Unlock Delicious Low FODMAP Paleo Diet Recipes: Your Ultimate Guide to Gut-Friendly Meals!

Combining the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) with a Low-FODMAP diet can be challenging, but it may provide relief for those struggling with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), or other digestive issues. This article will guide you through the process with tips, food lists, and a variety of recipes to make this short-term dietary approach easier.

Introduction to the Low-FODMAP and AIP Diet Combination

The Low-FODMAP diet is typically a short-term strategy lasting from 2 weeks to a year, during which high-FODMAP foods are replaced with low-FODMAP alternatives to alleviate IBS symptoms. After an initial elimination phase of 2-6 weeks, foods are reintroduced to identify individual tolerances. The AIP diet focuses on nutrient density and eliminating foods that trigger autoimmune responses, such as nightshades, dairy, nuts, and seeds. Combining these diets can be restrictive but may be necessary under the guidance of a healthcare practitioner.

General Tips for Success

Keep a Compliant Food List Handy: Post a list of approved foods for quick reference when grocery shopping or meal planning. A printable food list can be a valuable tool.
Simplify Meals: Focus on simple combinations of meat, salads, stews, and roasted or steamed vegetables.
Consume Easily Digestible Carbs: During the elimination phase, prioritize low-FODMAP carbs like blueberries, tapioca, arrowroot, and tiger nut products.
Utilize Recipes and Cookbooks: If you prefer structured meal plans, explore cookbooks like "28 Days of Low-FODMAP AIP," which offers a month's worth of meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists.
Use the FODMAP App: Consider using the Monash University FODMAP app for a comprehensive resource when shopping.
Reintroduce Foods Gradually: After the initial 2-6 weeks, reintroduce eliminated foods in small amounts to assess tolerance.
Avoid Cheating: Adhering to the diet strictly ensures its effectiveness during the temporary period.
For SIBO: Consume as many FODMAP foods as your body can tolerate to encourage success rates when combined with antibiotics. Cassava flour may be a good option to introduce after the initial phase.
Celebrate Successes: When reintroducing foods, enjoy the new additions in small portions and allow your gut to recover.
Choose the Right Supplements: Consider supplements like Saccharomyces Boulardii and digestive bitters to support gut health and prevent SIBO recurrence.

Cooking Tips for Combining AIP and Low FODMAP

Find Garlic and Onion Replacements: Use garlic-infused olive oil or the green parts of scallions. Gourmend offers green onion and garlic chive powders, and asafetida powder can also be used.
Control Vegetable Portions: Weigh out smaller portions of vegetables like broccoli to see how your body responds.
Create Vegetable Medleys: Combine low-FODMAP vegetables with higher FODMAP ones to stay within guidelines. For example, sauté carrots, broccoli, green beans, and zucchini together.
Use Coconut Aminos: Coconut aminos can be used as a soy sauce replacement.
Discover New Favorites: Replace sautéed onions with sautéed fennel and mashed cauliflower with mashed sweet potatoes. Green bananas can be used like potatoes in various dishes, and daikon noodles can replace pasta.
Take Advantage of Bacon: Bacon can enhance plain meals by garnishing soups or topping sweet potatoes.
Utilize Meat Stock or Bone Broth: Create simple and delicious soups with low-FODMAP ingredients like Kabocha squash, fennel, green bananas, ground beef, and zucchini.
Rethink Ingredient Usage: Explore new ways of cooking with low-FODMAP ingredients and repeat successful recipes with different variations.
Prepare Hashes, Stir-Fries, and Simple Meats: These cooking methods are easy and work well with basic, safe ingredients.
Make Big Main Dish Salads: Top salad greens with protein and add a low-FODMAP carb on the side, such as batch-cooked bread.

