Harissa Chickpeas and Spinach

This is a really quick and simple dish that can be used alone as a light lunch, or as a side for a more substantial meal. 

It's super easy to make and extra tasty!

You will need:

• 1 can chickpeas - drained and rinsed
• 2 teaspoons harissa paste
• 200ml chicken stock (or veg stock)
• handful of spinach 

Simply place everything in a pan and simmer for around 10 minutes until the chickpeas are cooked through.

This dish does freeze fairly well, too, due to the liquid in the recipe.

Shopping Trip

Yesterday we did our shopping!

I feel like we bought a ton of food, for not an awful lot of money, and all of this should do us for all of this next week, and hopefully into next week too.

Here's what we got:

• 4 avocados
• 2 courgettes
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 cucumber
• 1 broccoli
• 1 cauliflower
• 4 sweet potatoes (big ones)
• 1 bag of spinach
• 2 melons
• 3 lemons
• 2 cod steaks
• 4 salmon steaks
• 500g diced lean beef steak
• some prawns
• 1 jar of capers
• 1 can of coconut cream
• 5 bananas

All for £39!

I am unbelievably chuffed with that, so I'm now hoping that not only will our waist become slimmer but our purses will be a bit fatter too :).

Going to get on with some cooking today, so hopefully I'll have some recipes up over the next few days. 

low-FODMAP/whole30

What is a low-FODMAP diet?

FODMAP stands for: Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides  and Polyols.

Foods that contain lots of these can be associated with bloating, abdominal cramps, flatulence etc. They are, in essence, IBS triggers. As such many sufferers of IBS are advised to try the low-FODMAP diet in order to recognise an individual's triggers and learn to accommodate them. The diet is not meant to be done indefinitely, only for about 4-6 weeks, before you start reintroducing foods one at a time.

So what is a high-FODMAP food (ie, what won't I be eating for the next few weeks):

• Wheat - basically all wheat and anything containing gluten
• Dairy products - some diets say you have small amounts of dairy, I on the other hand will be cutting out everything. No more milk, yogurts, cheese...anything!
• High fructose fruits - apples, strawberries, peaches, raisins, watermelon
• Processed meats
• Some vegetables - onions, garlic, mushrooms, kidney beans, soy beans

This list of restrictions is very similar to Whole30, which is a restrictive diet in order to reset yourself and your system, plus lose some weight!

It's a massive change as I'm not used to restricting my diet...at all. Luckily my fiance Rob is doing this whole thing with me. He's not giving up dairy, but he is giving up wheat, which is a big deal for him, I know.

Sorting out my meals for the week at the moment, and I'll have my shopping list up soon :)

What is Feel Better Inc?

First off, Hi.

My name's Rebecca, and not so long ago I was diagnosed with IBS (though I am in the process of being tested for Crohn's due a positive family history). As such I was started on a variety of medicines to help control my symptoms. But there were days when I was still feeling terrible.

Therefore, I was advised to try the low-FODMAP diet. Which is where this blog comes in.

As I take on this diet, I need to not only record what I'm eating, but how this food is making me feel, as such I will strive to post pictures of all my meals and what I thought of them here. Hopefully when I then start reintroducing higher FODMAP foods I will be able to recognise my triggers and readjust my diet accordingly.

Hopefully some nice things will come out of this blog anyway :)