g) arugula; 1- ounce (30 g) carrots; (use you can use tiny, baby carrots as we show here, or cut 1 or 2 medium carrots into rounds or dice); 1 medium purple daikon radish, (scrubbed or peeled and thinly sliced); 1 medium watermelon radish, (scrubbed or peeled and thinly sliced); 2 red radishes, (scrubbed and thinly sliced); ¼ cup (38 g) frozen peas, (defrosted); Your Choice of Low FODMAP Vinaigrette, such as our Red Wine Vinaigrette; ½ cup (46 g) rinsed and drained canned lentils; 2- ounces 55 g feta, cubed

Making A Low FODMAP Greens Salad

As I write this it is still winter here in New England but we have had a couple of days with bright sun and 50-degree weather and it is beginning to feel spring-like. How about a Low FODMAP Low FODMAP Greens Salad!

My culinary yearnings have turned to lighter food at this time of year – lots of vegetables, and salads.

The inspiration for this Low FODMAP Greens Salad with Radishes & Peas was a potluck, and as with most FODMAPers, I wanted to make sure that I could have something hearty to eat but also share.

Low FODMAP Vegetables

When folks start to learn about the low FODMAP diet they are often under the mistaken impression that vegetables (and fruit) are off-limits. While some are high FODMAP, a great majority are low FODMAP and even allowable on the Elimination Phase!

And we love creating low FODMAP recipe with all the amazing fresh produce that works well with our diet.

It comes down to smart low FODMAP choices and watching your serving sizes – and of course understanding your own tolerances.

Let’s Talk About Radishes

Monash University has lab tested red radishes as well as traditional white daikon radish and we can easily look up their low FODMAP content.

Red radishes have no FODMAPs. White Daikon has a low FODMAP serving size of ½ cup (75 g) and doesn’t even become Moderate for FODMAPs until 1 cup (280 g). Note the math doesn’t add up as double the 75 g should be 150 g. When we query Monash about these kinds of discrepancies they always tell us to use the weight. So 280 g is a lot of daikon!

FODMAP Friendly lab tested watermelon radish and says they are low FODMAP at a 150g serve (about 3 medium watermelon radish).

The point is that in this salad I used purple daikon and watermelon radishes (they have nothing to do with the very high FODMAP watermelon fruit, by the way). I know that I tolerate them and wanted to show you possibility.

Always eat to your tolerances and you might find our article, What If A Food Hasn’t Been Lab Tested For FODMAPs? to be of interest.

You Are Not A Lab!

Always remember that FODMAP amounts that are listed in the Monash University app and the FODMAP Friendly app are lab-tested amounts. But you are not a lab!

Take your time with the your Challenge Phase to learn your own individual tolerances! You might very well be able to eat more than you think. This can be a very nuanced and confusing process, best undertaken with a FODMAP trained Registered Dietitian, but so worth it!

(Check out our International RD Directory, if you haven’t already).

Build A Salad

This salad, as you can see in the images, was built in stages. I wanted to show you that you have choices.

Our goal at FODMAP Everyday®is to help you THRIVE on the low FODMAP diet, and having choices is part of that. As you can see below, this salad can be prepared for vegans, made high protein but still vegan or embellished with feta for a fantastic vegetarian version that will please even non-FODMAPers.

Stage 1 – Vegan Version: Greens (we love arugula and baby lettuces), radishes, carrots and peas. It will be vegan depending on the dressing you use of course, but we like a simple vinaigrette, which would be vegan. And yes, peas are low FODMAP in amounts of 1 Australian tablespoon/15 g per serving. As of now, Monash has not tested fresh-shelled peas, so we have used frozen, defrosted. This version is represented by the images above.

Stage 2 – Vegan High Protein: Add lentils! Canned lentils are low FODMAP in portions of ¼ cup (46 g) (see more below) and add plant-based protein and fiber. See below:

vegan, high-protein version of low FODMAP Greens Salad with Radishes & Peas — This version has high-protein lentils added.

Stage 3 – Vegetarian High Protein: Now add feta! I am partial to sheep’s milk feta but you can use any kind you like. Whether it is made from cow’s milk, sheep or goat, it is low enough in lactose per serving to be low FODMAP. See image below:

overhead of Low FODMAP Spring Greens Salad with Radishes & Peas — This version has the lentils AND feta!

Lentils Are Low FODMAP

Lentils and other beans and legumes can be low FODMAP in certain portions and when prepared a certain way.

PLEASE read our deep dive into this high protein, low FODMAP ingredient in our Explore An Ingredient: Lentils. It contains some very important information on the actual volume amount of canned, drained lentils that are low FODMAP.

Lentils contain fructans and GOS, which are water-soluble. This is why you will often see canned, rinsed and drained lentils and beans recommended in low FODMAP literature.

This is because when rinsed and drained, a good quantity of the FODMAPs are literally washed away! This is how we end up with low FODMAP servings of ¼ cup (46 g) for canned lentils, or ¼ cup (42 g) for canned chickpeas, for instance.

By the way, a typical 15.5-ounce (439 g) can of lentils equals 225 g after being rinsed and drained. This is a huge difference. Always know what amounts you are actually measuring and calculating when assessing your FODMAP intake and FODMAP Stacking, in particular.

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