Basic AIP and Low FODMAP Recipe Ideas

Here are ten basic recipe ideas to inspire your meal planning:

Breakfast or Snack: Combine coconut milk yogurt or kefir with sliced strawberries or blueberries. Enjoy a baked treat with tiger nut butter and maple butter or make a hash with ground meat and chopped vegetables.
Lunch or Dinner: Create a salad with greens, shredded carrots, olives, olive oil, and lemon juice, topped with grilled chicken, tuna, or shrimp. Roast sweet potatoes with diced protein and a side of sautéed zucchini or steamed broccoli (if reintroduced).
Stir-fry sliced daikon radishes with thinly sliced chicken or steak, green onions, and coconut aminos. Add fresh ginger for flavor.
Make a hash with shredded carrot, ground turkey, green onions, and dried sage.
Fry thin slices of pork tenderloin with red cabbage in olive oil.
Toss zucchini noodles with garlic-infused olive oil, meat, fresh herbs, and sea salt.
Fill Tiger Nut Tortillas with leftover chicken, cucumbers, lettuce, green onions, avocado (if tolerated), and fresh herbs.

Recipe Roundup

Beef, Lamb, or Duck

AIP Low-FODMAP Beef Curry Stew
Paleo AIP Coconut Ground Beef Curry with Turmeric
Easiest Paleo Beef Short Ribs
Paleo AIP Hamburger Macaroni Pasta
Middle Eastern Beef Stew (See AIP Notes)
AIP Burgers and Fries Sheet Pan Dinner
Carrot and Beef Pie
Best AIP Chili Recipe
Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Shepherd’s Pie
Stuffed Pattypan Squash
Beef Skillet Supper
Steak Salad with Arugula
Easy Duck Breasts

Chicken

Paleo Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks (4 ingredients, easy!)
Asian Chicken Chopped Salad
5-Ingredient Chicken Stir Fry
Easy Dump & Bake General Tso’s Chicken (See Low FODMAP notes)
Maple Rosemary Chicken
Paleo Fried Chicken (See AIP version in Notes)
Chicken with Sage and Lemon
Whole Chicken with Lemon and Mint
Creamy Chicken Soup
Chicken & Ginger Mini Meatloaves

Pork

AIP Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Sauce
Meatloaf
Pork Chops with Herbs and Grapes
Breakfast Sausage
Ginger Lime Noodle Bowl (with parsnip noodles)

Fish

Ginger-Lime Salmon (Follow the Low-FODMAP notes in the recipe)
Salmon Patties (See AIP notes)
Green Curry with Salmon

Vegetables

Carrot Mint Ginger Bisque
Zucchini Ginger Bisque Soup
Mashed Parsnips (with optional Crispy Parsnips on top)
Parsnip Hashbrowns
Roasted Caramelized Delicata Squash
Cassava Fries
Cassava Pasta
Green Banana Fries
Daikon Noodles

Treats

Paleo AIP Strawberry Coconut Lime Cream Pie (Choose the maple syrup option for sweetener)
AIP Blueberry Scones
Carrot Cinnamon Milkshake
Low FODMAP Tropical Berry Smoothie
Rhubarb Sauce (Enjoy with tiger nut baked goods or coconut yogurt)
Tiger Nut Flour Tortillas
AIP Bacon & Green Onion Scones
Green Plantain Crackers
Tostones (Fried Green Plantains)
Tiger Nut Flour Pie Crust

Combining Whole30 with Low FODMAP

For those interested in Whole30, combining it with a low-FODMAP diet can be beneficial. Whole30 excludes grains, dairy, legumes, refined sugar, and alcohol, which eliminates many high-FODMAP foods. However, it's essential to cross-reference with a FODMAP list to ensure compliance.

Adapting Recipes for Low FODMAP and Whole30

Adapting recipes for both diets involves substituting high-FODMAP ingredients. For example, garlic can be replaced with garlic-infused olive oil. Cauliflower rice and zucchini noodles can be substituted with parsnip rice or plantain rice. Be mindful of FODMAP stacking by checking the FODMAP content of all ingredients.

Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP