Hi Doreen, You can adapt many of the recipes for one person. The portion sizes are quite small because if you have a sensitive gut or IBS it can be helpful to eat smaller meals. I have tried to state how many servings each recipe makes. If I haven’t then do let me know.
Hi there, I have come across your blog after suffering yet another bout of what I believe is either mild IBS or just a sensitive gut. I have suffered for most of my life (am now 50!) but flare ups are just a few a year. I was surprised at my recent bout as thought they were mainly related to stress & anxiety but actually I think they could be food-related (or probably a bit of both). Your blog & sensible advice has given me momentum to ‘manage’ my sensitivity, not by radically eliminating all high FODMAP foods but simply to replace a meal here & there with recipes from your blog, and I think this will give my gut a chance to have a ‘rest’ once in a while. Reading down your list of suitable foods & recipes made it all sound delicious so I will let you know how I get on!!
Hello Annabelle, I am so pleased you are enjoying our blog posts and like the recipes and advice. Do let us know how you get on and any suggestions you have. Lovely to hear from you. Best wishes Joan
My daughter just had her large colon removed and I will be assisting her in finding foods that will work for her and how to best prepare them for optimum digestion, absorption and elimination. I am impressed with your website, though it isn’t specifically for eleol patients, I feel that your lists and recipes will be a good start but will eliminate the seeds, skins, etc that are not good for people no longer having a large colon. I have prepared a personal food log for us to use for her quest in finding what foods work best or not, how they are prepared, and the results. My search for a site like yours specific for eleol patients was not satisfactory and their blogs were full of people who bumbled and stumbled through their dilemma with no tools to work with. We are aware of the support groups and I am hoping my daughter will join one. Meanwhile, we need to start her on the right path. Do you agree that this is a good start for us and do you have any further recommendations to offer? Whatever we do, her doctors will be in on it. Thank you. Maryan C.
As your daughter has no colon, she will not be able to ferment and salvage poorly absorbed carbohydrate. That would mean that a diet that contains a lot of fructose or fructo/galacto-oligosaccharides (FODMAPs) would give her diarrhoea and may cause dehydration. Most of the recipes in our book should suit her, though as you suggest, she may also need to restrict the amount of cereal fibre (non starch polysccharides) in her diet.
You do not mention whether she has an ileostomy or she has had her ileum joined up to her rectum (ileo-rectal anastomosis). If she still has enough ileum remaining or she has an intact rectum, she may be able to ferment some poorly absorbed carbohydrate so she might be able to manage small amounts of FODMAPs. Keeping a food log is a good idea.
Hi Mary, Our book evolved from the recipes on the website. So some of the recipes you see on the website have been ‘tweaked’ slightly for publication. Also, since the publication of our book, I have been adding new recipes to the website. Hence the difference in the recipes between the website and the book. Does that answer your question? All the best Joan
Cooking for the Sensitive Gut 
Hi can I ask if your recipes are aimed at families or can be suitable for cooking for one?
Hi Doreen, You can adapt many of the recipes for one person. The portion sizes are quite small because if you have a sensitive gut or IBS it can be helpful to eat smaller meals. I have tried to state how many servings each recipe makes. If I haven’t then do let me know.
Hi there, I have come across your blog after suffering yet another bout of what I believe is either mild IBS or just a sensitive gut. I have suffered for most of my life (am now 50!) but flare ups are just a few a year. I was surprised at my recent bout as thought they were mainly related to stress & anxiety but actually I think they could be food-related (or probably a bit of both). Your blog & sensible advice has given me momentum to ‘manage’ my sensitivity, not by radically eliminating all high FODMAP foods but simply to replace a meal here & there with recipes from your blog, and I think this will give my gut a chance to have a ‘rest’ once in a while. Reading down your list of suitable foods & recipes made it all sound delicious so I will let you know how I get on!!
Hello Annabelle, I am so pleased you are enjoying our blog posts and like the recipes and advice. Do let us know how you get on and any suggestions you have. Lovely to hear from you. Best wishes Joan
My daughter just had her large colon removed and I will be assisting her in finding foods that will work for her and how to best prepare them for optimum digestion, absorption and elimination. I am impressed with your website, though it isn’t specifically for eleol patients, I feel that your lists and recipes will be a good start but will eliminate the seeds, skins, etc that are not good for people no longer having a large colon. I have prepared a personal food log for us to use for her quest in finding what foods work best or not, how they are prepared, and the results. My search for a site like yours specific for eleol patients was not satisfactory and their blogs were full of people who bumbled and stumbled through their dilemma with no tools to work with. We are aware of the support groups and I am hoping my daughter will join one. Meanwhile, we need to start her on the right path. Do you agree that this is a good start for us and do you have any further recommendations to offer? Whatever we do, her doctors will be in on it. Thank you. Maryan C.
As your daughter has no colon, she will not be able to ferment and salvage poorly absorbed carbohydrate. That would mean that a diet that contains a lot of fructose or fructo/galacto-oligosaccharides (FODMAPs) would give her diarrhoea and may cause dehydration. Most of the recipes in our book should suit her, though as you suggest, she may also need to restrict the amount of cereal fibre (non starch polysccharides) in her diet.
You do not mention whether she has an ileostomy or she has had her ileum joined up to her rectum (ileo-rectal anastomosis). If she still has enough ileum remaining or she has an intact rectum, she may be able to ferment some poorly absorbed carbohydrate so she might be able to manage small amounts of FODMAPs. Keeping a food log is a good idea.
I purchased this book a few weeks ago and the recipes in my book differ from the ones shown here. Why is this?
Hi Mary, Our book evolved from the recipes on the website. So some of the recipes you see on the website have been ‘tweaked’ slightly for publication. Also, since the publication of our book, I have been adding new recipes to the website. Hence the difference in the recipes between the website and the book. Does that answer your question? All the best Joan
Thanks Joan; it’s a shame the recipes here aren’t in the book as they look amazing! Thanks for explaining though. Best wishes, Mary
Hi Mary, Really pleased you like the look of the recipes on the website. Hopefully we will be doing another book soon. Will keep you all posted.